DIY Dr Heater electric garage workshop heater install

[@bigdaddyjackworld]

HOUSE DOCTOR RAY THANK YOU!! If it wasn’t for your video I would’ve never read the instructions and figured this out! 2 power wires! Who would’ve known

[@bskifton]

My dude, this video is fantastic. Well done. Installing a thermostat-driven 7500w heater this weekend and this video was the perfect refresher and even gave me a few extra ideas so thank you!

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Glad you found it useful.

[@linzbach]

Outstanding video. Thanks for taking the time to make it and post it. It was literally exactly what I was looking for. Nice job!

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thanks. Love that heater. Thanks for watching.

[@ChicagoTechGuy]

Your work and explaining is unmatched in other diy stuff, I’m shocked you only have 5k followers, keep it up man, one day you will be huge!!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thanks for your kind words. I'm going to keep on plugging away. Thanks for watching.

[@IAMCROM69]

Appreciate you taking so much time to produce this video. Great info and nice install.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thanks for your kind words.

[@marcmoore5702]

Great video. I'm having an electrician install mine this week. I don't mess with 220.😅

[@jayfayalexa]

Great detail for DIYer. Thanks.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Glad you liked it. Stay warm!

[@gerrymcintosh4477]

Excellent installation. Thanks for posting.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thank you and thanks for watching.

[@brrman123]

Exactly the instructions I was looking for, thermostat and all. Great job, thanks!

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thank you. I'm really happy with the heater. Quiet and works well.

[@jimmollica7618]

Thank you! well done

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching.

[@dpgarage4501]

Thanks for the very informative video.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thanks for watching.

[@ReyShady05]

Great video. Do you think it would be safe to run this exact heater over night on low for about 8 hours? Cold nights in illinois this week. Wondering if that would be safe

[@HouseDoctorRay]

It's -5 here right now and my garage is 60. I've been running the Dr Heater for over 4 years now. I leave it on all winter. I leave the heater on high and let the optional wall thermostat turn it on and off. As long as you follow the installation instructions and leave plenty of clearance you'll be fine.

[@hdcat61]

Overall a good video, I have two of the DR-975 Heaters to install, and will be using one breaker for each heater. Did you use solid or stranded wire to power the heater? I know that solid wire is more rigid, but have found nothing to indicate what is recommended for the installation. Thank you in advance for your response.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thanks. It doesn't matter if you use stranded or solid as long as you use the correct gauge wire for your amp draw and run length. Once you go bigger than 10 gauge stranded is *a lot* easier to work with.

[@rcud1]

I set this up as well. This helped a lot. But the external thermostat didn't seem to work correctly. It would basically shut off the power to the heater, and then turn the power back on to the heater if I moved the dial, but the heater wouldn't actually kick on by itself and I still would have to use the remote. Not sure how that was supposed to work but I removed the the thermostat and just using it with the heater remote. This actually would be really simple if one could use 12 gauge wire instead of 8!

[@Thesimplehomeowner]

Very clear and informative video

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thanks. So far that heater has been great. I keep it set at 50° just so it's bearable in the cold.

[@Thesimplehomeowner]

@@HouseDoctorRay I'm getting read to install the 5k watt profusion heater in my shed (12 X 21ft ), might do a thermostat later. your video gave me some good ideas. who knows might even film it.

[@danielsink6227]

How do you balance the two thermostats? Say you want to use the wall thermostat only what do you set your heater thermostat on?

[@HouseDoctorRay]

I have the unit set to the highest setting and the wall thermostat set to 50°. The wall thermostat controls the temperature.

[@713HoustonTexans]

I have a similar heater are the coils supposed to turn red? My heater blows warm air but not as hot as I would expect it to be

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Not like a toaster but they do glow.

[@SIRRONW]

You are the man!! Great video, but imma stay in my lane and get a professional to hand it,,,lol

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Only do what you're comfortable with. The most expensive part of installing one is probably the cost of the wire right now.

[@peternelson9865]

Nice informative install. On a different note, What pants are those.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Dude, this is the best comment. I love my Costco convertible cargo pants.

[@dave6799]

Why did you use the thermostat on the unit if you wired the unit to a wall thermostat? Do you have to turn the unit thermostat to any position to use the wall thermostat?

[@HouseDoctorRay]

I put the stat on the unit to max and I have the stat on the wall set to 50°. I would prefer no stat on the unit since I'm using the wall stat but that's not an option.

[@dave6799]

@HouseDoctorRay So the stat on the unit has to be all the way up for the wall stat to operate? Btw, Great video! Very informative. Thanks for making it. I look forward to checking out more of your videos

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Yes. You don't necessarily need a separate wall stat for this unit but I was mounting mine high and didn't want to get a ladder to adjust it.

[@kipb2078]

Any idea if this heater can be wired in a fan only mode? Would like to use it as a fan only in the summer time and heater in the winter. To be clearer I don’t want the heater element turning on during the summer only the fan.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

It doesn't have a fan only setting. You'd have to open it up and hack it to do that.

[@kipb2078]

Thanks for the response. Kinda figured that would be the case, wish it would have fan only.

[@spyder357]

Can you run romex with the sheath on through the conduit instead of stripping where it enters from the ceiling. Any reasons for or against?

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Generally when running through conduit the wires should have the outer jacket removed. I believe it has to do with heat buildup. Check your local codes.

[@imlevitating4559]

Order the thermostat half way through the video instruction... then at the end realized that you have links... so I went and canceled the order and pushed your link and reordered the thermostat. What is the name and type of flex line that you have near the heater and box? And should it have been more flexible or smaller in your opinion...? Thanks!

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thanks for ordering through my link! The conduit is called 'flexible PVC conduit'. It is pretty stiff but it bends enough to point the heater where you want. I went with 1" because the 8ga wire is pretty thick. You could use flexible metal conduit as long as you make sure it gets grounded. The PVC is just much easier to work with. You should be able to get either at the big box stores or an electrical supply house, I got mine at HD.

[@michaelmclaughlin5748]

Do i leave unit thermostat on hi,and use thermostat on wall ?

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Yes. That's how I use mine.

[@thedadboddiaries8871]

Are you able to control your heater from the external thermostat? In other words does it turn off and on from your it?

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Yes, that is why I used it. I have my heater mounted pretty high and didn't want to have to get a ladder to adjust it.

[@thedadboddiaries8871]

@@HouseDoctorRay awesome! Thank you for the excellent video and quick reply!

[@erico5542]

Thank you!!

[@HouseDoctorRay]

You're welcome.

[@kerryschoolfield1537]

hey Ray. I like your videos. Im doing the door insulation today and will be looking for an electric heater next. I was wondering how effective you find your heater to be? Also, how cold is it outside the garage when you are using the heater and I assume finding it to make the garage acceptable to work in. thanks for any replyl

[@HouseDoctorRay]

I'm in the mountains of PA so it is regularly below 20. My garage is against the house on two sides and is well insulated. I keep the garage thermostat set around 50° and it easily maintains that.

[@TheJayriggio]

Hello doctor. I recently watched your video on the Dr Heater Garage Heater Install. I recently had the same unit installed in my 500 square foot 2 car garage. My issue is that the unit shuts off when the internal thermostat reaches 85 degrees. Unfortunately, the areas further away from the heater are about 15 degrees less than the internal temperature reading. Do you think installing a wall thermostat away from the heater will help with this issue? My hope is that installing a wall thermostat will allow the heater to run continuously until a more accurate garage temperature is reached. Thank you for your help.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

You could install a line thermostat as I did on the opposite side of the garage. I did this mainly for convenience because I'm only going to 55°. You might want to try this modification, just make sure the breaker is off. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4CmpY2YaZKXbJY

[@TheJayriggio]

@@HouseDoctorRay Thank you Ray. Appreciate your help.

[@rexliggett6142]

What size wire do I need to run to the thermostat? Am running 8 gage to the the breaker box to the heater. Tks.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

The size of the wire is dictated by the heater and how far it is from the breaker box. If you need 8 gauge wire for the heater then you should run 8 gauge wire to the thermostat.

[@rexliggett6142]

wow, I got it now, run wire from breaker box to thermostat , run wire from thermostat to heater I have the same setup as yours, only different is 7500watts, thermostat and heater use the same 40amp double poll breaker. Thanks for your great video and help.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Just double check the instructions on the thermostat.

[@markbrinton6790]

@@HouseDoctorRay I'm pretty sure the instructions call for 16 gauge wire to run from the thermostat to the device. I just got the Dr975 and only the 8 gauge runs from the panel to the unit. There is a toggle on the back for remote thermostat or unit thermostat. So, at least in my case, the full 8guage doesn't need to make the full loop. Does that sound correct to you?

[@HouseDoctorRay]

@@markbrinton6790 That sounds right for the DR975 as long as you are wiring the thermostat into the thermostat terminals on back of the heater. The DR966 I used did not have that option so I used a line thermostat that breaks the 220V going to the heater. When using a line thermostat it needs to be rated for the amperage of the device and wired with the same gauge wire as the heater.

[@michaelmorrisey39]

Great Ray

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Thanks. Glad you liked it.

[@mightyone1986]

You did a good job explaining, thank you. can you install my heater? lol

[@justintracy4988]

If your running romex why do you need flexible conduit

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Because you're not allowed to have the Romex running from the ceiling to the heater unprotected.

[@TheHeubach1234]

how did you close up the sheetrock?

[@HouseDoctorRay]

That piece of insulation board and sheetrock is still sitting in my garage! Just screw a few scraps to the studs, screw the piece in and tape it up.

[@Tom-Fisherman]

Great video, perfect cadence! A note to all that watch: CODE REQUIRES that you take black electrical tape and encircle the last inch or so visible of the white wire (before the entry into the breaker) with black tape!! That keeps morons from thinking your WHITE wire is a neutral wire, (White is the universal color for a neutral) rather, it is now used as HOT wire. It could save someones life, albeit a moron, but code nonetheless. Any home sale inspector would flip at that oversight, as would a code enforcement officer.

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Excellent point. Thanks for posting this.

[@daves2557]

Are you trolling Canadians or did I just hear you pronounce Canada as Ca neh de ah? Lol 🤦‍♂️

[@HouseDoctorRay]

Like I tell my kids: We are Americans, we live in America. They are Canadians, they must live in Canadia.

[@1buckola]

@@HouseDoctorRay WE ALL LIVE IN NORTH AMERICA.