Off grid

[Big Cliff]

My son and I have been working on a little bunkie at a piece of property we have up in French River, I use to have a house there that I built some 50 years ago but that burnt down two years ago right around the time of the Perry Sound fire. We still have the well and septic system and they are in perfect working order and I managed to pick up a nice little 12V pump so we can have running water next spring.

I scored a nice solar system for $100.00 that CTC had on clearance so we do have solar powered lights and stuff so that's coming along really well, next step is I want to install a small propane heater but I want something on a thermostat. I tried to get a small furnace from an old RV but the guy wanted $375.00 for it, I thought that was pretty expensive for a used one so I'm still looking, I have seen a few small no vent required wall units but again they are all up around $300.00+. This little bunkie is only 8 X 12 and we've insulated it so it won't take a lot to heat it but I don't want to have to get up during the night to turn a heater up or down hence the thermostat. Anyone got any ideas or maybe a scrapped RV with a furnace they would be willing to part with for a reasonable price? Oh, and another thing, it seems that a lot of these "vent free propane wall heaters" don't ship to Canada so that would present another problem. BTW I do have a CO2 monitor in it already just in case.

[Fisherman]

Don't know if you're aware, those non vented heaters tend to put out a lot of moisture you don't need in such a confined space.

[Sinker]

Small wood stove would be my first choice. Get away from gas all together. Off grid at its finest! 

S. 

[Big Cliff]

22 minutes ago, Sinker said:

Small wood stove would be my first choice. Get away from gas all together. Off grid at its finest! 

S. 

That's what my son suggested but I am concerned that it will take up a lot of valuable floor space and require a lot of attention to regulate the heat, we only have 96 sq ft to work with. We have built bunk beds, insulated the roof so we can use the rafters for storage and use the space under the bunk beds for storage. We have desigined a table that doubles as a storage unit, night stand, work bench.... we really need to minimize anything that will cost any loss of space. 

[Big Cliff]

3 hours ago, Fisherman said:

Don't know if you're aware, those non vented heaters tend to put out a lot of moisture you don't need in such a confined space.

No, I wasn't aware of that, thanks for pointing that out I guess the solution is an rv furnace if I can find one at a reasonable price. 

[ketchenany]

Cliff, I sent you an idea  in an email. may not be viable but a thought. 

[Big Cliff]

21 minutes ago, ketchenany said:

Cliff, I sent you an idea  in an email. may not be viable but a thought. 

Got it, thanks. I am going to try to continue trying to find a small rv furnace but will look at other options. 

[misfish]

2 hours ago, Sinker said:

Small wood stove would be my first choice. Get away from gas all together. Off grid at its finest! 

S. 

 

1 hour ago, Big Cliff said:

That's what my son suggested but I am concerned that it will take up a lot of valuable floor space and require a lot of attention to regulate the heat

I am with Shane here Cliff . You are going off the grid, so use what nature has supplied. You can store the wood outside under tarps to ensure dryness. Also there are many sleeping bags out there now that will keep you warm after the heat has lowered from the fire. Up in the morning,re stoke the fire and yer good to go.

[ketchenany]

10 minutes ago, misfish said:

 

I am with Shane here Cliff . You are going off the grid, so use what nature has supplied. You can store the wood outside under tarps to ensure dryness. Also there are many sleeping bags out there now that will keep you warm after the heat has lowered from the fire. Up in the morning,re stoke the fire and yer good to go.

B it depends on how long they will be out there. Is it a weekend or a week overnight fishing trip . . .Many years ago we had a heater fail on Simcoe in the middle of the night it was not pretty and glad we had two huts. yes wood is a nice touch we had one on Simcoe and lugged wood out every weekend. I remember a guy who had an oil drip system, that was classic and dangerous! 

[misfish]

16 minutes ago, ketchenany said:

B it depends on how long they will be out there. Is it a weekend or a week overnight fishing trip . . .Many years ago we had a heater fail on Simcoe in the middle of the night it was not pretty and glad we had two huts. yes wood is a nice touch we had one on Simcoe and lugged wood out every weekend. I remember a guy who had an oil drip system, that was classic and dangerous! 

He is not ice fishing, he has it on property.

[Fisherman]

Ye olde oil drip, brings back memories when the range shacks had the old drippers.

[ketchenany]

8 minutes ago, misfish said:

9 minutes ago, misfish said:

He is not ice fishing, he has it on property.

HEI i was only guessing   figured built and you will have fishing spots close by. I’m city folk lol

[woodenboater]

much will depend on what season you plan to use the bunkie. I'd go along with others who suggest a wood stove. With 80 sq feet, you're not going to need a large stove. This is one I've been eyeing for a bunkie on my acreage for guests. not cheap but Cdn made and has good controls. There will be up front expenses but after that, you'll be on easy st. no propane to buy, no safety issues. just burn deadfall 

https://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/collections/cub-cb-108/products/cb-1008-br-cubic-mini-wood-stove?variant=11416837252

[Sinker]

I'd rather regulate the heat with wood than worry about dying of CO2, or running out of gas. Worste case scenario with a wood stove is its too hot. I wouldn't even consider another way, but i've had a woodstove my whole life, so I'm a little biased lol 

I can ask my neighbour. He is a gas guy and comes across these heaters once in a while. 

 

S. 

[Big Cliff]

Ok I have been rethinking the heat side of things. We have about 90 sq ft of floor space. The bunks are 30" wide so that knocks the floor space down to about 70. So far most of the wood stoves I have looked at recommend about 20" of clearance so that wouldn't leave much usable floor space when the stove is going. We do need some form of heat, good sleeping bags are ok but getting out of them at -10 isn't my idea of fun, might have been ok when I was younger but at 75 not so much. An exterior wood stove with some sort of heat exchanger might be doable but not in time for this winter. Sinker, if it isn't too much trouble I would appreciate it. 

[Sinker]

We had an 8x10 ice hut with a small woodstove in one corner. Tons of room. We had fold down benches on each wall for the bunks, as well as the two benches along each side. We had 13 people in it one time LOL 

The biggest problem is it gets too hot. 

I've got my neighbor on the look out. 

 

S. 

Edited November 29, 2020 by Sinker

[misfish]

22 minutes ago, Sinker said:

We had 13 people in it one time LOL 

Dang newfs and their big FAMILY'S.   . LOL

[DanD]

On 11/27/2020 at 10:39 AM, Big Cliff said:

I tried to get a small furnace from an old RV but the guy wanted $375.00 for it, I thought that was pretty expensive for a used one so I'm still looking,

$375.00 Isn't a bad price for a functioning used RV furnace? I checked an RV salvage yard this morning, he's wanting 250 - 375 bucks depending on size and condition. That's where I bought my 25K BTU for the fish hut, 4 years ago. He must have been in a good mood that day; I got it for 200 bucks?  Then just for the heck of it, I checked out what my RV wholesaler wanted (I have an account there) a new small 12K BTU direct discharge furnace was selling for (My price) $925.00 after taxes; Retail is approx. $1400.00. Just like everything else since Covid the prices have gone through the roof. Have you given any thought towards a bug Buddy heater? I have one for my enclosed 5X8 Bobsled with no insulation. I could sit in there with my coat off, the heater on low and I was nice and warm. It was -12 outside and blowing hard out on Nipissing; when we were there last winter. Forgot that I had a few pics of the inside of Bob the bobsled, Buddy the heater running and Bob comfortably coupled to Sally the tracked Sidekick. LOL

 

Dan.

Edited November 30, 2020 by DanD
To add pics.

[Big Cliff]

At $200.00 or even $250.00 I probably would have taken the one I did see but it was a very small one and looked pretty banged up. I thought about the Buddy heater and for daytime use that would be ok but I would like something with a thermostat so I don't fry or freeze during the night. I just found a Mr. Heater ventless one , built in O2 sensor, thermostat, wall mounted, $275.00. 30 day return policy so I think we are going to give it a try, it's rated for up to 700 sq ft. so it might be overkill but we do intend on expanding as we go. It sure would be nice to be able to turn it on in the afternoon and have our beds and everything warmed up by the time we are ready to call it a day. 

[AKRISONER]

I’d build the stove into the side of the house then. That’s what my cousin did for his “sauna” he lives off grid. Saved him floor space and allowed for him to build his chimney out easily. Basically the stove was in a box on the side of the house.

[Big Cliff]

We have pretty much decided that we are going to do the remote stove thing with a heat exchanger similar to the big outdoor wood furnaces but we'll scale it down to suit our needs but for this winter we are going with the propane. We just don't have time to build a system right now. Next summers project is building a root cellar, fish pond, and now a heat source 😊

[DRIFTER_016]

Try and source an older vented RV heater. The radiant kind with no fan. Quiet and use nothing for power. I have an old pop-up camper I'm making into a fish hut. Not sure if there's a heater in it but I have an older vented heater with a chimney I can use as well. Either one would work well in your situation. Scope out some auto salvage yards and see if you can source one.

[Fisherman]

I had one in my first '77 trailer, that thing was the cats meow.  No power required just convection heat.  If you add a small 12 volt computer fan, it's a very quiet way of moving the heat down to the floor.

[Big Cliff]

This is out little heater installed. It does a wonderful job.