Dumb heating question

[Yankeesouth]

Dumb question about getting quick heat..... http://countryplans.com/smf/Smileys/default/th_duhhh-1.gif  Cabin is about 1100sqf with vaulted ceiling. When I arrive the cabin is the air temp.....for arguments sake let's say 25 degrees. It takes the wood stove a good day to radiate all the heat and heat the place up to a comfortable temp. It's insulated but drafty. I am looking for some options for quick heat. From my understanding the infrared heaters won't work too good in a drafty cabin. Does anyone have any experience with an electric heater for under $100 that kicks off pretty good heat? I will need to plug it into a standard wall socket.

[rick91351]

Dumb question about getting quick heat..... http://countryplans.com/smf/Smileys/default/th_duhhh-1.gif  Cabin is about 1100sqf with vaulted ceiling. When I arrive the cabin is the air temp.....for arguments sake let's say 25 degrees. It takes the wood stove a good day to radiate all the heat and heat the place up to a comfortable temp. It's insulated but drafty. I am looking for some options for quick heat. From my understanding the infrared heaters won't work too good in a drafty cabin. Does anyone have any experience with an electric heater for under $100 that kicks off pretty good heat? I will need to plug it into a standard wall socket.

That is not a dumb question.....   most of the time people experience what your are.  Takes a day a full day to warm up a cold cabin.  Next day is okay to great but then your throwing your stuff in the car to leave and go home.  So goes the winter cabin camping.  We have a couple Edenpure heaters and a couple infrared heaters.  All suck electricity at an alarming rate.  To me they work great like if my wife Ellen is quilting and her room might be a little chilly.  We ran one pretty much 24/7 in the fifthwheel and the propane furnace.  You can not imagine the power bill. So first start by sealing off the drafts.

But to help warm up a cabin with a loft or vaulted ceiling not a huge return on $$$.  Best idea I have seen and you most likely are not going to like this.  It is my friend that has a cabin up at McCall, Idaho.  It has a phone line and an electric furnace.  Friday morning if it is cold like minus Zero or even the day before that if it is down in the minus 20s or so.  He calls up to the cabin and turns the furnace on.  It heats all day when they get up there is is pretty okay comfortable.  they can get the wood stove going and is really nice in a couple hours.  If it is in the twenties that afternoon he makes his call.  But again find your drafts and get them sealed that will make a huge difference.             

[UK4X4]

Not dumb, we always had the same issue with the trailer at site in the midle of winter, inside and out everything at -20oC on arrival

Took 24 -36 hrs of heat to completely thaw out, using both electric and furnace

Its all a question of BTU's its not just the air your heating everything in the cabin is sucking the heat out of the room.

insulation makes zero diference on arrival, it only makes a diference once there is a delta T between inside and out.

insulation only slows heat transfer, it does not stop it entirely.

ie your walls could be fully sealed and insulated 3ft thick, it will still be the same temperature on the inside on arrival

We used double bubble on the windows at night only removing the south facing ones during the day, both the frames and glass need covering.

A decent size wood burner and a pile of dry wood will put out more BTU's in a short time than any electric buzz box heater

[Redoverfarm]

I would consider a single or double eye propane heater with a 20# cylinder.  This is just short term and temporary  until your regular heat can manage.  In the high ceiling a fan forcing the hot air back down will help.  It will also circulate the heated air through out.

[MountainDon]

Warming up a cold cabin is one reason we did a flat 8 foot ceiling with no loft.  We also installed a propane direct vent wall heater to assist with the initial warm up as well as take care of those spring and fall days when a wood fire is too much.  If you have grid power electric heaters are useful.

Cutting the drafts will go a long way to helping too.

[Yankeesouth]

Thanks for the replies.  I guess it's the same sh%@ different day when it comes to heating a cold cabin!!!!  I had a propane heater that I would blast as soon as I got there.  Darn burner went bad.  I guess a $40 burner opposed to an $80 electric heater is kind of a bargain.  I was just curious if those infrared heaters actually through off heat.  Without getting technical I know they heat objects but  was just wondering if they would warm the place faster than your run of the mill electric space heater.

[upa]

We have struggled with the cold soaked cabin problem for years and now have a pretty effective solution. Our cabin is roughly 1100sq/t over 1 1/2 stories(8 foot ceilings). I set up a suspended 40,000 btu direct vent forced air garage type heater(Mr heater) in a corner on the main floor that is fed  via a 2 stage regulator that is pigtailed to two 100 pound propane tanks. You can use 20-30 pound tanks in the shoulder seasons but they won't produce enough evaporated propane when the tanks are partially full or when the outdoor temperatures start getting very cold. Its not unusual for it to get as cold as -10 to -20F during the winter in our parts. Electrical power to run the furnace  electronics, main and exhaust fan comes from our solar array/battery setup. We have marginal cellular coverage so I setup a wireless cell based router that connects to an net connected Honeywell IP thermostat that turns on the propane furnace on demand typically a couple of hours before we arrive at the cabin. Usually it takes about 2.5 hours to raise the air temperature in the cabin from approximately 20 degrees to 68 degrees. Granted this is a less than simple solution but once we arrive its pretty toasty and feels like money well spent  . The walls/structure are still cold but at least its very bearable. Once we arrive we typically entirely rely on the wood stove to continue the warmth and remove any residual coldness from soaked structure over the next few hours. If I am lazy I will let the propane furnace/thermostat keep the overnight temperature stable as the wood stove fire typically ebbs away in the wee hours of the night/morning.

[new land owner]

I use a 110 watt baseboard heater I bought at Home Depot. I put it in the bedroom to get some quick heat in there. Works well.

[Yankeesouth]

UPA.....I thought about doing something similar.  Only problem I have is the wife thinks it makes the cabin look ugly.  Go figure. 

[OlJarhead]

I arrive early (and have done so with the cabin in the teens) and get the propane stove going (18000BTU's), then I light the wood stove and get it cranking.  Can take 2-5 hours of going full tilt on both to get the place warmed up but mostly I can get it done in 2-3 hours.

The key:  18,000 BTU's is enough to heat and warm about 700 sq feet -- so two times that on opposite ends of the cabin seems to do well to warm it up faster

[upa]

UPA.....I thought about doing something similar.  Only problem I have is the wife thinks it makes the cabin look ugly.  Go figure.

Its hardly visually noticeable as I built a closet around it, it's the square opening in the wall to the left of the picture  just below the ceiling fan. The outback mate3 PV controller is located below it in the picture. I too have to live/build under wife approved constraints

[OlJarhead]

http://www.rciautomation.com/thermostat_phone.htm
I wonder if this kind of 'phone' thermostat could be adapted for a propane heater....

[upa]

http://www.rciautomation.com/thermostat_phone.htm
I wonder if this kind of 'phone' thermostat could be adapted for a propane heater....

I don't see why not, assuming your heater can be thermostatically controlled.

This is the one I use, can control it remotely with an android app pretty much anywhere in the world

[OlJarhead]

In my case I have to have a dial up version because I have no internet unless I turn on the satellite modem which I keep off to save power.

[Dave Sparks]

If you have not stopped drafts and leaks everything else should be down the list.

Cutting the drafts will go a long way to helping too.