Shop Furnace Hour Meter / Ceiling Fan

[Rob Will]

I just installed my old 80K BTU Lennox Pulse Furnace out in the wood shop. If I want to know how much gas this furnace is using, can I install an hour-meter somewhere on the furnace and then figure out the LP gas consumption? Where would you wire an hour meter to a furnace like this?

The reason I need to know this is to get a feel for just how warm I should keep the shop when I am not using it. Walls are R19. 16' high ceiling is R30. Do I need a small ceiling fan to bring the heat down?

Thanks in advance (especially you HVAC pros),

Rob

[Steve Kohn]

I don't have any idea about the hour meter, however I have 11 foot ceilings in my shop and have found that running the air filter (hanging from the ceiling) makes a huge difference in circulating the heat and making the shop more comfortable. My heater is a Hot Dawg that also hangs from the ceiling.

[Earl Reid]

Rob, My thermostat shows the hrs the furnace runs.

Earl

[David G Baker]

What Earl said. Not sure what a thermostat with an hour meter on it costs but you could do a Google search.
With 16 foot ceilings, yes ceiling fans will help a lot in keeping the heat evenly distributed through out your shop.
I live in Mid Michigan and the temp outside right now is 7 degrees at around 9:00 am. I keep my thermostat set at 50 degrees during the cold months. It costs me around $35 a month to keep my 30'x40'x10' fairly well insulated pole barn heated. I turn the thermostat up to 65 when I work in the building and turn it back to 50 when it reaches temp. The heater will not come on for around 45 minutes after it gets up to temp. I had to search for a thermostat that had 50 degrees on it, most stop at 60.
I heat the building with a Hot Dawg natural gas fired 75,000 BTU ceiling mounted heater. I do not have ceiling fans mounted yet but am planning to add some in the future.

[Al Willits]

Keep anything off the 24v thermostat circuit, but you could hook something like the older aprilaire humidifiers used, it was a clamp on relay that when energized it closed contacts for another circuit, clamp this onto the combustion air motor leads and wire the other circuit into a powered circuit that would power a timer.

That would give you burner time, and that's what ya want, not blower time.

Or ya could leave it at 40 when your not there, and 60-70 when your there, depending on what your doing and temps required, and not worry about it...:)

Al

[Rob Will]

Thanks all,
I can't use the circuit for the combustion air fan because the pulse furnace generates it's own draft. The purge fan on this unit only runs until the burner kicks on.
I'm wondering if I could use a tiny 24V coil relay on the gas circuit to run my hour meter. Is this what Al is telling me?
Thanks,
Rob

[Al Willits]

Sorry forgot about the draft motor, but yes and no on the relay, as I thunk about it it, they make a 24v trigger relay, and that could be used on the thermostat circuit...

Here's something like ya need, there called current sensing relays, you just need one that senses 24 volts, not recommending this one, it'll just give ya a idea what ya need.

http://buyitnow64.stores.yahoo.net/aphugehu24vo.html

Al

[Rob Will]

Sorry forgot about the draft motor, but yes and no on the relay, as I thunk about it it, they make a 24v trigger relay, and that could be used on the thermostat circuit...

Here's something like ya need, there called current sensing relays, you just need one that senses 24 volts, not recommending this one, it'll just give ya a idea what ya need.

http://buyitnow64.stores.yahoo.net/aphugehu24vo.html

Al

Thanks Al,
I'm wondering how much current that a typical gas valve draws (?).


Rob

[Al Willits]

Usually less than 2 amps, prob under a amp actually, but you find a relay that takes 2 you have it covered

Al