Heating shop with tall ceiling...

[wcialrlter]

My 40x60' shop has 18-22 foot tall ceiling. I feel like I'm throwing away money trying to heat this whole space above my head...

Would ceiling fans blowing down help?

Drop ceiling is out of the question...storage all the way up walls and a lift...

Building is fully insulated (almost...gotta finish the ceiling)

I'm installing a new unit that should be able to heat a building twice the size I have easily and want to get it up and running as effecient as possible. I assume I would want the vents as close to the floor as possible right?

[dropride]

The shop i work in is the same dimensions but 16' ceilings. We have 2 big ceiling fans running all day to blow the air back down.

[nate379]

If your ceiling isn't insulated, that is the big thing. Our shop is ~75'x75' with a 40' ceiling. (tall enough to pull tractor trucks in and have a gantry crane over that without hitting the big lights which is on top of that)

Heated slab is all that's used and it stays 80* in there. Usually I have a couple of the doors open cause it's too damn hot. Why they won't fix the thermostat, dunno... USAF wasting money again.

[wcialrlter]

Ceiling will be insulated soon..so aside from that...

[D60]

Would ceiling fans blowing down help?

Yes.

My shop is similar to yours, 40x50 w 19' inner peak. I heat it w just a two-barrel 55gal wood stove and Magic Heat heat exchanger. Once the stove has pumped out some heat I turn on the fans on low to push it down. It helps.

Next time you're heating your shop, climb up your tallest ladder and note the difference in temp.

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/308099/fullsize/igshop-048.jpg

[nate379]

I agree there. In our shop there is a 2nd floor open to the bay which is the ceiling of the offices. It's about 15' off the ground. It's a good 20-25* hotter up there.

[R290]

Ceiling will be insulated soon..so aside from that...


run the fan backwards so it blows up, this way the hot air will blow down the side walls. summer run it blowing down, winter blowing up.:D

[D60]

Reversible fans would be sweet for all sorts of reasons but I've yet to find a reasonably priced, readily available industrial fan that will push enough air at such height (I crank 'em in the summer) and can be reversed w a wall switch...........'cause climbing up there to pull a chain ain't so convenient LOL.

I'm sure such fans are out there, but not for $50 ea at Home Depot.

[randii]

...'cause climbing up there to pull a chain ain't so convenient LOL.
Put a larger ball on the 'reverse' chain, and you can use a long pole to actuate it from the ground. A couple sticks of thinnish conduit joined together in the middle, with one end hammered flat, then split into curled 'fingers works surprisingly well... I used a shorter one at Robbs Valley Resort to switch their fans... it was simple, but effective. The curled 'fingers' and slot that starts wide at the tip and narrows to a vee allows you to catch the 'ball' in the wide part, and then pulls up until it is snug.

Randii

[D60]

Put a larger ball on the 'reverse' chain, and you can use a long pole to actuate it from the ground. A couple sticks of thinnish conduit joined together in the middle, with one end hammered flat, then split into curled 'fingers works surprisingly well... I used a shorter one at Robbs Valley Resort to switch their fans... it was simple, but effective. The curled 'fingers' and slot that starts wide at the tip and narrows to a vee allows you to catch the 'ball' in the wide part, and then pulls up until it is snug.

Randii

Absolutely, or just a longer chain period. But it doesn't change the fact that I'm not aware of any "industrial" fans which are reversible that won't cost an arm and a leg. For the average joe consumer it seems to get reversible you step into typical household fans, which are more or less meant to be on an 8' ceiling, give or take, and won't push air like the big 3-blades.

With my fans on high it sounds like a mini tornado, but fans intended to be in a home are of course purposely "de-tuned" so to speak, plus you can get the sweet faux wood grain blades and cheesy lights :D

Maybe someone can post up a link to some relatively affordable (and by that I mean in the ballpark of the $50 Home Depot specials which are good IME), industrial, reversible fans??

[87manche]

check here:
http://www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&storeId=10001&productId=276354&langId=-1&division=TekSupply&pageId=ItemDetail&isDoc=N

That's for the wall mounted fan controller/reverser, they've got 56" industrial ceiling fans for about $60.
The controllers are good for 15A, so you should be able to run more than one fan from the same controller.

[D60]

check here:
http://www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&storeId=10001&productId=276354&langId=-1&division=TekSupply&pageId=ItemDetail&isDoc=N

That's for the wall mounted fan controller/reverser, they've got 56" industrial ceiling fans for about $60.
The controllers are good for 15A, so you should be able to run more than one fan from the same controller.

Aha! It looks like this 60" one is reversible, $88 each:
http://www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&storeId=10001&productId=45005&langId=-1&division=TekSupply&pageId=ItemDetail&isDoc=N

The 56" model is not spec'd as reversible.

[bkfj55]

www.bigassfan.com


it is even endorsed by the Fridge :grinpimp:


bk

[diabolic kustoms]

I got a 40 x 75 with 16' side walls and besides the in floor we use a radient heater with 6 celing fans that are reversible (with a wall switch) that we got at menards for something like $55 each.

[MQYJ]

FWIW, when I redid the heating system in my house I had a couple heating contractors out to figure up quotes. I asked one of them as he was calculating, if the vaulted ceiling area is figured differently than say a standard 8' ceiling. He said it made no difference at all. I'm still unsure why. I really don't think that your high ceiling is making that huge of a difference in your heating costs as long as the blower on your furnace is adequate to exchange the air at a reasonable/fast enough rate.

[Joey D]

Heat rises so if you have high ceilings you need to heat more sq footage. Ceiling fans will help with air movement bringing the warm air down. I have seen fan setups that have the intake up at the top of the ceilings and duct down to the floor and blow the air across the floor. Worked better than a ceiling fan and looked easy to fab up.