Propex vs Wabasto Gasoline

M

Mark2457

Member
Hi all

planning my heating solution for winter in mid west with my iKamper mini and Annex (Ford ranger with RSI SmartCap)

not interested at all in diesel

my choices seem to be Wabasto Gasoline (tapped into main fuel tank) or propex. Advantage of former is that you can ALWAYS find fas and you don’t need another container.
I generally take propane with me 5lb tank on a short trip and 20lb on longer teip

anyone know how much propane a propex will actually use? I know there are. Lot of variables but not sure I’m looking at a tank a day or a tank a week

thanks

mark
 
H

highwest

Well-known member
My search on this subject found that tapping into the gas tank with modern emissions controls will throw DTC codes.

I was concerned that Propex wouldn’t put out enough heat and the fan speed is either on or off, it doesn’t modulate like Chinese/Espar/Planar/Webasto.

All that brought me back to diesel…

I’m curious to see if you find any alternatives, as I would love to limit the number of fuels to bring.
 
M

Mark2457

Member
highwest said:
My search on this subject found that tapping into the gas tank with modern emissions controls will throw DTC codes.
Click to expand...

Thought that might be an issue. Would rather take a wabasto gasoline version with gas tank. No way I'm carrying diesel too

my biggest concern with propex is that distance from heater to first outlet can only be 4 feet. not putting the heater outside like I've seen others do. will either be in the truck bed (vented) or in the annex vented. Gonna be hard to mount it with only 4 feet from the tent window/entrance
 
billiebob

billiebob

Well-known member
Mark2457 said:
(tapped into main fuel tank)
Click to expand...
not unless your vehicle is old.
if it runs on a carburetor not an issue
if the EFI is 20 years old maybe
new car, no way

how much will it use?
depends on what you are heating, an RTT will suck lots, a tight insulated teardrop much less.
define vented, with a home built vented might be a propane trap. propane is heavy so it pools.
tent window entrance, the 4' rule applies to everything, including venting a pellet stove, gas fireplace in a home.
these are rules you cannot break,

me, I'm looking at Propex or similar and I'll follow the rules religiously, propane ignition is remarkably simple. gas less so.
the advantage of diesel is its high ignition temperature. Diesel is definitely the safest choice.
 
Last edited:
M

Mark2457

Member
Verkstad said:
If you know the BTU output of the proposed Propex, it should be fairly easy to get a reasonable estimate.
21600 BTU in a pound of propane. From there its fairly simple math.

Btw,
Its about 95% sure thing I am buying a new Ranger and a RSI SmartCap before winter. Any comments good or bad about the RSI, I would be interested in.
Much as I like my gasser Hilux,
It just lacks power for towing I am doing more frequently.
Click to expand...

Regarding the smartcap it’s hard to assemble on your own, leaks when you go through a car wash,3rd brake light was a disaster. Took 3 months to get it working.

Notwithstanding that it’s great.


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NOPEC

NOPEC

Well-known member
Mark2457 said:
Here it is: https://vancafe.freshdesk.com/suppo...5120-propex-installation-troubleshooting-tips


Tips

- The maximum number of hot air outlets is three.
- The maximum length to the first outlet should not exceed 1.5 meters (4.5 feet).
- The total combined length of cabin heat ducting should not be longer than 5 meters (15 feet).
Click to expand...

Mark

Also, the corrugated ducting is not well insulated so it is giving off heat along its length when the hot air is moving through it. So I guess, the further the hot air has to move, the more hot air is required due to this loss, thus the potential for more propane use. There didn't seem to be any hard rules around this ducting like there is with the specific lengths of the air intake and exhaust pipes so it might just be an efficiency guideline. The reality of my Propex retro install was that the hot air ducting had to pass fairly close to my DC fridge so I just heavily insulated the duct with pink fiberglass for its entire length which seems to work really well. Of course, which as you no doubt are aware of, there is also an inverse relationship between the distance from the hot air outlet to the location of the thermostat, which will also influence runtime/propane consumption.
 
M

m-l_johnny

Active member
Chris Shontz at Venture4wd youtbe channel has a Wabasto. He has issues with it carbon fouling at higher (above 7000?) elevations. Don’t know if that’s something for you to consider.
 
M

Mark2457

Member
m-l_johnny said:
Chris Shontz at Venture4wd youtbe channel has a Wabasto. He has issues with it carbon fouling at higher (above 7000?) elevations. Don’t know if that’s something for you to consider.
Click to expand...

Thanks. No altitude issues in IL :-(


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H

highwest

Well-known member
Mark2457 said:
- The maximum length to the first outlet should not exceed 1.5 meters (4.5 feet).
- The total combined length of cabin heat ducting should not be longer than 5 meters (15 feet).
Click to expand...
Ah, you found more details than Propex had on their FAQs. Maybe an issue of how much air resistance the unit can handle? Or just efficiency, as noted a few posts above?

Datapoint: We had a 2kW heater (diesel) installed in the tongue box of our trailer. When we setup camp, we would run those corrugated hoses from the tongue box to the trailer (outside in the elements) about 2ft on both the output side and the return side. I had planned to insulate the hoses, but never got around to it, and it was never a problem, even in snow storms. The tent trailer was a full canvas tent, no hardtop, and the heater was only a 2kW that we normally ran on the lowest setting for sleeping and medium setting for hanging out (if weather forced us inside).
 
M

Mark2457

Member
highwest said:
Ah, you found more details than Propex had on their FAQs. Maybe an issue of how much air resistance the unit can handle? Or just efficiency, as noted a few posts above?

Datapoint: We had a 2kW heater (diesel) installed in the tongue box of our trailer. When we setup camp, we would run those corrugated hoses from the tongue box to the trailer (outside in the elements) about 2ft on both the output side and the return side. I had planned to insulate the hoses, but never got around to it, and it was never a problem, even in snow storms. The tent trailer was a full canvas tent, no hardtop, and the heater was only a 2kW that we normally ran on the lowest setting for sleeping and medium setting for hanging out (if weather forced us inside).
Click to expand...

Cool thanks. Was it the Wabasto?


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H

highwest

Well-known member
Mark2457 said:
Cool thanks. Was it the Wabasto?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
That trailer was one big experiment in frugality, so I went Chinese. I would not hesitate to go the Chinese diesel route again, especially with the Facebook group that’s out there for support. I would not trust a Chinese gas heater, the consequences are too high

This next time around, I will likely go Espar because the unit will be inside our living space and I have heard they are the most quiet.

Unless, of course, this thread leads to a suitable gasoline option…
 
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