Anyone else struggling to keep a small cabin warm in winter without spending a fortune on propane?

We've got a 20m² timber cabin up in the Cairngorms that we use most weekends from October through to March. Currently running a 6kg propane bottle through a Campa Hobby 3 heater, and honestly we're burning through a bottle every 10–14 days when it's properly cold. That's getting expensive fast, and the faff of swapping bottles in the dark at -5°C is getting old.

I've been looking at adding a small wood-burning stove — probably a Hobbit or a Charnwood Cub — alongside the existing solar setup (400W of panels, a 200Ah lithium battery, and a Victron SmartSolar MPPT). The idea being the stove handles the bulk of the heating and the propane just tops up on really bitter nights or when we arrive to a freezing cold cabin. Has anyone gone down this route and found it actually works in practice? Curious whether the Hobbit is genuinely enough for a space that size or whether it struggles once you're below -10°C outside.

Also wondering about insulation — the cabin is currently just 50mm of Celotex between the timber frame panels, which I suspect is where a lot of the heat is disappearing. Would it be worth tackling that first before investing in a stove, or is it more of a "do both together" situation?

EmmaPowell74 | 847 posts | ⭐ Trusted Member

@Ben1989 The Cairngorms in January is brutal, so I feel your pain! Have you looked into a small wood-burning stove? For a 20m² space something like a Hobbit stove would be perfect - they're compact but genuinely powerful. Yes, there's the installation cost upfront, but once you've got that sorted, you're essentially burning free fuel if you can source timber locally or fallen wood from the surrounding area.

We made the switch in our Highland cabin three years ago and haven't looked back. The residual heat after you've had it going a couple of hours is remarkable - propane just can't compete for that cosy warmth that actually lingers.

Also worth adding decent draught excluders and thermal lined curtains before anything else - makes a surprising difference in a small timber build. 🪵

Stacey28 | 203 posts | 🌱 Member

@Ben1989 Not a cabin but my garden office gets similar treatment from cold weather — same battle, different postcode. One thing that transformed my situation was thermal mass before I touched the heating side. I lined the interior walls with 50mm PIR board, taped every seam religiously, and the difference was night and day. Suddenly whatever heat source I used actually stuck around instead of bleeding straight through the timber frame.

For a weekend place specifically, a small Morso wood burner might be worth considering — you're not fighting to maintain temperature constantly, you light it, it roars up fast, and the cast iron holds heat beautifully. Propane feels like pouring money into sand when the walls aren't sorted first though. Fix the envelope, then revisit the heating question.

Del72 | 1,204 posts | ⭐ Trusted Member

@Ben1989 A 6kg bottle won't last five minutes up there in January, mate! Two things transformed our similar setup: first, a cheap 50mm PIR board on the floor - massive difference as that's where most heat escapes in timber builds. Second, look into a small wood-burning stove rather than relying solely on propane. Even a tiny 4kW Hobbit stove pays for itself within a season if you can source local timber. We keep propane as backup only now. Also worth dragging a thermal curtain across the door each night - sounds daft but it genuinely cuts draughts considerably. What's your current insulation situation in the walls and roof? That'll tell us a lot about where you're losing heat before throwing more fuel at the problem.

IanMartin60 | 2,341 posts | ⭐⭐ Senior Member

@Ben1989 Worth looking seriously at a wood-burning stove if you haven't already. For a 20m² space you'd only need a 4-5kW model — something like a Morso Squirrel or a compact Charnwood. Yes, there's an upfront cost, but once you're burning local timber you'll barely touch the propane. Keep the Campa for taking the initial chill off when you first arrive, rather than relying on it all weekend.

Also — and I can't stress this enough — insulate properly first. Timber cabins haemorrhage heat through the floor particularly. Rigid foam board under a ply floor makes an enormous difference before you even think about heating solutions. Get that sorted and you'll find whatever heat source you're using suddenly seems far more adequate.

CliveKnight | 512 posts | 🌱 Member

@Ben1989 Similar story here — I spent a winter aboard a 28ft narrowboat before converting my shepherd's hut, and the propane bills were genuinely eye-watering until I rethought the whole approach.

What transformed things for me was pairing a small wood-burning stove with a decent thermal mass underneath — even a flagstone hearth holds heat surprisingly well once it's up to temperature. The cabin retains warmth for hours after the fire dies down.

For your 20m² in the Cairngorms, a 4kW multifuel stove (I ran a Villager Billie for years) plus proper insulation beneath the floor will outperform any gas heater hands down. Propane just bleeds money when temperatures drop that far below zero — it becomes your primary expense rather than a backup.

What's the floor construction like currently? That's usually where the cold really gets in.

DaiLewis69 | 89 posts | 🌱 Member

@Ben1989 Have you looked at adding decent insulation first before throwing more heat at the problem? My garden office is only 12m² but I lost loads of heat through the floor until I sorted that out. Cairngorms winters are brutal so I imagine it's even worse up there.

Also worth considering — what's your power situation like? I've been running a Victron setup with a small immersion heater element as supplementary heat and it takes the edge off surprisingly well without touching propane. Might not be your main solution at that size but as backup it's worth thinking about.

What's the actual insulation spec on the cabin? Timber frames can be great if built right but some of those flat-pack cabins have basically nothing in the walls.