What size heater for the house

[lanningjw]

Redoing a 18x10 house and need advise on the size of a direct vent furnace. would you get the 20 or 30k btu size furnace?

[lanningjw]

A little more info on the skid house, it is gonna live on Milacs at the Red Door Resort. We are in the process of a complete redo of the interior.

I know that the Empire direct vent furnace is top of the line. A 30K BTU is about $800.

another option is the Suburban furnace that requires power to run the unit. This unit comes in either a 20K or 30K btu unit. I was thinking that one of these would work but thought to check on the forum first.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

What is the ceiling height?

I went with a 25k Suburban in my 8x20 (7' tall), and it seems like it'll be perfect. Personally, I'd do the 30k in there (over the 20k) for sure.

[jentz]

You fellows are over doing it.In my 780 sq.ft.garage I went with a 25,000 BTU forced air.I could have gotten by with a 20,000.I can easily keep a constant temp of 70 degrees I chose 65 degrees while out there and 50 when I want a warm garage for mornings.Your wanting to heat 180 sq.ft.My garage is insulated R38 ceiling and R 13 walls.

[lanningjw]

The 30K BTU Suburban is on sale at Milac freight for $525. The 20K btu on is $425.

The ceiling height is just over 7 feet the skid house. I guess what you are saying it always better to go alittle bigger?

[gizmoguy]

A house of that size should only need a 20000 btu direct vent furnace. If you didn't have a direct vent before you will be eliminating any make-up air drafts since the direct vent feeds it's self fresh air. And the smaller one will have a longer duty cycle so you will have less high heat - no heat cycles. If it's an Empire they come in 25k and 35k sizes. Must be another brand. If it's a drafty house go with the 30k size

[gizmoguy]

I see now you are looking at the suburban. That requires battery power to work since it is a forced air type like in my camper. A direct vent like the Empire requires no power.

[lanningjw]

Update on getting a heater for the skid house...

After speaking with several heating and A/C pro's.

Seems the gold standard for skid house heaters is the Empire direct vent LP heater. They have been around for over 60 years of productions. Like others have mentioned, it does not require battery power to operate like the suburban heaters that are being installed on many of the commerial wheel houses. They are also really loud with the fan coming on, we have one in our camper and it sucks when your trying to sleep.

DJ's heating and cooling said that for a 180 square foot space it would only require the 15,000 BTU heater. Seems alot of the houses that have the larger size heater experience a condition called "short cycling" of the heating system. Causing higher temps at the ceiling of the house. As we all know this bakes the guy out of the top bunk.

DJ's is selling the empire 15k heater for $579 with all the stuff for a hookup on the the system. what do you fellas think?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

If you go with a non-forced air, the guy on the top bunk is gonna be a lot warmer than the guy on the bottom, no matter what. You'll need some sort of a fan to push the warm air down. Simple physics of convection currents.

15,000 btu's is way too small for a 10x18 fish house. The residential room size calculations may say it'll work, but they don't account for open holes to the ice, and vastly different construction techniques and insulation in a fish house vs residential home. I don't think you'll find many people with actual fish house experience who would recommend one that small.

[lanningjw]

The residential size recommendation for 180 square feet is a 5K btu heater. this is 3 times bigger. Most guys I know run there heater on a lower setting. The heat will also rise up with a forced air furnace.

Our new NG heater we just put in our 1,500 square foot 1931 house is only 50K.

What do you suggest we get then? I do thank you for you help...

[R_B]

I have a 12x16 ice house on lake of the woods and I am glad I went with a 30,000btu heater. Most of the time I don't need to turn it up but when its really cold and windy I need that extra heat. I also have a ceiling fan to push the heat down.

[lanningjw]

RB -

What type of 30K heater did you go with?

[R_B]

I don't remember the brand. Its older and not a direct vent. If I were to get a new one I would prolly spend the extra $ and go with the Empire direct vent. I have an Orbis direct vent in my wheel house. I have had a lot of problems with it.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

The residential size recommendation for 180 square feet is a 5K btu heater. this is 3 times bigger. Most guys I know run there heater on a lower setting. The heat will also rise up with a forced air furnace.

Our new NG heater we just put in our 1,500 square foot 1931 house is only 50K.

What do you suggest we get then? I do thank you for you help...

In looking at the Empire's at Fish House Supply, it looks like you can do either 25k or 35k. My experience with the Empire (only one) is that a lot of heat goes out the vent. If it were me, I'd be inclined to go with the 35k, but the 25k would probably be okay.

As I mentioned I went 25k (Suburban SF25F) in my 8x20.

[lanningjw]

OK, How about this?

Empire DV 25......Direct Vent and 25K BTU's $800 Smackers, Now that gonna work so we can catch some fish on Milacs and have some good times!

[jerkbait]

You are still going to want a fan of some sorts to push the heat back towards the floor.

[Bigsmitty]

Go with the 30k BTU Empire.

[jkrash]

I have a 8 X 12 house with a 10,000 BTU Empire direct vent, works great with the optional fan, without the fan the holes furthest from the heater would freeze, I have no problem getting the house up to 70 degrees when it's -20 outside.

Buy the biggest heater you have space for and can afford.