Fahrenheat Electric Heater Northern tool.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Dan, does it have a contactor or does it use a line voltage thermostat?

If it uses a contactor, you could use a timer to power the contactor coil circuit.

regards, Rod.

[Brad Townsend]

Does anyone know of a good. relatively inexpensive timer for 220v/30amp... Due to the expense, I would like to avoid leaving it on and heating my detached uninsulated garage when not in use.

thanks
dan

Dan, I think I would spend the money on insulation first. I'm not sure how cold your area gets in the winter, but if your detached garage is not insulated, I'm uncertain as to how well it's going to keep the temperature up. I've got 2x6 walls with R19 and R30 in the ceiling and mine is just adequate to do the job.

[dan lemkin]

Walls are stone... Impossible to insulate as far as Ican see... The heater actually works well. It only takes about 10 minutes to warm up. The garage is relatively small.... maybe 18 x 14. Walls are 18" thick stone.

(pardon mess in pics... looks much better now... I as hanging 2 x 2x12 to reinforce the loft.

[Brad Townsend]

Walls are stone... Impossible to insulate as far as Ican see... The heater actually works well. It only takes about 10 minutes to warm up. The garage is relatively small.... maybe 18 x 14. Walls are 18" thick stone.

(pardon mess in pics... looks much better now... I as hanging 2 x 2x12 to reinforce the loft.

WOW! Didn't see that coming! Eighteen inch thick stone walls isn't something you see very often. Might still be some possibilities for insulation under the roof, but if it's working for you, I concede that it might be more trouble than it's worth.

I never did find a source for a 30 amp 220 timer when I was looking way back when. The best option might be Rod's idea of getting a 240V contactor with a 24V coil and wiring the heater through it and using a programmable thermostat to control it.

[David G Baker]

Insulating the ceiling or roof should improve the temperature of your shop by quite a lot. The stone wall may cause a moisture problem due to the stone being cold and the inside air being warm but once you get the stone warmed up you will have a great thermal mass to hold the heat.

[dan lemkin]

thanks
do you have recommendations for insulation for the rafters? Fiberglass? foam? How to attach?

[David G Baker]

Dan,
You may want to ask a pro when it comes to insulating rafters. I have read that there may be a problem with reflecting the heat back onto the roofing material. If I was going to do my rafters I would use foam. The foam will adhere to the roofing material.
I had a metal roof installed on one of my buildings and had 1 inch rigid sheets foam over OSB installed. I haven't noticed any problems so far.

[Jim Becker]

WOW! Didn't see that coming! Eighteen inch thick stone walls isn't something you see very often.

The 250 year old portion of our house has 18" thick limestone walls.

Yes, hard to insulate, but less important as long as the mortar is sound to keep air infiltration to a minimum. But insulating the ceiling will make a major difference.

[dan lemkin]

This stone is quarried (sp?) from somewhere locally - all gone. It was popular in the 30's and the house was built in 1938. It was a time when apparently due to the depression, skilled labor was cheap. The whole house is made from this stuff - 18" thick from basement foundation to roofline. Very hard, granite like with lots of mica. The contractor who tried to vent my microwave spent 3 days 2 hammer drills, and 5 bits trying to cut through it.

(Although if he had the right tools, it cuts fine... but needs a SDS-Max 6lb hammer)

Cute little house. You can huff and puff... Every contractor I have had in since, looks around and says... "this was the builders house" Great construction, quartersawn white oak everywhere.

I have heard that you should not insulate roofs because of moisture/heat issues...Is this a concern? It would be easy enough to get a bunch of 3" foam and rip it to width, and secure it between rafters. I may wait and see what it is like on the worst days this winter. If the heater works without struggling (at a reduced wattage output) I may ignore it for now.

[Dave Lehnert]

You can buy the pink insulation that is cut to width to fit between the rafters and it is warped in plastic so it does not shed everywhere.