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frankpaige
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2021 09:17pm
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Yes, it is December in Colorado. Slightly cooler nights. Up at the cabin for the supposed meteor shower. Do you ever leave the LP heater running all night? Never had any issues. Have the CO2 monitor. Just feeling timid about doing that. Low is forecast at 20-28. The better half chose to stay home.
Wisdom says, stay up late, crank it up, turn off at night, night time.
Just throwing it out there. I do sleep in the loft.
Just sayin, Life is better at the cabin.
Merry Christmas everyone
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2021 09:25pm
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Unvented?
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2021 09:40pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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Does it have a 'stat and cycle off/on? If so, the real run time is diminished.
Have you tested the CO alarm, new bats, have it at the right height for where you sleep?
Iirc CO and smoke rises, LP sinks, different levels for diff alarms.
We've run ours turned down to about 50*f, warms up in the morning pretty quick from there.
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frankpaige
Member
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2021 09:48pm
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Vented. No cycle on/off. Even thought of just leaving the pilot light on for something.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2021 09:56pm
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Quoting: gcrank1 Iirc CO and smoke rises
Smoke rises because it is warm because it usually is formed when something burns or smoulders.
Ditto for the reasons that CO will usually rise.
But, the molecular weight of CO is virtually the same as the normal air mixture we live in. So once CO cools to room temperature it will not stay stratified. Place the CO detector at pretty much any convenient level. Eye-level works well if the device has a digital PPM readout as some do.
LP gas is definitely a heavier weight molecule and will hug the floor level, even flow out through gaps under doors. So, LP sensors should be mounted low.
Back to the OP question. I have lost friends to CO poisoning. I will not stay in a room that uses a non-vented heater or even a non-vented refrigerator. Two friends came very close to death because of a supposedly safe propane fridge having a problem. Period. Not at all. That's maybe just me, but CO does sneak up on you, once in your blood it stays there a while. If you are lucky you get a headache, figure out the problem and survive. Otherwise, no.
So, I think frankpaige is wise to be cautious.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2021 09:57pm
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Quoting: frankpaige Vented. No cycle on/off. Even thought of just leaving the pilot light on for something.
Direct vent should be no issue at all. That is a big part of why they are best. We use DV at the cabins all the time. No concerns for me with them.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2021 10:16pm - Edited by: paulz
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Agree vented would be fine. Mine is on a switch, no thermostat, and I only run it while I'm awake. For one it would overheat the cabin if left on constantly and also once under the covers I don't mind if it gets cool and I save a few bucks on LP. Pilot light stays on. I guess I sleep a little better not thinking about it being on too.
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2021 08:21am
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With functioning CO detectors (I have 2), I slept hundreds of nights in my old place with an unvented LP heater, and many in the new place with a direct vented one.
If you don't trust CO detectors, get better ones or test them so you do.
Many things in life can kill us, but there are many safety measures to avoid that risk. If all of them don't make you feel safe then don't do it, but I don't really think there is much to worry about if you take proper precautions, do a proper install and have smoke and CO detectors.
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jhp
Member
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2021 09:20am
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Before I had my place more finished (no insulation + buddy heater) I slept several nights with it off down to temps around 10 degrees with the cabin in the 20s. Water bottle next to the bed was frozen.
Other than wearing a hat to bed the worst part was getting up in the morning and not wanting to leave the warm bed.
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spencerin
Member
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2021 10:11pm
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As previously pointed out, vented is safe as it exhausts byproducts of combustion outside. Always a good idea to keep an alarm around anytime gasses are being burned, but that goes even for primary residences that run things with natural gas.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2021 09:54am - Edited by: paulz
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Well I fell asleep the other night with the heater on (direct vent), something I just said I don't do. I usually only use it for a quick warmup before the wood stove kicks in. Woke up in a sweat 3 hours later, 86F in the cabin! Opened the front door to 39F outside temp until it got back into the 70s.
It's hooked to an on/off switch. I tried a thermostat but it was very inconsistent. I should probably try another one, or move it closer to the heater. Our comfort lever is 69-71F, I don't have the 90 weight blood you northerners have. No moral to this, other than had it been a non-vented heater the CO alarm may have gone off, or worse. It, btw, is at least 3 years old but still blinks green every minute. Starting to wonder if I should just replace it anyway.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2021 10:10am
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Redundancy with CO detectors may be the best way.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2021 10:13am
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A furnace technician would look for corrosion in the combustion chamber and recommend replacement if that was bad. They look for any rust-through perforation that could release flame or combustion gases into the habitable space.
You can do that yourself. I have an endoscope that can be used to view inside the combustion chamber and many other things. There are cheapy chinese ones available but we have a more professional type that works better than any of the cheapies I have seen and tried.
Pipe and fitting joints usually stay tight if installed correctly. I have a fuel gas sniffer I use if I have any doubts.
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BobW
Member
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2021 09:12pm
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For years we used, and still do for that matter, an unvented propane wall heater in the mountain home. It is about 80 years old and drafty. The heater has a thermostat, an oxygen depletion sensor with shut off and a sensor for the pilot with shut off as well.
External vent is used by central heat systems and they all run 24-7.
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 17 Dec 2021 12:50am
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Crack a window close to your bed, throw on an extra blanket, nothing like a cold room in the morning, hop up, light heat, jump back in bed let it warm up!
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Rickkrus
Member
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# Posted: 23 Dec 2021 12:34am
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Been running a Big Buddy for three years no problems. Follow directions crack a window.
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