Vented Propane Heaters
With propane heaters quickly gaining popularity with consumers as a clean burning source of fuel and heating, the demand for products on the propane heater market has increased significantly. Propane heaters come in a large selection of designs and models suited for nearly use, both residential and commercial. They can range in size from large industrial units, perfect for heating outdoor areas or warehouse spaces, to portable units, meant for heating small rooms in your home. While ventless models are available, vented propane heaters are the most common types on the market today.
Why Do Propane Heaters Need To Be Vented?
When propane burns, just like a traditional fire, the gas reacts with the oxygen in the air to form carbon monoxide as a by product. Carbon monoxide gas is colorless and odorless, making it nearly impossible to detect without a specially designed carbon monoxide detector in your home. Once the concentration of the gas reaches a certain percentage in your atmosphere, it can be extremely dangerous and possible even fatal. A vented heater allows the carbon monoxide build up to be passed through to the outdoors, as opposed to being allowed to build up in your home. The vent typically consists of either a chimney, in the case of propane fireplace heaters, or a venting hose that leads outdoors, designed for wall mount and portable propane heaters.
What Are The Benefits Of A Vented Propane Heater?
While people assume the danger of carbon monoxide makes ventless fireplaces unsafe, they actually burn at a much higher temperature, allowing the majority of the carbon monoxide being produced to burn off before it has a chance to enter the room. Most consumers, however, still prefer the comfort of having a vented unit in their home. Like the ventless models, the vented units are still typically equipped with some type of oxygen monitoring system that will automatically shut the unit off if the oxygen concentration in the room begins to drop below safe levels. Homeowners also tend to prefer vented propane heaters because of the fact that they tend to not give off as significant of an odor as ventless models can tend to do. The downside to a vented model, however, is the fact that they do have to be vented, either by chimney or vent hose, to the outdoors. This is a small price to pay for most consumers, however, who prefer to have a vented propane heater in their home. Vented units are still easy to maintain, and require fairly little maintenance to keep clean. Unlike ventless units, recommended only for secondary heating needs, vented models are perfectly acceptable to use as a primary source of heating as needed.
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