fish house heat - Mille Lacs Lake Fishing (Fishing Reports, Events, Tournament Information and more)

rjhumpy · Member

fish house heat

Steve0 · Member

I agree with Bob.this is my first experience with the larger fish house and I have a cozy heater 10, 000btu and it heats my 10 x 16 house just fine. Granted, I don't fish in my underware, but I can be comfortable in my slippers. I think sometimes guys go way overboard and want to create saunas and not efficient comfortable fish houses.

-- Edited by Steve0 on Sunday 23rd of December 2012 09:11:29 PM

Willy · Member

I think the Empire is the best way to go.

Bobber · Admin / Moderator

Cozy makes a great direct vent heater also! galvanized heat exchanger that withstands rust much better than the Empire brand which is steel. I have a fair number of experiences with both brands. As I have to clean the stoves in the rentals.

Just my 2 cents!

Glen Ertl · Gray Goose Captain

agree with a direct vent, with out any power required. is the floor insulated ? sometimes a little $$ spent on insulating, can really pay dividends fast in a shack biggrin also, a small fan to blow the heat down, can sure make a difference smile

rjhumpy · Member

Thank you folks for the info so far - Glen, the floor is not insulated yet, the walls and roof are

Used 1.5 inch foil face insulation for walls and roof, all seams filled with foam, and foil taped to complete the barrier - i will have to see if there is something I can change to fit a DV style heater in there - I have enough foil face left to do the floor, planning on getting it done this week - I have a generator to keep batteries charged, maybe the one i have will work out this season - If nobody thinks the hydroflame is a good idea, I might have to avoid that route

I will have to keep my eyes open for a good deal on a DV style heater - Any more ideas or comments are welcomed

Thank you

Glen Ertl · Gray Goose Captain

When I built my shack, I got my heater from SEARS.... here is one

www.sears.com/us-stove-direct-vent-13-000-btu-gas-heater/p-SPM7426271310?prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5

-- Edited by Glen Ertl on Monday 24th of December 2012 08:51:35 AM

Bobber · Admin / Moderator

If you plan to run a generater....why not run an electric heater? I know of a few that do! and its works great....some even have fan on them.

rjhumpy · Member

I only planed on running the generator when batteries are low to charge them (unless the Vikes make the playoffs biggrin ) - I have a 2900 watt unit so the electric could be an option if I get in a jamb - Since nobody seems to care for the forced air units like the hydroflame i might have to look into a DV unit that will fit somewhere in the shack - Thank you for the info Glen and input from the other folks, most Ice Castles come with forced air units, do they suck that bad?

Any more info, keep it coming

Its good to hear about things from people who experience them, to find out what works and what does not

Bobber · Admin / Moderator

The why I don't kown? But most wheel houses are equiped with an RV type furnace.

I don't like hearing that blower running all the time! The one we have in our popup camper is loud! If I have electric when camping I plug in my little electric heater and use it. The batteries do run down with its use. My neighbor has a Ice Castle with an RV type heater and he runs his Honda genererater all the time.

Rick Anderson · Member

The type of heater you replace the existiing one with depends on severl factors.

1. the amount of space available to mount the new heater, the reason most

wheel houses go with RV style heater is because they are small, inexpensive,

and readily available. Direct vent heaters (with no fan) are larger and need

more clearance. I perfer the direct vent heaters because no other power is

needed. I you have a generator issue or your 12v battery goes dead you

will still have heat.

2. I run a Honda 2000i generator. I use it mostly to recharge my battery and

watch a movie or two at night. My son-in-law has a wheelhouse and must

run his generator continously due to the RV heater. It should be pointed out

that a 2000i puts out 1600 VA continously and 2000 VA max with 13 amps of power.

If you go with an electric heater it should be with in those guide lines and if it

is close to max you may have to turn off other large power eating appliances

like a microwave or toaster oven when the heater kicks in.

3. Having said all that, the last issue is saftey. There are a lot of inexpensice

options with portable heaters. Spend the the extra it will cost and go with a

quality product. If you decide on propane get one that vents outside. If you

go with an electric heater you may wnat one that is fused and has a several

speed fan. I used an electric cermranic heater for years in my popup camper.

The RV dealer wanted $500 to install a 1300 W forced air heater. I bought

the cermaic heater for less than $100 and used it for about eight years.

One other thing you may want to do. If you are running a generator try

placing a fan on or near the ceiling facing down (small 12V fans are also availavle).

Push all that hot air to the floor. This made the biggest difference of all in my house.

Good luck and good fishing!

Rick Anderson

-- Edited by Rick Anderson on Thursday 27th of December 2012 06:45:29 AM

Fife · Formica Flat Vet

We have an Empire heater and a ceiling fan. It keeps the house evenly heated. IMO the forced air heaters are the biggest downfall to the big name wheelhouses.

rjhumpy · Member

Thank you all for the info, and being very informant - I went and purchased a Home Comfort, made by Empire, to heat the shack - Not to bad of a price at Menards - 18000BTU, varies output by how much heat is needed - Fan up top to blow heat down (thanks Rick,Glen,and Fife) - Did a test with piping runing out the window, seemed OK, unit was a little higher then it will be when installed, so there was a very noticeable heat layer up top, but the fan broke that up - Not much diffrence in pricing from the smaller units to the larger unit so I went with the larger unit - Hydroflame brought the shack up to temp faster, but this unit seems to maintain it better - Hopefully it ill not break the bank when it comes to gas with it now

Thank you to everyone that had info on this topic for me, it is very much appricated, now have to get it installed, and wait for Ice to thicken up to get it out there - Might have to give that Way Point Cafe a whirl when I get up there biggrin

Thank you again

Ice Man · Member

i have a friend who is following this information. can you respond with how it does on gas

rjhumpy · Member

No problem, might be a few days to get a report back, I have to get it installed and running where it will be mounted to get an accurate read on it

rjhumpy · Member

Ice Man wrote:
i have a friend who is following this information. can you respond with how it does on gas

Ice man sorry for the delay - Could not battle the wind the other weekend, tried but was wooped up on by mother nature

Did trial at home but were not very accurate due to not having normal lake conditions (ice under shack and wind and such)

This heater works very well - Used it this weekend Saturday through sunday afternoon - Kids and myself were very comfortable (after figuring out where to have the thermostate set, too warm for awile), had a fan above it blowing the heat down, and around - Kept shack at 68-70 the whole time

Gas was better then I thought, however it was not that cold outside, but the way the heater automatically adjust BTU output I do not think it will fluctuate much with lower temps outdoors

Ran through 1/2 of a 20lb tank - also cooked with the stove top - I am very happy with this heater although it does not make the fish bite more frequently - 1 fish 1/2 inch to big to keep, the oldest boy caught it, hoping they all could get one, but thats fishing - will be up next weekend as well

Thank you all for the input on this topic

Urien · Member

In fact, buying a beach tent for your toddler is a very good decision, as the heat and high amounts of UV radiation can badly affect your baby's health and well-being. To prevent this from happening, I strongly recommend you to think about purchasing this beach tent
It can protect your toddler from the heat and let you relax in the shade.

-- Edited by Urien on Friday 13th of August 2021 01:03:21 AM