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Fan recommendation needed

Damon McLaughlin

Damon McLaughlin

Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
307
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415
Location
Eastern Washington
In my small 12x16 shop I have a 220v heater. It does a great job at keeping my shop warm especially with the newly insulated floor. With the high ceiling the temperature high up is about 75 while down by the feet it is around 65. Middle of the shop is about 68.

I'm thinking about mounting a fan up high that will push some of the warm air down so that the temperature is closer to being consistent throughout. I'm wondering if a low volume fan of some sort would be better, my concern with a high volume fan is moving more dust than heat. I don't think that I want a ceiling fan as it might give me the feel of a lower ceiling, I like the height that I have now.

Any suggestions?
 
There are a number of floor fans that are on stands that tilt and in a shop that size you wouldn't need much. You wouldn't need much of a fan to move cold air up to the ceiling. Other than that, a ceiling fan, and there are many of them, but probably not enough room in your shop for one of them...

robo hippy
 
Thanks Reed for the idea. A ceiling fan would work and be above my head but the perception of a lower ceiling would probably make my shop feel smaller. I like your idea of a floor model fan. With limited floor space your idea would work with something like this or this, where I can either mount the fan up high and push warm air down or on the floor and push cold air up. Any idea which might be better?
 
The Vornado brand is likely a more efficient design. You could mount it high on the wall with a variety of little clamps or byackets from the plumbing and electrical aisles.
If the air flow needs more control attach a large diameter cradboard tube or box (bigger than the fan) to the fan outflow and put the air where you want it.
 
A wall mount fan with articulating arm would allow you to use it for several purposes, winter time angle towards the ceiling, summer time aim it to provide air for personal cooling.
 
Ceiling fan blowing up in the winter and blowing down in the summer. Used to sell fans. Worth the money on heat/cooling savings. Wouldn't live in a house without them. We bought our house in 1996 and that was one of the first things we did after moving in. Remember, a fan will have different speeds- turn it on medium or high to get the room stabilized and switch to low or off. A wall mount wouldn't be as efficient as it would only be moving air to one place. Ceiling fan will move air equally mounted in the center of the shop or close to the center. Also, look at the pitch of the blade. Some are almost flat and move little air, even on high. I had people think that the longer the blade, the better. Wrong! The more pitch, like a boat propeller, the better. I think the Minka-Aire brand we carried had a pitch of 12 degrees. Hope this helps.
 
With a 12x16 shop you don't have an excessive amount of air to move to equalize the thermal layer in the room. Another possible solution would be a round duct with an inline fan mounted at the peak of the ceiling pulling the hot air down and dispersing it at the floor level. You could even mount a wall grill on an exterior wall at the floor and route the ductwork in the wall and mount the fan at the floor level or ceiling level to provide a clean install.

Many years ago I worked for a solar company that built passive solar panels that mounted on roofs and sidewalls, these simple solar panels work great for heating a day time shop. Winter months on a sunny day they start kicking out heat around 9:30 in the morning and continue to generate heat until the sun starts to set in the afternoon. A small inline thermostat controlled fan pushes cold air through the panel and returns it to the room to be heated. As soon as the solar panel reaches operating temperature the fan starts up and circulates the warm air into the building. When the solar panel stops receiving sun light and cools down the thermostat shuts the inline fan off.
 
Mike Johnson said:
With a 12x16 shop you don't have an excessive amount of air to move to equalize the thermal layer in the room. Another possible solution would be a round duct with an inline fan mounted at the peak of the ceiling pulling the hot air down and dispersing it at the floor level. You could even mount a wall grill on an exterior wall at the floor and route the ductwork in the wall and mount the fan at the floor level or ceiling level to provide a clean install.

Many years ago I worked for a solar company that built passive solar panels that mounted on roofs and sidewalls, these simple solar panels work great for heating a day time shop. Winter months on a sunny day they start kicking out heat around 9:30 in the morning and continue to generate heat until the sun starts to set in the afternoon. A small inline thermostat controlled fan pushes cold air through the panel and returns it to the room to be heated. As soon as the solar panel reaches operating temperature the fan starts up and circulates the warm air into the building. When the solar panel stops receiving sun light and cools down the thermostat shuts the inline fan off.
Click to expand...

I was just thinking this evening that a low volume fan with a duct to the floor level would work, just like you had mentioned. And I have such a fan sitting around in the shed some place so I might see how that works before I spend money on a wall fan.
 
When you add the duct work consider adding in an air filter. You could improve the temp and make the air cleaner at the same time.
 
Both those fans could work. Some after thought, is your heater on the floor? Convection currents (hot air rises, cold air sinks) could do a lot as in the heater on one side of the shop on the floor and as that hot air rises, it pulls the cooler floor air into the heater and up it goes, circular air flow....

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
Both those fans could work. Some after thought, is your heater on the floor? Convection currents (hot air rises, cold air sinks) could do a lot as in the heater on one side of the shop on the floor and as that hot air rises, it pulls the cooler floor air into the heater and up it goes, circular air flow....

robo hippy
Click to expand...

My heater is on the table saw, so about 34" or so off the floor. My concern about leaving it on the floor is the heater not being in my line of sight to make sure shavings don't get too close to it. But I can see how placing it on the floor would be better so I'll have to think about that.

In the mean time I decided to get a small clip on personal fan just to move the air ever so slightly. Its at floor level and pointed up. Today the floor was only five degrees cooler than the walls and ceiling so I probably don't have to over think it.
 
robo hippy said:
... Convection currents (hot air rises, cold air sinks) could do a lot as in the heater on one side of the shop on the floor and as that hot air rises, it pulls the cooler floor air into the heater and up it goes, circular air flow....
Click to expand...

The effect isn't very significant unless there is a very large temperature gradient from floor to ceiling. Maybe this world be the case up north where winter temperatures are a lot colder than they are here.
 
I took Reed's suggestion and put the heater down on the floor. It made a difference. The floor and walls are close to the same temp, the ceiling a few degrees warmer but that is to be expected. Combined with the newly insulated floor my feet are now quite happy and in less pain.
 
If your shop floor is concrete, that can be more than the 5 degree temperature difference. Putting some sort of laminate over it would help with extra insulation, or pads too. I do not like standing on concrete...

robo hippy
 
A ceiling fan will take the warmer air at the ceiling and direct it down. I keep my heaters on the floor. As robo hippy said, circular air motion.
 
Oil filled space heaters are readily available at the big box and discount stores at a reasonable price (<$50). They're much slower to warm up than the ceramic and milk house heaters and lack a fan, but they're safe.

I added a hard wired 220v wall heater with fan, which was surprisingly economical to buy, and it REALLY warms up my similar sized unheated garage shop in a hurry. I turn it and a water filled baseboard heater on when I enter, and while I'm getting organized and sharp and whatnot, the wall heater has heated things up to 58-60. For safety, I turn it off before making shavings even though it's well above the floor level, and the baseboard maintains the heat for as long as I'm in the shop (plus a couple hours more :)) You could do the same with a pair of 120v plug ins. Just a thought.
 
I suppose it was missed in my original post that I didn't want a ceiling fan because of the limited head room. I already have a 220v 5800 watt heater which is way more than this little shop needs. I've since placed it lower in the shop and all is well.
 
Damon, sounds like a good choice. I would have to run a 220V to my shop from the panel in the den. This would cause severe nerve impulses in the lower lumbar region. My four basement outlets are on one circuit breaker. Had to run an extra line to keep from tripping the breaker. That was not a good experience.
 
Just a thought on another way to go...
If you had (or have) a ceiling mounted air filter (I have the WEN...very similar to the Jet an Rikon models), it would keep the air moving and filter the dust.
That should move your warm air enough to even out your heat.
 
Damon McLaughlin said:
I suppose it was missed in my original post that I didn't want a ceiling fan because of the limited head room. I already have a 220v 5800 watt heater which is way more than this little shop needs. I've since placed it lower in the shop and all is well.
Click to expand...
Sorry, must have missed that and made the assumption it was a 1500w portable heater. Carry on.
 
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