size of heater in wheelhouse

[mrjigger]

I just bought a 6.5 x 14 ft ice castle fish house with 3 ft v-front. I got the house wrapped, so I plan on insulating with

R-13 batt insultion in the walls and roof. The floor at this time will be un-insulated, however, in the future I plan on getting it sprayed.

my question is, how large a heater do i need to heat this house? Would 20000btu be sufficient. I would like to get a small enough heater so I don't have to use 100lb tanks.

[arcticcat400]

usually 1000 btu's per foot is a good estimate i would recommend using the foam insulation instead of batt insulation

[TimBuck2]

I was just looking at a replacement heater for my fish house and it was a 15,000 btu and said it was good for a 369 sq Ft house, that works for my little 6 x 8 wheelhouse call it a 7 ft ceiling. Check out the spec sheet of the heater you're looking at. You're looking at approximately 546 sq Ft. 20k might not be enough with the floor not insulated, but I can't see it being beyond tolerance if you wear sweatshirts instead of tee -shirts. It might be just right once you insulate the floor. Don't go ventless on this size house, if you plan on sleeping in it. Direct Vent is the safest way to go.

TB2

TB2

[DrKen]

tb2- are the ratings in square feet or cubic feet. You are stating capabilities of the heater in square feet but figuring the size of your house at cubic feet. Huge difference. I have heated a 12x14 tent in 0 degree weather with a 30,000 btu heater. I heat my portable fishouse approximately 6x6 or larger with a Mr. Heater 14,000 btu in below 0 windy weather on medium. I would suspect the 1000 btu per foot of length to be a good rule. Not to be nit picky but this is a major difference

[cold one sd]

My wheeel house is 6 1/2' x 12'. I have a 15,000 BTU direct vent heater and it is plenty for a hou8se this size. I run a couple of computer fans near the ceiling to circulate the heat. It is insulated with 1 1/2" foam sheets. Once I get the interior warmed up I have no problem with it getting cold and can fish in a T Shirt.

[kevfish1]

20,000 btu will be big enough. I have a 20btu in my 16X8 and heats it just fine. Also dont put to much into square footage equations. alot of it has to do with how tite the house is and if you bank it good when fishing. You could have a 40,000 btu furnace but if you have cold air blowing in a fish hole or through a wall it wont be big enough

[jerkbait]

I have a 15,000 btu in my 8'x16' fishouse with an 8' cieling height and this heater will cook us right out wen turned up. I keep it pretty low to keep from getting to warm. Like said, banking is a big factor, keeping the air flow from coming in under the house. Also my floor is not insulated and I used R-13 bats in the walls and roof.

[TimBuck2]

Yeppers, I was calculating Cubic Ft. My mistake, sorry for the mislead.

TB2

[Mainehazmt]

big as you can afford... as you can always turn it down too small and ya never can turn it up enough

[JSK76]

My house is 6x14 with a v front I had a 9000 btu vent less and now I have a 18,000 vented. Both heated great. I never been cold with ether one and my floor isn't insulated ether. Just keep in mind if you go vented you will need more btu's then if you went non vented because a non vented is 99.9% efficient and a vented is less.

input btu x efficiency = output btu

[bassislife]

Square footage means nothing. It's how you insulate!