Forced Air vs Vented Wall Mount

[waligators]

Well I'm kind of in a jam, I bought a 7x14 earlier this winter that already has a forced air furnace in it. Sure it warms the house nice and seems to be pretty easy on the gas, but I'm not a fan of the noise the fan makes while blowing. I bought the house thinking it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but for some reason it really annoys me! Plus, charging the battery for it and bringing that with all the time is kind of a pain. I'm not interested in getting a generator or anything like that to run it. So here's my question- What are the pros and cons between a forced air and a vented wall mount? Does a forced air heat the house faster then a wall mount? The forced air I have now is 16,000 BTU, and I would like to get a 18,000 BTU if i purchase a wall mount. Is that overkill for a 7x14?

[JakeJ_Mn]

I have an Empire DV 215 direct vent heater in my 8x20. It heats very good. I use ceiling fans(which are quiet)to move the air.

Recently, I added a 20,000BTU Suburban furnace mounted on the floor in the back of the house. Mostly, to dry the floor after drilling holes.

My Empire runs 24/7 and a #40 lasts 6 to 9 days depending on the cold.

[JeffB]

Add a wall mount and keep the forced air. Then if the battery dies or if you get tired of the noise you can turn the wall mount heater. The best part is if one dies on a big fishing week end you will still have a heater. If you like a warm floor you will need some sort of air movement. I have forced air and love it. Once fishing the boots come off and slippers go on.

[BigDogRob]

I would agree with Jeff, boots off slippers on... once having the forced air furnace I wouldn't want to go back to a wall mount or a barrel style, but I like dry floors and some comforts...

[Hawg]

I have quite a few friends that have added a wall mount to supplement the forced air. If you build the house you can build it in right and insulate it to be much quieter but you can be sure IC and others don't take the time to do it right.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

This duct insulation makes an incredible difference in the amount of furnace noise. I double lined my entire furnace cabinet and door. I think a big roll was around $15 or so.

No matter what, you'll still have some furnace noise from the fan and moving air. Not much you can do about that.

[Dozer]

I have a 20,000btu Orbis wall mount and 2 celing fans, would never want a forced air. With the ceiling fan my floor is always dry and warm. I was fishing in my shorts and bare feet this morning!

[BigDogRob]

Lip_Ripper Guy, don't you need to vent your heater? I've seen every Ice Castle has slots infront of the furnace inside the house. I thought it is where it sucks in air at the front of the cabinet. I wondered if a guy could just close that off. and put is some soundproofing.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Lip_Ripper Guy, don't you need to vent your heater? I've seen every Ice Castle has slots infront of the furnace inside the house. I thought it is where it sucks in air at the front of the cabinet. I wondered if a guy could just close that off. and put is some soundproofing.

Yes, you do need return vents. Most of the Ice Castles do it very simply...with just a gap in the cabinets. That's fine, but you will have lots of noise.

I have three different ways for return air to get to my furnace.

-The vent nearest the door. I did this as this will be the area with the coldest air in the house.

-On the back side of the range is a vent. I continued this down to the furnace.

-The cabinet side of my bathroom wall (in the corner) is left open down to the furnace.

All told, I have about 116 sq in of return venting, over twice what is required (55 sq in).

[Mid-Lake Rock]

I'm not a fan of the noise the fan makes while blowing.

Plus, charging the battery for it and bringing that with all the time is kind of a pain.

I purchased some 3/4 inch, fireproof acoustical insulation, then build a plywood box. I lined the box with the insulation and fit it over the furnace. I barely notice the furnace while in the house.

Unfortunately, the only only real remedy for managing batteries is a generator. I was not excited about buying one, however a quality generator is a good investment and I now use it for much more than the fish house. When considering how much I invested in the wheel house, the generator made sense. I also upgraded my batteries and run the generator much less.