I finally put in something more permanent for heat...

[Mike Cozad]

Did you see a significant jump in your electric bill with this unit or was it fairly reasonable? I currently use a kerosene/diesel heater so I'm spending about $50-60 monthly on diesel just running it on the weekends. So if this is the same or just over I would sure like to dump my kerosene plan...

[Jim Becker]

Did you see a significant jump in your electric bill with this unit or was it fairly reasonable? I currently use a kerosene/diesel heater so I'm spending about $50-60 monthly on diesel just running it on the weekends. So if this is the same or just over I would sure like to dump my kerosene plan...

I've long passed the electric bill payments over to Professor Dr. SWMBO when we rebalanced budgetary responsibilities, but I do look at the bill when it arrives. I can certainly see that I've been using heat in the shop, but I have no realistic way of knowing how it compares to the purely resistance based radiant units I depended upon prior. (I still use them briefly when I first go into the shop to warm up quickly while the Farenheat unit does it's thing to warm the actual air. I'm guessing that the cost to run my heat on weekends doesn't exceed the number you mention and...there's no fumes. Many years ago I used a kero heater in the shop and suffered mightily from headaches as a result...

[Mike Cozad]

Thanks for the info. My shop is fully insulated except that I need to replace the garage door next year. So I think the unit will suit my needs just fine.

[Van Huskey]

but I have no realistic way of knowing how it compares to the purely resistance based radiant units I depended upon prior.

That begs a question, which I am too lazy to google at the moment, of the types of electric heaters are any types significantly more efficient than others? While I know different categories heat the environment in different ways I always had the assumption electric heaters were essentially 100% efficient (save for the fan if any).

[Jim Huelskoetter]

Fan motor inefficiencies become heat also, so you're back to 100%

[Van Huskey]

Fan motor inefficiencies become heat also, so you're back to 100%

I understand that, my point was directed to say the difference between a baseboard heater with no fan and a heater with a fan, the latter would be less efficient at purely producing heat than one with no fan.

So is the take away that all electric heaters are essentially 100% efficient (save loses to run electronics or fans)? So there is no issue with BTU per kWh and the criteria (beyond price and build quality) is really the way in which it transfers the heat to the environment.

[Jim Becker]

I have to say that as I close up more and more of the air infiltration areas in the rim joists, not surprisingly, heater performance increases. I have about 20 more bays to do in between other shop tasks...'might even get it done before the end of winter. LOL

[John K Jordan]

I have to say that as I close up more and more of the air infiltration areas in the rim joists, not surprisingly, heater performance increases. I have about 20 more bays to do in between other shop tasks...'might even get it done before the end of winter. LOL

Completely off the subject: where did you find those lumber brackets? I welded some up to hold steel stock but I'm too lazy to make more.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

Completely off the subject: where did you find those lumber brackets? I welded some up to hold steel stock but I'm too lazy to make more.

These are John Sterling HD brackets....used to be available from Home Depot, but they dropped the line. I now order them from Lee Valley, when Free Shipping is in force, of course. EXCELLENT heavy duty shelving and honestly, reasonably priced.

[Jim Becker]

That begs a question, which I am too lazy to google at the moment, of the types of electric heaters are any types significantly more efficient than others? While I know different categories heat the environment in different ways I always had the assumption electric heaters were essentially 100% efficient (save for the fan if any).

Pretty much most, if not all, of the energy consumed is being used to generate heat, although yes, a fan is going to contribute to electrical use. But the fan is also helping to distribute the heated air in the case of a unit that uses a fan. The Farenheat unit's fan is nicely designed in that it delays coming on until the coils are actually hot and delays turning off until it clears warm air from the unit on shut-off. The overhead radiant units I have don't technically heat the air, but are nearly immediately helpful in warming "me". Eventually the air warms, but that's from other things (including the physical heating unit) transferring warmth to air. So I had to use multiple units and run them longer. Now, I set the Farenheat on to low on say, Friday night to gradually moderate the air in the closed shop, and then crank it to high on Saturday morning. When I go into the shop, I'll run the radiant units for a short period of time to supplement for comfort while the forced air unit works to bring up the temperature to the point I can take off my sweatshirt. I'll shut the radiant units down at that point for the remainder of the day.

One thing that's going to help in my shop is that I'm starting to work to seal off the rim joist areas better/more permanently. Right now, it's just insulation that moves too easily. I'm making templates to cut pieces of left-over 1/2" sheathing to fit exactly inside the I-joists so I can install them and caulk things tight. I should have done that years ago, but, well...life intervened.