Foreclosure Inspections and Portable Heaters

At some of the inspections, the utilities are turned off. I am thinking about renting a portable propane heater for use with the IR services.

  • What do you think
  • What size would you suggest?

This was mentioned a couple months ago and something similar to thiswas mentioned as being used to warm wall surfaces.

  1. CO poisoning
  2. Indoor air contamination
  3. Forced conditions do not represent factual conditions of the property and contained systems
  4. Get the utilities turned on or do what you can but exclude what you can’t, IR you can’t realistically

Need I say more :roll:

Linas, that looks like a neat little heater but if the utilities are off…

I don’t know if I would rent a propane heater, they are cheap enough to buy. Here are some patio heaters you might be able to use indoors.

http://www.walmart.com/browse/Outdoor-Heating-Lighting/Patio-Heaters/_/N-90umZaq90Zaqce/Ne-2p46?ic=48_0&ref=125862.421006&tab_value=228662_All&tab_value=228662_All&catNavId=1032060&fromPageCatId=1032060&catNavId=1032060&adid=1500000000000006955330

I have a power inverter in my truck so power is not a problem. I do a lot of mold inspections on foreclosures that don’t have power and I have to do air sampling.

Ahhh, power inverter, smart idea! I wouldn’t have thought about something like that.

I use portable heaters all the time with my IR. Even when the heating system is functional. Unless you have an ultra sensitive camera and/or a huge delta T you are probably missing something if you are not using this important device.

I use the little 12 amp units you can purchase at target or home depot, lowes, ect. I can multiple units so I can set them up in different rooms. Just be careful not to overload a circuit as they do pull 12 amps which is 80ish % of the standard (15 amp).

I use these in my IR for electrical scans too to get a load on the general use receptacles and to get the overall panel load up around 60-70%

I’ve been using a 20 lb propane bottle (what you use on a grill) with a radiant head. It will do a large wall very easily. Reasonably portable (maybe best to say luggable). Very useful in a “no heat” situation.

I also use some small electric units if I’m doing electrical and need something convenient to create a known load on a circuit.

Steve, can you post a linked to the one you use?
Thanks,
Peter