Quote:
Originally Posted by chris7913
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard6959
Chris, do you have one of these CheapHeat systems? Just curious how well it works, how well it blows if its ducted etc.
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Don't know about Chris, but I have one installed and LOVE it!
They are add-on units to your existing propane furnace, once installed the furnace will work on either gas or electric.
I completed install myself with very solid in homeowner electrical experience. We then spent the month of January Hosting at the Oregon Coast. Temps ranged from very low 20's to a couple days of 50's, but mostly 20's to 30's. We have a 50 amp service and the unit set to the max of 5,000 watts (17,060 BTUs). Our 5er is what I consider a three season unit as the under belly is NOT sealed (yet), we do have tank heaters for the exposed tanks.
We had no power issue with the furnace running and using the microwave, HW on electric, and refer running on electric.
I also have the necessary wiring in place to switch over to 120V/30 amp application. I figure it would take about 10 to 15 minutes to make the switch.
We never had an issue keeping the 5er at our comfort temp of 68 degrees.
During the month the only propane we used for heating was what ever we used in the 2.5 hour drive from home to the park, as we now "pre-heat" the unit while traveling. Our total propane useage for the month was 4 gallons. This was for cooking, and fast HW recovery, DW used the oven often for cookies and roast.
The biggest issue I had was the location of our furnace, to have access to the heating element I needed fabricate a 3" extension to the duct work.
These two pictures show the furnace with the duct extension and Cheap Heat unit installed.
This is the 3" extension I made took about an hour without the use of a sheet metal brake.
This sketch shows the other improvement, in that I now have better airflow over the gas heat exchanger and when on gas the furnace puts out more heat.