"Overall :
I think this is a fair deal, I originally had a kerosene heater which proved to be insufficient in heat and also filled the room with fumes. I then went to a 'torpedo' style heater which was adequate for heat, but unfortunately in a cold environment it caused everything water vapor to condense and therefore rust/corrode. Once I got this installed I was extremely happy with the performance and the lack of fumes, which was my primary reason for purchasing it. You do lose a significant amount of heat, and therefore efficiency/monetary cost (particularly with the LP model) in exhaust but to avoid the room smelling like diesel is worth it to me.
Problems:
I'll go over the problems I encountered since that's why people mainly read these reviews. The product is about what you would expect for the price, the quality is not remarkable and neither is the packaging. Because of this the unit arrived dented in several places but I was able to bend it back into shape. Like others who have reviewed this product, the electrical knock outs are barely an indentation in the cabinet. I couldn't get them to knock out, I tried a pneumatic air hammer and it still didn't come out so I ran the electrical through the same line as the gas because the unit was already physically installed and I could not drill them out.
The main fan, also as others had mentioned, is extremely loud and furthermore it is off balance which adds additional noise and vibration. I don't expect the fan to last that long based on the amount of vibration and noise, it really shouldn't be that loud.
Installation:
This unit is supposed to come with a 'flue transition piece' which takes the forced exhaust and pipes it into a 3" pipe. It says it is attached or comes with it, I'm not sure but I had to make my own and use a hose clamp to hold it in place. For fuel, I used regular black iron pipe with a standard appliance gas connector flex hose and it worked well (0.5 lb/in regulator). I also used a Honeywell programmable thermostat. This unit has 24v on board so you do not need an auxiliary power supply for an external thermostat which is nice. Power is pretty straightforward, I happened to use a 15amp feed with 12 gauge wire if I had to upgrade to 20amp for whatever reason.
Performance:
The cycle is very similar to a conventional furnace. First the exhaust blower comes on, the board senses positive pressure in the manifold and the gas relay fires the electronic ignition and fuel. Unlike some of the 'torpedo' style heaters this electronic ignition is not continuous for those of you who get annoyed with the sound.
Exhaust:
I opted for the horizontal mount to avoid messing with the shingles I had recently replaced. I used double wall 3" pipe although they say you can use single wall galvanized. To save costs I fabricated my own exhaust which you can also do buy purchasing the vent kit at your local big box store. EGT was ~ 190 F at the point of egress which was a horizontal run about 20 inches from the unit.
That's it, see images for details."
What is your level of technical expertise? Home Handyman
