new heater in cottage
 

I am planning in installing heat in my currently unheated cottage on the lake. looking at the Rinnari propane vent heater vs Mitsubishi Duckless heating and cooling . Both salesman say they are great, Looking for firsthand experience with heating with either one. Also looked at Hardie siding and a composite called Everlast. The ever last was interesting in that it was solid color with no need to paint.

Lots of us have experience with the Mitsubishi system, a lot of info here:

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ght=Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi
 

There has been a lot of information posted here in the past about the Mitsubishi mini-split systems. A number of forum members, including me, have installed them and think highly of them.

Try doing a forum search on "Mitsubishi" and you'll find many posts about those units.

I'd be inclined to go for the ductless minisplit. It would give you very quiet, efficient heat, with the added benefit of summer AC when you need it. Be sure to have a decent heat loss calculation done for the structure, to be sure it will give you adequate heat when you need it during cold spells. Either that or have a backup heating option, such as simple electric baseboard heating or a wood stove.

If you are residing, that presents a golden opportunity to do both air sealing of the exterior shell and perhaps application of a couple of layers of rigid foam insulation over the sheathing, with new siding applied over that. A good read on how thick to make the foam layer is here: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...foam-sheathing. Adding insulation to the outside will reduce the heating load and make the interior much more comfortable in cold weather, besides reducing the size of the heating system required and the utility bill.

Suggest you go to Amerigas in Laconia, or to Dead River in Bristol, and look at the Rinnai vented propane heaters. When the electricity is down these Rinnais will not operate, and they come back on when the electricity is restored.

Got a 22k btu direct vent Rinnai back in about 1996, and it has not needed even one service so far, that's 20-years, with never a problem, never an issue and still works super-duper.

I hope that you routinely clean the filter and open it up to clean the fan blades periodically. If not, your gonna be shocked at what those fan blades look like after 20 years


.

Two reasons why I would lean towards the Mitsubishi mini split...

#1. Lots of high praise and recommendations from forum members on this system including myself.

#2. The local dealer (Home Energy) is a very reliable and knowledgeable company to do business with. They will be there for you should any issues arise.

Dan

It has two slide out aluminum filter screens that never seem to accumulate hardly any dust/dirt that can be easily sponge cleaned.

Concerning the fan blades .....no.....have never cleaned the fan blades ......so's how do I access the fan in a Rinnai like this? It probably needs to be cleaned bad, what with pollen, dust, and misc dirty stuff?

I can assure you that the blades are probably a mess .... which is also affecting the units efficiency.

Getting at the fan blades is not tremendously difficult but there (at least on my unit) was a million & one screws to be found to get there.

As I do not know your unit, nor am I a trained tech you can go on-line and search your specific model # and download the manual ...... or .... as I did called on a local firm (Foley) to service it.

In my case, we bought a condo and had no idea when the last servicing took place so we had it professionally done (we have two units) ..... as it turns out - good call as there was a recall on my particular unit and the notable dust/grime build up on the fan blades.



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With no dog in this hunt...

Is there a difference in the electrical requirements for the mini split system vs the gas unit? If so, does the existing panel have capacity appropriate to the task?

.......a Rinnai is forever!
 

Got my Rinnai 22-k vented heater for about $800-new, on sale marked down in in April from Handyman Hdwe in Campton, and installed it myself maybe 20-years ago, and it has worked totally perfect ever since.

Am I the greatest do-it-yourselfer Rinnai installer ever, ever, ever, or what ...... I am the greatest!

Ductless Mini Splits Rebates
 

Both NHEC and Eversource offer rebates, cash runs out later in the year. Home Energy Products prepares the paperwork for you.
http://www.nhsaves.com/save-home/sav...ating-systems/

BTW, we love the Mitsubishi mini split that we have over on Welch.

Power Requirements
 

We had two mini-split units installed. The 18K BTU unit took a 20 amp circuit and the 12K BTU unit took a 15 amp circuit.

Mitsubishi vote-with caveat
 

Hi,

We've got 5 of the HyperHeat Mini-splits and love them. They are great at providing heat very efficiently most of the time. And they are a home run for AC.

I would slightly caution anyone who is considering these units as their prime source of heat to carefully consider their heat loss calculations and overall heating needs. We have found that although the units operate efficiently down below zero, the heat loss of the house means they have to work harder (read more costly and need to pump out proportionally more heat under greater stress)

This is our second winter with them, and I have run our oil heat this winter much more often when it gets very cold. (as oil has been much cheaper). The mini splits are awesome but have specific advantages and limitations. You can get 95% of your winter heat from them very efficiently, but that remaining 5% where it is crazy cold might be a real challenge.

greenbuilding advisor has several articles relating to the use of these heat pumps as primary heating units. As mentioned in a previous post, be sure to ask for a good heat loss calculation before committing to purchase. Most system vendors will come in and do a quick SF measurement to "size" the recommended unit. This practice is NOT good enough.

Good luck and stay warm!

-Steve

We have a 36000 Mini Split Mitsubishi....love it. Does all it is advertised to do. However, we, like the previous writer, play the cost game in the winter. With the cost of oil so low and the NHEC cost of electricity raised in the winter by high amounts, we have elected to stop using the Mitsubishi now for the second winter and relied instead on our hydronic oil heat system. Saved a ton of money. The first year we had the system, we ran it all winter. No issues and with the oil cost high, we actually saved some money, but not as much as they advertise. These units are great, but if you have two options...oil and Mini split, you have the best of both worlds and can really play the commodity cost game. We originally did the mini splits for air conditioning and the heat pump for winter was a lucky strike bonus. Remember, these units do consume a lot of electricity in the winter....that is why NHEC gives rebates.....they want you to buy the units to increase their electric sales overall. All in all, mini splits are great, but make sure you are aware of the cost differences.

heat in cottage
 

I am back to just putting heat in my cottage, do to some unforeseen issues, we had to take down our chimney, my wife and i still want a fireplace, we are thinking of getting a propane gas fireplace, that being said i am thinking of just getting a propane heater for the first floor as we already have window Ac units we purchased last year for cooling. Also think it will be less costly. Anyone have experiance with those type of heaters. We will only use occasionally in the winter

Pressure washer, turn the unit on, put the most powerful tip on the pressure washer, and spray into unit with reckless abandon.





Just kidding.

We have a couple of the propane stoves that look like wood stoves. One is set inside a brick fireplace on the fairly open 1st floor and the other is on small hearth in the basement of our smallish house that we heat year round. Enough heat rises to the 2nd floor. Their primary function is for backup heat. They do not require electricity and will kick on if the primary FHW heat goes out while we are not there. They are probably not as efficient as some other heating methods but we like the aesthetics and feel they do a great job for occasional use. -don

Winterize?
 

Is the heater for seasonal places. Are you running all year. If not, how easy to winterize either heater.

Dave M

probably plan on heat all year long to keep pipes from freezing and planning on going up occasionally in winter.n