# ProCom Radiant Vent-Free Liquid Propane Heater — 25,000 BTU, Model# ML250TPA



## chrisasst (Dec 18, 2009)

Do any of you have one of these?









I have never dealt with propane before. How much propane would this go through? What would I have to do to get this hooked up? Does a propane supplier do the pipe running or do I? 

Very novice here. Look for an alternative heat source to my pellet stove.


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## woodsman23 (Dec 18, 2009)

I have one of them in my big shed and it works great. If you put it on high it can eat up some propane and in the house they create moisture (which may not be so bad this time of year). You can simply run some piping from it to a regular grill tank outside or hook right into a big tank. I used 1/2" black pipe then onto a 10 foot propane rubber hose to the tank. Simply hang it on the wall or use the legs and allow it to sit on the floor. It is real simple to hook up and operate. By the way it is -2 here right now.........


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## DAKSY (Dec 18, 2009)

I have never dealt with propane before. How much propane would this go through?

One gallon of LP has roughly 92K BTU. So if you burn this unit on high, 92KBTU/25KBTUHR = 3.68HR.

What would I have to do to get this hooked up? 

Basically, you hafta run a gas line from the unit to the tank...

Does a propane supplier do the pipe running or do I? 

Normally, the installer runs the gas line to a stub & the LP company 
runs the gas line from the tank to the stub.

Very novice here. Look for an alternative heat source to my pellet stove.

It may be a viable back-up, but why vent-free? Vented units are less efficient, but 
there are less issues to deal with... 
Moisture...smells..."acceptable" amounts of CO...
Personally, I wouldn't install one in my home...
Vent-free units have been banned in AT LEAST 5 states & Canada


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## chrisasst (Dec 19, 2009)

so if I ran this thing for lets say 8 hours on high.. It would use 29.44 gallons !  that is a little over 3 days for 100 gallons... How much is propane? WOW


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## DAKSY (Dec 19, 2009)

chrisasst said:
			
		

> so if I ran this thing for lets say 8 hours on high.. It would use 29.44 gallons !  that is a little over 3 days for 100 gallons... How much is propane? WOW



Uhhh, no....3.68 hours to burn ONE gallon of LP...
8hrs/3.68hrs per gal = 2.17 gallons per 8 hours...
That's roughly $5 - least round here...


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## chrisasst (Dec 23, 2009)

hmm, I called my propane company for prices..

With a 3 year contract it is $2.53 / gallon

or without contract it is $4.09 / gallon..

Plus a $80 new tank set and $72 per year tank rental.

So lets say the whole month was freezing cold, and I ran it for 8 hours

8*30 = 240 hours
240 / 2.17 = 110 gallons
110 * 2.53 = $278 a month

(did I figure this right)

Wow that would be a lot and not affordable for me.. now this is the worst case scenario but, 
dang it..


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## DAKSY (Dec 23, 2009)

chrisasst said:
			
		

> hmm, I called my propane company for prices..
> 
> With a 3 year contract it is $2.53 / gallon
> 
> ...



No, no, no, no, no....
2.17gal/day x 30days(mo) = 65.22gal
65.22gal x $2.53/gal = $165/ mo


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## Fsappo (Dec 23, 2009)

What do you pay for your pellets?  Propane at $2.53 per gallon at 99.9% efficiency = $27.73 per million btus.  Pellets at $250 per ton at 75% efficiency = $20.20 per million BTUs.  Pellets would save you about 28% or $46 per month.  So for $46 per month (more or less depending on the price of pellets) is it worth doing the extra work involved with a pellet stove?


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## chrisasst (Dec 23, 2009)

Around my area pellets are $250 - $280 / ton. which I use about a ton a month.   Also at the time all I could afford is a cheap pellet stove, which was a huge mistake. I looked at the 40,000 btu propane fireplaces, which is about what my pellet stove is. But, again if I figured that right that would be $835 a month right. Running 24 hours a day. 

92/40=2.3
24 / 2.3= 11 gallons

30 * 11 = 330 gallons
330 * $2.53 = $835  ( this seems high for some reason)

( sorry not good with numbers)

So I either need a small propane heater for part of my house or a bigger pellet stove.


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