Country wrote:

I'm seriously considering replacing my pellet stove that I use to heat
the downstairs of my house with a ventless propane stove.

This is one of *those* annual threads.g I predict a long one.

I went from wood to ventless propane 12 years ago. at the time it
was a complete win. I was buying wood and I got more heat for less
money buying propane.

Propane has gone way up, but I think overall it is pretty close now,
moneywise.

What I *don't* have is work, mess, and uneven heating. When I want
heat I have it-- and when I don't, I turn it off.

-snip-
My problem is that I don't know much about those propane stoves. How
much crap does the ventless ones put in the air inside the house? I
don't think you can have combustion efficient enough to not put some
smoke or contaminants in the air.

Mine adds moisture. [which is welcome because the rest of the house
is heated with hot air. It is in a room with 6 windows and a door &
they never steam up-- so the amount of moisture is not harmful.]

It is a dust magnet, but the dust is clean. As far as I see, there
are no contaminants in the house.

Do they break down all the time too?

The first year after I bought mine I 'had' to buy a new igniter. [$32]
When it appeared to be bad the next fall I got looking around & saw
that the common cause of problems was a speck of dust. A blast with
a can of air cures them. Now I get 5-6 years out the igniter.
Other than that, I dust it each fall with a shop vac & I've wiped it
down with stove black a few year ago.



In the stores I've visited, I've only seen the ventless ones. Do they
make one that I can add a chimney too and vent the smoke outside?

They do. But there isn't any smoke-- you're venting moisture and hot
air.


I don't have the most air tight house in the world but it's not too
drafty either.

I don't have a propane tank so I will need to get one. I would also
get a CO detector, an O2 detector and and see if there is something
that will detect a gas leak. One stove I looked at already has a low
oxygen detector but I would want to make sure I have some sort of low
oxygen warning system if the stove doesn't have it or maybe even
double up on it even if the stove does.

O2 won't hurt--- but the CO & explosive gas detector is an absolute
must.


What other questions can you folks thing of I should be asking.

Some operate on a thermostat that uses degrees. Others have
'low-medium-high' dials. I wanted a thermostat with degrees, but
the missus fell in love with the design of the one we got & it had a
dial. It works fine.

Any tips and advice would be appreciated.


Check with you building inspector. [and propane supplier] In my area
there is a limit to the number of BTU's a ventless can have determined
by the size of the room.

There is a world of difference in propane suppliers. Some will give
you a great deal on an appliance in order to hook you. I got a
free water heater once from one. a year later my contract with them
was up and I told them I was moving to someone else & they lowered
their prices.

Jim