Electric or Propane ???

We are in the Dallas area and it is going to get down to about 27* the next few days. I have read that some put their thermostat at about 40* so the furnace will come on and keep the basement above freezing.

We use electric heaters here. Electric is included in the monthly bill. If I use the furnace and the thermostat is set about 40* or 50*, it will get very cold in here. If I use our electric heaters to keep it about 65 or so the furnace will never come on..

So what is a good way to keep the basement warm and keep me & DW warm. I do have 2 - 150 watt light bulbs in the basement and it has done pretty good except one time.

Merry Christmas to all and may God Bless.

TXBobcat, I bought a thermometer w/sensor on 12ft cord and put it under kitchen sink down along the water lines to monitor underbelly temp.
Verdict is evry time I turned off furnace temp. dropped, so I have to leave it on just have to eat the propane until temps climb. I plan on putting heat tape on today. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

TXBobcat said:

So what is a good way to keep the basement warm and keep me & DW warm. I do have 2 - 150 watt light bulbs in the basement and it has done pretty good except one time.

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Keep in mind that it only takes that one time for you to have an expensive mess. I would rather pay for the propane than the repair.

Basement Heater

Hi Bob,
I have installed a small 110V heater in the underbelly of our 3670. I also used insulation spray foam to seal the area up. I located the heater behind the wall, down low between the water heater and furnace. It was a convenient and open location that should protect the tanks and drain lines, and back side of the UDC.

The heater is designed for electrical panels and is made by Hoffman. It measures about 4"x4"x4" and are available in different wattages. They run about $100 new. I got lucky and found a new 200W heater on eBay for about $20. The heater has a small fan that runs continuously and an adjustable thermostat, which I set on about 50 degrees. I was concerned at first with the continuous fan, but I think it will also tend to make use of waste heat from the convertor and water heater by circulating the air and preventing cold-air stratification in the lower extremities.

Even though we are on a metered electric site, it is more convenient and probably a little cheaper to relay on electric heat. Propane is running about $23 / 30lb tank. I've installed programmable thermostats, but use the fireplace and a oil filled radiator type heater to "trim" the furnace load. Without the electric heat supplements, the Bighorn can easily suck up a 30lb tank in a week. RV furnaces are pretty inefficient, evident by the volume and temperature from the exhaust port while running.

Last winter our Kitchen Sink water lines froze a couple nights when it was below about 25 degrees outside (in NC) before the basement heater was installed. This was short lived and caused no damage, except concern and inconvenience. I'm hoping that this heater has enough effect here in northern Florida to keep everything protected when the furnace is in night setback.

Admin: Link to Hoffman Heaters (look for 115 volt models, then Google the part number to find online sales)

Cold!!!

TXBobcat said:

We are in the Dallas area and it is going to get down to about 27* the next few days. I have read that some put their thermostat at about 40* so the furnace will come on and keep the basement above freezing.

We use electric heaters here. Electric is included in the monthly bill. If I use the furnace and the thermostat is set about 40* or 50*, it will get very cold in here. If I use our electric heaters to keep it about 65 or so the furnace will never come on..

So what is a good way to keep the basement warm and keep me & DW warm. I do have 2 - 150 watt light bulbs in the basement and it has done pretty good except one time.

Merry Christmas to all and may God Bless.

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TXbobcat we are in KC MO has been down to 0 here ! we are staying toasty here with a small elect heater in living room and I installed a heavy duty outdoor timer in basement with 1500watt heating running 30mins every 2 hrs no problems at all Have a remote temp. probe stays 50 even at 0 we have our thermostat set at 65 good luck love our landmark augasta!!!