Which portable propane heater?
 

What's a good portable propane heater to buy?
This would be used indoors for if the electricity went out, so it has to be one of the 100% combustion ones.
As such, it doesn't really need to be "small and lightweight", but it can't require a permanent gas hookup or electrical power.
Also it would need to be able to accept a 20lb tank extension hose.
I don't got none now, so I have no idea what's good and what's not.
Any suggestions?

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Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

We have a buddy heater and we love it. It has been thoroughly used by us with no problems.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...y-heater/34073

http://images.campingworld.com/is/im....32,.3&opac=20
We have a remote hose setup and use it with 15 and 30lb tanks.

I also really like the wave catalytic heaters, but those require more setup since they are low pressure devices. You would have to hook up a pressure regulator, but this setup would get you plenty of hose length.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...ic-heater/1630

http://images.campingworld.com/is/im....32,.3&opac=20

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

I got mine from Cabela's with accessories too... They had free shipping at the time!

FREE Shipping on any order over $125! (right now)

http://tinyurl.com/6kenyd

Mr. Heater� Hose Assemblies
These hose assemblies come with fittings to connect the heater to a tank. Available: 5-ft. hose, 12-ft. hose.

Mr. Heater� Buddy/Big Buddy™ Fuel Filter
Designed for use with bulk tank hoses, the Buddy/Big Buddy Fuel Filter keeps the fuel line clean.

Mr. Heater� Big Buddy™ Heater A/C Adapter
The Big Buddy A/C Adapter eliminates the need for using four D-cell batteries to power the blower motor.

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

The Wave heaters say they're for outdoor use only,,, -and they're kinda expensive.

The bigger Mr Heater model says it needs batteries to run a fan--not hardly what I was imagining. Okay, forget that--I checked the 2007 manual online, and running the fan is optional.

Also I have noticed that most of these only have a limited range of outputs--for the small Mr Heater one, it's only got two levels. The big one's only got three levels, and I would prefer something with a continuous dial like a stove has. What is the reason they don't make them like this?
Does the limited output ranges cause problems?

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Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

You may want to re-read that, the wave heaters are not for outdoor use, catalytic heaters are some of the safest heaters available. They are flameless and run at 99.98% efficiency and product NO CO. These are primarliy used in no electrical,enclosed area settings like RV's and boats.

Camping world states do not use them AS PORTABLE units indoors, only mounted.

We are looking at one for the house, we used on in our last RV.

From the manufacturer website:

Q. What exactly is a Catalytic heater?
A. Catalytic heaters produce heat by combining L/P gas and oxygen in a platinum impregnated pad or “catalyst.” This causes a chemical reaction (flameless combustion) resulting the release of low intensity infrared heat. The heater operates below the temperature necessary to support flame-type combustion and no heat is lost through a vent or flu. Flame type heaters actually waste up to 45% of all heat produced.
Olympian Wave Catalytic Heaters are 99.98% efficient and are available in several sizes to fit your needs. Catalytic heaters heat efficiently, don’t take up much space and are extremely safe. None of the deadly exhaust gases associated with flame heaters are produced with catalytic units. Olympian Wave Heaters are a great value, offering both safety and clean low-cost heat.

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

I see then..... (but they sell legs for them?)

I got the bigger Mister Heater one tho'.
The catalytics sound interesting but seem to cost a lot for what output you get.
The smallest Olympian Wave one is 1000/3000 BTU's, and costs like $220 or so.
The bigger Mr Heater is 3000/9000/18000 BTUs and costs $140.
I may never use the 18000 BTU setting but it's nice to know it's possible.

----

Do you guys (with the Mr Heaters) use a filter? I ordered the filter at first but then chose the hose with a regulator in it, and saw that one of the reviews said that the filter wasn't necessary, and wouldn't even fit on the regulated hose anyway.

I also ordered a Coleman 2-burner propane camp stove. It didn't say anything about needing or recommending a filter on it, but then, it doesn't say it's safe for indoor use either....
~

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

You can't go wrong with the buddy heaters. Ours has been through a lot of abuse (we took it camping for 3 years for at least 90 days total use, I now use it in the garage during winter or on the back porch when I want to spend time outside, but want the warmth.

I don't have any filters. I did have a lantern go south one time because of trash in the line from the bulk tank. Other than that one instance, we have been fine using the bulk hoses.

I think as long as you keep the connections clean and capped when not in use you should be fine.

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

Question 1: What area of the country do you live in?

Here in Michigan, in February, a modern 1900 sq ft, 2 story home has a constant heat demand of 20,000 btu/hr.

A 2400 sq foot ranch requires 34,000 BTU/hr.......Feb night down into the teens days up in the 20's....

BTW: Every lb of petrofuel (gasoline, oil, kero, LP, Nat. Gas...does not matter) all have about 18,500 BTUs of heat. That will give you an idea of fuel consumption rate....for example...the above 2400 sq ft ranch demanding 34000 BTU/hr will need about 2 lbs of LP per hour.....a 20 pound tank would last 10 hours.....better have lots of LP.

I stash kero for these needs......1 gal = 7 lbs = 130,000 btu.....most places will use 3 to 5 gal a day.....a 500 gal tank will get you through the worst part of winter as you need less fuel each side of February.....

Buy a unit with enough over capacity to get the place up to speed in a hurry. Buy a second small unit to maintain temperature.

If in a cold area, I suggest the type that looks like a small barrel and are 30k - 80k BTU. Get online at "Northern Tool" - they are under $140.

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

I am in a 1250 sq. ft. single-level house in the St. Louis area right now.

I wouldn't expect anything so small to heat the entire house; if it came down to that I would take the portable heater into the bedroom and leave the door cracked a couple inches.

The house has a gas stove, but I have already seen that (during a power outage) the heat from the stove burners goes right up to the ceiling. When the power went out was during a bad ice storm, and running all four stove burners for a while made hardly any difference at all. The stove hood and microwave got pretty hot, but nothing else did.

The portable heater unit is a lot more practical for heating people because you can sit or lay near it, and all the heat doesn't go straight up.

The central air in my house is gas heat as well, but isn't a convection unit--it needs power to run the blowers.

--------

I plan on moving to the desert-southwest at some point.
Somewhere low-altitude, hotter temperatures--no snow (so not Flagstaff!).
Don't know if I'll need a heater there or not.
But if it's a fairly-rare event, the portable one should do well enough.

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Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

you might want to think about an infra-red heater.....they project heat via IR....and not convection.....you have probably seen these in garages, barns, big open places that can't contain the heated air.....

IR heat source is great in an area to project heat...and in a house will still heat the contained air.

We have several smaller 10,000 btu radiant kerosene heaters...nice to sit in front of.

Soulds like a 20,000 btu unit of any type would fit your needs. It would easily heat the core of the house and keep the bedrooms useable.....probably 20000 btu continuous would meet all heating needs.

We like kero as it doubles as a fuel for diesel vehicles.

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

I bought a Big Buddy last year for back up heat in my motorhome, but haven't hooked it up to my propane system and have just used it with the 1lb bottles...on high, 2 bottles last about 8 hrs or less, pretty pricey way to heat ($3 per bottle). If propane is 4.2 lbs per gallon @ $3 per gallon...that comes to a $1.50 a night using bulk versus $6 for bottles. I think I better go ahead and make the investment in the accessories this year.

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

I had planned to buy one little bottle to test it with (just to make sure it worked with them if I ever had to use them) but wasn't going to be keeping them around much. I was just going to go with the 20-lb ones. I can't for a while though because Amazon just notified me they've bumped my heater's ship date out two more weeks. :\

Oh well, that gives me time to work on my next project: a wood-burning fireplace that is designed to burn square logs. I have this life-long dream of being able to heat my home entirely just by burning bundles of free government info brochures from Pueblo, Colorado.
:banana::getdown::coolbeer::565:

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Propane storage & use when cold?
 

Will the 20-lb propane tanks work when they're cold? Say, 15F?

I know that it's not really as safe as possible, and it may even be illegal--but I am wondering if perhaps I shouldn't keep one tank inside the house, at least during the winter months. If I need heat, it will most likely be due to a winter storm causing power outages.

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Another thing I'm curious of is this: if the tank is cold and isn't flowing well, would it help to put the tank in the area that the propane heater is heating?
,,,,,
I'm guessing that propane gives off more heat burning than it takes when evaporating, but I don't really know....

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Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

QWAK, I have had a large 3 burner "Mr. Heater" IR heater for about 10 years and use it in the green house bath when it gets very cold or I don't use my wood burner. I can light 1,2 or 3 burners and has high med and low settings. I run it off of 20,30 and 40 lb. tanks and the tank is the stand for the heater.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...2707_200332707

This year I bought two "Pro Com" IR heaters a 10,000 and a 25,000 for a more perminent instalation. The larger unit has a blower and programable digital thermostat with timer option and manual by pass for when the power is out. The smaller unit has a high and low setting, no blower and requires pushing a button to start it burning. Both have safty co sensors that shut unit down if CO levels get too high.

The smaller unit will run off the 20,30 or 40 lb tanks with a seperate regulator and hose.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...2737_200332737

The 25,000 unit should run off a 100 lb tank or larger because at full power it can cause the smaller tanks to FREEZ and starve the heater. To over come this problem I will get a regulator that can switch from one tank to another and GANG two tanks on each side.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...9169_200339169

I would like to buy a 500lb tank but localy they only lease the big tanks and I prefer to OWN and not rent/lease.

I also have a tankless water heater that runs on LP to heat the DUCK POND/hot tub when I don't want to burn wood and a 5 kw generator that runs on LP. :s1:

I like having redundency and options rather than depending on just one heat sorce.:thinkey::shine: I prefer to DRINK "Cold DUCK" not be one!:wink::yes::grin:

the DUCK

Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

They don't cost a lot and do put out lots of heat, but they are not indoor-rated.

------

It isn't indoor-rated either, but I kinda like the idea of this one that works (sideways) as a heater or (upright) as a cook stove:
http://www.mrheater.com/productdetai...catid=42&id=22

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Re: Which portable propane heater?
 

My heater's s'posed to come today! :D
And it's going to get up to 73F today. I kinda wish it were colder. :|

-------------------

I did see one potential problem with the Big Buddy heater, if you are considering buying one and want to use it with a bulk tank.

A number of the reviews mention the heater getting oily and no longer functioning. This has to do with what kind of hose you use--if you get a "plain" hose (with simple connectors on both ends) you're supposed to use an in-line filter with it. The Mr Heater page for the plain hoses even say that they need the filter, and the manufacturer even lists this problem first in the FAQ for that heater:
http://www.mrheater.com/faq.asp?id=27

If you buy the regulated hose however (part F271803) you cannot use the inline filter with it (the connections on the hose and filter are not the same) and anyway, the manufacturer says that this hose does not require a filter.
At the bottom of this page, where it lists "Big Buddy Accessories"-
http://www.mrheater.com/productdetai...atid=41&id=116
note that the last accessory listed says-
"F271803 - Quick coupler & regulator no filter needed".

I got lucky this time around because I started off by ordering the regulated hose anyway.

Also I see that the RV-hookup hose does not have a filter either, and the page for the RV-hookup hose doesn't mention needing one.


I have no fricking idea what the difference in the plain & regulated hoses is besides the regulator, which AFAIK doesn't function as a filter.... but obviously it is one of those little things that's really good to know.

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