propane heater bacement

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jimcope

New Member
Aug 1, 2008
86
howell mi
Truth be told I wouldn't put either of them in a closed space, especially not a bedroom. Unvented and easy to tip over are a bad combo.

A water or oil filled baseboard electric heater is much safer and won't generate moisture like the gas unit. It should be cheaper to install and run than propane as well.
 
I would go with BG's suggestion.

In my opinion propain heaters are best used in a garage and not indoors.
 
jim c said:
I am looking at two propane heaters from tractor supply co both being 30.000 btu made by ashley sku number 2151823 and 2151865 not for sure what one to get. its going down in the bacement Any input
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...10551_10001_43375_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...10551_10001_43379_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1
Thanks jim

I have several in our home and love them. That prices seems a bit high though. I usually buy the Procom brand and only buy when on-sale. 30K model with thermostat in the infrared version often sells for $180. Harbor Freight and Northern often have the sales. I've had the open-flame type (Blue Flame) and the infrared catylitic - and the latter works much nicer.

Our primary heat is from a wood furnace. We only use these non-vented heaters for - either getting one room warmer than the rest of the house - or during mild weather when I'm too lazy to get the wood furnace going. We use them a lot in the early Fall.

All those non-vented heaters rely on a house with enough natural air flow. With most older homes, there's no problem. A newer super-tight home - maybe? They have low OX sensors and shut themselves down.

In regard to CO ?? I don't know. We have CO detectors all over our house and they've only gone off twice. Both times from my wife cooking with our wood-fired bake over and forgetting she left smoldering coals in there with the damper closed.
 
I've been looking at www.hydrosil.com. Safe, made in the US too.

We have a new unheated sun room with hot tub that I may put the portable unit in; if we do, it'll be considered "living space" if we ever sell. As it is, in southern sun, it sits between 65-70F in temps as low as 10F. I don't really see the point in heating it, but it might make morning use a bit more comfortable. Then again, once you hit the H20 of the hot tub, it doesn't matter what the air temp might be :)
 
Looks like a nice little unit. I'm not sure about how well it is sized for the job. Need some more information.

Is there any heat already in the basement? What is the room size you are trying to heat? Are the exterior walls insulated?
 
i had a 30,000 BTU Empire Propane heater (vent free), prior to my jotul, and loved it for my basement. I had it mounted to my wall. Heated my basement from 58* up to 72*. It has an Oxygen depletion sensor built in, where the whole system would shut down if the oxygen in the room was approaching a dangerous level. I had a CO detector in the same room and it never even registered any levels. HOWEVER, i have an old house with a stone foundation and it is very drafty in my basement, so there was probably plenty of fresh air coming in. I would not have one in a "tight" home.

(when i was asking about these two years ago, my installer recommended Empire. I had asked about others such as charm-glo or glo-warm, as they were much cheaper, but he would not install those. So Empire it was, and the thing was a beast!!) If i hadn't switched to Nat. Gas as my main source of heat, i'd still be using it to heat my basement. But since i can't have two sources of gas coming into the house, i went with a little wood stove, and couldn't be happier!!

If your basement is NOT tightly constructed/insulated, I wouldn't shy from one. However, i would get a good quality unit.
 
I call detroit edison my electric co they told me if i ran a 1500 watt heater 24 hours a day that would come to 30 dollars a day. I can not see how a eletric heater would save me money. She might of not told me the right information I am confused at this point getting heat to the basement should not be this mind bending. comments please
Jim
 
Well, for an accurate comparison you would need to know how much fuel any heater uses. Electric is easy. But how much propane do those others burn?

Also, the 1500 watt oil filled electric I have has a thermostat built into it, when it gets the room up to temp, it only kicks on every now and again to maintain the temp, therefore not running 24hrs a day.
 
jim c said:
I call detroit edison my electric co they told me if i ran a 1500 watt heater 24 hours a day that would come to 30 dollars a day. I can not see how a eletric heater would save me money. She might of not told me the right information I am confused at this point getting heat to the basement should not be this mind bending. comments please
Jim

1.5kw x 24 hrs = 30 KWh. If your rate is $1.00 per KWh you have a serious electrical bill. Actually I'm guessing that your rate is less than $0.20/KWh. Hmm, does she belong in this position?

Once the room is warmed up, the unit will cycle, it will not run 24/7 unless it is too small for the task which brings me back to the previous question. Please answer with room size and insulation info.
 
jim c said:
I call detroit edison my electric co they told me if i ran a 1500 watt heater 24 hours a day that would come to 30 dollars a day. I can not see how a eletric heater would save me money. She might of not told me the right information I am confused at this point getting heat to the basement should not be this mind bending. comments please
Jim

We've got some of highest electric rates in the country (so I'm told) at 18 cents/KWh. At that rate, it would cost less then $6 per day if it ran constant and never shut down.
 
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