Joel Hendon

Plan For Emergency Heating Ahead Of The Emergency Before Winter Begins


Posted: Monday, August 29, 2011

by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html

Most heating systems are subject to outages, for one reason or another. Natural gas systems seem to be less apt to cause an emergency than electricity or even propane gas. I’m not sure just how trouble free the new solar systems may be. But whatever the case, almost any arrangement can experience a problem and cause you to be without heat for a while. Electrical power outages seem to be the biggest culprit, but even the safest can conceivably go out for some reason.

And if it is during a blizzard or other paralyzing occasion, you may have trouble in finding ready help. Thus your best bet is to prepare ahead. We have very little temperatures below zero here in our section of the country and very few crippling snow or ice storms. I can remember only a half dozen or thereabout, in my lifetime. But we also get strong remnants of hurricanes which strike the east coast or the gulf coast so it is not too infrequent that we have power outages sometimes lasting for several days.

First of all, I have two forms of heating available for us and therefore I do not concern myself a lot for emergencies over those. I believe this is actually the best method but is not too desirable for some. We currently heat with electricity and use portable electric space heaters. We have one large heater that uses a 240 volt source with an output of over 10,000 BTUs of heat which is our primary source of heat in a living room/dining room/kitchen open area. We also have a 30,000 BTU wall mounted natural gas heater which we can use if the temperature becomes too severe for our electric heater to handle or, if the electric power goes out. We have smaller portable electric heaters for rooms where we may need heat.

But, if you depend upon a central electric, or gas, or combination of the two system, you could very possibly need some form of heat you could rely upon in cases of emergency. Which is what I will show a reasonably priced solution and quite adequate, I think. In fact, I plan on purchasing one for myself, in case of some unforeseen problem, plus, we have an enclosed back porch in which we might have need also.

The portable propane heaters now available seem to be one of the easiest and perhaps best solutions available. Most use disposable bottles of propane gas and some have an adapter that may be used to tap onto an exchangeable larger gas container. These heaters are available in a pure “blue flame” type but there are also some with infra-red heat for those who enjoy the soft comfortable feel of it. One advantage over the portable electric heaters also is they can safely produce more heat than the conventional 120 volt heaters which can only produce slightly over 5,000 BTU’s. These heaters have the definite advantage over kerosene heaters in that they are much easier to handle and refuel and they do not emit the strong smell some find so offensive in the kerosene units.

One of the most popular of these propane heaters is produced by Mr. Heater and their good sized one is called “Big Buddy” with a BTU output of up to 18,000. It’s list price is $214.00 but I found one at “The Heater Store” for $139.90 plus free shipping. I’m not sure but I do not believe the gas canisters come in these shipped units. You may find the same heater in some hardware store with canister included. This one has an optional hose that will allow you to attach two one-pound disposable canisters.  
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