Propane heater

Topic: Propane heater (Read 1194 times) previous topic - next topic

Propane heater

October 14, 2017, 08:39:26 pm

Does anyone use a stand alone propane heater (mr heater style) no noise no power consumption while dry camping this winter

Re: Propane heater

Reply #1 – October 14, 2017, 08:42:31 pm

I have one I use outside in my winter 'cigar lounge' and it's great for that. I've read they put a lot of humidity out in an enclosed space.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #2 – October 14, 2017, 08:48:25 pm

I have been concerned with heat not getting to circulate in the bays. Curious as well.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #3 – October 14, 2017, 09:09:54 pm

Bruce, I did last year at Q.

Just kept the koolomatic vent open above the stove... turned on furnace once and a while to move the air around

Re: Propane heater

Reply #4 – October 14, 2017, 09:14:11 pm

Not too much worried about the bays. I'm not going to be anywhere that cold. As far as the moisture goes they are ventless catalytic don't understand how they can generate moisture.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #5 – October 14, 2017, 09:26:53 pm

Use one for years. Have the small bottle, short 2.5 gallon bottle. Use it in the morning to shower., evening we sit it in the living room.We just crack a window. I would never sleep with it on at night. Probably safe. Just don't want to wake up dead!
Use it in the summer evenings in our 21' pontoon boat. Just with the 2 bimi tops up, sides all open. heat is incredible.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #6 – October 14, 2017, 09:47:05 pm

Quote from: bbeane – October 14, 2017, 09:14:11 pm

As far as the moisture goes they are ventless catalytic don't understand how they can generate moisture.

Byproduct of propane combustion is carbon dioxide and water vapor.

Roland

Re: Propane heater

Reply #7 – October 14, 2017, 09:55:54 pm

Quote from: bbeane – October 14, 2017, 09:14:11 pm

Not too much worried about the bays. I'm not going to be anywhere that cold. As far as the moisture goes they are ventless catalytic don't understand how they can generate moisture.

Combustion process byproduct is about a gallon of water per 100,000 btuh if IRC for natural gas, not positive about lpg but I think it's similar. got it written down in my cheaters book at work. That much moisture can do substantial damage. Carbon monoxide detector is a must.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #8 – October 14, 2017, 10:41:26 pm

Used in garage last year, made water, didn't care for smell Most of them have low oxygen sensor and shut down, but wouldn't bet my life on it

Quote

Quote

On: Sat Oct 14, 2017 bbeane Wrote: Not too much worried about the bays. I'm not going to be anywhere that cold. As far as the moisture goes they are ventless catalytic don't understand how they can generate moisture.

Combustion process byproduct is about a gallon of water per 100,000 btuh if IRC for natural gas, not positive about lpg but I think it's similar. got it written down in my cheaters book at work. That much moisture can do substantial damage. Carbon monoxide detector is a must.
89 GV ored 36' 300 hp cat 3208 ATAAC side radiator, mountain tamer exhaust brake

Re: Propane heater

Reply #9 – October 14, 2017, 11:19:03 pm

Used them in truck campers for years. Window cracked and overhead vent cracked. Never a problem. Of course, got the camper hot before I went to bed, closed vents and shut off heater, turned it on again when I got up.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #10 – October 15, 2017, 01:30:21 am

So if you have to open a window and a roof vent, does it really save you anything??? The propane furnace if you can get it to blow 130* air will be about 80% efficient,. Moisture from unvented heaters makes colder thermostat settings appear more tolerable but humidity will migrate thru any openings to the exterior. there are no free lunches, and most modern buildings attempt to seal these leaks. Small electric room heaters will win hands down.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #11 – October 15, 2017, 11:03:24 am

Phred,

I just wish our heaters were 80% efficient. When you go outside, it's like a blow torch when you get near the exhaust. The noise it makes is the biggest reason I don't like it.

I leave a widow just slightly open, perhaps a quarter inch. We heat our house the same way with an unvented heater most of the time. We do have a wood stove and put a pan of water on top to add moisture to the house.

I can see if living in the coach in winter where it was cold day after day that moisture could be a problem. If it's not sunny during the day, we drive to somewhere that is sunny.

Anywhere that is cold in the daytime with snow on the ground means they probably salt the roads. A red flag for us.

Pierce

Re: Propane heater

Reply #12 – October 15, 2017, 11:34:17 am

Quote from: Old phart phred – October 15, 2017, 01:30:21 am

So if you have to open a window and a roof vent, does it really save you anything??? The propane furnace if you can get it to blow 130* air will be about 80% efficient,. Moisture from unvented heaters makes colder thermostat settings appear more tolerable but humidity will migrate thru any openings to the exterior. there are no free lunches, and most modern buildings attempt to seal these leaks. Small electric room heaters will win hands down.

Phred, per original post, we are talking about standalone [mr heater style] non thermostat, non blower heaters. It does not take much to heat up the interior of a 6 by 6 truck camper. I camp at the beach or at rest stops, so I would need a real long extension cord to use a small electric room heater.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #13 – October 15, 2017, 12:24:38 pm

Quote from: Old phart phred – October 15, 2017, 01:30:21 am

So if you have to open a window and a roof vent, does it really save you anything??? The propane furnace if you can get it to blow 130* air will be about 80% efficient,. Moisture from unvented heaters makes colder thermostat settings appear more tolerable but humidity will migrate thru any openings to the exterior. there are no free lunches, and most modern buildings attempt to seal these leaks. Small electric room heaters will win hands down.

We have a great base board 120 v heater. We do run that in the morning when dry camping for about 1 hr while making coffee, blow dryer/curling iron for the wife, W/D to warm the towels.
But the bonus of the MR. heat in the bath, is it's super warm when you get out of the shower. On the other side , we sit it in the living room in the evening, to watch TV nice and warm. We dry camp for 10 days at a wack along the ocean in the winter.We do have 800 Watts solar, but like to conserve batts. My wife is a huge football fan, so TV, surround, satellite may be on 12 hrs via our 300 watts inverter at the TV. I also don't like the up and down heat of the coach heaters either.
Wouldn't leave home without our little MR Heater, but wouldn't sleep with it on either.
Cheers

Re: Propane heater

Reply #14 – October 15, 2017, 01:43:30 pm

I run a mr heater big buddy. Tapped into the stove propane line. It comes out under the cabinet and has the quick connect to the heater so there is no high pressure propane inside the rv. It generates a ton of humidity. I leave a front window cracked open and use a 12v "endless breeze" fan to keep the air moving. Occasionally I turn on the bathroom vent fan to bring fresh air in and keep humidity down, but its totally silent, even heat, unlike the furnaces that are loud and cycle. The big buddy with low pressure connection is the key to doing this the safe way. I dont think a tank would ever explode, but why mess with tanks when I already have a nearly endless supply.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #15 – October 15, 2017, 03:18:40 pm

Attached are pics of my fittings I used to tee the stove line into the heater. I put a valve on it, although probably not needed, just to prevent any leaks in the summer when the heater isnt hooked up to the quick connect. I used it extensively over the winter and it performed well, the coldest was -5F in Buffalo, NY during a blizzard tailgating at a bills game. (they let you tailgate for three days, its pretty amazing)

Re: Propane heater

Reply #16 – October 21, 2017, 09:15:45 am

Buyer alert! I just received a flyer (snail mail) from Northern Tool with all of the Mr. Heater products on sale, plus coupons that can be combined with the sale prices. Anyone interested in add-on propane heaters (I'm not) might want to check out the sale prices:

Mr. Heater from Northern Tool + Equipment

Re: Propane heater

Reply #17 – October 21, 2017, 09:45:49 am

We have (or had) one in the California room. It puts out out great heat, but the smell is a show stopper for us. We also have a Mr Heater and noticed once that it dripped water on the oak floor (the one that used to be in front of the sink area) that resulted in some black stains that refused to come out. We won't be using that in the coach again. I agree the propane furnace is not ideal, the noise and fluctuating temperature being the biggest drawbacks. We don't like the smell of the aquathot diesel burner (noticeable outside), though the other attributes are right on the mark. I think a propane hydronic might be the answer... one of these days.
Don

Quote from: Tim Fiedler – October 14, 2017, 10:41:26 pm

Used in garage last year, made water, didn't care for smell Most of them have low oxygen sensor and shut down, but wouldn't bet my life on it
Combustion process byproduct is about a gallon of water per 100,000 btuh if IRC for natural gas, not positive about lpg but I think it's similar. got it written down in my cheaters book at work. That much moisture can do substantial damage. Carbon monoxide detector is a must.
89 GV ored 36' 300 hp cat 3208 ATAAC side radiator, mountain tamer exhaust brake

Re: Propane heater

Reply #18 – October 21, 2017, 10:12:25 am

Quote from: Don & Tys (AKA acousticart) – October 21, 2017, 09:45:49 am

We also have a Mr Heater and noticed once that it dripped water on the oak floor (the one that used to be in front of the sink area) that resulted in some black stains that refused to come out. We won't be using that in the coach again.
Don

Wood stained probably due to the sulfuric acid in the condensate which forms wherever the flue gas chooses to condense. Gas fueled condensing appliances need a nuetralizer device normally filled with limestone or marble gravel prior to dripping down the floor drain.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #19 – October 21, 2017, 11:41:50 am

I have a Buddy Heater and it's okay for one night, but after that you'll need to use your furnace in addition to the Buddy Heater to reduce the humidity in your coach. If the weather is very cold you'll have to run the rear furnace anyway to keep the tanks from freezing. They'll probably balance each other out. The Buddy Heater will probably make about as much humidity as the rear furnace removes... theoretically

...It's actually easier to turn on the gas oven, cook supper, then leave the oven on afterward. You don't have to dig the Buddy Heater out of the cargo bay and set it up or anything. The gas range is 100% efficient, uses no electricity, and makes very little noise.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #20 – October 21, 2017, 12:14:25 pm

Waking up dead is probably the easiest way to kill yourself. No pain, just get tired and go to sleep. Of course the down side is when one of the neighbors calls 911 and they get you revived back from the brink then you find out that you have to pay for the emergency services which aren't cheap. Probably send the bill to the concerned neighbor.

Having said that, we use a couple of the E-heaters advertised on the net. get them on sale for about $100 each. No fan just 450 watts of quiet heat. I took some aluminum flashing to direct the heat away from the window sill just above the two heaters. They work really well and have used them since 2010. Nothing is above 150 degrees since I can hold my hand on the heater, the flashing above them or the back of the heater. Rule of thumb sayd that 155 degrees makes you involuntarily pull your hand back. I put a couple of 1 X 2's behind each one so I didn't lose head against the outside walls. Makes me smile.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #21 – October 21, 2017, 01:06:48 pm

According to everyone on this forum I'm gonna die in a horrific crash caused by my 12 year old tires... (sniffle) ...it was nice knowing you.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #22 – October 21, 2017, 02:13:19 pm

I just presented some facts. I hopefully am going to die ridiing an overpowered crotch rocket. I know the facts and the risks.

Re: Propane heater

Reply #23 – October 23, 2017, 10:54:41 am

Scott, hope that crash doesn't take any bystanders with you.

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