Help me Decide on a Furnace, for the Adrenalin - Propex, Espar, Webasto, Other?

[dzzz]

I've become fond of my electric blanket.
60w draw when on, I figure it averages 30w on a really cold night. So pretty close to a 12v frig.
I think this is a good option for campers with decent house batteries with owners who don't want to run a catalytic heater while sleeping. Before, when I slept with cabin heat off, I would wake frequently due to the constantly dropping temp.
I try to not camp at 0F.

 

[Christian P.]

I have the standard/not glamourous/Atwood RV propane furnace in my Bigfoot camper and we have been using it all winter in Tahoe - 30000 BTU is a lot for the camper, I don't think we ever turned it all the way up once, even in the 20s.

 

[Borrego60]

I researched this same question fairly extensively for heating my Wildernest, which looks to be of a similar size and construction to your tent. The conclusion that I came to was that while the propex is certainly the most elegant solution, it probably would not produce enough heat to camp in really cold temperatures. I bought a Mr Heater 'Big Buddy' on sale for about $60 and did some testing with that. On high (which is ~5 KW) it will heat my wildernest about 25C (~50F) above ambient if it is fairly calm out. If it is windy I only get about half the temperature rise. The propex HS2800 is rated at 2.8 kW, so you will only get roughly half the temperature rise, which would barely get you to freezing if it is 0F out. I also tried a Zodi, which was pretty much useless.

I would recommend getting a Mr Heater to start, and see what sort of heat rise you get out of it, and whether you (or more importantly the family) find a heated tent practical before throwing down the big bucks on an Espar or Propex.

I know I have camped in 30 degrees and the inside of my tent was a toasty 70, not to dispute your findings but the proplex works very well for a RTT.

 

[kevint]

Interesting suggestion. I was at Northern Tool recently and noticed moving/storage a meta that were pretty cheap.

 

[kevint]

A meta = blankets

Can't figure out how to edit on Tapatalk.

 

[jonharis]

Great conversation guys and a ton of great options. I need to put it out there again that my goal is to raise the temperature of the air in the tent. We have excellent backpacking and car camping sleeping bags that work great to Zero F and below, The point is that we have kids now (2 years old) and heating the air is a primary goal. The tent body is quite large as seen in the review I link to and the walls are thick canvas with no additional insulation. I am not looking for arctic survival mode but I often camp at high elevations where it gets down into the 30s and lower in the summer. We want to extend our season, not necessarily camp in a blizzard and want to be able to be comfortable (playing board games/cards etc.) when it is chilly outside.

So far I've ruled out an electric blanket (might be great for sleeping but doesn't warm the air.)
I am considering a large Mr. Heater but it is something I would only run while awake.
The Webastro and Espar are still high on the list but are so darn expensive for the mid range model.
I am leaning the towards the Propex Heat Source 2800 because it is much less expensive than the Diesel models and I can run it of my 25lb propane tank without extra fuel. I'd like to see consumption figures for it. If I could get 4-5 nights off of 25lbs I would be happy. The interior volume of the Adrenalin is probably 4-5 times that of a RTT so it needs to be taken into consideration. Also what kind of battery drain would I expect from a solid night's use?

Thanks again. I hope this can help others as well.

 

[jonharis]

Or a Mr. Heater to get things going while socializing and the Propex to take the edge off through the night.......hmmm.

 

[spressomon]

Jon,

A 20lb propane tank has approximately 439,500 btu's available (at 60 degrees F). The Propex 2800 is rated at 9,700 BTU max. At max output you should get approximately 45 hours out of a tank...in theory.

On the elk hunting trip I used a Mr. Heater Big Buddy 18,000btu heater for my annex/extra room. It did OK until we got 6" of snow and temps dropped into the low 20's/upper teens at night. I also used it in the main tent area of my KK to help assist the Webasto 2000...since, at the elevation we were at (7,500'), the Webasto just wasn't able to perform satisfactorily due to the combined low temps, breezy conditions, snow and 7,500' altitude.

I have a difficult time believing the Big Buddy puts out an honest 18,000btus per their rating. And bring along plenty of extra D cells as it tends to chew right threw them...ditto for 1lb propane canisters unless you opt for the bulk tank conversion (if you do go this route be sure to run an inline propane filter from the bulk tank or you are guaranteed to have issues with the Buddy type heaters...).


I like the concept of the Propex 2800...but I'm leary it could, at its 9,700btu rated max output, keep the air volume in the main area of our trailer tents warm enough at sub-freezing temps, windy conditions and higher elevations...given the absence of wall/ceiling insulation.

Have you contacted Ken Romer? I believe he has one of the Propex heaters in his KK. Not sure of the highest elevation and how cold he's used it but it would be worth an e-mail or phone call...

Maybe the Atwood, that was mentioned by Christian P on page 2 of this thread, would be worthy of consideration. The only negative, besides the larger footprint, might be the electrical draw...but maybe worth checking out.

 

[bee]

I know this is kind of an old topic but, I wanted to throw out there that I am pretty sure a buddy heater will not work at altitude. I want to say that the built in oxygen depletion sensor is the problem. So you should check to see what its max altitude capability is. When I build my rv I will most likely be getting one of these http://ventedcatheater.com/2.html
A cat heater should be more efficient and quieter then forced air. I was planning to also get a hydronic so that I would have redundancy.(different fuel source)

Another alternative cat heater is the wave heaters from olympianhttp://www.amazon.com/Camco-57351-Olympian-Wave-8-Catalytic/dp/B000EDQR8M/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1339714467&sr=8-3&keywords=catylitic+heater they will put out moisture, but should work at high altitude.

I am not saying cat heaters are superior or even what you should get, I just wanted to say there are more choices then buddy.

 

[jonharis]

Reviving my old thread here. I've decided to go the BigBuddy route to try it out. Camping at 8,500' over labor day weekend told me it was time to pull the trigger on something. I'll be camping at similar altitude or a bit higher at the end of this month and know it will be cold. Here is the route I've decided to go for.

Big Buddy MH18B - $129
Mr. Heater Hose with Regulator and Quick Disconnect for Big Buddy Heater #F271803 - $38 (According to Mr. Buddy no filter is needed with this hose because it lacks plasitcisers. We shall see.)
3 port Camco 59133 RV Brass 90 Tee - $32
Lite Cylinder LC-25, 25lb propane cylinder - $120
Stolen Rechargeable Energizer "D" Batteries from my kids toys. (Highly recommend these. I use Energizer Rechargables in all of my applications and have not purchased a battery in nearly 2 years. Dispite bad reviews online I love em)

Total: ~$320.

If it ends up not working I'll use the heater in the garage/shop and look into the Propex/Webasto solutions.

 

[jonharis]

Testing the Big Buddy out for the first time tonight. It's 35 outside and 70 to 75 in the tent. Plenty of output fir this volume. I'm going to kick it down to low,fan off through the night and will report back in the morning. At this point though I'm happy with the build quality and output although I can see how It would be nice to have something hardwired in with a thermostat. Someday maybe.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Updates? How did it work out for you?

 

[taz223]

Interested in updates on this too. Getting towards the end of a trailer build and about ready to figure out a heating solution. Any insight you can offer would be tremendously appreciated!

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Testing the Big Buddy out for the first time tonight. It's 35 outside and 70 to 75 in the tent. Plenty of output fir this volume. I'm going to kick it down to low,fan off through the night and will report back in the morning. At this point though I'm happy with the build quality and output although I can see how It would be nice to have something hardwired in with a thermostat. Someday maybe.

View attachment 123225

Very nice, interested to see your final results!

 

[rideglobally]

this thread has been very helpful we are currently using a small mr heater which is ok but concern about co2. because of safety reason we shut it down before we go to sleep. also we are using a 20lb propane tank so setting is up is a bit of a hassle. that is why we are looking at a fix solution. i will be following your thread thanks.:Wow1: