A question about a heater

[Looneytoons]

A Cocker Spaniel has about the same BTU's as a hot water bottle but lasts indefinately as long as it's fed twice a day. Also no need to worry about the battery running down.

Two problems wiith the dog method:
1) when you get up for the 3 am trip to the loo, they've got to come with you! There goes the bed warmer while you are gone. . . . . Of course, getting the hubby to "share the warmth" when you come back can be entertaining, too.
2) the dog wants their half out of the middle - which pushes you up against the sides of the TD. Brrrrr! And then, try getting the comforter back from the dog when it is lying in the middle.


I would definitely suggest bringing the smaller model, such as a cocker spaniel, as compared to the larger model of the lab or golden retriever. Similar BTUs generated in a smaller package. And if you can minimize the height and maximize the girth with a bassett hound, that is even better.

AJ

Super Deluxe Bed Warmer

[synaps3]

We have dual bed warmers. Mine is a 25-pound Jack Russell / Dalmatian and hers is a Rat Terrier.

They sleep under the covers, on the outside of the bed. If I have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, mine doesn't even wake up. Cozy.

[parnold]

I don't remember where I saw it, but there is a 12v 200w heater available that is designed for suplementary heat in a car, or for more defrost power on a windshield I was thinking about picking one up to see if it would take a chill out of a tear, but since mine isn't even built yet.. that's a ways off.

[bobhenry]

No electric No problem !





Few dry twigs and your good to go !

[parnold]

I heat my home primarily with pellets.. I have to admit I've been trying to think of a way to make a mini pellet stove that can sit outside the trailer, and draw warm air from around the fire box into the trailer with a small fan. I realize there are probably too many hurdles to overcome, but as I sit in my nice warm house I can't help but dream.....

[Pottercounty]

Mayberry, I can only speak from using 115v heat and what I use to take the chill off is a electric blanket used as a mattress pad. As far as the cabin heat I use a Pelonis Heat furnace. Its about 6"x6"x6" and instead of having glowing heat wires, Pelonis creates heat by the friction of two ceramic discs turning against each other. There is no glowing anything and the friction does all the work. No chance of anything sparking and it has two speeds, and a thermostat as well as a no heat setting to just run the fan. They're a bit pricey at 75-95 bucks but, I enjoy the peace of mind and the heat.
Under no circumstances would I use anything that uses fuel or has heated electrical wires.

[Rigsby]

Ive been thinking about how i am goint to heat my next build. One idea is to have a stove of some sort outside, with a heating coil either in , or on the outside of it, feeding warm water to either a radiator or under floor heatin coil, layed in foam. Has anyone had any similar thoughts ? Being a budget builder, most of this could be made out of cheaply available items, like garden hose and copper pipe
steve

[astrotrailer]

I have a 5x8 cargo trailer that I use year round to support
my astronomy imaging so I get cold at 3am and want some
heat to thaw out. I put in a 12 volt propane furnace under
my desk in the front of the trailer. It pulls under 2 amps
when the furnace is running so my battery has no problem
keeping up with it in the winter. I have 160 watts of solar
on the roof that recharges the battery in the day even when
it is overcast. Since it is forced air with outside combustion air
and exhaust I don't have to worry about taking a permanent nap.

Here is the furnace roughed in.



Here it is after I finished the front.

[stedi]

astrotrailer,
what is your source for the furnace? thanks in advance...
regards,
steve

[astrotrailer]

I have a 20 pound propane bottle mounted on the
outside front wall of the trailer. The 1.8 amps is
to run the blower when the furnace is running.
It takes about 20 minutes to take the inside of the
trailer from 10 to 70 degrees. Once the trailer is
warmed up it only cycles on 3 - 4 times each hour.

I have an inch of rigid insulation on the sides, 2 inches
of rigid under the floor and 1 inch of rigid + 1 inch closed
cell foam on the ceiling so it retains the heat pretty well.

Jeff

[Shadow Catcher]

I was looking for a small heater that was quiet and could be controlled by the thermostat in the tear. I found a used Del-Rain Micro Furnace (Prelonis) on E-bay with variable output. What I did not know is that the fan speed is dependent on output so that on its lowest setting it is very quiet and uses only 400W on its top setting it uses 1400W.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Pelonis-Electri ... 4838ec2b59

[bobhenry]

I like bobhenry and the wood stove. I call that great creativness. Now you just need a small lump of lump coal and you would have a heating source with no propane or electricity, that would turn your teardrop into a sauna! I do like that set up clever! Good job. Is the pot belled stove a old vintage stove? Or can one get a new one manafactored somewhere. That set up I hate to say is tempting. You do have two doors on your tear don't you?slowcowboy.

Yes , and for the safety conceious it has a fire exit sign directly above it.

Those little stoves come up quite often on e bay try "pot belly stove" or "cast irom salesmans samples". They are fully functional and produced at the grey foundry in Pennsylvania ( If I remember correctly)

[Pottercounty]

I was looking for a small heater that was quiet and could be controlled by the thermostat in the tear. I found a used Del-Rain Micro Furnace (Prelonis) on E-bay with variable output. What I did not know is that the fan speed is dependent on output so that on its lowest setting it is very quiet and uses only 400W on its top setting it uses 1400W.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Pelonis-Electri ... 4838ec2b59

Yep, I've had the Pelonis for over 20 yrs, quiet & wonderful..

[kirkman]

slowcowboy... You could get one of these two.
http://www.fatscostoves.com/

http://www.marinestove.com/sardineinfo.htm

[mezmo]

Hey Kirkman, Great links! Those are really nice small stoves.
Nice to have a source for them. Thanks for posting the links.