Back up heat

#1
loggervol

loggervol

Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye
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Jan 3, 2012
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#1
I'm thinking about buying some wall units for backup heat. which are the best propane type heaters, the blue flame or the radiant red flame?
 
#3
#3
I like the radiant heat better than the blue flame. We had a blue flame type growing up and it didn't heat much of anything. I was at Holston Gas in Lafollette last week and they heated their entire showroom with one.

I just installed a dual fuel set up at our house and we love it. It cut our electric bill by 2/3. We have a wood stove for power outages.
 
#4
#4
kentucky sucks said:
I like the radiant heat better than the blue flame. We had a blue flame type growing up and it didn't heat much of anything. I was at Holston Gas in Lafollette last week and they heated their entire showroom with one.

I just installed a dual fuel set up at our house and we love it. It cut our electric bill by 2/3. We have a wood stove for power outages.
Click to expand...

Dual fuel set up?
 
#7
#7
Obsessed said:
Dual fuel set up?
Click to expand...

It's a heat pump but instead of electric heat strips for backup it has a lp furnace. I put a temp sensor on it and the lp runs below 30 degrees and the heat pump above 30. When the heat pump goes into defrost mode the lp also kicks on.
 
#8
#8
Gramps said:
I think it operates off Propane or natural gas .
Click to expand...

I purchased a natural gas furnace but converted it to lp. I had to change the orifices and the springs in the gas valve but wasn't hard to do.

I know a man with the same set up and he's on his second winter with the same 100lb cylinder. They only hold 24 gallons or so of fuel so they're super efficient. Most of the heating is done with the heat pump, which is more efficient in heat mode than cool mode so your electric bill is cheaper than in the summer.
 
#9
#9
kentucky sucks said:
It's a heat pump but instead of electric heat strips for backup it has a lp furnace. I put a temp sensor on it and the lp runs below 30 degrees and the heat pump above 30. When the heat pump goes into defrost mode the lp also kicks on.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

I'm going to check in to this.
 
#11
#11
steve328 said:
Duel fuel works very well. When mine was installed they set it so the lp gas heater kicked on at 37 degrees.
Click to expand...

How often have you had to fill your tank and what size are you using? I have a 325 gallon tank. I'm wondering how long it will last.
 
#12
#12
I thought this was gonna be about a secondary carry weapon lol
 
#14
#14
kentucky sucks said:
How often have you had to fill your tank and what size are you using? I have a 325 gallon tank. I'm wondering how long it will last.
Click to expand...

I just had mine installed this spring, so can't say for sure. I have a 400 gallon tank and I've used about 7 or 8 percent according to the gauge. I'm guessing I'll use less than half for the winter, but again that's just a guess and we've had a mild winter so far.
edit: I'm on a metered system and should be getting a bill in a few days. I can let you know how many gallons I used for the past month if you're interested.
 
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#16
#16
We just installed a new heat pump last summer. It's electric, but we also have a propane back up. At 35° the propane kicks in. We also cook, dry, and our hot water is gas as well. It's a 325 gallon tank and we had it filled in the summer, I just had to get it filled today. Our electric bill is very cheap, but getting the propane filled is a big hit in the wallet! The gas heat is much warmer than electric though.
 
#17
#17
well I use a grill propane tank and a heater made for one as a back up,i haven't had to use it yet,so i don't know if it will kill me in my sleep yet or not :)

and make sure you have the right smoke detector for gas or propane
 
#18
#18
I have a 325 gallon hooked up and have only used 5% so far this winter. They fill them to 285 gallons (85% to allow for expansion). The furnace is the only thing we have hooked up to the tank.
 
#19
#19
I used 14 gallons between Dec.2 and Dec. 30. Half gallon a day. Weather wasn't bad but there were some cold days in there.
 
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