heating a small cabin (house, quiet, convert, water)

[outdoorman]

I'm planning to convert a 12x16 ft shed into a weekend 'hunter's cabin' for when I spend time on my wooded property.
Winters get pretty cold (and summers hot) here in middle Georgia so I need to get an off grid option for heating the shed.
The options I'm thinking of include: either propane wall-mounted heater or a small wood burning stove.
The propane heater seems easy and propane can also power a small refrigerator if I decide to get one.
The wood stove means paying for installation and keeping it stoked but firewood is plentiful.
Any one know what labor costs could be to get a small stove installed?
Any recommendations on which would be better choice.

[nalabama]

I liked wood stove heat in the house in the the side of the hill I rented for a year in Kentucky, and propane requires makeup air to burn, so I would lean towards the wood stove for heat. Shouldn’t be too expensive to run double wall stove pipe through the roof of a shed; you will need to construct some sort of stand-off with fireproof materials where you penetrate the roof, but whoever sells you the double wall pipe should be able to fix you up with the necessary bits and pieces for that.

[StealthRabbit]

I prefer wood, but... it takes more space and won't operate while you are away. Currently using Propane in my 16x22 cabin with loft, as I had an extra 500g tank (that was 1/2 full). For a brief time I was using 20# Propane tanks and that got old real fast (Packing in and refilling often).

Is this a permitted installation (Why do you have to hire an installer?)

How many 'cold days' will you stay there / yr? (Overnight?)
How cold is cold?

Central GA, I would consider a Mini-Split if you need Year-round temp control (Probably need a genset when solar is not adequate, diesel is far more efficient (fuel and power), really sweet military surplus diesel gensets for under $3000 (used), very HD (and HEAVY)). You can run a heat exchanger and use coolant water to heat floors.

Have you considered renting a trackhoe and making an earth sheltered cabin? Minimal heat or cooling required. While you have the trackhoe, add some 'cool tubes' for summer cooling. (Buried pipes on an incline for natural convection)

[Jewel City Joe]

There is a lot of information missing to give you a good answer.

1) Are you with any insulation in this shed?
2) How far from where you can park your vehicle?
3) Is the ceiling finished and around 8 ft high?
4) For A/C will you have a generator powerful enough to run an easy start 5 to 8k BTU unit?
5) How remote is this facility and can anyone watch it from another full time home?

This leaves me answering in the abstract.

But If it is quite remote I'd not install anything in it that would entice squatters to occupy it
when you aren't around or steal your equipment.

If you don't have to pack equipment a great distance from your vehicle there some light
weight solutions for heat.

These propane catalytic heaters by Coleman are around used. These run 2 to 4K BTU.
If your cabin is 12 X 16 X 8 that's roughly a bit over 1500 cubic ft of area to heat. So you could go from 2K BTU up to 8K BTU. You could take these home with you when you leave. Propane may be
brought in in a couple of 20lb BBQ tanks depending on how long you intend to stay. These types of heaters are known to produce little or no carbon monoxide. (popular with RV'ers for that reason)




As for A/C the Fridigaire easy start 6K BTU window unit gets very good reviews and could handle the sq ft of floor you have.

As for matching a generator to an AC unit check out this link:

https://www.howtolookatahouse.com/Bl...generator.html

But this equipment will have some weight and I doubt you will want to leave it unattended if you are only there occasionally.

Lastly, refrigeration. You can find propane absorption refrigerators from wrecked RV's. They aren't that difficult to set up. But they must be installed on a "LEVEL" base

Visone RV com in Kentucky is one RV wrecking yard I know of where you could get a used fridge.
606 843 9889 They are a huge operation.

If you have time to look around both on the net & real world you may find this stuff at a reasonable price. These heaters don't weigh that much but a couple of full propane tanks will. The AC unit will weigh a bit and the generator likely weigh plenty. You may need to get your vehicle as close to the cabin as possible for AC.

This is the best I can offer you with the info provided.

[Rivertowntalk]

I would probably go with a small, direct vent, propane heater like an Empire. These are sometimes called a "fish house heater". Installation is fairly easy. Your propane tank could connect outside through a line through the wall. The direct venting through the wall uses combustion air from the outside and you don't get a residual odor inside the cabin. A thermostat comes with these as well as the vent cap and tube. I think the heater cost is around 650-700 and the install might be 200-250. These run quietly with no electricity. The propane should last you quite a while as the space is small.

[mshultz]

If you go with wood or fossil fuel, be sure to have a CO detector. Even so, I would not use an unvented heater.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by outdoorman

I'm planning to convert a 12x16 ft shed into a weekend 'hunter's cabin' for when I spend time on my wooded property.
Any recommendations on which would be better choice.

How many cold temp nights per year?
Few? Firewood in a hearth or woodstove will be just fine.

[Northrick]

Originally Posted by Rivertowntalk

I would probably go with a small, direct vent, propane heater like an Empire. These are sometimes called a "fish house heater". Installation is fairly easy. Your propane tank could connect outside through a line through the wall. The direct venting through the wall uses combustion air from the outside and you don't get a residual odor inside the cabin. A thermostat comes with these as well as the vent cap and tube. I think the heater cost is around 650-700 and the install might be 200-250. These run quietly with no electricity. The propane should last you quite a while as the space is small.

^This. I have a 12x16 cabin in Alaska and it gets "pretty cold" too (-11F this morning). In a cabin that small a wood stove takes up too much room and will bake you out of there. I have a Home Comfort heater in the cabin and an Empire in a greenhouse. The pilot light on the Empire uses a ridiculous amount of gas. I'd go with a different brand then Empire if you go this route.

[HJ99]

Do search for Chinese diesel heater. They are cheap and seem to hold up well. These are copy of German design intended to heat cab of truck or such for long haul drivers. But have become popular with those living long term in vehicle or small RV. They are efficient and intended to run off 12V battery though you can use a 12V 20A power supply plugged into wall.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSy8dSeTQQw

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by HJ99

Do search for Chinese diesel heater. They are cheap and seem to hold up well. These are copy of German design intended to heat cab of truck or such for long haul drivers. But have become popular with those living long term in vehicle or small RV. They are efficient and intended to run off 12V battery though you can use a 12V 20A power supply plugged into wall.

great suggestion, and a diesel heater can run on a variety of 'free' fuels (including Jet A, if you have a friend as a mechanic (fuel is sometimes offloaded before maint for safety)). Discarded heating oil is also free and available when people retire oil heat units in their homes. or Bio-fuel (Appleseed processor), or Peanut / algae oil.