Propane Basics For Build

[ExpoMike]

Catalytic heaters create a LOT of moisture in a small space. You really want something that has the combustion vented outside and the heat exchanger that blows hot air inside. Something like a Propex heater or similar (for propane). Event the cheap diesel heater ones. Any of these Wave or Buddy Heaters have the combustion inside, as creates moisture and risk CO exposure.

 

[simple]

NFPA 1192

5.4.6.1 All fuel burning appliances have to be vented outside except stoves and ovens.

I've used catalytic heaters and think they have their place.

IMO a catalytic heater is fine for taking the edge off a cold shoulder season morning or evening with vents and windows open. The use case is feeling the radiant heat coming off and not trying to heat the air or surfaces in an RV.

I wouldn't use one in winter because I don't think it would be effective and I wouldn't use one at night while sleeping for safety reasons as well as being impractical. That's what down sleeping bags are for.

 

[MT-Camper]

Thank you for the info. The camper came with it and I was hoping to get by rather than spending more money on a different heater. I only use the heater during hunting season, and there are definitely times it's been cold enough to run all night. But I have friends with a Four Wheel camper that has a typical propane, fresh air intake and exhaust heater. They bought the camper specifically for ski hill parking lot camping. And they don't run the furnace at night because the fan wakes them up. So...I could just toughen up. I couldn't figure out how to turn it on the first cold night I slept in the camper, so I did without, and when I woke up, the entire interior was covered in frost...I was trying to avoid that. 😁

I've run it twice while I slept, both times on the low setting (there's only low and high), and in temps that got down to the low 20s, it was completely adequate on low. I would guess it would work great into the teens and possibly single digits on high. So I think for my use (November hunting season) it's fully adequate, heat-wise. But I'd definitely rather not wake up dead.

I could just bundle up, and turn the heat on first thing in the morning so I'm not sleeping with it on.

I'll keep considering...I suppose for now I'll still plumb a propane line for it. But I'll consider not running it while I sleep.

 

[simple]

I'd get a tongue box for a battery and mount one of these.

VEVOR Diesel Air Heater, Parking Heater, 5KW Truck Heater w/ LCD, Remote Control | VEVOR UK

VEVOR Diesel Air Heater offers fast, quiet heating with an LCD monitor, remote control, and easy installation for RVs, trucks, boats, and more.

www.vevor.com

 

[MT-Camper]

Diesel is definitely intriguing to me. Right now the camper has no power (one of the reasons the catalytic heater is so nice), so it's a whole other project to install something that requires 12v. It's these dang slippery slope installs and all the incidental, unexpected costs.

Like..."oh, only a $114 for a diesel heater, I can afford that no problem!"...then a battery, battery tray, wiring, control center, fuses etc. etc. and suddenly I'm in $500 and several weekends 😄

But that's the way it goes. I've been looking at this camper as something cheap to get me through till I can afford what I actually want, which is a pop-up slide in camper. If I'm not careful, I'll end up putting so much money into this camper that I should have just saved up for what I really wanted. This camper cost me $550, including the truck-bed trailer. That's why I bought it. Trying hard to mostly use it as-is, rather than make everything exactly how I want it.

 

[simple]

Diesel is definitely intriguing to me. Right now the camper has no power (one of the reasons the catalytic heater is so nice), so it's a whole other project to install something that requires 12v. It's these dang slippery slope installs and all the incidental, unexpected costs.

Like..."oh, only a $114 for a diesel heater, I can afford that no problem!"...then a battery, battery tray, wiring, control center, fuses etc. etc. and suddenly I'm in $500 and several weekends 😄

But that's the way it goes. I've been looking at this camper as something cheap to get me through till I can afford what I actually want, which is a pop-up slide in camper. If I'm not careful, I'll end up putting so much money into this camper that I should have just saved up for what I really wanted. This camper cost me $550, including the truck-bed trailer. That's why I bought it. Trying hard to mostly use it as-is, rather than make everything exactly how I want it.

Well then. Get a free pile of bricks and some oven mitts or welding gloves. Stack the bricks around the fire and when your ready to go to bed, pile them up on another layer of bricks in the camper for radiant heat all night.

 

[MT-Camper]

Heat is nice. I guess all I can say is that I take the CO danger from the catalytic heater seriously, and follow the instructions. The fact that they make them specifically with campers in mind didn't make me take the risk less seriously, but made me think it's a risk sufficiently mitigated by following airflow instructions. It's not like we're talking about running stovetop burners all night.

But...I'm leaning much more toward evening and morning heat, and leaving it off while I sleep. If I keep this camper long-term, I'll consider a vented heat source. If I only keep it a couple years, we're talking like 6 nights a year that I'd actually want the heat running all night anyway. And only then because...you know...I have a camper to be comfortable. I could just sleep in the back of my truck under my topper. I got the slide-in for more comfort, and heat was one of those considerations. All the same, I'm not up for unnecessary risks. Weighing risk/benefit and risk mitigation...it's just hard to successfully mitigate risk while you're asleep. So I have to add that to the equation. People die in campers from CO for all sorts of reasons (like propane leaks coming out of vented heaters, fridges etc.). There's always some risk in a confined area with a propane system.

Seems like what people responding here are telling me, though, is that the catalytic heater risk is too high. When it comes time to sleep, I'll look at it more like true camping and have warm bedding rather than relying on the comforts of the camper.

I've got propane supplies starting to show up this weekend so I'll be posting if I have questions on hooking things up. I plan to use the camper for the first time of the season in a couple weeks so I hope to get after this propane install. Mostly to get the Dometic 2-burner stovetop up & running. Don't need heat till November. But being able to cook out of the rain/bugs/wind etc. is a comfort I really enjoy, when it's available.

 

[simple]

Your camper is pretty sweet. Don't sell it short.

If it were mine, I'd apply a little turd polish. I bet you would get the money back out when sell it.

 

[MT-Camper]

That's the redeeming factor. After I'm done, along with the trailer I can likely double what I paid, and recoup all my renovation costs. And thanks. I really like it, too. Something about pop-up campers is more appealing to me, but I'll admit I like this one. My biggest issue is also part of what makes it nice...Especially on a small truck like mine, the full-height campers are just too big, in my opinion. That's why pop-ups are nice. In this one I can't stand up, at least not without being bent over. So it's a "sit only" camper. I'm figuring out how to work with that...I have a stool that I'll sit on while I cook and do dishes or whatever, and the dinette is obviously a seating area.

When I used it for hunting last fall it didn't have any of that, and my lower back regularly reminded me to stop trying to do things standing up, stooped over.



I have a pull-behind Bigfoot trailer that I'm getting ready to sell, and I lived out of it for 7 summers. I'm constantly reminding myself to see this slide-in more like sleeping in the back of my truck than like a true camper. But real heat and the ability to stand up would be nice.