Heating the Shop in Vermont

My wife has been on me for years to heat my shop...Colorado....cold/snow etc.. I always told her it really wasn't viable because of price, probably needed infrastructure addition of some sort, garage isn't well insulted not to mention, not air tight. Anyway, fast forward a couple years and out of desperation, I tried what I considered to be inexpensive enough that I wouldn't mind if it didn't work, but also something capable enough that it had a fighting chance. On Amazon I found a 220v heater with reviews that matched what my situation was, on sale it was $86! Though I had to get some sizable (12/3 cable if memory serves which was like $60 more)
Wow. I was speechless. I have pics to show my results, but it was taking the temp from 40 degrees to 75 in and hour and a half. 60 degrees only took about 40 mins. Life changing in the winter. Here is a link if anyone is interested. I stand by it and if you shop were bigger than my 2 car, perhaps 2 of them or preheat longer?
Shop Heater
 
Hey G of Navaron, that's the one I was talking about in my post, I marked the dial exactly where it clicks , I know if I set it just past that mark, it'll keep the shop (insulated) around 50°, best $100 bucks I've ever spent.
 
Dang. That is a good deal and mounts up on the ceiling to boot!

I may consider redoing this. My shop is 16’x24’ so I’m imagine it would heat up quickly based on your story.

I’d also be able to get rid of the pellet stove, not have to buy pellets, and make some valuable space available in the shop!

Gears are turning....


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@Ken from ontario Sorry, I guess I didn't read the whole thread, but if nothing else, I second your suggestion. We just had a cold snap here of -16 (before wind chill factor) I wouldn't have been able to work in the garage had I not bought that unit. I have a new garage door going in 3 weeks, that will take care of the air leaks...things will only get better. Seriously @vtcnc get this heater! Just make sure you have a 220 outlet with a 30 amp breaker and you're golden.
 
Ken from ontario said:
Hey G of Navaron, that's the one I was talking about in my post, I marked the dial exactly where it clicks , I know if I set it just past that mark, it'll keep the shop (insulated) around 50°, best $100 bucks I've ever spent.
Click to expand...

Ken how big is your shop? Just wondering how to compare to what it would cost to heat my shop.


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GunsOfNavarone said:
@Ken from ontario Sorry, I guess I didn't read the whole thread, but if nothing else, I second your suggestion. We just had a cold snap here of -16 (before wind chill factor) I wouldn't have been able to work in the garage had I not bought that unit. I have a new garage door going in 3 weeks, that will take care of the air leaks...things will only get better. Seriously @vtcnc get this heater! Just make sure you have a 220 outlet with a 30 amp breaker and you're golden.
Click to expand...

I have a 60 amp 240v service coming into the shop so that won’t be a problem.


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vtcnc said:
Dang. That is a good deal and mounts up on the ceiling to boot!

I may consider redoing this. My shop is 16’x24’ so I’m imagine it would heat up quickly based on your story.

I’d also be able to get rid of the pellet stove, not have to buy pellets, and make some valuable space available in the shop!

Gears are turning....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
My shop is smaller than yours,,~ 12' X 16' , Comfort zone heaters(like the ones we're taking about) come in two different Wattage ratings,, the one I have is 3000W-5000W, I have it set on 5000Watt but the one size up is 5000w-7500W.

I would definitely get the 7500W for your 16'x24' garage, the price here of both units are often close ,maybe $10 to $15 more.

One more thing that has helped me a great deal is to have a small circulating fan on a timer, going ON/Off every 45 minutes,(on the lowest setting), Mine is facing the ceiling and pushes the warm air down. it's a little $20 fan but it's doing a very good job circulating the air in shop and keeping the "cold zones"/ corners the same temperature as the rest of the shop.
 
Well, now you got me thinking about my electrical requirements.

200A service coming into the house. 60A 240V subpanel to the garage - approx. 80-90 ft. from the main panel, fed through the basement and underground.

I'm going to need at least a 30A breaker to feed a 240V future project in the shop...it looks like these 240V heaters require a 30-50A breaker for protection, so I will likely be overloading my subpanel if I'm running the CNC lathe and the heater at the same time.

Questions, questions, questions:

1) Is it safe to run a separate feed from the main panel - probably something like 8AWG copper to the heater and feed it off a 40A breaker back at the main panel in the house?

2) I believe the code says no more than a 3% voltage drop off the main panel. Is that true and do any exceptions apply for electric heaters?

3) I would be pulling this through the same underground conduit the sub-panel is fed from. Is this kosher? I think it is currently fed with 6AWG. I can't remember off hand.
 
Go to an online conduit fill chart and make sure your existing conduit is large enough to accept the new line. Mike
 
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