Posted By kellytheaker on 13 Feb 2013 01:39 PM
Exellent discussion , i appreciate the efforts here .  the footprint is 26 by 32 , i just came back and its just sitting at 50 degrees , sitting dormant/pump not circulating thermo set at 50 for am peak hydro . From the discussion i see that i may have a marginal chance of getting by with the cheapo water heater , but i do want better - what i mean is i would like to leave and set this down so as to not heave / frost protection but if i were to spend a month  up there , i would like a response in two to three days to a livable floor 68* . what is a best value solution here - to heat this water better and at a reasonable cost . i will say im sucking hydro fast thats why the set back but i see its not the answer . is the answer a cheapo  propane power tank or high end propane tank Polaris , air to air ,  electric boiler / propane boiler . all i want is to heat the floor well . not the rest of the cottage . i am leaving that chore to a pellet stove on the main floor heat and air condition will be an air to air unit . i thought i had this figured out . your discussions have been very enlightening .

Sorry to be away while all this dialog is going on. I agree with Dan about a modulating electric boiler. I've put in a few Thermo2000 units from Quebec which are pretty nice. I wouldn't go with anything propane because the cost is just too close to electricity here and then we have combustion to deal with. IMHO, the electric boiler and/or the ductless is the answer. with the electric boiler you can also get some DHW if desired or combine it with solar DHW.

Kelly, feel free to give me a call if you want to make any changes. My site is below. (first time I've done that on here, haha)

I want to thanks all members who have replied and worked on this subject, i now understand more than when i started . I will certainly investigate the air to air units closely - but that purchase is off for 6 months . currently the boiler elecric modulating will be looked at closely . do the electric boilers have the abilty to keep up and do they require a lot of service . Im just looking for ther best way to go. bar none honest good equiptment and if there is a better manuufacturer for units air to air and boilers please tell me . @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ (Phone #s and e-mail addresses are not allowed in forum posts)

Electric boilers are pretty rugged and low-maintenance, they're just low-efficiency.

For ductless air-to-air, Mitsubishi Fujitsu and Daikin together own something like 90% of the North American market, but LG and Sanyo both have some excellent high efficiency offerings that still work at -20C too. SFAIK only Mitsubishi specifies the output at -25C (and only on some models), but others will still be running (with output unspecified/unknown) at that lower temp. I'm told internals of many vendors often have identical core subassemblies (like compressors and variable refrigerant volume valves) that sourced from Fujitsu or Mitsubishi, but will have their own coil designs and control algorithms, etc.

The local installer expertise and distributor support in your location can be more important than the absolute efficiency or the name of the vendor. If five years from now one cold morning the thing isn't working correctly and you don't have somebody who can diagnose it quickly or a distributor stocking repair/replacement parts it's not much fun starting your support search then. It's better to figure out which vendors have a number of qualified installers and a distribution warehouse within a couple hour's drive before you buy. While ductless heat pumps pretty rugged and have been refined & simplified over decades of design, like any complex piece of hardware with electronic controls, it CAN fail, and may need repair once in a decade or two. And while installation isn't difficult, it's possible to screw that up too.

Thanks again . appreciate the help . Looks like and electric boiler since the propane is similar in price and i have heard that the glycol used bungs the internals of a burner or coils . so taking the advice and going with an elecric boiler and i first only knew that the air to air was a great air conditioner and now have the understanding they heat well too, and was going that route anyway . t5hanks again and other advice is alwatys welcome here .

I thought i better ask what is DHW an acronym for solar or ?

DHW = domestic hot water
SDHW = solar domestic hot water

some people have other acronyms but this is common internationally

Thanks Again