Algoessailing Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Usually there is a place for "off topic" questions in forums but I didn't find one here, so move this post if necessary. In a discussion I had recently, it came up that we (in this part of the US) call all gas unit heaters "reznor" heaters. It likely stems from the fact that the Reznor factory is 30 mins away and 99% of the unit heaters used locally are Reznor brand. We (again, in this part of the US) are well aware of multiple manufacturers of unit heaters just as we are aware of Band-aid and Q-tip products. But I was curious, what is the general term used in other parts of the country? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta12 Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Space heater? Propane heater, garage heater? Are you using one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Central/forced air/furnace (ducted, vented) Wall heater (no ducting, vented, usually passive - no fans) Modine/shop heater/unit heater - hangin' offa ceiling heater, the kind I WANT in my studio (vented, usually fanned) Have heard all three of these terms, in the order Shop, Unit, Modine; my guess is you are asking about the rectangular things that hang from the ceiling or mounted high on a wall, e.g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 I've always called them unit heaters- the type that hangs in a shop. That's what I have in my studio. It's horrible for drying pots because the heat and air only move in one direction, and one side of the studio gets blasted and the other doesn't. It's also a very up-and-down heating cycle. I can feel when it's time for the heat to kick on. Then it gets nice and warm, then drops way down before it kicks on again. It must be a 7or 8 degree rise and fall. Of course, mine is very old- has a standing pilot and an old fashioned dial thermostat, so that may be part of the problem. It works, though, except for the couple of times we had 40mph winds from just the right direction that it blew down the flue and puffed out the pilot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Algoessailing said: But I was curious, what is the general term used in other parts of the country? Slang stuff I love it. Unit heater probably evolved from unitary heater as in it contains all the necessary items to heat such as a heat exchanger, some type of fuel, fan safeties, etc.. So my most popular universal designation is a suspended gas fired unit heater in the energy bus. but I have heard folks even refer to them locally as airplane hanger heaters, Reznor is certainly popular but they produce a much wider variety than the than the simple natural gas suspended heater. In the energy bus, use, configuration, fuel source are biggies so a suspended unit heater could be gas, oil, electric, hot water, heat pump, power vented, gravity vented .... on and on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 31 minutes ago, neilestrick said: It must be a 7or 8 degree rise and fall. With a remote mounted thermostat you should have a three degree differential between on and off heating cycles (Generally one up, two down) which is generally when most folks feel a temperature change. Depending on thermostat, this can be adjustable to reduce the swings. Also if old enough the anticipator setting can affect this as it needs to match the gas valve to match the cool down rate of the exchanger. If uncalibrated, pretty easy to set ..... google thermostat anticipator settings. Of course thermostat location, thermal diversity and this should point in the direction of your largest losses such as a line of windows for max. comfort heating. Should be able to smooth out your swings a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Suspended space heater is what I call them My shop had a floor standing space heater with pilot flame and knob constrol-I do not use the thermostat funtion at all. I have mounted my heater off the wall about 4 feet up so I have all the table and floor space for use with clay stuff. There is no fan in m,y unit-its an old Dearboarn vented heater-I replaced the valve a few years ago .These are long gone nowdays. Good small heaters (natural gas are hard to fine out west) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algoessailing Posted January 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2021 Reznor. I suppose I have heard them called shop heaters. I can't think of a place I've worked that doesn't have one, or ten. I love the simplicity of the old ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algoessailing Posted January 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2021 I had never heard of Modine. Seems as though they invented the unit heater in 1918. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted January 31, 2021 Report Share Posted January 31, 2021 We call em bar heaters around here, they're always at bars and small concert venues. I've heard reznor before too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted January 31, 2021 Report Share Posted January 31, 2021 I use one similar to what @Hulkposted. I is really only for cool Fall and Spring days as heating in the Winter makes no sense in my brick uninsulated shop. I have found that if I want to just keep the shop from freezing or getting too cold I leave it on the lowest setting overnight. Then in the morning I can turn it up and work without freezing cold. I also like to up the ducts towards the wood ceiling as then the heat is more even consistently. Most days the heater has to be turned down once it gets warmed up. best, Pres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted January 31, 2021 Report Share Posted January 31, 2021 Pres why have you not insulated that shop yet?-wall covered ? no access? Insulation is easy to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.