To vent or not to vent? (heaters)

[norm]

Ok y'all, here's my dillemma. I'm building a new fish house this summer and I've got everything planned out perfectly except for one thing. The heater. I'm not sure whether to go with a vented one or ventless so I wanna know which type you guys have used and some pros and cons of each would be nice too. Thanks a ton!

[Jeremy airjer W]

This debate is starting early this year!

If your going to sleep in it vent it. Its makes good sense, but remeber just because its vented doesn't mean that you out of the woods. A good smoke alarm and a CO detector would also give some peace of mind. Being smart is always the best bet. Waking up dead always ruins a fishing trip.

[hanson]

Actually, this is probably the right time of year to start this debate.

I had to answer this question for myself last summer while building my new sleeper shack.

Obviously, I know the reason why you would consider a ventless and that is cost. At 1/3 the price of a vented, it looks like a very cost effective way to heat your fish house. It will leave you with some extra cash to spruce up other parts of your house.

The one thing to remember with a ventless is the heater is using the air/oxygen (the same oxygen you breath) inside of your fish house for combustion. Exhaust gases also are exhausted into this same atmosphere. I don't know about you but that doesn't sound like a good combination to me.

However, many FMers have posted in the past about effectively using ventless furnaces in their sleeper shacks. Just make sure the furnace is running effeciently, provide vents to the outside for fresh air, and make sure you have a properly operating CO detector or 2.

For my peace of mind while sleeping, I went with an Empire 15,000 btu direct vent. Yes, it cost more but I was willing to accept that for a good nights sleep.

A direct vent furnace uses outside air/oxygen for combustion and then exhausts to the outside also. This is a desirable situation IMHO.

Personally, I'd go with the direct vent, install a couple little ceiling fans to force the hot air down, and you'll be living comfortably at 80 plus degrees in your house.

[1tofish]

We have a new "name brand" sleeper house. It has a vented forced air furnace. This is the best type of furnace you could put in a sleeper or even a day house. We still use some air vents just to keep some fresh air coming in. This forced air feature is great. Gets the floor dry and keeps the house comfortable from top to bottom. There is a termostat on the wall, and the fan runs off 2 deep cycle batteries that are on a solar charger. Probably not the cheapest way to go, but if you are going to spend any amount of time in your house, this is the way to go. At the very least I would chose vented. Do it right the first time.

[nytelyter]

mine is vented and i still have 5 2 1/2 soffet vents just below the ceiling on three sides of my sleeper one above each gas lamp at either end and three on the heater wall never have enuff fresh air in the fishhouse