Very Efficient gas heater for small home
Have been heating a small 2 bedroom 900 sf home (somewhat mild climate) for the past 10 years with a pellet stove which has taken a dump. Before replacing with another pellet stove, I’m looking for recommendations on any other way to heat the home in the most efficient manner. I have propane available to heat with. The pellet stove worked very well because it circulated the air so the heat reached the far end of the home. I will now be renting this home so tenants may want something that is less work than a pellet stove. I guess what I’m looking for is some type of super-efficient gas stove or heater that moves air (even if only minimally). Appearance does not really matter. I don’t need to see some flame burning on a fake log. I just want quality, reliability and gas saving efficiency. Any thoughts? |
Replies
Monitor brand (or any similar) direct-vent stoves are small, fairly efficient, and have a fan to move indoor air around (at least some models). They don't look fancy but don't look bad. It would take up less room than a pellet stove and be less of a hazard to small children. They are available for propane and need to installed on an exterior wall. They can exhaust out the back, saving you having to run flue pipe. Maybe $800?, it's been a while.
Greetings Fighter,
I bought a Rinnai thru the wall LP heater and am happy with it.
If you scroll down in the lower left corner of your screen there is a search function that will take you to previous threads dealing with whatever you type in the search bar.
If you type in 'Rinnai' or other keywords of the subject matter you'll get a supply of data from those old threads.
Cheers
"Live Free,
not Die"
Razz
Funny, I was just doing a lot of research on the web I found the Rinnai to be the most attractive as far as quality and features. I was hoping to mount it against an interior wall where there is a perfect location cenrtral to all of the rooms, and vent it through the floor but it can not be vented downward.
I am now in the position of finding a gas heater that can direct vent through the floor, but I don't know if one exists. Or to install the Rinnai against an exterior wall which is not desireable because there is no such location in the home that will effectively and consistantly heat all of the rooms.
Thanks
Why not through the ceiling?You can get all kinds of wall mounted heaters. I had one in an appartment, years and years ago.IIRC it was on an interior wall and open on both sides.
Bill
I have also heard there are heaters where I cant vent through the roof, but I am focusing on the smaller, most efficient gas heaters which from what I hear are the direct vent wall heaters such as Rinnai, Monitor, and Cozy. These modulate, circulate air, and are all over 80% efficient. I believe they all have to be direct vented horizontally out the wall, and there is a restriction to the legth of vent pipe.
Still trying to figure it out???
I have a Rinnai direct vent which I vent horizontally through the back of a closet and out my wall. The extension kit seemed to indicate the potential for a vertical leg. I would check it out if I were you. There is a guy who runs a shop out of Maine called Al's Heating, do a gogle search. He seems to know these pretty well. My unit is great, so far.
http://www.nbmc.com/glowarm/blueflame.html
These non vented heaters are about as efficient as you can get and really work great. HD sells similar units and right now in my location (North Georgia) are discounting them from $279. to an amazing $74.00.
The heating season is about over so I guess they want them off the floor.
Edited 2/21/2005 10:22 am ET by ARROWSHOOTER
Mike
Yes, I have been to Al's Website. -Very informative but can be a little overwhelming!
Running it it through another closet can be an option for me. I think you can have one vertical leg upward (not down).
When you ran the vent through the closet is there any space between your vent an combustibles? Or is there 0 clearance on those vents?
Thanks
I boxed it in for a few inches clearance and then lined the through-wall box w/ leftover hardiplank siding. I don't know what the regulations call for, but I would leave some space. That pipe gets pretty hot to the touch.
Pardon my ignorance, please, but are all these recommendations for heaters that are workable with propane?
The Rinnai heaters come ready set for propane but have adapter kits for changing over to natural gas."Live Free, not Die"
Thank you!
I have installed two of the Rinnai heaters (models 556 and 1004) over the past 3 years and I must say they were the absolutely most beautifully engineered/manufactured and installer friendly units of this sort I have seen. The quality is superb. On one level this is sort of a surface impression, but I trust that anything so well designed and well made will also be a winner in the functionality dept.As they say, "highly recommended"!!Roy