I have a heating problem and question. Can anyone help?

[Paper Roses]

My 200 year old house is heated by oil except for an 'L', the Den, which has a Hydro-sil electric baseboard heater. The room is about 12 X 14 with a 7 foot ceiling.

Everything was fine until last year when I found it necessary to use an oil filled radiator to help keep the room warn. I tried to reach the Hydro-Sil company today for advice, or perhaps the replacement of the thermostat. It seems they went out of business in 2012. So much for a lifetime guarantee.

My question: I am planning to call a local propane gas provider, one that can hopefully install a room heater via propane as the energy source.I will ask for an estimate for a new room heater if they have the product to offer.

I have several free standing heaters on hand. Oil filled radiators, ceramic heaters and one that is a room heater with a fan. All of these heaters are 1500 watts. I don't know how to figure out how much any of these units cost to use as heat or as a supplement.

I also do not yet know how much it would cost to find some other source of heat for this room.
My heating costs are awful. I close the upstairs of my house off during the heating season. When I go to bed upstairs, the rooms are like ice. I keep my regular thermostat at 64 degrees and hope I can stand the cold.

Do any of you folks have trouble heating and have come up with a viable alternative for an electric 1 room heater?
My furnace and oil tanks are only 6 years old and I do not have any money to convert the system to gas.

The electric bills for Dec thru March are thru the roof and I am afraid of what this year will bring.
I live on SS and do not qualify for any assistance in the heating category.
I really would appreciate any advice you could give.
Thanks, PR

[Warpy]

1. If you're going to a propane heater

consider biting the bullet and getting a free standing gas fireplace. That will add to the value of your house considerably and look a lot better than a plain heater.

As for your other problems, get an electric blanket. Get two, actually, one to roll up in on the couch when you're ready to relax, watch TV, surf, whatever. The other one should be on your bed, turned on an hour before you go to bed. Your bed will be toasty warm and will stay that way all night. Electric blankets provide some of the cheapest heat out there. They're just very impractical to walk around in.

Otherwise, 64 is a nice temperature if you're working. That's about what rooms other than my living room are now. The wheezing 1946 floor furnace is in the living room and keeps that room a pretty steady 74, which is great for sitting at the computer.

When I kept the heat set at 50, I used an electric blanket.

[Paper Roses]

3. Hi Warpy,

As you know, this is a constant problem with an old house.

I will look into a gas fireplace, I not know the particulars but will look into them tomorrow.
Although I have gas into the house, the 'L' is hard to reach with any standard piping. I could put a propane tank in the back yard that would feed into a free standing fireplace, I think. Don't know what the professionals would say.
I can stand the cold upstairs, it is the den I worry about because there is a bathroom off the end that needs to be kept from freezing.
This whole thing is too much to comprehend.

My electric bill in the cold months with this Hydro-Sil heater has been astronomical, now that I need help and they are out of business, it is time for me to seek alternatives. If they were still in business, maybe they could fix this unit.
Who knows. Perhaps this is for the best. It will force me into looking for another means of heat for this room.
I plan to call the Gas company also. I am told they can convert my whole furnace to gas from oil.
It cost me over $7000.00 for the furnace 6 years ago, another 1500.00 for new tanks.
Hate to see that $$ go to waste but I am at the end of my rope.

I don't know where I can scrounge up the money but we'll see what I can come up with after a few calls.
Thanks for your input
PR

[Warpy]

4. Consider an e-heater for the bathroom

http://www.eheat.com/ It would certainly work when the mercury goes below freezing.

I'm real good at spending money you don't have, right?

[Walk away]

8. I just took your advise, checked them out and bought two...

one for the back bathroom and one for my enclosed porch (for when the dogs are playing in it). There was a free ship and 10% off sale for two or more. Thanks!

[alfie]

2. I had a gas log cast iron stove in the past...

and it gave off a lot of heat. I also bought a small, 6" x 6" fan that attached to the top corner of a door to help circulate the heat into the rest of the house. I live in the north Georgia mountains and we have fairly moderate winters...lows in the 20's a lot, teens, occ. and single digits rarely. Except for using the wall heater in the bathroom when I was bathing, the little stove kept the house comfortable. It was about 1500 sq ft, ranch style house. The initial outlay was a bit much but it worked great and fairly cheaply. I probably spent $300 to $400/year. The stove was attractive, needed only 3 inch clearance from the wall behind it. Hope that helps.

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. Regular baseboard heater is the cheapest/most efficient way to go.

.
.
.

Hopefully your present one is wired for 220/240 Volts.

110/120 volt heaters are ALL much less efficient than 220/240 - my own experience, from keeping track of hydro costs, 220/240 heaters give 2 -3 times the heat for the same $$.

For a room the size of yours a 2000 watt baseboard heater would work quite nicely, 1500 watt minimum .

A 220/240 2000 watt baseboard heater should cost around $100.00, and installation wouldn't be much either.

Electric is much cheaper than propane, both initial and running costs.

I live in Northern Ontario, have for decades.

I'm a frugal bugger, but I like it warm,

so I studied this stuff.

CC

[likesmountains 52]

6. Regarding e-Heat..maybe I can help

I bought two of those wall units a few years ago hoping to save some $$ on my heating bill. I did not read up on the units as much as I should have and they ended up not really being what I needed...but if you can mount them on an interior wall and in a room that is not too large, they work really well. I had my LR and kitchen painted a few years ago and took the heaters off the wall and never put them back. So, if you're interested, I would mail them to you and only ask that you pay the postage. Let me know.

[Paper Roses]

7. What a generous offer. Can you PM me and we can 'back and forth' on how to do this?

Can you PM me and we can discuss this?
I am in MA, please let me know via your PM where you are located and we can chat privately.
Thanks