# need advice on a ventless Lp heater for old house



## jeanw (Nov 15, 2012)

trying  again to type this post..
 Bought this old money pit house this spring... WE got the fireplace inspected   and bought a used woodstove....its working fine...
But since we dont spend all our time here we need to    install a LP unit ..
a guy from propane company said the INFARED  heater was better than a blue flame unit...
is this true????
Hubby thought maybe we could put unit in basement to keep stufff from freezing....
  THIS OLD HOUSE has a propane furnace outside......we figure it would cost  more to keep the propane furnace running on low than to run   a   30,000 btu heater in basement..
   propane store installer said we could tie into the outside LP line to feed a new basement propane
heater.. also  the installer over phone said an infared  propane unit is better than a blue flame LP unit. 
 heater....
   so which mfg makes better units... are Empire units USA made????
Please advise... Course I trust vented units more.. But lots of trouble to install....
Tanks
Jean


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## FanMan (Nov 15, 2012)

Infrared heats objects in the room, not the air, so not the best choice if you want to heat air in the basement and expect it to rise into the upper floors.  But for any ventless heater, consider whether you _really_ want all those combustion by-products in your house... if you run it all the time it'll put a lot of moisture in the house.


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## fueldude (Nov 16, 2012)

Empire units are made in Belleville, IL. They have a private label HearthSense that is imported (same guts, less warranty-- they are made by ProCom).

Infrared is best described as heating the objects and reflecting the heat back. Think of sitting in a window and having the sun shine. Blue Flame usually gives you 5,000 more BTU than Infrared and heats the air up and it uses convection to move around. Works better for bigger open areas. Like sitting on the beach under a palm tree... At least that is what the brochure says.

Either way if you're going to get one, get one with a thermostat and skip the blower-- you can always add it later if you think it is needed.

Like most say, the byproducts can be bad news, but if you read the manual and use them as directed then you shouldn't have any problems.


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