philosopheriam
aka: Mr. Awesome
So, as an early Christmas present, my dad bought me a 240V 5000 BTU electric heater for my garage. I'm constantly working on a myriad of projects over winter, and the heater makes a welcomed addition to the Haas fully-insulated 13.48 R-value garage doors I recently had installed
Before installing the heater, I had to work out some electrical issues - I only had one space in my main panel remaining for a double-pole breaker, and I wanted the flexibility to add some additional 240V tools (welder, air compressor) down the road. So, I installed an expainsion load center next to my main panel - the expansion center is rated for 100A, 6 circuits (or x3 240V circuits)
I installed a 50A double-pole breaker in my main panel and ran 6GA wire to the expansion center. To remain in code compliance, all wires were run inside appropriate sized metallic conduit. The conduit acts as the ground, so, no need to run additional ground wires. Then, I installed a 30A double-pole breaker in the expansion center and ran 10GA wire up to the heater.
To mount the heater, I took a pice of 3/4" plywood and cut it to 18" x 6". I drilled the ends at 16" on center so I could use 4" drwywall screws to mount the piece into the ceiling joists. I drilled the center of the mounting plate and put a 3/8" carriage bolt through it - this bolt protrudes down and goes through the center of the heater mounting bracket. It allows me to swivel the heater, if desired.
With some assistance from my dad, the project took about 3hrs (this includes buying all the necessary items from Home Depot).
Overall, I tested all the wiring, all is good, and the heater works wonderfully!!!
Before installing the heater, I had to work out some electrical issues - I only had one space in my main panel remaining for a double-pole breaker, and I wanted the flexibility to add some additional 240V tools (welder, air compressor) down the road. So, I installed an expainsion load center next to my main panel - the expansion center is rated for 100A, 6 circuits (or x3 240V circuits)
I installed a 50A double-pole breaker in my main panel and ran 6GA wire to the expansion center. To remain in code compliance, all wires were run inside appropriate sized metallic conduit. The conduit acts as the ground, so, no need to run additional ground wires. Then, I installed a 30A double-pole breaker in the expansion center and ran 10GA wire up to the heater.
To mount the heater, I took a pice of 3/4" plywood and cut it to 18" x 6". I drilled the ends at 16" on center so I could use 4" drwywall screws to mount the piece into the ceiling joists. I drilled the center of the mounting plate and put a 3/8" carriage bolt through it - this bolt protrudes down and goes through the center of the heater mounting bracket. It allows me to swivel the heater, if desired.
With some assistance from my dad, the project took about 3hrs (this includes buying all the necessary items from Home Depot).
Overall, I tested all the wiring, all is good, and the heater works wonderfully!!!