Trying to stay ahead of the game.
We’re getting really close to moving into the “creekhouse.” (1,000 sq ft 2br 1ba built in early 1900’s.)
I dumped about $2k into the best 3-prong window ac units HD had to offer, and they’re kicking ass.
When shopping for the big billy badass one in the main living area, they had one with heat, but no 3-prong, and I’m the farthest thing from an electrician.
There’s a gas hookup outside for a propane “submarine.” I spoke with the guy who fills our tank at the shop and he basically said, “Dude, just let us come out, pop in a couple wall heaters/fireplace insert, and call it a day.”
This is probably the route we’ll go. We already have a couple “antique” gas heaters with hookups in the living room and between the two bedrooms. I’d really like to seal the fireplace (mouse haven) and have a gas-log insert.
My only concerns are:
A: Cost. Should I bite the bullet and either replace the window units with ones that supply heat or go full “special person” and consider HVAC?
B: Once we build our “REAL” house, we might end up renting out this house as either a long term rental or airbnb type thing. Are non-thermostatically controlled gas heaters a liability? My only experience with them is the one upstairs at the shop which I *may* have accidentally left on overnight a time or two.
Those type of gas heaters have been working just fine in my dad's house since 1919. There is still the original one in the fireplace from when the house was built.
In reply to z31maniac :
These guys do have a cool, almost mid century modern vibe. 
I'm a big fan of pellet stoves.
I live in the land of winter/road-repair. We have rediculously long, overcast, cold, windy winters.
I live in a house with minimal insulation and $750 worth of pellets gets me through our 5 month long cold period. I'm talking 70-75* inside when it's 0* or colder outside.
A pallet of pellets takes up <16ft2 and broken down, will stack nicely on a porch without being an eye-sore or PITA to grab another bag when the hopper goes low.
Just a thought.
You could put a small pellet insert into that fireplace which would be vastly more efficient than a wood stove. A small one will easily heat 1000 sqft.
The new ones are very efficient but make sure you can get pellets from a distributor pretty easily. We ran into an issue last year where the manufacturer couldn't get the trees off the mountain to make more pellets. Then nearly every distributor ran out of even the crappy ones.
The downside is that they require some maintenance and refills despite having an auto igniter and being thermostatically controlled.
I just put in a heat pump since it was like 200 bucks more than the new AC I needed but I kept the pellet furnace as a backup. Scroll type heat pumps are supposedly exponentially more efficient and work below freezing. The old valve types are the ones that don't.
Is the big AC/Heating unit you're considering a pump or is it one of those electric coil ones?
I don't know enough about gas to give a good recommendation on that, however they're typically more expensive than biomass or a heat pump to run.
Edit: Actually, why not just put in a split-pack/mini-split? A big 2 ton unit will be really efficient, quiet, thermostatically controlled and they have an actual scroll type heat pumps in them. You're only going to need some minor electrical work and a small hole to put it in. They're like $1.5 to $2 grand which may be more than you're looking to spend but it'll solve a whole host of issues.
If you move into the $3k zone you can get ones that are multi-zone.
I used a pellet stove in CT for years. Worked well. What I wanted was a heat pump..
volvoclearinghouse said:
Can't beat dead trees.
I don't have to move logs, clean out ash, or monitor the heat of the fire with a gas stove.
Turn it on and adjust a knob, no mess, no fuss.
z31maniac said:
volvoclearinghouse said:
Can't beat dead trees.
I don't have to move logs, clean out ash, or monitor the heat of the fire with a gas stove.
Turn it on and adjust a knob, no mess, no fuss.
Yes, but gas has no soul.
volvoclearinghouse said:
Yes, but gas has no soul.
Obviously, you've never been around me after taco bell.
