Heating options

skyhighZJ

skyhighZJ

Gov retirement < needs to live
Joined
May 31, 2012
Location
Aberdeen, NC.
The wife has a 10x20 greenhouse. She has been running electric ceramic heaters and it’s KILLING my wallet via the electric bill. I can get propane at cost from work. What are my best options for a LPG heater that will maintain a decent temp (with a built in thermostat) so I can ditch the electric. Is blue flame better? Radiant? I have a small fan to move the heat around as well.

Thanks!

Something like this?
Or this?
 
I bought a property earlier this year, and the only heat source that actually worked inside the house was the blue flame heater like what you posted. I’ve only been running it to keep the place warm enough for the pipes not to freeze on the cold nights. I warmed it from 45 to 66ish in about 1.5 hours last night. I’m sure it would work great in your smaller space. Thermostat seems to work good, it does what it’s supposed to do.

BTW - thread hijack - can anyone post the link to the discussion on the mini splits? I searched awhile back but couldn’t find the one I was looking for. Seems @RatLabGuy and @JSJJ388 both tried one and liked it.
 
Blue flame heaters are better at heating the actual air in room. Radiant heaters are more a line of sight/ surface heating heaters. That’s why you see them used on truck docks or restaurant patios.

Far as what Noel is talking about I used a line voltage thermostat to turn a turbo heater on and off. But these are loud and do not recommend leaving on if you are not out there so probably not best option for this.
 
FWIW, our 1900-ish sq/ft house has been heated solely by a single 30K BTU propane "blue flame" for the last 7 years (went with the 30K vs 10K/20K simply because the pricing was nominal)
While they don't have a typical "thermostat", the onboard controls (1-8) will allow plenty to dial it in... ours sits about at 2-2.5 unless in single digits
Most have a fan option pulls cooler air from behind and blows it thru the body above the flame area (using dryer duct, could pull said cooler air from the far end)
IMHO, go straight "blueflame" (heats the air in the space) over "infrared" (heats the objects in the space)...

Also, while they say it won't run a 20# grill bottle... that hasn't been my experience
 
Curtis_H said:
Blue flame heaters are better at heating the actual air in room. Radiant heaters are more a line of sight/ surface heating heaters. That’s why you see them used on truck docks or restaurant patios.

Far as what Noel is talking about I used a line voltage thermostat to turn a turbo heater on and off. But these are loud and do not recommend leaving on if you are not out there so probably not best option for this.
Click to expand...
We got a propane "salamander" (80k BTU) a few years back to heat the step-sons house during remodel...
Stoopid loud, but would heat the entire 2500 sq/ft house from 20* to 65* an hour (basement up) and ran it for weeks on a 20# grill bottle
 
wood pellet stove
its your only option if you truly want a break from the bills

propane is going to add a shit ton of moisture into the air (brings on other problems)
 
ckruzer said:
wood pellet stove
its your only option if you truly want a break from the bills

propane is going to add a shit ton of moisture into the air (brings on other problems)
Click to expand...
Being in a greenhouse I’m actually not worried about introduction of moisture especially with the colder months tending to be less humid.
 
skyhighZJ said:
Being in a greenhouse I’m actually not worried about introduction of moisture especially with the colder months tending to be less humid.
Click to expand...

it causes mold problems. algae problems. Problems that transfer to your plants. If the plants were rated for the Amazon zone....
Youre also going to have moments when the heat goes out (propane runs out). Youll get micro freezing on the moisture dripping everywhere. It will bust seals. Etc. The life of your greenhouse will cut down fast.
Your dripping moisture is also dripping alot of chemicals from the greenhouse and getting absorbed into the plants. Causing problems.
The propane is going to also release other "things" into the air - you can expect yellowing and browning leaves.
Its a common subject in the plant world

If you want the most superior option - if you got the space to do so, bury tile in the ground (couple hundred ft) past the freeze level - put fans on the ends and cycle the greenhouse air. It will maintain 50+ degrees all winter. Additionally, if you have the time, make your green house a step down. By having your greenhouse be 4ft into the ground, it takes barely any heat to stay at safe temperatures
 
ckruzer said:
it causes mold problems. algae problems. Problems that transfer to your plants. If the plants were rated for the Amazon zone....
Youre also going to have moments when the heat goes out (propane runs out). Youll get micro freezing on the moisture dripping everywhere. It will bust seals. Etc. The life of your greenhouse will cut down fast.
Your dripping moisture is also dripping alot of chemicals from the greenhouse and getting absorbed into the plants. Causing problems.
The propane is going to also release other "things" into the air - you can expect yellowing and browning leaves.
Its a common subject in the plant world

If you want the most superior option - if you got the space to do so, bury tile in the ground (couple hundred ft) past the freeze level - put fans on the ends and cycle the greenhouse air. It will maintain 50+ degrees all winter. Additionally, if you have the time, make your green house a step down. By having your greenhouse be 4ft into the ground, it takes barely any heat to stay at safe temperatures
Click to expand...
All of this is feasible in the future. Where it is just needs to get through this year. A new more permanent location is being worked for 2025. Gotta do some other infrastructure changes first.
 
Is a small mini-spli an option? You can get a 9k unit for only $400 and it will be way more than enough.
I've been reallu surprised how well the one I added to our sunroom works.
 
skyhighZJ said:
Trying to get away from electric is the problem.
Click to expand...
yup totally get it.

Is it for money or other reasons? As mentioned propane isn't a good long term solution. 1 winter maybe.
If its for cost reasons, its a math problem whether the juice for the mini split costs more than the 'pane.
 
Water baseboard heat with a simple thermo siphon loop to a $100 cheap wood stove in the yard doubles as an outdoor feature. An old cast iron radiator may hold heat overnight when it is needed.
 
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