Forced Air Furnace or Blue Flame Heater???

[rippinlipz]

In my ice house/camper I have a force air furnace that is not working. So I was looking at getting a new forced air furnace and never expected them to be around 400 bucks. So then i was thinking of getting one of those blue flame heaters instead. The thing thats nice about the blue flame heaters is that you dont need power to run a fan. But the fan would be nice to help circulate the air. Whats your thoughts before I make my purchase??

[beer batter]

Those blue flame heaters are not vented. I'm always leary of those things so I prefer vented heaters. I'd go with a vented wall furnace and add in some 12 volt computer fans separately. That way you can still run the heater without power but run fans if you have power.

[Eric Wettschreck]

You are going to get many different opinions on this one. I have a blue flame heater in my shanty. I also have a CO detector and I haven't died yet. However, a direct vented furnace is WAY safer.

You are going to get a lot of replys saying go direct vent only because of the safety factor. You are going to get replys saying a good blue flame and CO detector are just fine. The final decision is yours. Blue flame is way easier on the wallet and direct vent is way easier of the peace of mind. There ya go, clear as mud.

[iffwalleyes]

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You are going to get many different opinions on this one. I have a blue flame heater in my shanty. I also have a CO detector and I haven't died yet. However, a direct vented furnace is WAY safer.

You are going to get a lot of replys saying go direct vent only because of the safety factor. You are going to get replys saying a good blue flame and CO detector are just fine. The final decision is yours. Blue flame is way easier on the wallet and direct vent is way easier of the peace of mind. There ya go, clear as mud.

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ditto what he said. I have a blue flame and love it. They have a low oxygen shut off on them as well at least the new ones do.

[End of the Line]

Blue flame heaters will also put alot of moisture inside your camper. May cause additional problems.

[deepportage01]

As someone eles said go with DVH with some 12v fans,I know alot of guys run blue flame but I would rather not have to worry about killing my self to save a buck.

[love to hunt]

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As someone eles said go with DVH with some 12v fans,I know alot of guys run blue flame but I would rather not have to worry about killing my self to save a buck.

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Especially if you are going to sleep in the shanty. For a day house you could get away with it and crack a window for air.

Als true about the moisture problem. There is a lot of water in liquid propane and when you burn it all that water goes into your house.

I stayed in a rental on Leech for the Pout Fest and got sick as a dog because of the vent free heater.

[dodgeman]

pout fest sick as a dog are you sure it was the heater?? and not the beverages. just kidding.

I would never put a vent free heater in a fish house if you plan on sleeping in it I would like to go to bed knowing i will wake up in the morning plus thy burn the eyes and give off alot of water. Spend the extra money I have a direct vent and forced air in mine.

[hanson]

I love my Empire Direct Vent furnace!

There are definitely pros & cons to vented & non-vented furnaces. Its too bad that the only con to a direct vent is $$$$$.

[love to hunt]

It could have been the deer steaks and beans that made me sick, but probably not.

[LODFFB]

I am using a Blue Flame heater this year because I have one but next year I want to get a forced air Vented. I dont have an unlimited budget and time. But its progressing. I am hoping to have it insulated this Nov but if not One year shouldent Destroy it, I dont get out everyday.

[wayne123]

I have a ventless propane heater in my cabin. It is about 20 years old and has an oxgen sensor built in. The strange thing is in the manual it states to open a window about an inch when using the heater. I am not worried because my cabin is about 60 years old and has newspaper for insulation so I get plenty of fresh air. I would be concerned about putting the heater I have in a well insulated fish house. I would assume the newer ventless heaters do not have the requirement to open a window when in use but would definitely read the owners manual before purchasing one.

[rippinlipz]

Which one would use more propane?

Are there any cheap online stores for a forced air furnance? Fish house supply was asking $400... ouch...

[love to hunt]

You can get an Orbis 15,000BTU DV heater at Fleet Farm for around $300.00

[JohnMickish]

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Which one would use more propane?

Are there any cheap online stores for a forced air furnance? Fish house supply was asking $400... ouch...

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What's a trip to the hospital for CO poisoning going to cost?

A perfectly working ventless heater is a great heater, the problem is we don't live in a perfect world. There are many, many guys here that have had no problem with their heaters and a few that have. It's like Lasik surgery, are the odds good enough that nothing will go wrong? If you think they are good enough go ahead and save some bucks, if you don't think they are good enough (I don't) then try to pick up a used vented camper heater from hsolist or from a RV salvage place.

[love to hunt]

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What's a trip to the hospital for CO poisoning going to cost?

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Well said.

Kind of like saying "it's ok, the safety is on."

I don't trust them in a small confined space.

[freezdried]

I stayed in a rental last year with a forced air heater. All I can say is if you want the top bunk at about the same temp. as the bottom bunk it the only way to go. I was so impressed that I went and bought a new house with a forced air just a month ago. Here is a picture

[rippinlipz]

Excellent, thanks guys!!

I have a camper style icehouse so i will need a force air furnace 8 x 11, should i just order one from fish house supply. ???? Thanks.

[freezdried]

Keep an eye on hsolist, they have them kinda cheap once in a while

[love to hunt]

I would, he has excellant products and it will be new. I also know he has a good reputation so you are pretty safe buying from him.

I don't like going used on stuff like on hsolist because there is no warrentee and you don't know what you are getting.

[ChuckN]

I own 2 different ventless heaters and both are great. My $.02 is that the most important factors in any fishhouse is ventilation and a CO detector...regardless of the make or model of the heater.

The downside to the ventless heaters is the moisture and condensation in the air. If I run a small fan it almost eliminates that issue.

On a side note about heaters,

I've had very slight leaks in copper fittings (one fitting actually cracked last winter) I thought was related to the heater performance. I couldn't smell the gas, but I could kinda smell an issue. When my eyes burned I knew there was a problem. The CO detector picked up an issue too.

When installing heaters in the houses I've owned I found that pipe thread on the brass fittings is mandatory for a good seal.

[GoodToGo]

My direct vent went belly up a few years ago, I switched to a blue flame with no issues. I have had no problems with moisture, it puts out good heat, and now that I have had one I have no more concerns with CO than I did with the direct vent. I have a CO monitor in the house, which I first installed with the direct vent. CO has never been detected in the house. It runs fine off a 20 lber too, I was initially told it had to run off of a 100 lber.

[fishinalot]

Rippinlip!!

Love to hunt is right, stay away from HSOList for a furnace. You don't know who your dealing with and if you have a problem your screwed.

A buddy of mine just picked up a 16,000 atwood forced air from Fish House Supply. It came with a 1-year warranty, thermostat, (some guys are selling them without) and Fish House Supply's own personel wiring instructions. It took him less then 5-minutes to hook it up! For $375 you won't get that from HSOList, most of those furnaces I think that are sold on HSOList are factory repo's that have been repaired.

[iffwalleyes]

I say this every year and I will say it again. If a ventless heater if installed correctly with the recommend venting that the manufacture recommends they are just as safe as a vented heater. If you want to have a tightly sealed house with out vents you will be running a risk reguardless of type of heater. The manufacture tell you how much venting should be available for safe use of the heater. The heaters also have a CO safety shut off feature just like Mr. Heaters Buddy series of heaters. One other thing I will mention I run my blueflame all the time once the house hits the lake and never once have I came back and had the heater out or burning strange as a heater without oxygen will do. But I have it vented accordly and use my CO dectector. I know people have gotten sick from the heaters but for me it goes back to the question was the heater installed properly.

[fishinalot]

My only problem with a blue flame is not the safety isssue, it is trying to keep it at the right temp. They are too hot or too cold most of the time. You get what you pay for and I will pay for a direct vent with a wall mounted thermost I can set a 70 degrees and not have to worry about sleeping at night!