Heater for inside

The butane gas heaters are great in my opinion. They produce instant heat, strong heat, localised heat to start so that, when you come in freezing, you can crouch next to it as it slowly but surely warms the room. They are also relatively cheap to buy and run and you can see how much you are spending on them.

Lots of people don't like them though. They worry about the safety aspects and there are stories of gas explosions from time to time. People also worry that they will produce noxious products like carbon monoxide. In my opinion if you maintain and check the heater as you should, replace hoses and valves as you should etc. they are 100% safe.

People complain that they produce water. In fact burning anything does. That's why fossil fuels produce greenhouse gases like CO2 - same reaction. That's probably why the manufacturers say to make sure there is ventilation.

When you first buy one you will need to get a gas bottle too. This means that you need to have ID, you have to pay a hefty deposit against the bottle etc. So the first bottle is expensive and you probably need two - as one runs out you need a spare to put in its place. I presume that the five year mandatory inspection also applies to a single gas heater just as it does to a full gas installation (we have a cooker and a gas heater as well as the gas heaters so they just get checked when the installation is checked).

Getting a refill is also a chore. You can often just leave your bottle for the butanero to replace or you can ring/use the app for a delivery but when it's just one or two most people go and exchange the bottle themselves. So it's a chore.

Hi Culebronchris, thanks so much for the very good and detailed answer. Can you get a decent priced one at places like Carrefour? The apartment is in the Habaneras area in Torrevieja, I saw there is a Carrefour, I will have nothing when I go there on the first day, so I hope I can find stuff there. Whats the name in spanish for such a burner? And yes I need find a connection to such a gas provider, the stove is electric so I guess its just the heating I need find a solution for.

Culebronchris wrote:

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When you first buy one you will need to get a gas bottle too. This means that you need to have ID, you have to pay a hefty deposit against the bottle etc. So the first bottle is expensive and you probably need two - as one runs out you need a spare to put in its place. I presume that the five year mandatory inspection also applies to a single gas heater just as it does to a full gas installation (we have a cooker and a gas heater as well as the gas heaters so they just get checked when the installation is checked).
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Legally to get a gas bottle (bombilla) requires a contract with the gas supplier (such as Repsol). That has a reasonable high charge and requires an inspection.  To buy a bottle one needs one to exchange.

Many people buy a couple of bottles in say a Saturday boot sale (maybe about 15 euros each) to avoid a contract.

Technically one requires a safety inspection by the gas suppliers you have the contract with, every 5 years.  Not sure what might happen if one had an insurance claim associated with the heater and had not had the inspections !

I have used such heaters for many of the 30 years I have lived in Spain.  A couple of years ago I decided to give up.  They do smell and they do produce water vapour (equivalent tothe weight of the contents of the bottle) which if one has any sort of condensation damp problem, will exacerbate it. Ventilation is also required, so like an old fashioned coal fire a ‘bloody draught’.

I now use the A/C which has a heat pump and is I find quite cheap to run, even with  an Asian wife who need a minimum of 25º C in the sitting room !

Hi John, thanks for this, very good points you make and they will certainly be taken into consideration, I still have time to figure this out until February, maybe I will just get an electric heater until I can get an aircon installed, we will see

Any ironmonger/hardware store will sell the gas heaters - you can buy them online from places like Amazon too. Lots of the places that sell them can do a contract for the gas bottles at the same time because they do the bottles too. The petrol stations etc that sell the silver bottles - CEPSA - will usually write the contracts then and there.

Gracias Chris

I've been happy with the electric plug-in radiator we bought from Carrefour. Seems to do the job and we haven't yet had to go beyond the 1000w setting (it goes up to 2500w). Not sure how it would compare to a gas heater in terms of energy cost but it is easier to set up and maintain.

Hi Dave,
Thanks for your reply, I have done some more reading on the gas heaters, I guess im getting more sceptical about using these indoors too now, u say from Carrefour, that wouldn't by any chance be the one in torrevieja at habaneras?
Cheers Kim

Hi Kim,

I'm in Malaga but I ordered it online for delivery from the Carrefour website.

It was this one: https://www.carrefour.es/radiador-de-ac … 36578342/p

You can order click & collect if it's available in your local Carrefour.

Ah that's the one I have been looking at, I mean the website, I have close to nothing to start on in the apartment and saw that furniture is quite expensive in the shops there so I was wondering about online, I found some cheaper sites but delivery is often set to 15 days and I cant wait that long without beds ha ha .. I found some double beds on this Carrefour online site, its not sold by Carrefour but a third party? Does the delivery of often stated 3 days stick? And all went smooth for you ?

I've only ordered things off the website that were actually sold and delivered by Carrefour and all has been delivered within the stated time. I couldn't comment on the other sellers there. Probably the same as on Amazon - some good, some bad.

If there is an IKEA within driving distance, they might be worth a go for cheaper furniture. Or try to see if there are any charity/2nd-hand furniture shops nearby.

Yeah, thanks again Dave, I guess I will just have to try my luck, have a great weekend .. cheers Kim