Steve W. wrote the following:
Existential Angst wrote:
.
Awl --
Apropos of the ahr thread Gas vs. electric range, someone spoke
favorably of ventless gas heaters.

Some time ago, it was complete news to me that "ventless gas" heaters
even existed, as I thought it was safety no-no, and also being
conditioned to vented Modine blowers -- not cheap, AND you need a stack.
But after some reading, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven,
regarding my shop heat problem, ie, freezing my ass off.

So I bought TWO, of the "radiant" type, with the ceramic ditty, a
small and a large, plumbed gas to the shop, and BAM, from a heat pov,
I was in seventh heaven. I need not have bought two, and could have
easily gotten by with just the small one! Cheap, too, I think $119
and $79.

But.... BUT.....
The air quality was atrocious!! You could FEEL the air in the
back of your throat -- and I spent many a youthful winter huddled in
a gas-heated kitchen, with no such sensation. A little stuffy, mebbe,
but nothing like this. Almost acrid.

Second, the water vapor.... holy ****..... I don't think a
dehumidifier coulda kept up with the vapor, and the wall above the
unit was just soaked -- not good metal, machinery-wise, OR wall-wise..

They lasted a month, and have been in plastic wrap for years now.

Never could figger out what that smell/sensation was, as they seemed
to be burning clean, altho I never did bring down the CO detector.
But I'm sure had those sensations been related to CO, I'da blacked out
or wound up with a CO migraine.

Too bad, cuz the heat was ossum.
In a sense, the poor air quality mighta been a blessing, cuz I proly
woulda endured the prodigious water vapor, to the long-term detriment
of the shop.

Now, I've added lotsa lighting, proly almost 2 kW worth, so THAT helps
in the winter.
That, and a long electric baseboard heater (with a 3 way wall switch,
you can get high heat and a nice low heat, by switching 120 V to it),
the dehumidifer, and the machines themselves keep it OK -- not toasty,
like the ventless gas, but OK. A second portable electric heater
helps in the super-cold. Also calisthenics.... LOL


The taste was likely due to the Butane that they add for winter use of
propane.
If it tasted sort of like weak weld smoke then it would be the butane
reacting with the catalyst.


I have a vent less propane fireplace in my 4 Seasons' sunroom.
When I lit it up for the first time after installation, it stunk to high
heaven.
I thought I had made a bad decision, but after using it a few more
times, the smell seemed to get less and less each time. It turned out to
be the heating of the fireplace's new interior parts materials that were
giving off the fumes. Since then, the smell disappeared and it hasn't
stunk since.



--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
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