16,000 BTU's enough heat?

[brian6715]

Hey guys, I am looking at finishing an 8x16 Yetti and I found a used forced air furnace. It's 16,000 BTU, is this enough heat? The price is right, but I don't want to get something that has to work hard to keep up and can't keep the house comfortable. Any opinion is appreciated!

Brian-

[harvey lee]

I have a Attwood 16,000 btu furnace in my 16ft Ice castle. I have no issues with getting enough heat in it on cold days. One night it was -13 and the furnace kept up just fine. Would run for awhile and then kick out for 3-4 minutes and then kick in again.

The night it was -13, I had the thermo set at 80 when I got there and forgot to turn it down to 70 before I went to bed. Yep, woke up at midnight for a rattle reel and it was 80 in the house so it is enough to get it that warm for sure.

The last 2 nights, the heater hardly had to run at all.

For the month I have owned this house, the thought of needing a larger heater never came to mind.

My duct work or 2 vent's come out in front of the stove and cabinent in the front of the house at the bottom and that work's great as the heat is so even from the top to the bottom or floor of the house.

On a zero degree day, I would guess it takes about 10 minutes to have it up to 60-70 degree's.

It will also depend on your insulation, I have an insulated floor and walls and I use the Catch cover hole inserts so there is zero loss of heat through the holes or any drafts. The house is very airtight. I do crack one window when I sleep at night just in case. Yes, I do have a CO detector and a LP detector, just like the peace of mind with a cracked window for a little fresh air.

No need here for a 18,000 btu.

[magnum mike]

FYI - a Big Buddy heater is 18,000 btu. It is wall mountable, has a fan and can easily be moved if needed. Just another option.

[aczr2k]

I would not want a big buddy to heat my wheelhouse, its non vented for one thing and I think you will be very disappointed in its performance. We have a 18,000 btu Attwood in our 6.5x16 Yetti.

[Hawg]

I think it's borderline but you should be ok. I think most of us would tell you to not use the buddy heater or any unvented heater if you spend a lot of time or overnights in it.

[harvey lee]

I did take my Buddy heater and ran it in the fish house for close to a half day and set it right next to my CO detector and the LP gas detector to see if it would set the alarm off. No alarm after 6-7 hours of use. My Mr heater, set the alarm off within 10 minutes.

With that said, would I use it for heat all the time and at night, no.

Heck, I always crack a window even with the heater that came in the house, one cannot be too careful.

[Hawg]

Harvey-don't do it at night. It's not just the fact it could set off an alarm but the headaches, the moisture, the smell and the increased chance you could die just doesn't make sense. How lucky do you feel? You have enough in a house that size not to save a couple hundred dollars on safe heat.

[mmartin]

Harvey-don't do it at night. It's not just the fact it could set off an alarm but the headaches, the moisture, the smell and the increased chance you could die just doesn't make sense. How lucky do you feel? You have enough in a house that size not to save a couple hundred dollars on safe heat.

The moisture alone from a Buddy heater is bad. My furnace quit working on LOTW last winter when it was -30 out. We used a buddy heater that night with 2 windows cracked open. It stayed plenty warm inside, but the ice build up around the windows was unreal.

[harvey lee]

Harvey-don't do it at night. It's not just the fact it could set off an alarm but the headaches, the moisture, the smell and the increased chance you could die just doesn't make sense. How lucky do you feel? You have enough in a house that size not to save a couple hundred dollars on safe heat.

I would never think of using a Buddy at night.

I just used it one day to see if it would set off the co detector, that's all I did.