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Posted By: Bristoe Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
Rigged an aluminum heat sink over the fireplace,....hung a slow blowing 12V mini fan that pushes air across it,...got the hearth filled with cured out Bradford Pear wood,...which is plentiful around here.

The thermostat is set on 64 and the thermometer indicates that it's 70 degrees inside the house,....so the furnace thinks it's July. It's asleep.

My Toolmaker inspired heat exchanger seems to be working pretty good.

My goal is to make it to Valentines day on 400 gallons of propane.

We'll see.
Posted By: rong Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
even if you cut the bill in half ,it's worth it.
Posted By: memtb Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
We’re only using a 30K BTU propane stove, with ceiling fans for circulation. The thermostat is set @ 64degrees also. We’re keeping 3 levels/3800 sq/ft. quite comfortable.....though the basement is a bit cool. You need pants and long sleeves down there! We’ll probably use a bit more than 400 gallons by Valentines Day.....but not a lot more. It really depends on how many days we’re below zero! memtb
Posted By: roundoak Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
How about a picture of your apparatus or is it proprietary?
Posted By: Bristoe Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
Originally Posted by roundoak
How about a picture of your apparatus or is it proprietary?


I would,...but my pic posting gadget won't work on this computer.
Posted By: hanco Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
We haven’t used the heater yet. We had AC on last weekend.
Posted By: Kyhilljack Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
Originally Posted by Bristoe
Rigged an aluminum heat sink over the fireplace,....hung a slow blowing 12V mini fan that pushes air across it,...got the hearth filled with cured out Bradford Pear wood,...which is plentiful around here.

The thermostat is set on 64 and the thermometer indicates that it's 70 degrees inside the house,....so the furnace thinks it's July. It's asleep.

My Toolmaker inspired heat exchanger seems to be working pretty good.

My goal is to make it to Valentines day on 400 gallons of propane.

We'll see.

Had one of these in my first house, they work great.
[img]https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-8bc...Grate_Heater_1__65444.1567192138.jpg?c=2[/img]
Posted By: Bristoe Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
Originally Posted by Kyhilljack
Originally Posted by Bristoe
Rigged an aluminum heat sink over the fireplace,....hung a slow blowing 12V mini fan that pushes air across it,...got the hearth filled with cured out Bradford Pear wood,...which is plentiful around here.

The thermostat is set on 64 and the thermometer indicates that it's 70 degrees inside the house,....so the furnace thinks it's July. It's asleep.

My Toolmaker inspired heat exchanger seems to be working pretty good.

My goal is to make it to Valentines day on 400 gallons of propane.

We'll see.

Had one of these in my first house, they work great.
[img]https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-8bc...Grate_Heater_1__65444.1567192138.jpg?c=2[/img]


I've seen those around. They want big money for them these days.
Posted By: Kyhilljack Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
Originally Posted by Bristoe
Originally Posted by Kyhilljack
Originally Posted by Bristoe
Rigged an aluminum heat sink over the fireplace,....hung a slow blowing 12V mini fan that pushes air across it,...got the hearth filled with cured out Bradford Pear wood,...which is plentiful around here.

The thermostat is set on 64 and the thermometer indicates that it's 70 degrees inside the house,....so the furnace thinks it's July. It's asleep.

My Toolmaker inspired heat exchanger seems to be working pretty good.

My goal is to make it to Valentines day on 400 gallons of propane.

We'll see.

Had one of these in my first house, they work great.
[img]https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-8bc...Grate_Heater_1__65444.1567192138.jpg?c=2[/img]


I've seen those around. They want big money for them these days.

Make one. While you have time before the cane starts growing.
I don't know, first-hand - but I've been told that some of those heat exchangers can cool the flue so much, that they need to be swept more often.

Any one know if that's true?
Posted By: Bristoe Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
Originally Posted by Kyhilljack
Originally Posted by Bristoe
Originally Posted by Kyhilljack
Originally Posted by Bristoe
Rigged an aluminum heat sink over the fireplace,....hung a slow blowing 12V mini fan that pushes air across it,...got the hearth filled with cured out Bradford Pear wood,...which is plentiful around here.

The thermostat is set on 64 and the thermometer indicates that it's 70 degrees inside the house,....so the furnace thinks it's July. It's asleep.

My Toolmaker inspired heat exchanger seems to be working pretty good.

My goal is to make it to Valentines day on 400 gallons of propane.

We'll see.

Had one of these in my first house, they work great.
[img]https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-8bc...Grate_Heater_1__65444.1567192138.jpg?c=2[/img]


I've seen those around. They want big money for them these days.

Make one. While you have time before the cane starts growing.


I'd probably do that if I still had a machine shop at my disposal. But those days are over,...thank goodness.
Posted By: Borchardt Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
Supposed to dip into the 50's here tonight. At least the AC is not running for a day to two.
Posted By: Kyhilljack Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
Originally Posted by mark shubert
I don't know, first-hand - but I've been told that some of those heat exchangers can cool the flue so much, that they need to be swept more often.

Any one know if that's true?

Never had that problem. Biggest advantage to them is all you need is a slow burning fire, and just the coals laying on the grate keeps producing a lot of heat. The one I had came with a door where the hot air blew out the top.
Posted By: hanco Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
How much is propane now. Haven’t bought any in 20 years.
Posted By: AKduck Re: Saving that propane,... - 12/05/19
$2.85 a gallon here.
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