propane heaters

[charlieaarons]

Propane is consumed quickly for space and water heating.
Much more slowly for cooking, about 1 lb every
2 weeks. It's an especially big hassle
overseas.
I'd recommend a Webasto 5kw diesel heater
for space and water heating.

Charlie

 

[benjamin]

So, whats a more reasonably priced product for us real folk?

This is what I'm looking at for my camper.............

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Atwood-8012-II-36551-12K-BTU-Furnace-RV-Trailer-Camper-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4aa652cde1QQitemZ320618024417QQptZMotorsQ5fRVQ5fTrailerQ5fCamperQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

[Bogo]

I know the units are expensive but when you are dealing with gas, open flame, and heat it's not worth messing around with. You'd be better off with either a really good sleeping bag or a walled tent with a wood burning stove rather than making your own.

Why not a wood stove for your camper? http://www.dickinsonmarine.com/solid.html OK, so they are designed for a boat,:088: but I have seen a couple in live aboard buses. It is a small heater/fireplace that can burn charcoal, wood, or coal. They are small, but do require a bit of space around them. I also see the price has gone up a bit in the past few years. Back when I was thinking of making a live aboard bus I was going to have fancier ones up front and in the master bedroom with backup diesel boiler heat.

Edit: I see I'm not the only one to mention the Dickinson heaters. PS, other manufactures also make them.

If you aren't worried about water supplies, etc., you could use 12VDC electric bunk pads. http://www.electrowarmth.com/fleet.php 36" x 60" in size. They used to have other sizes. To use them I'd have a dedicated house battery bank that is isolated from the starting battery. I figured they would be part of the the first "heating system" in my Micro RV design. The other part is an engine coolant heater for the back. Basically an electric fan with a heater core plumed into the engine coolant system. For the type of trips I do now this works as I usually am driving every day just before camping for the night. Heat the back up as I drive. Later I'd install a gas fired forced air heater. Espar makes one that will run off of petrol, and a number of makers make diesel fired ones.

 

[Bogo]

So, whats a more reasonably priced product for us real folk?

There is always this one...:yikes:
http://www.atomicheater.com/

it uses the core heater form a Coleman catalytic tent heater and puts a box around it to use external combustion air and vent the combustion gases outside. Of course it only puts out 1,500 or 3,000 BTUs depending on which Coleman heater you use as it's core.

I have one of the Coleman heaters it can use. It would be simple to make a "case" that it could be mounted into that would provide the same function. An issue would be extracting to much heat out of the exhaust air so that it condenses the water out. On the other hand you could design for that and make it that much more efficient.

 

[dwh]

This is what I'm looking at for my camper.............

My camper (bubble top van conversion) has the older 12k version of this:

http://www.rvsupplywarehouse.com/product/detail.cfm/nid/199/pid/1935

It's fine for a weekend, but for longer than that it sucks. It draws down the aux battery fast and will run through the built-in 5g propane tank pretty quick.

Puts out a ton of heat though...but I never use it.

You can do the math - a gallon of propane has 91,000 btu so a 5g tank will last 38 hours running a 12k btu heater.

Probably going to end up replacing it with the small Propex 2000 (6,500 btu).

That Propex in a toolbox is a neat trick.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Just looked over this thread.

I have a Olympian Wave 3 heater for my upcoming camper project. It is a great little heater.

 

[BajaBus]

There is always this one...:yikes:
http://www.atomicheater.com/

Oh, that would be PERFECT but the guy isn't producing them yet. I just emailed him and he wrote write back saying he's looking for an investor.

 

[hdemetrious]

Alcohol

I have never seen these used but west marine sells these alcohol heaters. They seem easy to stow and reasonable. They also only require alcohol. Does anyone have any experience with these?


http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10114&subdeptNum=10699&classNum=10702

 

[Victorian]

I have never seen these used but west marine sells these alcohol heaters. They seem easy to stow and reasonable. They also only require alcohol. Does anyone have any experience with these?


http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10114&subdeptNum=10699&classNum=10702

I was wondering about those too...
But then after thinking about it for a bit I thought, that I already have 3 of these: http://www.trangia.se/english/2934.the_trangia_principle.html and they are essentially the same. The only difference I can see is the longer burning time of the West Marine stove.
There is one big down side from using anything that has an open flame:
You need very good ventilation! I was thinking of having the windows open a crack, but that will let the cold air in... So therefore, it may be a cheap solution, but certainly not the best...

 

[BajaBus]

I wonder how efficient one of these is?


http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_11151_10001_98976

 

[Northern Explorer]

I have never seen these used but west marine sells these alcohol heaters. They seem easy to stow and reasonable. They also only require alcohol. Does anyone have any experience with these?


http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10114&subdeptNum=10699&classNum=10702

No experience but I don't think I would want anything that could be accidentally tipped over and have liquid fuel leak out.

I wonder how efficient one of these is?


http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_11151_10001_98976

Those are electric. 600, 900 and 1500 watts.

 

[Engineer Guy]

Playing It Safe

A couple of hands on notes...

I troubleshot and kept running the '83 Atwood Furnace in the monster Avion I lived in during Solar House construction. For anyone wanting to safely build their own Heater, reference a Commercial Heater Schematic and assume that no parts are unnecessary.

Regarding the sane note of Gas Control/Safety above, I replaced 2 Snap Sensors the size of Quarters on the Heat Exchanger that directly controlled +12 VDC. One opened at 'high' temp to shut off the Gas as 'last ditch' safety Sensor [if a Fan failed, etc.]. The other one cycled on and off to enable the Igniter PCB to turn on Gas when the Heat Exchanger temp dropped 'too' low AND the Thermostat was still calling for heat.

A pal's '88 14' Wilderness Yukon Trailer has the identical Atwood Furnace to the one shown above. Unbelievable quiet and compact vs. the one I have. All the Ductwork, and the Fan to push heat around my '31 of Trailer, could be the difference. I've also used a Little Buddy just fine, but would opt for the Olympian Catalytic based on the electricity-free simplicity and BTU heat range.

Astrofoil under a bottom Sheet works like a Space Blanket and really kicks. It's also under all my House Walls:

http://www.astrofoil.net/

 

[dwh]

I wonder how efficient one of these is?


http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_11151_10001_98976

Not very. The lowest setting, 600w they say "draws just 5a". Well yea, at 120v. 600w is 50a at 12v.