| Author |
Message |
Johnny (63.159.212.72)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 2:04 am: | |
I'm still leaning towards catalytic propane heaters, or radiant heaters. Unfortunately, I have NO experience with the former. I know generally how they work (a chemical reaction with a catalyst that produces heat, no flame), but little else. Are they efficient (compared to a radiant heater)? Are any made that can be vented outside? Is my idea to put one of these in the bay for my waste water tanks nuttier than most of my ideas?
Also, I know I'd likely need more than 1 heater for a 40' bus. |
Scott Whitney (24.205.235.84)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 12:56 pm: | |
You can get a catalytic infared heater at Home Depot for about $100. They are great to heat a shop but not good for an RV. They mount right on top of a propane bottle. They don't produce a flame, but they will definitely ignite flammables if the get close to the burner.
The RV catalytic heaters I have seen for sale recently are unvented models. If you are lucky, you can find a used one called the Platinum CAT which is vented. I got one by scouring our local classifieds. Changed it from natural gas to propane. Unfortunately, the mfr. is out of biz now, although I heard some rumor of someone trying to rekindle them.
A clever person could probably build a hood over an unvented cat heater and rig up an efficient elec. blower to power vent it.
Scott |
Lin (65.184.0.189)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 10:05 pm: | |
There are catalytic infrared heaters made for motorhomes. They mount on an interior wall. The ones available now do not vent. The concept is that the gas combusts on a platinum catalytic mat so that the surface temp is far less than a flame and there is no carbon monoxide, only carbon dioxide. They do require that you have a window cracked since they burn interior oxygen. Some people say they release to much water vapor into the air, but that will depend on the extremes of climate when you use them. Some say that the vapor will help to age your interior. I have used them only moderately and have had no problems. They have low oxygen sensors and shut off if air supply is a problem. I like it better than the forced air furnace we had in the last RV. However, we tend to use small electrical heaters if we are plugged in. |
Johnny (63.159.200.215)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 12:26 am: | |
From what I've seen here, I think I'll go with radiant heaters. Now I need to figure out what I need. Thanks. |
FAST FRED (63.208.83.240)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 5:08 am: | |
What ever you chose it should be the style thats vented.
With an unvented unit you can wake up Dead or a Democrat , both poor choices.
FAST FRED |
Lin (65.184.0.189)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 6:53 pm: | |
Hey FF, I understand the concerns about anything unvented and, even though we have those Olympia units, I can't say we have used them much while asleep. But are there any real statistics on those heaters causing death or changes in political loyalty? Modern unvented heaters, even non-catalytic ones, are approved for home use in all but a couple of states (California may be the last hold out). I would be very interested in finding out how often things went wrong. |
FAST FRED (63.215.228.51)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 5:30 am: | |
No stats , just the simple knowledge that the exhaust is deadly is enough for me.
Weather the leaky windows in a coach would dilute the exhaust as much as a house volume is the Question.
BUT another reason ( as if waking up dead or brain dead wasnt enough) is that for every pound of propane burned 1.2 pounds of water is in the exhaust with sulfurous acid in the water.
This will soak unbagged insulation , and might eventually cause corrosion hassles.
FAST FRED |
Peter (Sdibaja) (209.242.148.130)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 9:48 am: | |
FF
I will second that, using propane heat in my boat offshore I found that I was warm but soaking wet. If I left enough ports open to let out the damp the heat was gone too. Vented works.
The bus is a bit bigger, and not near as air tight, so it may work a little bit better, but not for me.
"waking up dead"... have not heard that one since my Dad died many years ago, thought he was the copywrited owner of the phrase!
Peter |
Tom Caffrey (Pvcces) (64.114.233.176)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 10:55 pm: | |
Lin, I don't know the statistics on waking up dead, either, but if you or someone you know can figure out a little chemistry, you can see why unvented equipment is bad.
The approval of the use of unvented heaters depends on the use of additional ventilation, so what good is it when you don't want the extra air?
There is one other thing that might not be so obvious. If you ever get caught in bad cold, you'll find out in short order what an enemy water is.
The formula for propane is C3H8. When it burns or just oxidizes as in a catalytic heater, each molecule of propane will consume 5 molecules of oxygen. These will produce 3 molecules of carbon dioxide and 4 molecules of water.
You don't want any of these products in the air that you breathe and you don't want to lose the oxygen from your air, either. Add in any contaminants in the fuel that will stay in your coach and you should be asking yourself if this is really smart.
The worst thing about using something like this unvented heater is the fact that it leaves you completely unable to deal with a real cold spell.
If it should get real cold outside, you will find yourself trying to dry up all your air and heat leaks. That's when people get into trouble. If they're just trying to take a little chill off, they'll probably never notice anything but the windows fogging up.
We live in Alaska in the warm part. Zero is about as cold as it ever gets here, but it's still enough to make us as sensitive to heating issues as people in the southern states are about cooling. 3/4 of our heating bill goes to staying warm when it is between 40 and 50 degrees outside.
No heat source that works without the use of any circulating fan is going to be completely comfortable, short of heating tubes in the floor. And then you have to use power to circulate the water.
The air in your coach will layer and you will be struggling with cold feet and a cold bed in cold weather if there is no circulation. The next best thing is good insulation and inexpensive but effective circulation. That combination will save you a lot of discomfort if you ever get into cold weather.
I hope this helps.
Tom Cafffrey PD4106-2576 |
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