My bro-in-law has one (Sun Twin..$400) and it costs about two dollars/day to heat an 600 sq. ft. living room. Well built house but single pane windows.

[QUOTE=Adams' Apple] Ain't an Amish heater just an open fire????

[/QUOTE]


AMISH????? Where do they plug it in???

[QUOTE=jayare]My bro-in-law has one (Sun Twin..$400) and it costs about two dollars/day to heat an 600 sq. ft. living room. Well built house but single pane windows.[/QUOTE]

Thanks , finally found someone that owns one.  Doesn't sound too bad.  That would be $60 a month.  So it sounds like he is happy with it.
Anybody else own one ??
steves742008-02-01 07:32:38

I really don't believe that they can do anything better than any other electric heater. They are conducting a high profile ad campaign. The price is excessive for the unit. They are even sending ads thru the mail. As was  mentioned earlier....watts are watts.... Electric heat isn't very efficient........but is convenient for spot heating. Spend your money on a comperable, same watt rated heater with a much lower pricetag. The high price of this "revolutionary" heater is paying for the hyped up advertising. Save some money..........so that you can spend more on your Vette! corvette440hp2008-02-01 10:06:54

[QUOTE=corvette440hp]I really don't believe that they can do anything better than any other electric heater. They are conducting a high profile ad campaign. The price is excessive for the unit. They are even sending ads thru the mail. As was  mentioned earlier....watts are watts.... Electric heat isn't very efficient.. [/QUOTE]

Good points and I agree.  Basically its a bunch of BS.  I was just wondering about all the ads.  And I guess hoping for some "super  heater".
  As they are laughing all the way to the bank....  THANKS

here is a suggestion that i don't see expressed to often. no matter what type of heat you have but especially helpful with a dry heat like electric. get a cold air humidifier for the house. cost about a 100.00 for a whole house unit and is worth every penny.

it will solve a few problems( cost me a lot in doctor bills to find this out). it will make you feel warmer thus you can lower your stat. the moisture it puts in the air helps distribute the heat more efficiently. if you get a humidistat which tells you the moisture in the air it should be 40 - 45%. if you have breathing problems it will help there too as it will keep your air passage moist. keep dust on furniture down and if you have good wooden furniture help keep it from drying out and if you get them annoying static shocks will reduce them too.

this helps on any heat system. used to have electric and worked wonders. when i converted to hot water baseboard figured i wouldn't need it as it was supposed to be the best way to heat. after wife yelled at me enough finally started using it again and the difference is amazing. if the humidity level in the house gets below 30% (as sometimes i forget to fill it up) it gets cold in the house and temp is still set where it normally is. once i get the level up, it amazingly feels hot.

sorry about the lecture but this is a good tip for anyone.

Thanks Dave..good points and idea.
Wonder what it costs most people to heat in the winter?  For me its oil heat and at $3/ gal, I burn about 1 1/2 gals a day or  about $135/ month.
But my house is only 1000 SF.

I must caution the OVERuse of a WHOLE HOUSE humidifier. You really will notice an inprovement to your envoirment. The only real problems are: if you get below 25 degress, you need to reduce the whole house humidity level according to the outside temperature. If you have too much humidity you can permiate your walls with moisture. This can saturate your insulation....which then can render it useless. If you don't have insulated windows, the water will collect on the glass surfaces. It can also create problems with your outside painted surfaces........bubbles etc. Don't get me wrong........adding humidity to the air is quite benificial, but just be careful. You measure the moisture content with a hygometer........the humidistat controls humidity....like a thermostat controls temp. I hope this helps! corvette440hp2008-02-02 12:41:20

sorry i got the name wrong of the meter. you are correct when  you say about too much moisture. the suggested moisture content is 40-45%. they say over 50% can start mold and the other issues. there is a formula to figure out how much moisture should be in your house with all factors included (inside and outside temps, etc). can't remember off hand as i keep mine at 40%. if you have none insulated windows and moisture appears thats too much and just lower the level of moisture going in the air.

as most of us have to worry about the costs of heating, the most important factor is to make sure all spots where cold can get in are sealed, which in mosts cases have been done already. most people that i come in contact with ( i do maintenance in a senior development ) have never realized or heard of using a humidifier. and as the doctor told me, putting pots of water like your mother used to do (and he never even met her) is not enough.

by the way, i have gas hot water baseboard heat. i installed insulated windows, 3/8" foam insulation under the siding, new front and back insulated doors and my house is approx. 1800 sq ft. my wife is handicapped so temp has to be about 73 degrees. my gas bill runs about 200-250.00 a month in the dead of winter.

Dave, you definitely have the BEST type of heating. Baseboard heating keeps your heat on the outside walls at the floor level........which is the ultimate way to keep comfortable for heating. Air conditioning is a different problem for you. Your heating bills are pretty impressive. Adding the moisture will make you breathe much better. The only thing that may help.........would be a high efficiency boiler. We're talking about one that would bring in combustion air from outside to a sealed combustion chamber. These are rated better than 90% efficient. My boiler is at least 94% efficient. What that means is that you are getting approx. 94% of the heat with only 6% going out the exhaust or flue pipe. With the sealed combustion, you can seal your house like a tomb........which is great for your fuel economy. If you have an atmosheric burner then you have to be careful not to seal your home too much. You need air for the buner combustion. The way to tell if you do not have enough air is to look at the burner flame color. If the color changes as your watching......while someone else opens an outside door.........you are A-OK. A house that is very sealed is a problem because of the air needed for an open flame burner. I really don't mean to preach............I'm only trying to help. You probably know most of what I just said being in maitenance. Take care of your wife and yourself! corvette440hp2008-02-02 15:37:03