HELP! Anyone added a small propane heater for back-up purposes? (versus, gas)
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As I wrote in a previous message (end of #9 in this thread), in 15 years of living with propane tanks in New Hampshire I've never had a problem with them even in our coldest weather. The tank at my previous house (which I still own but rent out) AND the tank at my current house are both 120-gallon tanks. No issues at all.
(Are underground tanks even allowed in NH? I had an underground oil tank at my last house but had it taken out within 2-3 years of living there.)
I have dual 120-gallon above-ground tanks specifically to ensure sufficient vapor pressure; prolonged very cold weather is primarily an issue for 100-gallon or smaller tanks and high flow rates.
New Hampshire strongly discourages underground oil tanks. Propane doesn't have the contamination issues of oil, it is very common for 500 and 1000 gallon tanks to be installed underground, in part because an underground tank is all but invisible.
Forgive me if I missed it somewhere, but OP, have you looked into a battery backup for your pellet stove? If you only need it for a few hours it will more than suffice. I used one back when I had a pellet stove, they use a deep cycle marine battery.
I have dual 120-gallon above-ground tanks specifically to ensure sufficient vapor pressure; prolonged very cold weather is primarily an issue for 100-gallon or smaller tanks and high flow rates.
New Hampshire strongly discourages underground oil tanks. Propane doesn't have the contamination issues of oil, it is very common for 500 and 1000 gallon tanks to be installed underground, in part because an underground tank is all but invisible.
Thanks for the info, Nonesuch! I had just assumed that a propane leak would be as bad as an oil leak. (I still don't want a buried tank on my property for other reasons, but this is good info to have anyway.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by NHDave
Forgive me if I missed it somewhere, but OP, have you looked into a battery backup for your pellet stove? If you only need it for a few hours it will more than suffice. I used one back when I had a pellet stove, they use a deep cycle marine battery.
Not a bad suggestion at all! But when I had my pellet insert installed, I asked about battery back-up, and my dealer didn't recommend it (surprisingly). I can't remember why, just that they didn't think it was worth it.
In my situation, it would help in case of a power outage, which would be great, but would do nothing for the lack of heat in the back rooms. So I'm still considering options.
Had no idea what you meant by "tank top heater" so I googled it ... looks like those heaters are for OUTDOOR use only so would not work at all for my situation. Not sure if you thought they could be safely used indoors? (Don't really need to check with my local code officer about this one, since the items themselves say they are for outdoor use only.)
This makes no sense to me at all. As I've written in this thread (twice now ), I've had 120-gallon tanks (outside) in NH for 15 years now and have never had an issue with the propane not working even during our coldest spells. (I don't have a lot of propane appliances, but my water heater is run by propane and obviously I use that every day, so it's not as though I'm just not using propane-fueled items in really cold temps.) Outdoor propane tanks are VERY common where I live, since there's no natural gas available. Supton, your sources seem very "off" even though they should be reliable? Who knows. My own experience with the tanks is simply vastly different.
My propane stove and dryer never have problems either (100lb tank? dunno, came with the house, never tried to lift it); but I doubt either pull much. If I'm not mistaken, it's just how fast propane can boil off, changing from liquid propane to gas. Don't forget, releasing pressure means it drops in temperature. Dropping its temperature means its harder for it to boil off... a process that fights itself. If I'm understanding it correctly, it's a rate of usage problem. Low rates and the tank doesn't cool down much.
Neighbor has a buried propane tank. Well, used to. Looks like a surfacing submarine now. Kinda funny.
Supton, technically you are correct, but the real issue is the rate of heat transfer into the tank. Propane's latent heat of vaporization (how much heat it takes to vaporize a standard amount) is very low, about 1/100 that of water, and 1/40 of that for ethyl alcohol, to use two examples. This means it does not take a lot of heat transfer from the environment to keep the pressure up.
I've had a bit of experience with the wall mounted, direct vent heaters like your looking at and hope my 2 cents worth can help. I'd highly recommend getting one that the blower is considered optional in, and do get the blower. That way you know it'll be a reliable secondary heat source when the power is out. But the blower will make a huge difference in heat distribution when the lights are on.
Here's an option that you might not have considered. I'm inferring from your post that the heater is planned for the TV room? Doe's the addition have a basement under it that's useable space? Reason I ask is that I have a similar situation and wound up putting a non-vented heater in basement. Keeps the floors warm and also makes the cellar useable space during winter months. If cellar door is in that part of house, heat could warm upstairs as well. Our house has a vent between 1st and 2nd floor to allow heat into back bedroom.
Tractor Supply has non-vented 10, 20 30k btu propane units for a couple hundred bucks. If only for occasional or seasonal use, you could even run it off 20lb tanks until you get the plumbing done. They are also wall mountable. That being said, the direct vent units do produce more heat without sucking the oxygen out of the room.
$1100 in pipes and fittings seems like a lot to me too. If you're handy at all, I bet you could have someone plumb the lines for you and do the direct vent heater install yourself. They come with mounting diagrams and such. A bracket or two that's mounted to wall, sawzall out the hole for vent and mount it up.
kuffaar, hope you have good carbon monoxide detectors in your basement and upstairs.
Vented, OTOH, send the CO out the vent. They do suck air out of the room, along with oxygen. Oxygen is used for combustion. Nitrogen goes up the vent with water vapor, CO2 and CO.
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(Don't really need to check with my local code officer about this one, since the items themselves say they are for outdoor use only.)
), I've had 120-gallon tanks (outside) in NH for 15 years now and have never had an issue with the propane not working even during our coldest spells. (I don't have a lot of propane appliances, but my water heater is run by propane and obviously I use that every day, so it's not as though I'm just not using propane-fueled items in really cold temps.) Outdoor propane tanks are VERY common where I live, since there's no natural gas available. Supton, your sources seem very "off" even though they should be reliable? Who knows. My own experience with the tanks is simply vastly different. 
