Marley, QMark heater warning.

[bullheimer]

i just want to give you guys a heads up, that when installing these guys' heaters you are going to have to run the home run TO THE HEATER, despite them selling you THEIR OWN Line voltage thermostat that looks like every other line voltage thermostat i've ever seen, complete with Line and Load marked on them. If you run the wire to the stat first you will risk burning up the unit (if over 1000W) as they say "the fan must run after the heater shuts off or you will burn up the unit!"

i am having to remove the heater can, to my 4Kw unit, (which, thank God, is big enough for me to fit thru), and run a new wire from the heater to the stat because of this. Same goes for the QMark 2 KW heater i have in the ceiling. And NO the Directions DONT say to do this, they said their wiring diagram shows this, but is it borderline worthless, not showing any line in wires other than from the stat.

And if that isnt enough, the wire entering the QMark heater can is within an inch of, and above, the heating element!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no way to move them. what a joke, i hate these guys. jmtc's. "this bar will be closed in three weeks and that's alright with me".

 

[peter d]

Which model in particular has this issue? I've never seen that requirement on the small units they make with an internal stat, so I'm guessing this is the larger units?

 

[Sierrasparky]

Iteresting as you used to be able to use a wall stat and you just did not have the fan run on feature. You i guess they want you to buy the relay and low voltage stat.

 

[bullheimer]

large unit is the Marley FCH 542, small ones are the Marley U Series U1000, AKA QCH 1101, 1000W (they said it wouldn't hurt it), and the U2004 AKA OCH 1202, 2000W unit they said it would.

honestly, the only thing i can see it hurting is their wires right next to the heater frying. i'm going to live to regret these things. (however, they were CALLED OUT in the spec sheets, so I am not the one that picked these pigs out). i have installed six. 4 are 1KW and i am not changing the way they are wired. if the wires fry, i feel it's on them for putting the wires where they are. besides, there is basically NO attic space. i can reach the 4Kw unit only by removing it's can, and the 2kw unit is by the attic access hole, and in both cases, the stats are within 5 or 6 feet.

btw these are not low voltage stats. the wires inside the 4KW unit to the stat are only like 16 ga!!! but the tech rep said that is because they are short and for me to run 10ga wire from the heater to the stat and use the stats they sent me.
also note these are all ceiling fans, which may be what necessitates the run on feature, i dont know.

 

[bullheimer]

ALSO be forwarned that althought the smaller units come with the mounting cans, the larger unit did NOT and had to be ordered seperately, and it cost over $150!!!!!:jawdrop:

AND.... all the smaller units also came with built in On/Off switches, while the larger one also did NOT and i am still waiting, and i am asking how much it is right now, ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SIX DOLLARS?? ARE U OOYF MIND???? :jawdrop::jawdrop::jawdrop: FOR A TOGGLE SWITCH???
I JUST CANCELED IT. I'LL PUT A DAMNED LOCK ON THE BREAKER.:rant:

 

[texie]

Sorry the OP had issues, but I have to say that this is not a Marley/Qmark issue. Many brands of small forced air heaters work like this if you want to use a line voltage thermostat. If you study the wiring diagrams it becomes obvious why this is so.
We electricians need to be more diligent in reading instructions before committing to rough in wiring.

 

[bullheimer]

agreed that the omission in the instructions might have caused me to call the tech line and ask them wtf was going on had i bothered to read them. maybe i live a sheltered life. i've never seen one like this ever before, and i've replaced a few. and the markings on their own stat lulled me into a false security. maybe being from the seattle area i almost always use just Kings (pic-a-watts), mfg'd here locally. regardless, the wire location above the heating element dissuades me from ever buying another U series. and the price of the can and the on/off ensures i will never ever buy another marley product.

 

[ActionDave]

I would be surprised to see a fan forced unit that did need power to run the fan after the t-stat opened.

 

[GoldDigger]

I would be surprised to see a fan forced unit that did need power to run the fan after the t-stat opened.

Once was an extra in some movie shooting in an old grange building near Sutter's Mill. It was a hot day, the building had no cooling and with all of the lights (powered from a generator in their lighting truck outside) it was 120+ on the ground inside.
Suddenly one of the ceiling heaters came on. Horrible noise. Checked the 'stat and it was clearly off. What had happened was that the temperature at the ceiling had gotten high enough (~140F) to turn on the fan. Had to find the breaker and kill it.
Did not want to think about the old wiring on the ceiling...

 

[renosteinke]

This can't be a new issue .... my 1957 Rheem unit is the same way- the blower runs to purge the chamber after the flame drops out.

 

[bullheimer]

I really didnt intend this to just be me bagging on Marley. I would rather that this be just a heads up on the routing of the wiring on this brand of heater. but all things considered, one of them being this heating unit cost me $500, which is, i think, quite high.

so if any of you know other brands of heaters that require this same wiring, as some have already said, please list them here so that we know whats up if we search for it, and you don't make the same mistake as me. hopefully this thread might be enough reason to look into it further before ordering. you don't want to be me right now!

so ad Rheem, from Reno; now texie?

 

[texie]

Bullheimer-
Another example would be a Broan model 198 off the top of my head. There are many. It may be of interst to you to know that not all electric resistance heaters are created equal, hence why the Qmark seems so expensive. This is due to the quality of the heating element. A better heater (read more expensive) will have a steel sheath with fins element as oppsosed to an exposed wire element. The advantage is much more thermal mass and longer life.
This is in reference to your PM. Hope this helps.

 

[iwire]

I would be surprised to see a fan forced unit that did need power to run the fan after the t-stat opened.

I agree, the only time I would run a feed to the stat first would be with baseboard heat. Anything with a fan the home run would run to the unit.

 

[bullheimer]

Not a Pic-A-Watt. but those are wall heaters. learning every post.

another complaint i am happy to make with the U-series is that when you open the grill and mounting sides (it's 3 piece), the grill is hard to detach. same goes for when you screw up and have to remove it.

but on install, on three out of the 5 units i put up, the screw heads do not fit into the recess hole for them, causing the grill to not fit properly, and if it clips on at all, you will see how it is all hosed up. the only cure was to drill out the recess holes to fit the screw heads, because the grill fits over the tops of them. i will admit i hosed the wiring, but since i am here talking about them i am letting you know the other problems i am having with them. and oh yeah, they all have 4 pin connectors inside that the units receive their power and the stats also, on only two out of the 5 did they just slide right on, the rest the pins would never seem to line up, it was a really pita to the max. and to top that off, there was no 'snap', or positive locking, of the connectors together, so basically there is nothing holding them together. really pathetic.