Zodi tent heater blowing in the side of the van.

[Stumpalump]

I drilled a 3" hole in the side of the van and inserted a 3" pvc plumbing cleanout fitting that came from Home Depot. The cleanout fitting has a screew in cap to block the hole from the inside when not in use. It sticks out 1.5" to connect the hose to. It was $ 4.19 and everthing fit just perfect. I ran the Zodi off of the BBQ tank but can use two small coleman cylinders.

Zodi tent heaters are getting harder to find but they are around if you need to knock the chill off on a budget.

 

[BIGVAN]

My rear bumper relocated my license plate so I was going to do something like that but cut through the plastic license plate mount in the right rear door.

How long does that size battery last with that heater?

 

[Stumpalump]

Thru the plate holder would be a great place. Somebody could even install a spring loaded plate holder off of an old car if the plate was still in the stock location. I also thought about making a 5" filler plate to fit a gap in the front door window but that would be kinda high up and limit use of the door. HD stocks the 3" flexible duct that are 12'. The wheel well could hide a snout but a cover would be needed. My rig allready had stuff on the side so I went there.
I'm not sure how long my 31Ah batt will hold. I havent run it that long to see. I have a few used batts like it and I grabed a bad one with 10.0 volts at first. It still ran the fan but a bit slower. The heater will not cycle like a furnace so I'll run it in the evening then again in the morning. To run it all night I'd like a DC speed controller on the blower to save the battery. Might just keep one burner lit on low if I did that. http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H2246.html

 

[Herbie]

Genius!!

Talk about a good way to make sure all your combustion gasses stay outside. Will need to think about this for my rig - looking at a heater install to keep the wife+kid happy, but I'd guess usage will be sparse...

 

[r_w]

Through the plate holder with a spring loaded plate is a GREAT idea for lots of things--power, heat, water, just about anything.

 

[Herbie]

Regarding getting it to run through the night:

Does the Zodi have an electric ignition, or does it require an external flame ignition? If it's got some sort of electric ignition, I think a regular home/RV thermostat could be added to control both the burner and fan. I worry you wouldn't want a thermostat for JUST the fan because I don't know what would happen if you ran the burner with the van shut off...

 

[ExpoMike]

The Zodi (had one I sold to Trump) runs all the time. It has a burner. You MUST have the fan on before you light the burner. I belive that is why Zodi took them off the market for a (redo) as the exchanger would overhead, crack and allow burnt gases into the air side of the system.