Noticed that the Home Depot in Sacramento now has a large number of Propane radiant heat devices that attach to the top of propane tanks.

They also have a number of propane tanks that must be about 4 feet tall. Not sure how many pounds of propane these hold - not how long such a setup would provide heat for.

Rough pricing is $80.00 for the 4' tall propane tank and under $80 for the heat device that mounts on the top. Might not be a bad idea if you need an alternate heat source. I'm personally going to go a cheaper route with much clothing.

Regar

-- G (balzer@lanset.com), November 01, 1999

Answers

The tall tanks are 100lb/25 gallon capacity and in my neck'o the woods cost $87. This morning I wet sanded one I got last week, gave it a good base coat of flat tan paint and then a camo job of flat brown and green.....not exactly neccessary but the tank I got was BRIGHT white and probably glows in the dark. my neighbor has been scrounging used tanks at the dump...that concept scares me.

-- Don Kulha (dkulha@vom.com), November 01, 1999.

Hi Don,

Watch out that you don't put your repainted tank in the sun at any time. It's painted white to reflect the sun's heat (around here some are painted with a very reflective silver). The gas pressure could get too high when hot and you'd lose a lot of your propane through the relief valve.

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@midiowa.net), November 02, 1999.

Dean,

Never heard that before. Ours came painted green. Maybe the propane dealership doesn't like us...

Hmm.

-- winter wondering (winterwondring@yahoo.com), November 02, 1999.

I cannot reiterate this more...

BUY A BATTERY POWERED CO DETECTOR AND UTILIZE IT IF YOU USE PROPANE OR KEROSENE HEATERS INSIDE YOUR HOME!!!

Carbon monoxide will kill you and your family quickly if you use these heaters in a closed room.

DANGER!

snarlin'...

The Dog

-- The Dog (DesertDog@-sand.com), November 02, 1999.

i was just told by a friend (who's pretty high up in the propane food chain around here) that propane companies won't fill your tanks unless they are painted a "bright reflective" color

i had mentioned painting mine camo... and he cautioned that they would not fill them

that could be just here.....but i'd check before i painted them........or get them filled first...and THEN paint em

-- andrea (nomore@nada.com~), November 03, 1999.

Last fall I purchased two Coleman Duracat 3,000 btu catalytic heaters. They attach to 1-pound propane cannisters and are rated for indoor use.

With the extreme temperatures we have had of late (down to at least zero at night) I have taken to firing up the Duracats for those nights when I oversleep and the fire in the wood stove dies out.

My CO detector indicates running two Duracats at once is not a problem, although the room is pretty draft anyway. I am getting less than 7 hours operation from them (others have reported closer to 8 hours). Two cranking next to my bed has worked very nicely, and the cats aren't so grumpy in the morning either.

Given the stability of my local infrastructure, the Duracats will help solve the problem of an abundance of propane cannisters in my basement (as well as a concern I might not have enough wood). For safety reasons, I'd just as soon use most of them up and then relegate what's left to the shed.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), January 18, 2000.