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When planning our hose, we planned for finishing off our basement. Unfortunately, the cost of doing so was a lot more than we could afford. However, the space was still usable since we had thick cement walls and a thick cement floor. It still needed heat. When one of our friends who had fallen on unfortunate times moved into the basement with his two kids, dog, and two macaw parrots, we definitely needed heat down there and didn’t want to run heat off the oil furnace since it wasn’t finished off yet.

After searching a bit, we came across the Procom Vent-Free Propane Heater from Northern Tool Online Store. The price was right at just shy of $300, and other than the piping to carry the propane to the heater, we wouldn’t need to be drilling any major holes in my house.

There were many things I liked about the Procom Vent-Free Propane Heater that made me choose, it. I like that it has a 99.9% efficiency rating with an output of up to 30,000 BTU. It comes with a thermostat to easily regulate the temperature in the basement without having to constantly turn it on and off. It has an oxygen depletion sensor which, in my opinions, is an absolute necessity with any vent-free technology. This means the heater will turn off if the oxygen/carbon monoxide levels in the room become unbalanced during operation. We have carbon monoxide detectors in the rest of the house, but only at the top of the stairs leading to the basement. This was one fear that was alleviated.

Even when the Procom Vent-Free Propane Heater has been on for a while, it stays cool to the touch on the outside. Since we have a wood-burning stove upstairs (and had one in our old house) my family was used to dealing with the housing getting too hot. However, when he lets the birds out, one of them could very easily fly onto the heater and singe its feathers or feet if the casing became hot.

This model didn’t come with a blower, to circulate the heat more in the room, but we found that we really didn’t need it. It is an optional accessory that can be purchased.

The first thing we noticed about the Procom Vent-Free Propane Heater was how nice it looked. It looks as good out of the box as it did in the pictures. The metal housing is designed to look like a cast-iron stove. It feels quite sturdy and weighs in at 83 pounds, so it is well made. The grill guard and fake wood logs also make it attractive, and don’t look so fake that it looks cheap. The only assembly needed was to put the logs and grill in place. Other than that and hooking it up, it was good to go.

Since we were putting it on a cement floor, we didn’t need a hearth pad. On other surfaces you will, so add that to your cost if purchasing. We had the two men in the house bring it downstairs after it was shipped to us. It is heavy and did require two people to move it. Setting it up was very easy. The heater itself goes together quite simply. The more difficult part was connecting it to the propane. We put a 100 gallon tang outside the basement and ran piping to the stove. We had purchased a gas connection kit to go along with the stove - you will need this if you are not replacing another stove, and maybe even then as well.

Using it has been easy. We just turned it on once all the hookups were done and that was it. The controls are easy to read and work, a bit concealed on the side of the stove so they aren’t too easy to change by accident or have little fingers get to. The thermostat regulated the temperature so we didn’t have to worry about the basement getting too hot or too cold. We did notice an odor from the basement, although I wouldn’t necessarily really call it an odor. The air coming from the basement gets a very dry feel to it. It’s not a gassy smell, just a very dry feel to it. I will probably have to get a humidifier down there this winter to alleviate some of the dryness which seems to accompany the Procom Vent-Free Propane Heater. Other than, that, there is no gassy smell to it.

I am really happy with this heater, and probably will use it as our heat source in the basement, even when we finish it off. It’s really attractive and easy to use. It’s efficient and we don’t go through all that much propane in the winter, although last year was mild until about February. It’s safe for the kids and animals which reside in my basement and I feel safe knowing that sensor is there to shut the heater off should anything go wrong.

© 2007 Patti Aliventi

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