Lots of heat related questions lately..
I have a Comfort Glow solarfusion propane SF30PT
heater,,thermostatically
controlled and works by convection(no fan)and radiant heat both..It
claims to
heat 1,000 sq ft..Operates at 15,000 to 30,000 btu..I've had it new in
the box for
over a year now and probably wo'nt install it till next fall..It is
vent free..I plan to
use it along with a forced air furnace to heat this leaky old place,,I
also plan to
seal this place up eventually so a high efficiancy forced air furnace
that draws
fresh air from outside makes sense I guess..The thinking here is
efficiancy,,the
C-Glow requires no electricity and no heat goes out via exhaust wich
makes it
virtually 100% efficient..Propane is less costly than elec..It will
operate during
power outages..
I realize the safety issues,,I live alone lately,,no woman or kids to

worry about..
My question is about calibrating the two thermostats..How to do this so

they
both share the heating load? The C-Glow has a mechanical thermostat
built-in
I'm sure(have'nt opened box yet)so should I move the furnaces'
thermostat to
near the C-Glow? Or just try to calibrate with the respective settings?

Has
Anyone else here been crazy enuff to try something like this?!
LOL..What were
Your results? Any experiences with this exact C-Glow heater? I'm sure
more
questions will come up,,I have more questions than Carter,Lilly or
Roche ever
had pills! I've been holding back,,do'nt wanna overload the internet!
Inquiring
minds wanna know! TIA.
Dean

Hi Dean,

I don't have any personal experience using ventless heaters (they're
not permitted here in Canada, by code), but beyond the obvious safety
issues, I would be concerned about potential odour problems, any
possible heath risks related to long-term exposure to combustion
products and elevated humidity levels. Perhaps these issues are of
little concern now due to your home's relatively leaky construction
but as you take steps to seal up your home, they would be worthwhile
revisiting.

In any event, I take it you would be using this space heater primarily
as a backup heat source in the event of a power outage or furnace
break down? Would that be correct?

If so, I would leave the unit turned off until such time as it is
needed. If you will be away from home for an extended period of time
and are concerned you may lose heat, I would turn it on and set the
thermostat at the minimum setting required to keep your pipes from
freezing (say 40 or 45F). If you normally keep your furnace
thermostat above this set point, this space heater shouldn't come on
unless, obviously, there's a problem. With regards to moving your
furnace thermostat, I can't imagine why this would be necessary (does
the temperature in your home vary that much from room to room?).

Does this unit have a pilot light or electronic ignition? If it
operates on a pilot light I would be inclined to turn it off just to
conserve fuel -- a standard pilot light can uses about a litre of
propane per day (sorry, I don't know how that translates into pounds
or gallons). [During the dead of winter there's little, if anything,
to be gained by doing this, in that your daily heat demand will exceed
this amount by a wide margin, but during more mild periods this
additional heat may be unnecessary.]

If you plan to use the heater on a regular basis for spot heating
and/or personal enjoyment, then you might leave the pilot running
(again, assuming it has one) and turn down your main thermostat, at
least during the times it's in use. This is so you don't waste fuel
or overheat your home. At its lowest setting (15,000 BTUs), it's
cranking out about the same amount of heat as three 1,500-watt
electric baseboard heaters and unless your home is especially leaky or
large, this will quickly have you stripping to your shorts in
relatively short order (so to speak).

Not sure if I've properly answered your questions but, if not,
hopefully someone else can.

Cheers,
Paul

On 26 Jan 2007 10:45:22 -0800, "Dean" wrote:

Lots of heat related questions lately..
I have a Comfort Glow solarfusion propane SF30PT
heater,,thermostatically
controlled and works by convection(no fan)and radiant heat both..It
claims to
heat 1,000 sq ft..Operates at 15,000 to 30,000 btu..I've had it new in
the box for
over a year now and probably wo'nt install it till next fall..It is
vent free..I plan to
use it along with a forced air furnace to heat this leaky old place,,I
also plan to
seal this place up eventually so a high efficiancy forced air furnace
that draws
fresh air from outside makes sense I guess..The thinking here is
efficiancy,,the
C-Glow requires no electricity and no heat goes out via exhaust wich
makes it
virtually 100% efficient..Propane is less costly than elec..It will
operate during
power outages..
I realize the safety issues,,I live alone lately,,no woman or kids to

worry about..
My question is about calibrating the two thermostats..How to do this so

they
both share the heating load? The C-Glow has a mechanical thermostat
built-in
I'm sure(have'nt opened box yet)so should I move the furnaces'
thermostat to
near the C-Glow? Or just try to calibrate with the respective settings?

Has
Anyone else here been crazy enuff to try something like this?!
LOL..What were
Your results? Any experiences with this exact C-Glow heater? I'm sure
more
questions will come up,,I have more questions than Carter,Lilly or
Roche ever
had pills! I've been holding back,,do'nt wanna overload the internet!
Inquiring
minds wanna know! TIA.
Dean

On 26 Jan 2007 10:45:22 -0800, "Dean" wrote:

Lots of heat related questions lately..
I have a Comfort Glow solarfusion propane SF30PT
heater,,thermostatically
controlled and works by convection(no fan)and radiant heat both..It
claims to
heat 1,000 sq ft..Operates at 15,000 to 30,000 btu..I've had it new in
the box for

-snip-
I realize the safety issues,,I live alone lately,,no woman or kids to

worry about..

Also no chance that when you pass out from CO poisoning- no-one to
wake you up. Buy a good explosive gas/CO detector. Cost $40 & could
save your life. [since you'll be using this during power outages, be
sure to get one with at least battery backup]

And before you install it, see what the codes are where you live.
In my area, you can't have gas space heaters in rooms where people
sleep, and there are strict BTU/square foot restrictions.

You might want to break the code at your peril-- but your gas supplier
won't.

My question is about calibrating the two thermostats..How to do this so

they
both share the heating load? The C-Glow has a mechanical thermostat
built-in
I'm sure(have'nt opened box yet)so should I move the furnaces'
thermostat to
near the C-Glow? Or just try to calibrate with the respective settings?

I doubt you'll get them to work together. If it is possible to add
another thermostat, get a setback thermostat for your space heater.
Otherwise, you'll have it trying to heat the whole house when your
furnace gets setback at night.


Jim

On Jan 29, 7:28 am, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
On 26 Jan 2007 10:45:22 -0800, "Dean" wrote:

Lots of heat related questions lately..
I have a Comfort Glow solarfusion propane SF30PT
heater,,thermostatically
controlled and works by convection(no fan)and radiant heat both..It
claims to
heat 1,000 sq ft..Operates at 15,000 to 30,000 btu..I've had it new in
the box for-snip-

I realize the safety issues,,I live alone lately,,no woman or kids to

worry about..Also no chance that when you pass out from CO poisoning- no-one to
wake you up. Buy a good explosive gas/CO detector. Cost $40 & could
save your life. [since you'll be using this during power outages, be
sure to get one with at least battery backup]

And before you install it, see what the codes are where you live.
In my area, you can't have gas space heaters in rooms where people
sleep, and there are strict BTU/square foot restrictions.

You might want to break the code at your peril-- but your gas supplier
won't.

My question is about calibrating the two thermostats..How to do this so

they
both share the heating load? The C-Glow has a mechanical thermostat
built-in
I'm sure(have'nt opened box yet)so should I move the furnaces'
thermostat to
near the C-Glow? Or just try to calibrate with the respective settings?I doubt you'll get them to work together. If it is possible to add
another thermostat, get a setback thermostat for your space heater.
Otherwise, you'll have it trying to heat the whole house when your
furnace gets setback at night.

Jim

I've got a Nighthawk co detector but it's due for replacement,,$40
ai'nt bad,,maybe 2 of those You mentioned,,I like the idea that it
detects explosive gas in-case of a leak,,that's something that should
be in place anyway since there are charged gas lines in place..
While researching I came accross a site that said "the proper color
of propane flame is blue",,"a blue flame is putting out carbon dioxide
but a yellow flame is putting out carbon monoxide",,When I use the
propane range I have to turn the flame fairly low to get rid of the
yellow tips on the flame before placing a pan on it,,does this mean
it's time to replace the range or just the burners?
Dean
Dean