Sprinkler room space heater

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bth0mas20

Senior Member
Location
Maryland
Im trying to find a good space heater for a small 5' x 5' sprinkler room attached to a row of townhouses. The existing space heater was only a 2ft baseboard heater 240v.

It needs to be tamper proof for the thermostat and atlease 2ft.

Any ideas?
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Im trying to find a good space heater for a small 5' x 5' sprinkler room attached to a row of townhouses. The existing space heater was only a 2ft baseboard heater 240v.

It needs to be tamper proof for the thermostat and atlease 2ft.

Any ideas?

I gather you are worried about freeze protection.

I don't think you can choose the heater by its physical size. I think you need to calculate what the worst case heat loss is going to be and figure out an appropriate heater based on the necessary heat output.

There are plenty of locking covers you can get to put over a thermostat.
 

bth0mas20

Senior Member
Location
Maryland
My concern is not for the heat. I already know this is more than capable of heating this room. Im looking for something that is more commercial grade and suitable for sprinkler rooms.

If the anwser is just a 2 ft residential baseboard heater than Im ok with that.
Im just seeing if anyone has recommendations.
 

shockin

Senior Member
I'm curious why the t-stat needs to be tamperpoof. With a room that small I can't imagine that there is anything other then the riser in there, in which case the door might get opened once a year. Who's going to tamper with it?

In regards to your heaters. I like to install two heaters in that situation on seperate circuits. The t-stats get set at 50 and 40 degrees. It serves two purposes. ONE if the first heater can't keep up ona really cold night the second makes up the differance. TWO if one fails and trips a circuits the second one takes over. Assuming this room will only be visited one a year for an inspection, how is anyone acutally going to discover that the heaters aren't working?
 

bth0mas20

Senior Member
Location
Maryland
this is an insurance job because someone gained access to this room and turned the heat up and caused the sprinkler to open....per the fire marshalls report.

Here's the fix from the property association.

Install a tamper proof thermostat and heater that is better suited for sprinkler room/commercial area.
 

barclayd

Senior Member
Location
Colorado
this is an insurance job because someone gained access to this room and turned the heat up and caused the sprinkler to open....per the fire marshalls report.

Here's the fix from the property association.

Install a tamper proof thermostat and heater that is better suited for sprinkler room/commercial area.

Hold the phone there Gracie - You're telling me that a 2' residential baseboard heater got the room to 180 degrees and popped a sprinkler?
That Fire Marshal, while possibly not a moron, is certainly inept.
db
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
We don't have these kind of problems here, but why didn't the sprikler installers just wrap the pipe with a pipe heater?

I have to say I have never seen that done, I see plenty of other kinds of pipes heat traced but never sprinkler pipes.

We typically use fan forced electric unit heaters in sprinkler rooms.

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If the sprinkler pipes are going to be in unheated areas they will either install a dry system or use glycol in the lines.
 

cowboyjwc

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Simi Valley, CA
I have to say I have never seen that done, I see plenty of other kinds of pipes heat traced but never sprinkler pipes.

We typically use fan forced electric unit heaters in sprinkler rooms.

url



If the sprinkler pipes are going to be in unheated areas they will either install a dry system or use glycol in the lines.

Like I said don't have those problems here.:) Well then I guess my next question would be, do you really need to put in a heater that goes up to 180 degrees?:roll::D
 
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iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Im trying to find a good space heater for a small 5' x 5' sprinkler room attached to a row of townhouses. The existing space heater was only a 2ft baseboard heater 240v.

It needs to be tamper proof for the thermostat and atlease 2ft.

Any ideas?


You might try one of these

http://www.thermalinc.com/comfort/PHT500.htm

Just wire around the built in thermostat and put a line volt stat in a lock box.

Or you might try one of these remote T-stats

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/PENN-Remote-Bulb-Thermostat-4E047?Pid=search
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Like I said don't have those problems here.:)

I have gone on a couple of calls were a sprinkler line froze and flooded areas. Glad I did not have to clean it up. :grin:


Well then I guess my next question would be, do you really need to put in a heater that goes up to 180 degrees.

I cannot think of a heater that does not have a high temp cutout.

Even baseboard heaters have a high temp cut out.
 

nhfire77

Senior Member
Location
NH
Hold the phone there Gracie - You're telling me that a 2' residential baseboard heater got the room to 180 degrees and popped a sprinkler?
That Fire Marshal, while possibly not a moron, is certainly inept.
db

Resi sprinklers are 135?, 150? or 165?

The setting must be at least 35? higher than the worst expected temperature.

Most commercial are 150?-180?. I'm generalizing that temp range.

I've seen a 2' resi heater in a sprinkler room have a thermostat failure causing that problem. I think those were 150?, and it was summer.

The temp cut out doesnt activate because the heat collects at the ceiling before it get high enough to stop it.
 

cowboyjwc

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Simi Valley, CA
I have gone on a couple of calls were a sprinkler line froze and flooded areas. Glad I did not have to clean it up. :grin:

Oh yeah not only is it a mess it can be a stinky mess if it's in black pipe. Where I used to work the fork lift guys would break one about once a year. We finally had to put limit switches on the lifts, because, as Ron White says, "you can't fix stupid.":grin:
 
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