Can the collective wisdom recommend an indoor heater for power outage situations? I'm thinking shorter duration event, a week, maybe 2. Not heating my entire house. I've got a fireplace, I'd just like a supplementary system.

Any and all thoughts on this are welcome.

I have a Mr. Heat ventless propane heater. 18k btu and a 40 pound tank. House is maybe 700 sq ft and the middle setting makes it too hot inside. Figure 40 pound tank with the house being tight could go for a week.

What kind of heat do you have now?

For example, if you have a gas fired furnace, then you can use a small generator to run the air handler.

I've been using a Rinnai natural gas heater. It's a small unit (fits into 1/3 of the space of a fireplace) but quickly heats up a 25x25x10' room (from 68 to 75F); 75F is too warm so I turn it off.

How far North do you live? Alaska has different requirements than Tennessee.

Mid central US. Cold, but not North Dakota/Alaska cold.

I've got a gas furnace, and the generators to hook up. Just thinking about a backup option.

I've got neighbors to take care of, great people, elderly and worthy of support. I generally think about my stuff and include them in the plan. A little extra planning doesn't hurt when there's a problem.

I'll be looking at the items suggested, thanks!

We have a soapstone gas fireplace like this: Link in Michigan. It'll heat most of the first floor and the whole upstairs.

Dented - Would you want to consider a small cast iron pot belly type stove or something similar that you could set up on your current fireplace hearth and design a method to run the exhaust pipe up your fireplace chimney. This would allow you radiant heat and since you have a fire place, you have the needed fuel source. Put one or two of the fans that run off of heat on top and now your heat has a small amount of circulation.

Small cast iron pot belly stoves are affordable and would not take up a lot of room while in storage.

What about a kerosene heater? My Dad used to fire one of these up every morning early back in the dark days of 1979-1981 when he was often out of work due to layoffs and we couldn’t afford to heat the whole house:

Dyna-Glo

I have a Dyna Glo kerosene heater like this in my garage shop. They are supposed to be ok for indoor use, but they do smell a little bit, mostly when you start it and shut it off. I did put a CO2 detector out there for a while and it never went off.

I have a vented propane fireplace. It can heat the major living area with no problem.
I highly recommend them.

We’ve got the Mr Heater Big Buddy ( I’m pretty sure that’s what it’s called).
Works great. Have them at both places just in case.
It takes 2 of the 1# propane tanks, or you can use the tank off your gas grill. Get the long hose and definitely get the inline filter.

quote:

Originally posted by GCE61:
We’ve got the Mr Heater Big Buddy ( I’m pretty sure that’s what it’s called).
Works great. Have them at both places just in case.
It takes 2 of the 1# propane tanks, or you can use the tank off your gas grill. Get the long hose and definitely get the inline filter.

I was just going to recommend this as well. There are thousands in use and if you hook them up to your 20# propane tank they last quite a while.

https://www.mrheater.com/big-b...ble-heater-2933.html

From the sounds of it, the OP wants something portable, since he is concerned about helping out neighbors. For this I'd recommend you go with PASig's suggestion and get a portable kerosene heater. Find a local municipal airport to source some Jet-A (omitting the prist additive) to save a bit of money on fuel.

With a wick heater, maintenance of the heater is important. Do not run any dirty fuel. Never, ever, run it completely out of fuel. Trim the wick as necessary. Keeping the heater maintained is necessary to prevent it from producing unusually high levels of CO. As for the smell, Dyna-Glo recommends that you light it outside and then carry it into the house. The real advantages of this heater are portability, on-site fuel source, and the long shelf life of the fuel. The downsides are non-vented (CO risk), cost of fuel, some smell, and fiddling around with fuel/heater. Run time is about eight hours for most. As for filling, get yourself a JustRite Type II with a small spout. It removes much of the hassle out of fueling the heater.
Expensive, but so worth it.

In a couple of months, you will be able to pick up used, like-new or never used ones on the cheap.

Diesel Heater. Similar to a portable AC vented through a window.

Another vote for Mr Heater Big Buddy. I’ve completely quit using my kerosene heaters for portable emergency heat since getting a couple of Big Buddies.

The newer Mr Heat Buddy are very clean, I think rated for indoors. I’ve used them in a deer blind. They are portable, low cost.

Of course you won’t be sitting in a T-shirt, but it would help.

I do the woodstove thing, but not quick & easy.

If you have gas just get one of those wall heaters that do not require electric.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dy...SS30NGT-4N/310301017

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I've been using a Rinnai natural gas heater. It's a small unit (fits into 1/3 of the space of a fireplace) but quickly heats up a 25x25x10' room (from 68 to 75F); 75F is too warm so I turn it off.

we have a propane Rinnai and love it for supplemental heat but it requires electricity. Yours does not?

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I'm going to start with a Mr Heater Big Buddy and couple of 20 pound tanks. It's a fast easy purchase with the mobility to cover my place as well as my neighbors. Following that I'll be pursuing other options including checking the generator capacity related to running the air handler and the addition of a portable natural gas indoor unit.

Again,
Thanks to all who provided insight!