Was that retrieved from the moon? LOL
I'm tending to lean away from any commercial versions for the simple fact that the output (and therefore input) are orders of magnitude higher than what the space demands for heat. They are great and all where "leakage" is an issue, or much larger spaces are being heated, but all I end up with is lack of sleep from excessive cycling, and a prematurely empty can.
The torch was the first propane heat source that could do the job, didn't require constant adjustment or cycling, and wouldn't burn up a cylinder in a single night (two if I was lucky). Thing is of course, that valve is extremely touchy, there's no kind of regulation device, and of course a completely open, unshielded flame.
I'm looking into a shielding device of some sort, thinking double insulated. Two different size tin cans, coaxial to one another? This would at least allow a shutdown mechanism enough time to kill the flame if it gets tipped over. A cage maybe as an additional barrier too.
I'm going to tend to agree that what I'm proposing isn't the safest way to heat a space, and while I don't know up close and personally what all can go wrong with propane devices, I can imagine. The 10 second ignition thing was more of a "right off" concept than an actual number. Probably more like 3. I don't let it vent any longer than that when I'm striking it with a lighter, and I've never even smelled the funk they add to the stuff.
I obviously want to be safe about this, which is why I'm not just doing it without checking around first. Is there a such thing as a small handheld torch that has a regulator on it so the valve isn't so damn sensitive?
Steve