Saturday 26 October 2013

What Makes Propane Heaters the Best Portable Heating Choice

If you're a little skeptical over what makes propane heaters the best portable heating solution, here's some interesting reading on this choice of appliances for keeping warm on cold days.

There are several factors that propel portable heaters that use propane as their fuel supply to the top of the pile when it comes to the best way to keep warm on those cold, winter days. These points will be true whether you are in need of a viable solution for indoors in your own home, outdoors on the patio, heating the garage or workshop or camping either in an RV or a tent!

Why Propane Makes the Best Heat!


Maybe I'm a little biased sine I personally use propane heaters both at home and in the workshop or garage, but nevertheless it's tough to outdo the sheer versatility and application of these small yet powerful units for providing necessary heat in places that need it. Here are some salient points for you to digest:

  • Instant Heat: Propane heaters provide you with instant heat from the moment you fire them up and keep delivering it until the gas cylinder runs empty, which can take a pretty long time depending on the size of heating unit you're using and the size of gas cylinder is attached to it.
  • Long Cheap Burn: A small portable unit attached to a similarly small gas cylinder (for example a compact one pound bottle) can provide useful heat for up to 10 hours at a crazy low cost. Attach a heater to a full size propane cylinder and you're enjoying heat for several days. Try getting that length of heating time from an alternative heater for the same cost.
  • Efficient: It's surprising just how efficiently modern propane heaters are able to burn the gas to produce the maximum heat with the minimum of wasted unburned fuel (as was a problem for older units). That also means negligible dangerous carbon monoxide produced on unvented units which is a great safety bonus.
  • Safe: As just mentioned, modern propane units are very safe to use as long as you don't get silly and try draping some flammable material over them!
  • Cost: Did I already mention the low cost of this fuel when compared to other portable fueled units? Propane heaters are economical because they work out a lot cheaper than electric heaters (which of course are not exactly portable in the true sense of the word, are they?) and also cheaper than kerosene now that petrochemical prices are rising so sharply.
  • Availability: Being readily available in hardware stores in every town, you are always going to be able to get a supply for your unit and because it stores well, you can keep a reserve in your garage for any emergency.

Perfect for Off Grid Homes


There are a growing number of families that are moving off grid to live more environmentally friendly lives without being slaves to the power companies. By generating their own electricity using solar voltaic panels, wind power or other innovative solutions such as hydro where possible, families are saying goodbye to power bills forever!

One side of the equation that still needs balancing up is that of heating during winter. Electricity is still a highly inefficient way to produce heat especially when every watt produced by an off grid's system is needed to run the rest of the household's energy needs, so other alternatives need to be explored.

Depending on where you are settled, you may have access to good supplies of wood, which means you have no problems creating heat using a wood burning stove or furnace. But for those extra degrees of heat to bring a house up to comfort levels a portable propane heater can step up and fill the void perfectly at low cost.

Off-grid'ers still need to use a workshop if they do a lot of home repairs or have a cottage craft industry business to run out of their homes. Heating the additional building is often not possible using the main house's furnace. One of these amazingly useful off grid portable heaters that run off propane is a great choice of heat production on those colder winter days.

For Campers


Don't forget the amazing versatility of a portable propane heater for camping whether you like to get back to nature and do it in a tent or go up the comfort scale some and have an RV or trailer. You simply carry your fuel and its transportable heat machine with you and enjoy warm nights snug in your sleeping bag without worrying about waking up in the morning with icicles hanging off your nose!

Getting off the beaten track and spending a vacation in the wild is great fun but getting cold and damp is not. Avoid that particular unpleasantness by ensuring you stay warm and dry with your own convenient heat source powered by propane from a handy canister that's easy and relatively lightweight to carry with you.

Are you still unsure about the convenience, usability and value of these little yet powerful heating units? I hope this article has at least laid the foundations for getting your to see the value in propane as one of the best fuels for heating there is coupled with modern, highly efficient heating units that make the best use of that fuel that is currently possible with existing technology and hardware.

Thursday 17 October 2013

What Size Propane Heater Do I Need?

Do you know how big a propane heater needs to be to heat a certain size room, garage or workshop space? The answer is fairly simple and is explained here.

The first thing you need to know about is the rating of a heater, which will be stamped in the information label somewhere. The rating is depicted as a number followed by the letters BTU, which stand for British Thermal Unit.

Now you might jump to the conclusion that this is an American heater, so what have British measurements got to do with anything? Well, this is an old measure that has been adopted pretty much all around the world, so might as well keep it since its pretty universal.

How is BTU Defined?


One BTU is the amount of heat needed to heat one pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. OK, you cam breathe a sigh of relief, cause at least there's no metric stuff in there to confuse things! We all know what a pound of water is and what degrees Fahrenheit are, right?

There is a simple way to work out the amount of BTUs you'll need to heat a space, measured in cubic feet. You first need to measure the room you need to heat and write down the floor's width, length and the height of the ceiling.

Working Out How Many BTUs You Need


Once you know the dimensions of the room you want to heat, you need to do a little simple arithmetic. Multiply these three number together (W x L x H) and that will give you its volume in cubic feet.

By way of an example, if your room is 10ft wide by 20ft long and 8ft high, then the calculation will look like this:

10 x 20 x 8 = 1,600 cubic feet

Then multiply the result by between 2 and 4 depending on how well the room is insulated. If you're not sure, err on the low side and multiply by 4. This will give you a figure of:

6,400 BTU per hour

All you then need to do is check the BTU rating on a few propane heaters that you have in mind and choose the one that comes closest. That's about all you need to do to get a heater that will definitely be capable of heating up your space efficiently and with minimal cost, since propane is still a relatively cheap fuel compared to other forms of energy.

Simple? Sure it is!

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Mr Heater Propane Forced Air Heaters Review

For heating rooms fast, you can't beat a forced air propane heater for doing the job best. This article reviews four top models by Mr Heater so you can choose which is best for efficiently and effectively heating your space.

The models reviewed here come in four power output sizes, which are:

  • 35,000 Btu (Model no. MH35FAV)
  • 60,000 Btu (Model no. MH60FAV)
  • 85,000 Btu (Model no. MH85FAV)
  • 125,000 Btu (Model no. MH1255FAV)

Mr Heater MH35FAV


The MH125FAV is the least powerful of the Mr. Heater line of propane forced-air heaters. It's perfect for smaller jobs such as personal garages, workshops and the like.

The heater gives you 35,000 Btu, which is adequate for heating up to 800 square feet and runs for up to approximately 12 hours on a full 20 pound gas cylinder. The unit measures 20.6 by 12.8 by 9.8 inches

Mr Heater MH60FAV


This unit has a power output of 60,000 Btu which is sufficient to comfortably heat a space of up to 1,200 square feet and runs for approximately 11 hours on a full 20 pound gas cylinder. The unit measures 20.6 by 12.8 by 9.8 inches


Mr Heater MH85FAV


This unit has a power output of 85,000 Btu which is sufficient to effectively heat a space of up to 2,000 square feet and runs for approximately 8 hours on a full 20 pound gas cylinder. The unit measures 21 by 16 by 11.5 inches


Mr Heater MH125FAV


This unit has a power output of 60,000 Btu which is sufficient to effectively heat a space of up to 3,000 square feet. This unit requires a larger 40 pound  propane gas cylinder propane and will run for approximately 11 hours on a full canister. The unit measures 23 by 16 by 13 inches

Features Common to All Four Models


Even though each of the larger models will give you more BTUs than the lower rated model in the range, each of these heaters shares the same basic features. These include:

  • Automatic shutoff with loss of flame or power supply
  • High-output fan that circulates heat quickly
  • Ten foot hose and regulator are included
  • CSA certified and comes with a one-year limited warranty
  • Requires 20-pound propane cylinder which can be bought separately

Hooking any of the heaters up to the propane cylinder is easy and once connected via the regulator, firing them up is child's play. Simply hold down the pilot button to ignite the gas and hold down until the flame heats up a little to keep it going. That's all you need to do and in no time the heat will be pouring out of the compact unit!

These heaters are very reliable and surprisingly powerful for their small size. Best of all they don't rely on the power supply being on. They run off the standard twenty pound propane cylinder (apart from the largest unit which requires a forty pound cylinder). These cylinders can be bought at any local hardware store and stored safely in a garage or outhouse for whenever you need them.


How Much Power Do I Need?


Heaters are rated in BTU, (British Thermal Unit) which is the amount of heat needed to heat one pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. To calculate how many BTU you need for heating a given space:

First calculate the volume of the space to be heated:

Multiply square footage by height

Example:


A 10ft x 10ft floor space = 100 square feet x 8ft height = 800 cubic feet.

Second, multiply that number by 4 if your insulation is poor, 3 if it's average or 2 if it's good. The result gives you a ballpark figure for how many BTU you need.

Where Can I Buy a Mr Heater Forced Air Propane Heater?


You can get your hands on these great portable heaters online at stores such as Amazon for a surprisingly affordable price.

To save you time and effort, I have a direct link to the Amazon page featuring the smallest unit. There you can find out more about it and check through the customer reviews to see just how popular it is and how many people really like it!

Want to go see it? Click the image/link above.

If you need a larger model, there are links to each model on the page at the Amazon site.