Heater -- Working on bike over the winter | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Heater -- Working on bike over the winter

I mentioned the 40A heater I rented as I think 30A is more common? If you use a 40A receptacle for a higher rated heater you will also be able to use it for a 40A welder too (of course, when the heater is unplugged). One receptacle - and use it for both your welder and portable heater.

construction heaters work fast. real fast. l like.
 
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Heaters that heat you instead of the air around you Might be your best bet, you know like the ones outside at the airport?
I think Quartz heater might be the term you would be looking for ;)
 
Heaters that heat you instead of the air around you Might be your best bet, you know like the ones outside at the airport?
I think Quartz heater might be the term you would be looking for ;)
Those are the ones wingboy already brought up. Radiant/infra red is the more common term but we know what you are talking about. They are great if you are just out for a few minutes as it is instant heat. If I am out for a while, I prefer a larger heater that actually heats the air as I find it more comfortable than one warm beam in the center of a freezing space.
 
A battery blanket works pretty good for just your motor. they only draw ~ 50 watts (y)
 
OP: Make sure your garage is insulated before you start to invest in larger heaters
 
A big X2 for radiant heating.

If your garage is insulated and all the heat doesn’t just blown away through open soffits etc etc than space heating is fine and dandy. If, like my garage, it’s open rafters and open soffits, space heating is a total waste of effort, time, and money. You’ll still be working in the cold unless you have a furnace out there that can stay ahead of the losses with sheer BTU’s.

The direct radiant heating units (quartz or the satellite dish style heaters) work amazing In those situations however, just heating you...vs trying fruitlessly to heat the entire space.
 
A typical 4800W construction heater requires a 30 amp 240 volt receptacle. I use one to heat my double garage. I find it works much better if it’s on the floor rather than hung from the ceiling.

warm air rises
 
So the propane heater you were considering uses 1 lb propane bottles. That is probably the only fuel source more expensive than electricity. At 9000 btu, people are saying about 3 hours a bottle. At ~$9/bottle, you are at $0.33/1000 BTU. Electricity @ $0.15/ kWh is $0.04/1000 BTU. Damn, it's an order of magnitude more for small propane bottles.

Also, in the description "*WE ARE NOT ABLE TO SELL THIS PRODUCT TO CANADA AND MASSACHUSETTS* ". Yeah, I know it is on amazon.ca. Obviously there is something fishy going on.

EDIT:
From the manual:
"This heater requires a vent area of 9 square inches (example 3” x 3” opening) minimum for adequate ventilation during operation. Do not use other fuel burning appliances inside "
So you can operate it inside, but you need a vent. I wonder if that gets you a net heat loss or gain. I suspect loss.

Safety aside, for the record they sell the same model at Princess Auto, so not sure what that's all about. I personally have and use the Big Buddy 4,000-18,000 BTU model. They are all designed for either 1 lb. bottles for convenience, or a hose to go to a larger tank such as a 20 lb., which is how I have mine hooked up and costs about the same to fill (usually $8 at Costco for the ones that charge actual weight sold as opposed to flat rate). So assuming the same cost, divide your number by 20 and it's less than half the cost of electricity.
 
Last night I had dinner with an electrician that had just attained his master's licence and while the conversation was mostly non electrical he mentioned some changes to the ESA code of which I wasn't aware. One was that while a homeowner can do his own electrical work (With a permit) the work is limited to circuits of no more than 30 amperes IIRC. Beer was involved so the number might not be accurate.
 
Last night I had dinner with an electrician that had just attained his master's licence and while the conversation was mostly non electrical he mentioned some changes to the ESA code of which I wasn't aware. One was that while a homeowner can do his own electrical work (With a permit) the work is limited to circuits of no more than 30 amperes IIRC. Beer was involved so the number might not be accurate.
I don't think this is true. Homeowners are allowed to do their own electrical work providing they have the correct permits (notifications) and they comply with current electrical code. There is limit on circuit size.

Same goes for gas installs, although you do need a TSSA licenced installer to inspect and confirm a homeowner's work is up to code before activating a gas appliance.
 
I recall this has always been an option for electrical or gas?
inspection needs to be completed prior to enclosing and connecting to the source

I wired up my parents basement rec-room while in highschool
municipal electrical inspector had a looksie
signed-off, then I was allowed to wire up the breakers
then the paneling could go on the walls

this was late 70's
bylaw standard was fake wood paneling in basements :)
pretty sure we put down shag carpet too
 
Reminds me of when I bought my house. I had to upgrade the panel as the fuse sockets were corroded.

I had to get a permit, which I did, the utility had to come and remove the meter seal and meter to do the upgrade. The original homeowner ran a basement circuit into the panel using an extension cord, rather than unwiring it from the old panel, I just chopped it off outside the manel and left that circuit out of the refit. The ESA guy noticed the old panel sitting on the floor, and the orange extension cord that was run into the box. Start of sh&^show.

He made me yank a couple of panels off the walls adjacent to the new panel. We discovered the all the basement wiring was done with BX to the first connection then extension cords everywhere else. I had to open every single box in the basement for inspection. We had to remove 3 basement circuits and install 5 lights with pull switches to meet compliance.

I would have found and repaired the wiring eventually as I planned to renovate the lousy DIY everything the original homeowner did. I'm glad the inspector's great guess about more hidden extension cord wiring -- could have saved a catastrophe.
 
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Reminds me of when I bought my house. I had to upgrade the panel as the fuse sockets were corroded.

I had to get a permit, which I did, the utility had to come and remove the meter seal and meter to do the upgrade. The original homeowner ran a basement circuit into the panel using an extension cord, rather than unwiring it from the old panel, I just chopped it off outside the manel and left that circuit out of the refit. The ESA guy noticed the old panel sitting on the floor, and the orange extension cord that was run into the box. Start of sh&^show.

He made me yank a couple of panels off the walls adjacent to the new panel. We discovered the all the basement wiring was done with BX to the first connection then extension cords everywhere else. I had to open every single box in the basement for inspection. We had to remove 3 basement circuits and install 5 lights with pull switches to meet compliance.

I would have found and repaired the wiring eventually as I planned to renovate the lousy DIY everything the original homeowner did. I'm glad the inspector's great guess about more hidden extension cord wiring -- could have saved a catastrophe.
Haha. I was renting a basement apartment long ago. There was 18 or 20 gauge speaker wire going into the panel. Of course it went to a double tapped breaker. I disconnected it. A few days later my landlord asked why the lights and outlets in her powder room didnt work. I told her to call an electrician to fix her problem. She never did. I sure as hell wasnt going to die in a fire.

Same house, her stove hood gave up. I pulled the hood, marreted and taped the leads, tucked then up into the old hood and told her to call me when she had a new hood. Her 20 something yo son, for god knows what reason, took the marrettes off and tried to attach the hot and neutral together. Obviously that went well. Thankfully he wasnt badly hurt. I told him not to touch wiring again as he just didnt get it.
 
A neighbour was complaining about his detached garage shop fluorescents not coming on the winter. He had one 120 volt circuit fused at 30 amps fed underground through his garden with 16/3 cabtire and running two 1500 watt heaters. About 60 volts at the receptacles IIRC.
 
Reminds me of when I bought my house. I had to upgrade the panel as the fuse sockets were corroded.

I had to get a permit, which I did, the utility had to come and remove the meter seal and meter to do the upgrade. The original homeowner ran a basement circuit into the panel using an extension cord, rather than unwiring it from the old panel, I just chopped it off outside the manel and left that circuit out of the refit. The ESA guy noticed the old panel sitting on the floor, and the orange extension cord that was run into the box. Start of sh&^show.

He made me yank a couple of panels off the walls adjacent to the new panel. We discovered the all the basement wiring was done with BX to the first connection then extension cords everywhere else. I had to open every single box in the basement for inspection. We had to remove 3 basement circuits and install 5 lights with pull switches to meet compliance.

I would have found and repaired the wiring eventually as I planned to renovate the lousy DIY everything the original homeowner did. I'm glad the inspector's great guess about more hidden extension cord wiring -- could have saved a catastrophe.

a big win for socialism!

sorry....
wrong thread
 

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