We are considering buying a cabin in northern Michigan that is presently heated with only a wood stove. We would like a more reliable heat source such as propane or possible natural gas if it is available in the area. The cabin is built on a concrete slab and does not have an attic either. Is it possible to have some sort of forced air furnace installed?

 

Actually.... there is nothing more reliable than a wood stove.

Could you install a furnace..... sure. Duct work could be a problem unless you're just putting the furnace in a large room and have it blow out directly.

What size is the cabin ?
How many rooms are there ?

 

The Cabin is 650 sq. ft. There are 3 rooms. Why we wanted a constant heat source is that we wanted the cabin to stay heated in the winter when we are gone. We would like to use the cabin on weekends in the winter & don't want to drain water pipes every weekend.

 

For only 3 rooms id look into ductless split. Don't know how cold it gets but lots of these units go to -5 easy.

 

My dad's camp in NH is the same size, and # of rooms and he's been heating it with one like these for many years.
Vermont Castings | Stoves | Gas Stoves

 

Does that place have electricity . . . . is it off the grid ?

When you asked about "natural gas", it made me think it's in a more urban environment than the rest of your post suggested.

 

There is no natural gas available at the cabin. There is electricity. But I was told heating with electric was way too expensive. Someone suggested that we could easily install a wall furnace or even a fireplace / stove with propane fueled logs in place of the wood stove. What do you think? Would that be reliable to leave unattended & keep the cabin pipes from freezing?

 

I wasn't suggesting electricity as a power source for heat . . . .but rather to determine whether yo could consider electronically controlled devices; something which is denied to those people who are actually off-the-grid. They then have to rely on solar or wind or the wood that requires on-site human participation.

The one remaining question I have is whether the road to the place is maintained well enough for a propane supply company to commit to keeping a large tank sufficiently full for your winters.

As a Real Estate Broker, I've sold a lot remote properties that were too far away from civilization to be serviced by the propane service people. Often, the tanks supplied must be large enough to provide fuel for the entire winter; because once the snow begins building up, the roads can become impassable for the delivery trucks until spring..

If you can obtain a reliable supply of propane, then the world of propane appliances opens up to you including heat and hot water, cook stove. You just have to size the tank to approximate the amount of fuel that you'll annually consume at your cottage. Around here, the propane companies own the tanks that they position on your site, and they prefer that you actually buy approximately that much per year so that their tank investment isn't just sitting there idle.

So if you can find a reliable propane supply company, they may recommend someone to size your place for an appropriate wall furnace (or do it themselves) and then determine the size of the necessary tank for your location. Hopefully, your environment has some competitive suppliers . . . . because once you settle on one, it's like a marriage, so you want to have some alternatives.