Heart monitor recommendations?

I use a Polar and the only criticism I have is non replaceable batteries in sender as waterproof to 50 mtr but some models differ.

I use Polar HRMs. I have owned two, hubby borrowed one and never returned it so I had to buy another.
He has the opposite problem his heart will race up to well over 250 beats at times.

I am currently wearing my FT4. On Amazon for about $65. and if you swim it works for that too. Get the gel too as you can use water but it isn't as efficient as the gel especially if you are swimming with it, like my husband. I have a 2.5 oz tube of the gel that has lasted me about 4 years now. Granted I went sometime without using any but it doesn't break down and become ineffective. Lots of reviews on Amazon. Polar models usually get the best reviews. No matter what model and features you want. Get one with the band that holds the receiver, your results will be more fine tuned that way. And you just look at the watch you don't have to hold any buttons etc. Easy peasy, nice and easy.

You can drop more that $300 for one that connects to your pc and downloads the data, but I find just tracking my cals burned is easy and I didn't want to spend that much. YMMV.

Almost forgot you can change out the battery on the FT4 and most of the newer models, some older ones, like my original I have to send in. Love I can self change with the new one. My original didn't need a battery for over 2 yrs, but it was a pain mailing it in to do such a simple task.

I'd like to find a monitor that helps me figure out how many calories I'm burning during the day, and helps me find a good target heart rate for fat burning while working out.

If looking for something that tracks your activity through the day you want to look in Body Media, Fit Bit, Nike Fuel, etc.

If you are looking for something to track your heart rate WHILE you are exercising then go with Polar or Garmin depending on the features you want.

I have a Wahoo HRM... weird name, I know. I like that it sync's with my gen5 iPod and it's just a chest band, no watch.

For the 1 millionth time. Get a Polar FT4 or FT7. If you want BlueTooth/App support then the Polar H7. The new so called strapless HRMs use LED lights to SEE your pulse in your wrist. Everything I've read says they work when the work. but if you're doing any kind of exercise where you bend your wrist, they tend to fail frequently.

I purchased a Polar FT4 about 2 weeks ago and I LOVE it!!! FYI: Best Buy will honor competitors ads! Got mine for $58 normally $99 with my Amazon link.

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Since you mention decent calorie burn estimates during exercise, skip the cheaper Polar's FT4/FT7 as they are missing and assuming a key stat for getting decent estimates - VO2max.
The cheaper Polars assume that if you have a bad BMI for your gender/age, then you have a bad VO2max - which is bad assumption.

RS300X is about their cheapest one with that stat, and self-test to get it.

And as commented, calorie burn formula is only valid for the aerobic exercise range 90 - about 170 in steady-state mode, meaning HR is the same about 2-4 minutes.