What's new

how to heat a small iba??

jack954

Active member
Joined
Jul 11, 2020
Messages
195
Reaction score
114
Points
43
i have a small iba with a new ww razor with airlift doors. there is not enough room on ceiling or walls above rails for a tube heater. it is an end bay though with block walls, and my thought is to attach some type of heater to the outside wall and knock out a couple of blocks to force heat through.
has anyone been in this situation and has come up with a solution? any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated
 

washnshine

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 21, 2014
Messages
1,990
Reaction score
1,525
Points
113
Location
NY
i have a small iba with a new ww razor with airlift doors. there is not enough room on ceiling or walls above rails for a tube heater. it is an end bay though with block walls, and my thought is to attach some type of heater to the outside wall and knock out a couple of blocks to force heat through.
has anyone been in this situation and has come up with a solution? any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated
Regarding a tube heater - it does not need to be above the rails or bridge. You can install it right on your side walls at just about any level. I have seen this many times in small, narrow bays.

And if you do decide to attach some type of forced air heater instead, what is on the other side of the bay - is it an equipment room? It might make more sense to move heat through the other side if you have an equipment room there.
 

jack954

Active member
Joined
Jul 11, 2020
Messages
195
Reaction score
114
Points
43
thanks for the tube heater info, i feel like anywhere below the rails would be directly hit with the high pressure pass. what’s your thoughts on that? unfortunately i am 3 bays away from the equipment room., i have a self serve bay on one side and nothing on the other as the automatic bay sits at the end of 6
 

HeyVern

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2021
Messages
402
Reaction score
460
Points
63
If you have attic space, you could mount a forced air unit there. Or a roof top unit.
 

jack954

Active member
Joined
Jul 11, 2020
Messages
195
Reaction score
114
Points
43
thanks, but i have a flat concrete roof and did that at another location about 20 years ago and hoping not to have to go that route again
 

HeyVern

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2021
Messages
402
Reaction score
460
Points
63
thanks, but i have a flat concrete roof and did that at another location about 20 years ago and hoping not to have to go that route again
You can mount a unit on the roof and duct it down the wall and into the bay, if you're worried about the roof penetration. Or, build some wall brackets and hang the whole thing on the wall.
 

lighthousecarwash

Active member
Joined
Sep 29, 2009
Messages
328
Reaction score
56
Points
28
Location
Missouri
Saw your post on Facebook as well....thought this would be a better place to reply. Do you have floor heat in the bays, or is a tube heater the only option? I have floor heat with an attic. I insulate the hell out of the attic and with the floor heat running, the Razors never even weep. I know you have a flat roof, but if you have floor heat in that bay, you might be OK without any other heat source.

Thanks,
Lighthouse
 

Blanco

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 30, 2021
Messages
396
Reaction score
395
Points
63
Wow thats a tight fit. If I were you I would forget about heating the bay. You don't need to. You need to heat the machine. Get a 40-50 gallon hot water tank, 5 gallon reservoir, circulating pump, and some 1/2" hose. Fill the hot water tank with antifreeze and water 50/50. Run the hose through your igus and zip tie to any hose in the bridge on your machine that carries water/chemical then run it back. With that set up you can run without doors up to -20. If someone hits your door then your still in business. No forced air heat can compete with that.
 

jack954

Active member
Joined
Jul 11, 2020
Messages
195
Reaction score
114
Points
43
as always, thanks for the thoughts and suggestions!
 

Keno

Well-known member
Joined
May 30, 2022
Messages
746
Reaction score
478
Points
63
Wow thats a tight fit. If I were you I would forget about heating the bay. You don't need to. You need to heat the machine. Get a 40-50 gallon hot water tank, 5 gallon reservoir, circulating pump, and some 1/2" hose. Fill the hot water tank with antifreeze and water 50/50. Run the hose through your igus and zip tie to any hose in the bridge on your machine that carries water/chemical then run it back. With that set up you can run without doors up to -20. If someone hits your door then your still in business. No forced air heat can compete with that.
Really like this idea, we don't get enough cold days to justify a system like this in GA, but this would be a good choice if we were somewhere colder. This would probably be a very energy efficient method for freeze protection.
 
Top