Home Improvement Asked by WPNoviceCoder on July 16, 2021
Short version: I need to have a propane unit heater installed for a well-insulated 30’x50′ x 14′ ceiling garage in northern Minnesota. Should I run metallic cable to 20-amp outlet for a propane unit heater or just run the cable and leave slack for a future installation/installer?
I have a well insulated detached garage and the in-slab radiant boiler system is shot (boiler dead, plumbing bad, looking at >$4k to fix plus keep tabs on winter water lines to maintain it). I mothballed the slab lines with RV antifreeze for potential future use, but I’m planning for a forced-air propane unit heater instead as a replacement. (Won’t get a ton of winter use and only needs to be kept about 45 degrees inside to keep water/equipment happy.)
I plan on having a suitable Sterling propane unit installed, and it’s going to have to happen while I’m away. I want to get the electrical ready for potential installers. (Still trying to get bids submitted.) I’m told it just takes a 20-amp dedicated circuit, which I’ve already got thanks to the boiler circuit. I can easily re-route that power up into the corner where the forced air unit will go with some metal-shielded cable.
Do these units plug in with a 3-prong cord or should I leave the metallic cable with slack for the installers to patch it in directly?
Cover your bases. Install a 20A receptacle in a metal box. If the breaker is GFCI then use a standard receptacle. If the breaker is not GFCI then put in a GFCI/receptacle. Since this is a dedicated circuit, ideally you should install a single receptacle rather than the typical duplex.
If the installers want to plug in with a cord, all done. If they want to hardwire, they can do that in the same box. Either way, you've got everything they could need already in place. Worst case, you've spent a few dollars on an extra receptacle that isn't needed, but that's better than the opposite problem of having to pay extra for a second installation trip.
Answered by manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact on July 16, 2021
Installer finally got back to me (but not with a bid yet! Yikes these guys are busy.)
Anyway he told me not to use a GFCI receptacle or breaker -- it'll trip too often from the unit motor kicking on. Says there's a carve out for appliances and the usual GFCI rule. Having recently had to uninstall a laundry GFCI outlet (brand new) because a (also brand new) washer kept tripping it during spin, I know what he's talking about.
For future reference for anyone, with the unit to be mounted just below a 14' ceiling, he wants it 2 feet down from the ceiling, 2 feet from the corner where it will be placed.
Answered by WPNoviceCoder on July 16, 2021
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