Catalytic heater installation

[WorkerB]

I want to add a catalytic heater to our 2850RK. Anyone have information on a good (safe) location to install one?
Thanks, John

[HamRad]

Several folks have added them to the end of the counter on an island kitchen. Saw one near the entry door.

I suspect you can add one wherever it would work for you. One requirement would be ease of gas line run. And of course safety.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing. By the way several folks posted some nice pics of such installations. You might try a search. And maybe someone will drop by and fill in the details.

HamRad

[ols1932]

We had ours connected such that we could move it around with a short hose. We tapped into one of the gas lines closest to the end of the kitchen cabinet (line feeding the water heater). We ran the tubing out near the floor at the end of the cabinet and put a quick disconnect on it. This allowed us to turn the catalytic heater any direction we wanted it.

This worked for us with our layout. Yours may be different. But at least you can see that there are ways to do it. The reason we didn't mount it on a wall or the cabinet was because we wanted it to be directional.

Orv

[WorkerB]

HamRad & ols1932,
Good info guys! I especially like the idea of being directional. My 2850RK does not have the island in the kitchen. I'm off to find any previous postings on the subject. I'll let you know what I decide to do.
Regards,
John S.

[Dave Anderson]

JOHN, WE HAD A 2895RK BEFOR OUR 3295, WE HAD A bLUEFLAME MOUNTED JUST INSIDE THE DOOR,UP AT FLOOR LEVEL, IT WORKED GREAT AND WAS EASY TO HOOK TO THE PROPANE JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL...........DAVE PS WE DID A CATALYTIC IN OUR NEW RIG, AND I WISH WE WOULD HAVE GONE BLUE-FLAME

[WorkerB]

Hi Dave,
I'm starting to steer in that direction. I was originally looking for a heating source that didn't have the carbon monoxide issues. The wave 8 only offered 8,000 BTUs where the blue flame looks like it offered 30K. Big difference. I'll need to look into the venting of the blue flame. As soon as my bride smells anything, I start hearing a sound similar to the carbon monoxide detector only louder and higher in frequency..... Just a joke. She's right, safety first. There is a folding desktop just inside the door and to the right of that above the power panel there is space. Can the Blue Flame be free standing with connect in that area?
The thing that got me going with the Wave 8's was I found a guy on Craigs List offering two Wave 8's for $60.00. I figured if I even sent them back to the factory to be rebuilt I would come out ahead. I have a Wave 6 in my cabover camper and it really saves on battery usage when boondocking. Whatever I choose I have to have it in and tested before Quartzsite in January.
Thanks for your thoughts. That is what makes this site so interesting.
John S.

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by WorkerB

Hi Dave,
I'm starting to steer in that direction. I was originally looking for a heating source that didn't have the carbon monoxide issues. The wave 8 only offered 8,000 BTUs where the blue flame looks like it offered 30K. Big difference. I'll need to look into the venting of the blue flame. As soon as my bride smells anything, I start hearing a sound similar to the carbon monoxide detector only louder and higher in frequency..... Just a joke. She's right, safety first. There is a folding desktop just inside the door and to the right of that above the power panel there is space. Can the Blue Flame be free standing with connect in that area?
The thing that got me going with the Wave 8's was I found a guy on Craigs List offering two Wave 8's for $60.00. I figured if I even sent them back to the factory to be rebuilt I would come out ahead. I have a Wave 6 in my cabover camper and it really saves on battery usage when boondocking. Whatever I choose I have to have it in and tested before Quartzsite in January.
Thanks for your thoughts. That is what makes this site so interesting.
John S.

Dave,
Our Blue Flame heater is 22,000 BTUs and is self standing. I have a 10 ft hose on it so I can place it anywhere from the end of the coach to the stairs going to the bedroom. I felt this was the best rather than mounting stationary. It puts out more heat than we need. In really cold weather (-5 and below) we run it quite a bit. It's thermostatically controlled and we open a vent in the bedroom as well as the one over the kitchen range.

That Wave 8 price is a good one.

Orv

[WorkerB]

I measured the Monty and came up with 309 square feet. I Googled Blue Flame Heater and got several hits. One was the Pro-Com Blue Flame heater at Harbor Freight. Model ML200TBA
ITEM 45602-1VGA. Is this the same Blue Flame heater you are talking about? The 10K model has two settings 5500BTU and 10,000BTU. This unit will heat up to 300 Sq Ft. $89.00 The 20,000BTU model has two settings 10K and 20KBTU and will heat up to 700 Sq. Ft. $149.00. It's looking like the 20K model is the model that will get er done without working too hard. If I'm on the right track the next step is to get the free standing legs. Next step is hose and quick connect/disconnect. Where do I look for these? Suggestions? Thoughts?
Thanks, John S.

[H. John Kohl]

I am sure you have read it but want to remind you that if it is freezing outside you want to run your furnace to keep the underbelly warm and the water pipes from freezing. Best of luck.
Orv, what is the propane useage for your Blue Flame and how do you use it?

[WorkerB]

John,
I did read earlier the problems encountered by not keeping the basement from freezing. I have a Honeywell thermostat....somewhere. I was thinking of putting a DPDT micro switch to switch between the inside thermostat and the basement thermostat.
Yes Orv what do you have? Past reading shows in cold weather the factory forced air heater will use up a single bottle of propane in about three days. Also, do you think with the 20K BTU throttled down to 10 BTU is still too much heater for 309 Sq. Ft.?
Thanks, John S.

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by H. John Kohl

I am sure you have read it but want to remind you that if it is freezing outside you want to run your furnace to keep the underbelly warm and the water pipes from freezing. Best of luck.
Orv, what is the propane useage for your Blue Flame and how do you use it?

John,
Since we only use it during the day, the usage is minimal. I've never kept track of usage nor do I concern myself with how much used or how often I have to fill the bottles.

We only use it specifically in the mornings to take the chill off the entire rig. Then use our little electric "Cubes" to keep the rig warm. Sometimes, in below freezing weather, when the "Cubes" can't keep up, we set the thermostat on the Blue Flame such that it comes on and warms the house just right. When set this way it probably kicks in once ever hour to hour and a half.

Don't know if this helps you or not. I know we use a lot less propane this way than if we use the furnace 24/7.

Orv

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by WorkerB

John,
Yes Orv what do you have? Past reading shows in cold weather the factory forced air heater will use up a single bottle of propane in about three days. Also, do you think with the 20K BTU throttled down to 10KW is still too much heater for 309 Sq. Ft.?
Thanks, John S.

John,
Check out Legacy Heater here
This the same model we have. Yes, 20K BTU is way more than enough for the 309 sq ft. you are talking about. However, that's with it wide open. We never run ours wide open, even first thing in the mornings. Check out my answer to John Kohl for more information.

Orv

[Exnavydiver]

I haven't seen it mentioned here but I have noticed that when using a propane fired heater in any enclosed area that they put out a ton of moisture. I used to have a enclosed utility trailer that I used year round for my tile installation business. I installed a small wall mounted unit that was I think 5000 BTU and it was WAY more than I needed. Since the roof was uninsulated and galvanized steel it would frost then rain in the trailer when freezing outside. That is when I realized that the propane put out a lot of moisture. When we had our SOB I tried a similar unit in it and the windows had running water on them so we had to have a ceiling vent and one window open which kind of defeated the purpose of the heater. We haven't used one in the 340 RLQ for the simple reason that the electric fireplace does such a nice job for us. So my point is that the propane units put out a large amount of moisture and you need to deal with also... Dave

[WorkerB]

Good to know about the moisture. I once entered a friends trailer and he was running a kerosene heater and there was so much moisture everything was dripping. I wounder if the catalytic heater also puts moisture into the air. I never had a problem in the camper with the catalytic heater there. More investigation needed. Either way I think I can get started on the quick connect for whatever I decide on. The Legacy heater comes with the legs and blower which is a plus but $50.00 shipping. Now that I know what to look for I'll go to Reno and price this stuff locally.
Thanks again,
John S.

[firetrucker]

Since propane is a hydrocarbon, the products of complete combustion include CO2 and water. That means it uses up the oxygen, and creates a lot of moisture. A catalytic heater just burns more efficiently than a regular burner.
Bottom line is, whether it' a catalytic or regular burner, you're burning propane, and the results are the same: use up too much oxygen and the output becomes moisture and carbon monoxide. So, if you're not asphyxiated by lack of oxygen, you're poisoned by CO....either way, the result is a dios.

Please don't use it inside, too many things can, and do, go wrong.

Bob

[ols1932]

I think you'll find more moisture buildup in your rig regardless of what heater you may use when it's pretty cool outside. The way we prevent moisture is to crack a vent so that there is circulation in the rig. In the over eight years we've lived in our rig we have never experienced any moisture.

There are some people who use a dehumidifier but I don't feel that's necessary if you have air circulation in the rig.

Orv

[WorkerB]

What a quandary. Well it's all good information. Bob, the last time I saw you was at the Honey Lake Rest Area. You were on your way home from the Lake Siskiyou rally. It looks like we'll see you at Quartzsite. I guess if I can't have a heater indoors I'll have to rely on Chevas Regal!
Thanks again for the info,
John S.

[old turbo]

I have a question for boon docking or for stops with no power in cold weather to run the furnace. I am thinking about one of the Mr.Heaters that are used for ice fishing and take two one pound propance cylinders. I think my Mountaineer leaks enough outside air for plenty of ventilation.

[firetrucker]

John, I had forgotten our visit there at the rest stop. Suddenly two and two add up to four. I saw your comment about going into Reno, and though it rattled around in my head, it didn't strike any grey matter. We look forward to seeing you in Q.

Old Turbo, the furnace runs on 12V, so you've got heat even if you are boondocking. The Mr. Heaters are the catalytic heaters we've been talking about. All new heaters of this type have both a tipover switch and an oxygen depletion switch, which make them safer in conditions that normally have sufficient ventilation. I've been trying to think of a safe way to get all that infrared radiation inside while keeping the exhaust outside, because they are so quiet and so much more efficient than the furnace. Maybe some forced ventilation that will guarantee enough replacement air coming in. That still doesn't solve the problem of getting heat into the belly of the Monty to make sure pipes don't freeze, though.

I'm just naturally cautious about using something like this because of my fire background. Although it wasn't this kind of a heater that caused the problem, a family of four died from CO poisoning in Aspen over the holiday. Do a lot of people use these heaters? You bet, but you won't get me to recommend it.

Bob

[mtheo]

John, I have to say I agree with Bob, I'm also a retire fire captain and have seen to many CO posionings. I personally wouldn't use one if it wren't vented to theout side.
That being said I have one in my shop and it seems to put out some moisture, and yes I do keep the doors crack when it is in use.
As for boon docking, we boon dock in the high desert several times a year in the winter and temps can range in the 20's and low 30's at night. We have never gone through even one bottle of propane in a week using the factory heater. We are conservative in our use of the heater, we don't keep our rig much above 67 degrees when we are up and down to 55 degrees at night. You will have to have some way to recharge your batteries every other day.
We will be at quatzite again this year, hope to see you.
Mark