Heat without electricity recommendations.

[Supervstech]

These two sided propane furnaces look very nice; they heat two rooms and function without electricity except for optional fan/thermostat.

I also want a small wood stove for heat/cooking just in case the propane runs out.

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I used to see these all the time in rental houses in the 80's
Central air kinda killed em all off.
They worked, can be setup with a thermostat, and were fairly efficient.

 

[S610]

I used to see these all the time in rental houses in the 80's
Central air kinda killed em all off.
They worked, can be setup with a thermostat, and were fairly efficient.

I was happy to find a two-room off-grid model. Most of the single room heaters have horrible customer reviews but this one looks decent. It is competitively priced too.

 

[Madcodger]

The problem with all or almost all propane heaters that don't require electricity is 1) many are "ventless", which means exactly that - the "leftovers" from combustion have no vent to take them out of the room, so they stay in the room. 2) Those that are vented have very poor efficiency - often 60-some %, as opposed to 80%+ for direct vent units with a blower. As much as I'd love to have a propane heater that requires no electricity, I just can't find one without one or both of these problems.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

to 80%+ for direct vent units with a blower

Many small propane heaters that are direct vent with a blower are fairly dismal for efficiency percentages as well.
For the smaller units imho- it comes down to deciding at what point of the expense you wish to waste money. Because it’s either up front, continually in fuel costs, or in manual labor / effort as with a woodstove.

Interesting thing I just calculated out for myself last week… I’m in Vermont. Factoring for efficiencies, the retail purchase price of the fuels, and solving for $/btu pellet stove heating costs 60% of #2 heating oil, ~40% of propane costs, ~36% of electricity cost, and ~95% of seasoned cord wood. Ya, right now pellets are cheaper per btu than cordwood but probably nearly the same cost as firewood if you factor the electricity a pellet stove uses.

I did this quick pricing because I was curious over a diesel heater vs a pellet stove I have for heating my small tool shop this winter, and I have a tiny ‘barrel stove’ planned for some expired propane cylinders that have a date with my welder. Shop space is small so I wanted to commit to just one user of space.

I decided the electricity impact of the pellet stove will be marginal. It’s way big (75,000 BTUs?) so it can make it warm fast, is direct vented so no chimney cost, and potentially could be left “on” indefinitely. If it turns out poorly (being too big) I’ll just sell it to burn free/found wood in the little stove and use the diesel heater for quick temperature rise.

No electricity heating is a tough gig.

 

[hwy17]

Those that are vented have very poor efficiency - often 60-some %, as opposed to 80%+

It's an inherent limitation that cannot be overcome. If you extract over 70% of the heat from propane combustion gases it will cool them below the condensation point of the combustion water (hydrogen from the propane that has combined with oxygen in the air to make h2o). Once you have condensation you need power venting to clear it out of the system.

 

[Supervstech]

The problem with all or almost all propane heaters that don't require electricity is 1) many are "ventless", which means exactly that - the "leftovers" from combustion have no vent to take them out of the room, so they stay in the room. 2) Those that are vented have very poor efficiency - often 60-some %, as opposed to 80%+ for direct vent units with a blower. As much as I'd love to have a propane heater that requires no electricity, I just can't find one without one or both of these problems.

Yup, to operate without electricity either ya gotta leave the pilot on all thw time, or you have a manual control on lighting the burner when needed.
To operate at a higher efficiency, ya need a blower to push combustion through the HX or even two HX plus pilot lighting only when needed, plus blower for heat transfer.

I have built some zero electricity hydronic radiant heat setups and thw efficiency goes up considerably through water transfer...
Of course then ya gotta have a boiler that will cooperate...

 

[HalfBaked]

Has anyone considered Rocket mass Heaters?

Better Wood Heat: DIY Rocket Mass Heater Movies

Wood heat with one tenth the wood. Usually built in a day and a half. Wood heat can be cleaner and cheaper than natural gas or electric.

permies.com

Another option Free Heat Movie

This has always been my plan. The poor-mans masonry heater. Was supposed to build it before this coming winter, but... probably next year.

Interesting advantages to the RMH. It only needs small sticks, no cutting/splitting/hauling wood. It burns completely, no smoke from chimney. It captures all the heat that normally goes out the chimney and radiates into the living space over many hours, so only one or 2 small fires are required per day. Biggest advantage is it costs close to nothing to build, depending on how nice you want it.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Before we could get a loan to purchase our off grid place, the loan company required us to install a gas space heater. Seems they want a source of heat that can work when the residents are gone during the winter so the pipes will not freeze. They were not able to accept that our place is heated passively by the sun; existing for about 20 years without such supplemental heating. We still use the wood stove for cloudiness when we are home and want comfort. Cooking is also a valid source of heat.

We got a top vented Williams unit similar to that Monterey Plus between a bedroom and short hall. Getting the propane line to the heater is a consideration as well as thermostat placement (ours is battery powered). Also, sound can travel quite easily through the heater from one area to another.

Given that we have products of combustion coming from a propane refrigerator, three pilot lights on our vintage stove, as well as a propane water heater, that 'loss of efficiency' helps with air quality I think.

 

[JLBinTN]

YMMV…
I’ve used unvented wall mounted propane fired heaters for LOTS of years. I’m 75 and still alive. Absolutely no issues with the heaters except keeping them running. The thermocouples tend to fail. Other than that, NO issues.
YMMV…

I am currently using a wood stove and fireplace as our backup heat. I got several tons of coal from Utah and this stuff is wonderful. A mix of coal and wood burns nicely. I do use a grate for the coal, it works better that way, plus getting the ashes out is easier when using a grate.

The big problem with unvented propane heaters is the huge amount of moisture they create. Can wreak havoc in a tightly sealed space.

 

[Hedges]

These two sided propane furnaces look very nice; they heat two rooms and function without electricity except for optional fan/thermostat.

I also want a small wood stove for heat/cooking just in case the propane runs out.

Some furnaces just run full blast constantly.
I replaced a natural gas wall furnace like that with one having a built-in thermostat.
(What the customer actually wanted was one with a thermostat showing temperature setting in degrees.)

Millivolt thermostat systems use a thermo-electric Peltier device to provide power. Ovens and gas water heaters have that, and such furnaces can support an electromechanical thermostat or a battery powered electronic one.

But it does sound like if you provide electricity for a fan, you can get more heat from your fuel. Catch would be then the furnace only works when you have electricity. And more to go wrong. Periodically my central furnace fails because a bug or something plugged the hose to pressure sensor.

 

[Supervstech]

The big problem with unvented propane heaters is the huge amount of moisture they create. Can wreak havoc in a tightly sealed space.

The moisture is especially evident when there is ductwork from a central air system running through unconditioned space…
I have come out to houses with all the ducts that run through the attic FULL OF WATER!