Choosing a good gas heater for your home

Content:

What is a gas heater
Types and characteristics of devices
Convector gas heaters
Infrared gas heaters
Catalytic gas heaters
Advantages and disadvantages
How to choose a gas heater for home and summer cottages

A gas heater is the most preferred option among buyers of heating devices, since the cost of providing the device with gas is much lower than electricity. The device is connected to a central gas pipeline, or there are models that run on liquefied or natural gas supplied independently in cylinders. To understand how to choose the right gas heater for your home and summer cottage, you need to start from points such as the size of the room in which additional heating is needed, whether the heater will be moved from place to place, and how often the heated house will be visited.

What is a gas heater

Gas heaters come in different types and operating principles, but have several common properties:

The devices are equipped with an emergency gas supply shutdown system.
They do not pollute and do not dry the air in the room - combustion products are discharged outside.
The heaters do not require electricity to function.
The operation and maintenance of a gas heater is much less expensive than operating a device that runs on any other type of fuel.

It is worth considering that a heater can have the best security system, but working with gas and open flame always carries a fire hazard. Also, the body of the device gets very hot and not all heaters have an additional panel that protects against accidental touches, which may be unsafe if children or animals live in the house.

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Types and characteristics of devices

First of all, gas heaters are divided into portable and stationary. Portable devices cannot be connected to the central gas pipeline, they only run on gas supplied in cylinders. They can be placed indoors, they are also used as an outdoor heater to keep warm in a gazebo or in a garden to prevent plants from freezing during cold snaps. Stationary models can operate both from a central gas pipeline and from gas in cylinders. However, for them, you need to build an exit to the street in advance to remove combustion products from the house or garage. Stationary and portable heaters are divided into three more types: convector, infrared and catalytic.

TOP-3 best Ballu gas heaters

Ballu BOGH-15
Ballu BIGH-3
Ballu BIGH-55

Convector gas heaters

To install a convector gas heater, a chimney or any other exit to the street is a prerequisite, since oxygen is needed for its operation. Through the same chimney, products of gas combustion that are harmful to health will go out into the street. The heater activates the following sequence of actions:

Gas is supplied to the open flame compartment.
Oxygen is supplied to the opening for outside.
The user ignites the gas by pressing a button.
The fire ignites the heating element and then transfers the heat to the air.

The principle of operation of the device is that cold air enters the housing and, after interacting with the heating element, it leaves it already warm. Some models are additionally equipped with a fan for accelerated air removal from the case and its further distribution throughout the room. Also, some devices are equipped with a temperature control sensor and a system that monitors the level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the room.

Infrared gas heaters

The principle of operation of an infrared heater is that infrared rays, which are created by a ceramic panel inside the case, heat not the air, but the objects or surfaces that they collide with. Then these objects or walls give off heat to the environment - according to the same principle, the sun heats the planet. According to the installation method, infrared heaters are divided into devices that are mounted on the wall, ceiling and outdoor appliances. Also, manufacturers of heaters present a wide selection of sizes and capacities of devices, so for any room there is a suitable device that will warm it up well. Heat will spread most rapidly throughout the room if the heater is installed in the center of the room, for example, on the ceiling. Inside the steel casing of the heater there are:

heating element (usually ceramic);
diffuser (reflector or reflector) of infrared rays;
thermostat;
Control block.

According to the principle of operation, infrared heaters are divided into ceramic and flameless (catalytic). The heating element of ceramic heaters can be heated up to a temperature of 900 degrees, and a catalytic one up to 500.

Also, buyers note that being in the operating area of an infrared heater brings the same relaxing effect as being in the sun.

Catalytic gas heaters

Such devices are considered the safest and most environmentally friendly among gas heaters, since they do not use an open flame in their work. As a result, gas combustion products that are harmful to health and the environment are not produced. The heating element in the device is made of fiberglass on which the catalyst is applied. When the gas interacts with the heating element, a chemical reaction occurs, at the end of which heat is released into the air.

TOP 3 best gas heaters Timberk

Timberk TGH 4200 M1
Timberk TGH 4200 O3
Timberk TGH 4200 X2

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of a gas heater is that it does not depend on electricity and does not use it in operation; only gas from a central gas pipeline or cylinder is needed to function. Also, a significant plus in favor of choosing a gas heater is the economical consumption of energy and maintenance costs and the small size of some models (usually with mounted wheels for movement).

The disadvantages include, first of all, fire hazard. Also, a gas heater spends a lot of time heating, however, this drawback can be eliminated by purchasing a device, which is additionally equipped with a fan that accelerates the acceleration of air through the room.

How to choose a gas heater for home and summer cottages

To decide which gas heater to choose for the house and summer cottage, you first need to decide how often the house will be visited. For example, convector heaters that operate on gas supplied by a central gas pipeline are not recommended to be left unattended for a long time due to the explosive risk. It is better to purchase portable models that run on gas in a cylinder, in this case it is possible to remove the gas to a safe place when the house is left for a long time.

If the purpose of heating is not a house, but a gazebo in the yard or garden often suffers from premature frost, then you should take a closer look at street models of infrared heaters. They can warm up the recreation area up to 25 degrees, operate on gas in a cylinder, and are also equipped with a function that automatically turns off the gas supply if the angle of inclination of the heater changes by a certain value.

And if it is important for the buyer not to pollute the air not only in his home, but also on the street, then he needs to pay attention to the catalytic models of heaters - they do not use fire in their work and, therefore, do not produce harmful substances resulting from the combustion of liquefied or natural gas ...

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