When it is below zero.............

[jltrent]

these let the pump kick off from time to time.

 

[Caustic Burno]

these let the pump kick off from time to time.

I have one but like this better.

 

[Little Joe]

@jltrent are you running a heat pump?

 

[redcowsrule33]

Not worried about carbon monoxide?

 

[Logan52]

-12 here on the hillside last night.
Heat pump ran all night despite a roaring fire in the wood stove, located in the den on the far side of the house.
Sunny today and that helps more than anything. We have lots of windows and the sun comes in touching every part of the house, warming things up quickly.

 

[Little Joe]

I always recommend to turn off heat pump and turn to emergency or auxillary heat when it is going to stay below freezing more than just overnight. Heat pumps aren't very efficient below freezing and especially as cold as it's been lately. I've seen lots of damaged fan blades and burnt up motors over the years due to ice building up on the shroud. Also everytime that unit has to defrost it is actually switching the reversing valve into ac mode and has to run strips along with the compressor to counteract the cold air.

 

[TCRanch]

I have one in the garage. Love it!

 

[jltrent]

@jltrent are you running a heat pump?

I have a heat pump set on emergency heat (that turns outside unit off and just basically a non-efficient furnace then), but when it gets below 20 degrees it is worthless. I have another propane fireplace, but the extra tank propane in another room sure helps. I use to burn wood, but by the time I burnt the floor up from sparking out, smoked the house up, getting wood in, keeping a chainsaw and wood splitter going it is not cheap heat, not to mentioned all the work which was probably good exercise.

 

[chaded]

I have a newer Bosch heat pump and it does good until it hits single digits. When it can't keep up it automatically turns on aux heat which is a 20kw electric heat strip. Thankfully the aux heat doesn't run much…

 

[greybeard]

Not below zero by any means but still cold enough on my old bones to light mr heater.

 

[jltrent]

Not worried about carbon monoxide?

I have two carbon monoxide detectors in the house mostly for the fireplace propane heat and since 1999 I have never heard them go off. I buy new ones every few years and replace batteries maybe every five years.

 

[Little Joe]

I have a newer Bosch heat pump and it does good until it hits single digits. When it can't keep up it automatically turns on aux heat which is a 20kw electric heat strip. Thankfully the aux heat doesn't run much…

They are all supposed to turn on aux heat automatically if thermostat is set 3 degrees above room temp or after a set amount of time if temperature has not increased by an acceptable amount, that is all actually controlled by the thermostat but even when it does so the heat pump will still run unless manually swapped to Aux.
I've installed several duel fuel systems over the years that I really liked. Heat pump with 90+% furnace as backup heat. I installed an outdoor thermostat that would turn off heat pimp below whatever temp you set dial to, I always set for 35, and swap to gas heat. Everyone I installed them for has loved them and that 90%+ furnace is very efficient. Typically in Arkansas we don't stay below freezing more than a day or 2 and overnight. I'm really surprised as far north as you are that they install heat pumps in that area.

 

[chaded]

They are all supposed to turn on aux heat automatically if thermostat is set 3 degrees above room temp or after a set amount of time if temperature has not increased by an acceptable amount, that is all actually controlled by the thermostat but even when it does so the heat pump will still run unless manually swapped to Aux.
I've installed several duel fuel systems over the years that I really liked. Heat pump with 90+% furnace as backup heat. I installed an outdoor thermostat that would turn off heat pimp below whatever temp you set dial to, I always set for 35, and swap to gas heat. Everyone I installed them for has loved them and that 90%+ furnace is very efficient. Typically in Arkansas we don't stay below freezing more than a day or 2 and overnight. I'm really surprised as far north as you are that they install heat pumps in that area.

I guess it's a matter of perspective because I can't imagine using gas heat that far south.

Here a dual fuel set-up would be nice but it would have to be propane because there is no natural gas available. There would obviously be additional costs with another set-up and whatnot and I'm not sure how long the savings would take to be realized because it really doesn't get real cold here for long stretches.

We did have a geothermal setup but it was 20 years old and went out and the cost to replace with a new one was 7-10k over the Bosch air to air heat pump. I'm not sure we are going to live here long enough for the savings and the new air pump costs very close to run as the old geo did. I'm sure a newer up to date geo would of been more efficient than both but then the costs…

We used to have a hardy outdoor wood boiler as back-up to the old geothermal but that thing was a forest eater it seemed and I didn't like cutting wood that much.

 

[greybeard]

I guess it's a matter of perspective because I can't imagine using gas heat that far south.

It Natural (gas) is plentiful and cheap. Propane more expensive but also very plentiful.

 

[schamblee]

Not worried about carbon monoxide?

exactly what I was thinking!!

 

[BFE]

I wouldn't be caught dead without something like this in the house. No power needed, will keep an average home in comfortable heat. Cheap. I tell people, if you have to use it one time in your life due to a power outage, it's paid for itself. Plus it will knock the edge off that huge electric bill when things get really cold.

 

[Little Joe]

View attachment 39859
I wouldn't be caught dead without something like this in the house. No power needed, will keep an average home in comfortable heat. Cheap. I tell people, if you have to use it one time in your life due to a power outage, it's paid for itself. Plus it will knock the edge off that huge electric bill when things get really cold.

We have one in our basement (finished basement with stairway open to upstairs) except it is a blue flame instead of infrared. We have central heat pump up stairs, I have it turned to aux heat right now and set at 65 with the bluflame downstairs on high and a box fan at the bottom of the stairs to blow heat up. I also have a bluflame in my garage, that's where we put our dog and cat when it's cold. They're very efficient.

 

[chaded]

View attachment 39859
I wouldn't be caught dead without something like this in the house. No power needed, will keep an average home in comfortable heat. Cheap. I tell people, if you have to use it one time in your life due to a power outage, it's paid for itself. Plus it will knock the edge off that huge electric bill when things get really cold.

I don't know why I have never looked into one of those but I am going to have to get one. Every once in awhile we will get an ice storm and it can knock out the power for a few days.

I have a 30kw generator but the problem is when it is cold enough for an ice storm it is too cold for the heat pump and I am not powering 20kw heat strips with the generator but this propane heater would do great I think.

 

[BFE]

I hauled propane for six years, so I'm a worst case kind of guy when it comes to heating.

91452 btu per gallon of propane, with 100 gallons of lp this heater would run nonstop over 12 days. In reality it would probably only run 1/2 the time so you can double that. Pretty cheap insurance.

 

[BFE]

We have one in our basement (finished basement with stairway open to upstairs) except it is a blue flame instead of infrared. We have central heat pump up stairs, I have it turned to aux heat right now and set at 65 with the bluflame downstairs on high and a box fan at the bottom of the stairs to blow heat up. I also have a bluflame in my garage, that's where we put our dog and cat when it's cold. They're very efficient.

I prefer the blue flame myself.