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Looking for propane heater.


Bigrig1919

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I have several friends who have portable propane heaters ( with small bottle in back) that seem to work great.

I have looked all over Lakeside and cannot find any for sale.

I went to the places they bought theirs last year and the store don't carry them any more.

I also need to buy a fireplace propane insert to install permently. Perfer one with electric fan.

Does anyone know where I can purchase the above items.

Thanks

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Sometimes Barbara bazar and others have them for sale and the place one block north of the carrretera on Colon can fix them. I have seen them in furniture stores, did you check the furniture stores on Mardero in Chapala?

At the end of winter I see them at the las tianguis and at the end of summer I see fans at las tianguis etc.

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Another vote for Home Depot. Not sure if Costco has them. I think I have seen them in Sam's Club. We have a propane fireplace. We got the logs in the U.S. as they are very expensive here.

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You will find them in all of the places mentioned above; probably about next Fall. My guess is that they will be really difficult to find right now.

We bought ours in 2004 at Soriana; the kind without a bottle, as we put gas taps from our bulk tank in several locations in the house. We are cozy and warm, but the TV sure is boring. Our heater is the radiant type with three sections. Normally, we set it on low, which lights just one section. It is without a brand name but works perfectly, as it has for the last 9 years.

If you do manage to find a propane heater, it need not have a bottle. You can always stand a tall bottle in the corner and use a flex line. That way, it will last much longer and the guys on the truck will change it for you whenever it goes empty.

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Home Depot in Guadalajara shows electric heaters on page 2 and gas ones on age 3 of their catalogue. The direct link won't post.

Try Googling home depot Guadalajara catalogos

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RvGringo is correct. It doesn't matter what their catalogue shows...you are unlikely to find a propane heater at this time of the year. You may get lucky but it's unlikely especially after the recent week of weather.

A couple of years ago, I prepared by buying the LAST one at the Home Depot closest to the Gallerias Mall...it was mid October.

IMHO, the best propane heater is the Delonghi Safe Heat...the one that looks like Darth Vader's helmet. It has been exceptional...in starting, in putting out heat and in economy of propane use.

Edited to add...that's the one shown in Oldshoe's link (he was posting at the same time that I was)

...and...the tanks for the propane are usually located in an entirely different section of the store (plumbing!)

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RvGringo is correct. It doesn't matter what their catalogue shows...you are unlikely to find a propane heater at this time of the year.

Home Depot has recently updated their website and I've found their stock levels to be quite accurate. Several months back when we purchased our DeLonghi they showed only one store with it in stock (Tlaquepaque) and when we went it wasn't even on display. I was about to give up and decided to ask a guy stocking something nearby. He nodded and disappeared for several minutes and then I saw him carrying a big box over his head across the store. I checked HD website a few days later and it showed one fewer.

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For those who may own a Delonghi (we do) or similar unit, or may be considering purchasing one, here are a couple of tips:

1. As someone mentioned, the tanks are sold in a separate part of Home Depot from the heating units. I didn't buy the tank there because I couldn't get the nozzle from the Delonghi unit's flex hose to screw onto the tank. I didn't realize that it screws on in the reverse direction than you would expect. Too bad I made that mistake because the tanks at Home Depot are definitely the least expensive. Thinking a tank would be easy to find, I returned to the Lake Chapala area and scoured the hardware stores only to find that they had none or they were much more expensive than I wanted to pay. I finally found one at a decent price at the hardware store next to the Sunrise Cafe on the Carretera in San Antonio Tlay. Save yourself a lot of trouble and get your tank at Home Depot, remembering the difference in screw-on directions.

2. Getting the tank filled was another whole adventure (best to view these things as adventures!). The only place to fill them in the area is a propane gas depot to the east of Chapala on the road toward Mezcala. About a mile or so out of Chapala, watch for a blue water pumping station on the right. To your left will be a dirt road heading north. About a half mile down this road you will come to the gas depot. The sign at the gate says park outside, but they waved us in to the dock where they fill the tanks. As I recall, it cost about $100 pesos to fill. We use the Delonghi only rarely when putting on another sweater just doesn't do it. Our original tank-full has lasted several years. Mostly we view the Delonghi like we do the fire extinguisher, rarely used but good to have when you need it.

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There are several tank filling options. Across from El Torito in Ajijic. There is , I think an exchange, near Strom Moving west Ajijic. Some of the bulk trucks will fill a 20 lb cylinder

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OK, we went to Home Depot Tlaquepaque today and found that yes, they have several DeLonghi heaters as well as a bunch of other propane and electric heaters in stock -- out on the floor, not in storage. Maybe they brought them back out in response to the weather.

The DeLonghi was $1899. We also found propane tanks for $577 but they were empty -- you have to go get them filled. But we were having some qualms about using a propane heater indoors in our fairly airtight house. I know many of you use them without issue but we talked to a couple salespeople and both advised against using them indoors -- said they were really meant for patio use. We ended up leaving with one of the electric models. (yes, we know, not as efficient or as powerful) of which they also have a good selection.

But for those of you who want one, just wanted to verify that they do have them!

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