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Small Cabin Forum / Off Topic / Space Heaters? Love or Hate them?
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darz5150
Member
# Posted: 28 Jan 2019 22:30
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How many here use space heaters? We have been having some colder weather in the mid west lately. Especially this next week. So we have been using space heaters in the storage room. Those little things can suck a lot of power. If I run 2 space heaters at the same time. The electric bill goes up almost as much as running 2 window air conditioners in the summer.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 29 Jan 2019 08:34
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Its also a great way to burn something to the ground. Seen it many times. Most people use an undersized extension cord to plug them into.

Cowracer
Member
# Posted: 29 Jan 2019 09:02 - Edited by: Cowracer
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I have 2 and I love them. I only use my fireplace sparingly, and not at all at night. I have one ceramic heater upstairs and one downstairs. I even found cool ones that look kinda like vases.




The two together has kept my cabin at a comfy 68 (at least upstairs) on 0-degree nights.

Like Toyota said, the biggest mistake you can make is running them on an extension cord. I will only run mine on the built in cord.

If you are worried about catching something on fire, oil filled radiator types are awesome. They just take a while to get warmed up, but once they are going, they put out the heat.

Tim

snobdds
Member
# Posted: 29 Jan 2019 11:13
Reply 


I use an edenpure infrared heater on nights I don't feel like making a fire. It puts out great heat, won't start anything on fire and has a thermostat.

Not cheap, but fantastic.

justins7
Member
# Posted: 30 Jan 2019 11:54
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I actually sometimes use four at a time in my cabin. The bills skyrocket of course, but I have no other choice at the moment. (I also have a wood stove and two Mr. Heater propane heaters though.)

The newer tall oscillating electric space heaters are great (Lasko I think); they're really quiet and effective. But of course electric is the least efficient and the most expensive. I need to get better insulation but I have to wait until the warm weather for that.

darz5150
Member
# Posted: 30 Jan 2019 15:20
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We had temps last nite of -6 degrees F.
I used a traditional milk house heater in the store room. It was able to keep the temps above 40 degrees. 👍
I don't want to chance freezing a ton of supplies. The room is about 64 sq. ft. But has almost no insulation. And 11 foot high ceiling.
But electric heaters sure can make the ole electric meter spin!
😱

rockies
Member
# Posted: 30 Jan 2019 19:57
Reply 


Why not install a direct vent propane wall heater set on a thermostat? The room gets cold and the unit fires up until a set temperature is reached. Many people use these as a backup in case they are away for a few days, or during a sudden winter storm (great if the power goes out).

One example is the Empire Elite DV210SGX (10,000 Btu) .

http://empirezoneheat.com/products/direct-vent-wall-furnaces/direct-vent-wall-furnace s/

I'd rather have this than an electric unit any day.

Cowracer
Member
# Posted: 31 Jan 2019 09:03 - Edited by: Cowracer
Reply 


Quoting: rockies
Why not install a direct vent propane wall heater set on a thermostat?


Because... getting propane is a huge hassle. I'd have to unhook my 100lb tanks and haul them around from behind the cabin by hand (too rough to even use a hand truck), load them in the truck, take them 20 miles to a place that will fill them, haul them back and then get them back in place (by hand), and hope I have no leaks when it's done.

Whereas... Electricity is 8.35 cents a KwH, delivered to my door. And I don't have to worry about the meth tweakers in the area stealing my electricity.

Tim

deercula
Member
# Posted: 31 Jan 2019 09:11
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I use them to assist the furnace when i first arrive at camp. Once the cabin is up to a comfortable temp, I shut them off. Fire and carbon monoxide are serious threats, so we always use them with caution.

fitzpatt
Member
# Posted: 31 Jan 2019 10:12
Reply 


Quoting: rockies
I'd rather have this than an electric unit any day.


Same here. I recently installed the Empire 40K unit with two large tanks and love it.
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rockies
Member
# Posted: 31 Jan 2019 19:20
Reply 


If the propane heater is used as an emergency backup, and is set on a thermostat to only come on when the indoor temperature is getting too low I would suspect that a 100 lb tank would last a very long time.

Deercula: A direct vent propane heater vents entirely to the outdoors. There are no combustion byproducts sent into the room, and no indoor air is used for the flame so there is no chance of carbon monoxide occurring inside.

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