Which heater for a permanent fish house???

[little kid]

Looking to get a propane heater for a permanent fish house (6.5 x 14'). Must be a direct-vent. Any suggestions? Looking for brand/model, where to buy, and approximate price... Thanks fellas

[hanson]

Empire 15,000 Btu Direct Vent Furnace should run you in the $450 range or so.

Most of the fish house supply type stores carry these furnaces.

Same heater I have in my shack.

[Augusta]

I put in the Empire direct vent 15,000 btu in my 6.5 x 14 shack, works great! (Paid around $475.00, but have heard the price is going up on them)

[Nordern]

We have been running the Empire direct vent in our perm for 10 years with no problems. IMO that's the one to get.

[Eiger0304]

You might want to check out Fleet Farms ad this week. Orbis direct vent heater, 15,000 btu $299. The 20,000 btu for $379. Has anyone ever used one of these heaters? If so how are they? Looking at picking one up Friday.

[Crow Hunter]

I have the Orbis 20k btu heater in my shack. I have had a few issues. The temperature sensing bulb is on the bottom of the heater; since fish houses generally stay colder near the floor, the heater turned on too often. Orbis advised me to move the sensing bulb from its standard position and mount it up higher, which I did; it is now along the side, within a few inches of the top of the heater. Still turns on too much, with the heat set at the lowest setting it still stays warmer than I would like in my 8X16 shack. If anyone has any ideas for a fix, please let me know. Other than this issue, I have had to replace the thermocouple once and clean out the pilot orifice once. I have had the heater for about 4 years. CH

[Eiger0304]

CH, how high off the floor did you mount your heater? Would it have helped to be a couple of feet off the floor and use a ceiling fan to circulate??

[Crow Hunter]

The instructions gave a minimum clearance from the floor as I recall; I think I put it a little higher than that, but had some stuff on the wall above it and could not mount it a lot higher. I think if you mounted it higher you would have even a bigger gradient in the temp from floor to ceiling, if you did not use a fan to move the air. The Empire heater I replaced had a separate mercury thermostat connected by wire that could be mounted at any height you wanted, but the sensing bulb on the Orbis is connected by copper tubing which limits how far it can be moved higher in relation to the heater position on the wall.

[Eiger0304]

Where is a good place to pick up an Empire heater? Looks like they are a little bit more than the Orbis but I like the idea of a seperate thermastat.

[little kid]

Thanks for the posts guys - was all set to go with the Empire, but then was wondering about the pros/cons of a forced air heater? How much of a pain is it with these being operated by battery? Any idea how long one would run on a marine battery?? Thanks again fellas...

[minndonn]

I have an orbis and am having problems. I think I will have to clean or replace the pilot oriface also. Had for one year and had dificulties from the beginning. IT came in the house. Also I think the lower you can put the heater the more even the heat will be. A friend has a large house with a blue flame near the floor and his heat is fairly even. The orbis is half way up on a 6 1/2 by 14 and I have a big varience. Has anyone experimented with the heater hight.

[Eiger0304]

Anyone else with comments on heaters?? Orbis or Empire. Guess I would rather pay a few bucks more for something I don't have to mess with ever time I go up to Mille Lacs.

Any more pro's and con's on these heaters would be appreciated.

[fishinalot]

I have a friend that has a Orbis and has had nothing but problems with it. Stick to the Empire, they are by far worth the extra money.

[crappace]

I have an Atwood forced air heater in a 6.5 by 14ft. It heats even and on a really cold weekend i need to charge the battery before the third night.

[Biggerfish]

Crappace,

I am glad to hear someone out there has one of these Atwood heaters. I just recently bought one for my 14 footer and was second quessing myself if I purchased the right one. You can go easily 2 nights on one battery? That is long enough for me. I plan on bring a back up battery just in case. How long have you had yours? Any problems? About how long does a 20# tank last? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[crappace]

This will be my third season with it. No problems. I like it a lot and it keeps the house toasty for my girlfriend and two Dalmations. My floor is not insulated and I believe the house loses a lot of heat from it but the battery still runs fine for the weekend. I use a DieHard Marine battery for the heat and a SprawlMart special for the lights. This year I am adding a charging system so there will be no worries at all. I am unsure about insulating the bottom and having water trapped up there to rot the floor out prematurly.

I use 30lb tanks and one will get me through a weekend. My regulator froze up once and I thawed it with my back up sunflower. Bad LP?? Not sure but it was fine the rest of the trip.

The vents for the blower, in my opinion, block lots of the heat coming out and cause too much back pressure. I have yet to figure out a solution for this that looks better than two dryer tube tunnels by taking the louvers off.

Hope this helps!

[Biggerfish]

Thanks for the response. Does any one else use this Atwood heater in their house?

[Dogzlife000]

I too use a Atwood Hydroflame furnace in my 14 x 6.5 foot fish house. At 19000 btu it heats the house very well.

Some advantages of these furnaces are that they can be installed with almost zero clearances (like under a bunk), and that they heat very evenly since the blower blows the air down and across the floor. The downfalls are that you need a 12volt battery to run it (fortunately at a very low amp draw of 4.6 amps/hr), and that the furnace is a bit more technical than a standard propane heater (has a circuit board, sail switch, limit switch, etc.). Mine has been pretty reliable but I did have a sail switch stick causing me some grief.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with this furnace and feel the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I only wish mine had dsi instead of pilot ignition.

[chadice]

Just so Orbis doesn't feel too picked on, I have the 20k btu in my house, put it in 4 years ago and have had no problems with it. Although parts of it do get hot to the touch and I guess the Empire does not? Anyway I got it at Fleet Farm and I think it was about $250.

[crappace]

Dogzlife000

What part is the Sail Switch? Mine has auto ignition.....

[Dogzlife000]

The sail switch is a safety switch. When the blower kicks on, the switch contacts close from the air flow, the main gas valve will open and ignition begins. It is located on the right side of the furnace near the squirrel cage and the flex hose (you will see two wires along the flex hose that connect to this switch).

If your furnace is old, you should clean this switch. Dust and debris can build up and not allow the switch to close.