I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with 11'
ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I don't have
access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt single phase
available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running into problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds wise.
I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with this unit?I
know that it's probably under powered for what I have to heat, but I'm not
planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time, just weekends when I
plan to work there. And I do have a propane salamander that I can get the
building up to temperature with pretty quickly, but it's too loud to use all
day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

You don't need 480 volt, but my guess is that you'll need considerably more
amperage, than 30, for the spot heating you're trying to do. Google electric
heat loss calculator, and figure the btuh you'll need, then compare that
figure to the largest output electric heater you can use. Personally, I
think you'd be better off trying to do this with bottled gas, or even oil.

"diablo" wrote in message
...
I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with 11'
ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I don't have
access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt single phase
available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running into problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds wise.
I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with this
unit?I know that it's probably under powered for what I have to heat, but
I'm not planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time, just weekends
when I plan to work there. And I do have a propane salamander that I can
get the building up to temperature with pretty quickly, but it's too loud
to use all day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

diablo wrote:
I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with
11' ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I
don't have access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt
single phase available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running
into problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds
wise. I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with
this unit?I know that it's probably under powered for what I have to
heat, but I'm not planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time,
just weekends when I plan to work there. And I do have a propane
salamander that I can get the building up to temperature with pretty
quickly, but it's too loud to use all day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

You didn't mention if this is in Minnesota or North Carolina and what
"some heat" is and what the "projects" might be.

"George" wrote in message
...
diablo wrote:
I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with 11'
ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I don't
have access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt single
phase available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running into
problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds
wise. I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with
this unit?I know that it's probably under powered for what I have to
heat, but I'm not planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time,
just weekends when I plan to work there. And I do have a propane
salamander that I can get the building up to temperature with pretty
quickly, but it's too loud to use all day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

You didn't mention if this is in Minnesota or North Carolina and what
"some heat" is and what the "projects" might be.

Very good points George, it's south western Ohio, specifically 40 miles east
of Cincinnati. Maybe will expect temperatures as low as 22 to 25 degrees
fahrenheit in January and February. And what I would hope to accomplish is a
temperature of around 50 to 55 degrees fahrenheit, I'm trying to be
realistic with what resources that I have. The projects will be mechanical
work and no paint or other chemicals that would require a high ambient
temperature.

Thanks,
Brian

diablo wrote:

I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with 11'
ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I don't have
access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt single phase
available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running into problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds wise.
I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with this unit?I
know that it's probably under powered for what I have to heat, but I'm not
planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time, just weekends when I
plan to work there. And I do have a propane salamander that I can get the
building up to temperature with pretty quickly, but it's too loud to use all
day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

An air heater like the salamander is not good for this type of
intermittent heating application. You need a radiant heat source, and an
electric one to cover that kind of area will require a lot more power
than you have available. The best option to look at is an LP fueled long
tube radiant heater. You'll see this type of heater running over the
register area in places like Depot and Lowe's with big doors nearby
letting in blasts of cold air.

"diablo" wrote in message


Don't waste your money. The heater is a mere 17,000 Btu. In really cold
weather my propane heater that puts out twice that is not sufficient for my
garage that is half your space.

And I do have a propane salamander that I can
get the building up to temperature with pretty quickly, but it's too loud
to use all day for me.

There are smaller propane powered heaters and furnaces. You can use the
salamander to get things up to temperature and a smaller quite unit to
maintain the heat. Use that 30A electric for power tools and use cheaper
propane for heat.

On Nov 16, 9:24*am, "diablo" wrote:
"George" wrote in message

...



diablo wrote:
I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with 11'
ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I don't
have access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt single
phase available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running into
problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds
wise. I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with
this unit?I know that it's probably under powered for what I have to
heat, but I'm not planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time,
just weekends when I plan to work there. And I do have a propane
salamander that I can get the building up to temperature with pretty
quickly, but it's too loud to use all day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

You didn't mention if this is in Minnesota or North Carolina and what
"some heat" is and what the "projects" might be.

Very good points George, it's south western Ohio, specifically 40 miles east
of Cincinnati. Maybe will expect temperatures as low as 22 to 25 degrees
fahrenheit in January and February. And what I would hope to accomplish is a
temperature of around 50 to 55 degrees fahrenheit, I'm trying to be
realistic with what resources that I have. The projects will be mechanical
work and no paint or other chemicals that would require a high ambient
temperature.

Thanks,
Brian

Brian-

As per Claude..... a wood stove is the way to go. Great for
intermittent use.

A medium sized stove will easily put out about 2x the btu/hr
(kilowatts) of an electric heater than would consume your entire
current electrial supply to the barn....save for electrical power for
tools & lights. Heat with fuel (wood, propane, kerosene)

I have a buddy who lives & works in SoCal high desert (Hesperia).
His "shop" (about 30 x 50, uninsulated) is heated with a free
standing wood stove, about in the center of the shop & vented thru the
roof.

It doesn't really heat the all the air in the shop but throws off
enough radiant heat that it is possible to work without massively
heavy clothing.
Average winter lows, just below freezing. Average winter highs, ~60
but the temp drops fast in the afternoon into night.

Is your barn at all insulated?

Another alternative would be a kerosene heater.

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/sea...min&maxAsk=max

lots of heaters to choose from....for $50 to $100, you're done!
get one to try...if its not enough, get another one

You'd have to run the numbers, kerosene is probably more than wood
pellets but a pellet stove isn't cheap unless you can find a good used
one on CL. All depends on the duty cycle.

you need radiant heat........



cheers
Bob

On Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:21:45 -0500, "diablo"
wrote:

I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with 11'
ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I don't have
access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt single phase
available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running into problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds wise.
I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with this unit?I
know that it's probably under powered for what I have to heat, but I'm not
planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time, just weekends when I
plan to work there. And I do have a propane salamander that I can get the
building up to temperature with pretty quickly, but it's too loud to use all
day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian


I'm a fan of infrared bulbs. Not sure of your location, but the warm
red light works good in northern Ohio and Tennessee. Much more
efficient than trying to heat with electrical resistance. Another
option is installing a small iron stove, fed with wood or pellets, but
you will need some kind of chimney.

Hi there taking the sq rt of 960 is about 30 x30 do you need all this space
and can you install an temporary ceiling at about 8ft? I have seen where
people have sectioned off there work area and only heat a portion which
makes it more economical to achieve.

Sal

"diablo" wrote in message
...
I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with 11'
ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I don't have
access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt single phase
available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running into problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds wise.
I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with this
unit?I know that it's probably under powered for what I have to heat, but
I'm not planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time, just weekends
when I plan to work there. And I do have a propane salamander that I can
get the building up to temperature with pretty quickly, but it's too loud
to use all day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

"diablo" wrote in message
...
I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with 11'
ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I don't have
access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt single phase
available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running into problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds wise.
I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with this
unit?I know that it's probably under powered for what I have to heat, but
I'm not planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time, just weekends
when I plan to work there. And I do have a propane salamander that I can
get the building up to temperature with pretty quickly, but it's too loud
to use all day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

Check out quartz infrared heat. Here's one type:
http://www.rewci.com/hainouelhewa.html but you can get various wattages and
either 120 or 240 volt versions.

I have three 1200 watt units mounted on the ceiling in my insulated 2-car
garage (northern Ohio). Switching them on gives instant heat since long
wave infrared heats things (like people) and not the air. Usually, I only
turn one unit on unless I'm working in the whole garage or want to do
something like melt the ice and snow off the cars quickly.

You can use the halogen lighting lamps or the quartz infrared lamps which
last longer and have less light output. Heat output is related to watts and
both types generate infrared. A bonus is that you get a substantial amount
of light out of either type.

Installation is simple. Just mount the fixtures on a standard outlet box
and leave some distance (a few feet) between the fixture and any object that
would be damaged if it gets too hot.

TKM

On Nov 17, 7:16�am, buffalobill wrote:
On Nov 16, 11:21�am, "diablo" wrote:





I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric garage
heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole barn with 11'
ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter projects. I don't have
access to gas so I want to use electricity, I have 250 volt single phase
available, can run up to a 30 amp device without running into problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or an
actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and funds wise.
I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any experiences with this unit?I
know that it's probably under powered for what I have to heat, but I'm not
planning to keep the pole barn heated all the time, just weekends when I
plan to work there. And I do have a propane salamander that I can get the
building up to temperature with pretty quickly, but it's too loud to use all
day for me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

buffalo ny: 1,000w gives you 3,415 btu's. record the temperatures and
weather. plug in some cheap used portable electric heaters up to the
limit of the available wattage. monitor their performance in your use.
use a couple of window fans to circulate the heat. that's all there
is. �you only get about 5,000 btu's from each 1500 watt heater. if 30
amps at 250v is only 7500 watts of heat it's like 25,612 btu, the
equivalent of 5 little heaters. since electricity is usually
considered efficient 100 percent to heat, give or take a blower.
[note your building construction and use determines its heating safety
requirements. example if there's vehicles or gasoline or a combustible
barn you don't run salamander open flame heaters, open pilot flame
natural gas or open pilot LP gas heaters either.] � if the heaters
pass the test thru the coldest weather conditions, the digital pyrex
food thermometer in your plastic water glass will show you the water
temperature range in its resettable hi/lo memory. other test options:
ceiling fan and remote transmitter temperature sensor.
-b- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

suggest start by sealing and insulating garage, a old friend, a
mechanic used a surplus engine which he put outside, added a
generator, ran the radiator lines inside the garage. with electric
engine fan.

this got him heat in the winter, and a emergency generator out of
mostly stuff laying around. he used the engines 12 volt alternator for
charging batteries too

diablo wrote:

"George" wrote in message
...
diablo wrote:
I wanted to tap the vast experience here if I may on an electric
garage heater for my home. I have a 960 square foot insulated pole
barn with 11' ceilings that I want to add some heat to for winter
projects. I don't have access to gas so I want to use electricity, I
have 250 volt single phase available, can run up to a 30 amp device
without running into problems.

First I know that I probably need 480 volts to get adequate heat, or
an actual 240 volt furnace, but I have what I have both power and
funds wise. I've looked at the Dayton G73 hanging unit, Any
experiences with this unit?I know that it's probably under powered
for what I have to heat, but I'm not planning to keep the pole barn
heated all the time, just weekends when I plan to work there. And I
do have a propane salamander that I can get the building up to
temperature with pretty quickly, but it's too loud to use all day for
me.

Or any comments on this another unit that might be better?

Thanks,
Brian

You didn't mention if this is in Minnesota or North Carolina and what
"some heat" is and what the "projects" might be.

Very good points George, it's south western Ohio, specifically 40 miles
east of Cincinnati. Maybe will expect temperatures as low as 22 to 25
degrees fahrenheit in January and February. And what I would hope to
accomplish is a temperature of around 50 to 55 degrees fahrenheit, I'm
trying to be realistic with what resources that I have. The projects
will be mechanical work and no paint or other chemicals that would
require a high ambient temperature.

Thanks,
Brian

Radiant/infrared is likely the best bet since you don't need even temps
and just want to keep you warm.

For electric you can get something along the lines of this:

http://www.northernsafety.com/Produc...ed-Heater.html

In 1990, I lived in a building that had only electric heat, in western part
of NY State. Everyone told me electric is far more expensive, so I kept the
heat down and lived in one room. My first bill was fine, about $26. But it
was estmated. So, I went out to read the meter. Find out the actual bill is
several hunded dollars.

You may find it a lot cheaper for your temporary spot heat, to use a double
burner infared heater, on a gas grill bottle of propane. Or have a propane
tank put outside, and use wall heaters. Please also consider a wood burning
stove.

That said, it sounds like you need fast heat, for relatively short periods
of time. If electric is your only option, possibly a ceramic heater or two
with fan forced hot air would be the ticket. Those come in 110 volt. Not
sure about 220 volt models.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"diablo" wrote in message
...

Very good points George, it's south western Ohio, specifically 40 miles east
of Cincinnati. Maybe will expect temperatures as low as 22 to 25 degrees
fahrenheit in January and February. And what I would hope to accomplish is a
temperature of around 50 to 55 degrees fahrenheit, I'm trying to be
realistic with what resources that I have. The projects will be mechanical
work and no paint or other chemicals that would require a high ambient
temperature.

Thanks,
Brian

A friend of mine made a rig for his pot bellied wood stove. He put a bucket
on a higher shelft, and ran a length of flex hose, and a valve. So he could
drip oil into the wood stove. Mixed oil with kerosene, and let the metal
shavings and such settle out. He was rather successful. Others have had such
a stove get away from them, and burn them out. So, a very slow dribble of
oil is what's needed. There's a lot more various details than what I just
wrote.

I've also known people to soak firewood in a bucket of old crank case oil.
Works nicely for wood like willow, which dry and leave nearly nothing. Very
porous, and holds a lot of oil.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Phisherman" wrote in message
...


I'm a fan of infrared bulbs. Not sure of your location, but the warm
red light works good in northern Ohio and Tennessee. Much more
efficient than trying to heat with electrical resistance. Another
option is installing a small iron stove, fed with wood or pellets, but
you will need some kind of chimney.