Tried the Blue Flame, will be looking at another way to heat

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I wonder how well that would work dry camping though. It does use some electricity.

When it starts up it uses about 5 amps for two minutes, then less than 0.5 amps running. With a 440 AH battery bank and 500 watts of solar I can easily live with that.

Edit: Sorry pianotuna, I posted before I read the second page.

Hi Francesca,

Yes, it draws 0.5 amps for the exhaust blower when the unit is in heating mode. It does draw 5 amps for 2 minutes when igniting. Further it has a proper thermostat so it doesn't get too hot, saving even more on propane costs.

My furnace draws 9 amps for the fan, so running the furnace for one hour would power the platinum cat for 18 hours--and that's if it never cycled off. The larger Cat unit (5200 btus) will run for 17 hours on one gallon of propane (4.25 pounds).

MrWizard wrote:
it uses a small amount of 12v battery power for the exhaust fan and thermostat ignition
platinum Cat heater

It's my understanding that furnace fan power use is an important battery drain on conventional RV heaters, and often a main limiting factor when boondocking.

Does the Platcat's fan use so much less power that it would be a better choice than just using the rig's furnace?

SuzzeeeQ2012 wrote:

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I wonder how well that would work dry camping though. It does use some electricity.

well, that won't work then for us. We're totally dry camping 99% of the time...

think again.. it uses a small amount of 12v battery power for the exhaust fan and thermostat ignition
platinum Cat heater

Francesca Knowles wrote:

SuzzeeeQ2012 wrote:
We had a Wave 6 catalytic in our other motorhome. and it worked good.



I'm always afraid of carbon monoxide, and leave windows cracked.

Get another Wave 6, especially since you know how to properly vent and were satisfied with the first one.

"Blue flame" heaters are not catalytics, which probably accounts for the difference in performance.

it heats fast, but just isn't a great smell (ick)

wny_pat wrote:

SuzzeeeQ2012 wrote:
hmm...it's vented. Wonder how much work it takes to do this in our motorhome. I'll show it to my husband and see what he thinks. thanks :)

I think this is the important point: "THE PLATINUM CAT is most easily installed on an outside wall. However, because THE PLATINUM CAT uses a power vent system, it can also be installed on an inside wall or in a basement. Regular Schedule 40 ABS or PVC drainpipe can be used for up to 20' of additional exhaust pipe with up to four 90 degree turns. The exhaust pipe can be routed out of the back of the heater, down from the heater, to either side, or straight up."

well, there's no wall for us to put it on, and it takes electricity so I think it's out. maybe a brick or the Wave. I really liked the Wave 6.

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I wonder how well that would work dry camping though. It does use some electricity.

well, that won't work then for us. We're totally dry camping 99% of the time...

SuzzeeeQ2012 wrote:
We had a Wave 6 catalytic in our other motorhome. and it worked good.



I'm always afraid of carbon monoxide, and leave windows cracked.

Get another Wave 6, especially since you know how to properly vent and were satisfied with the first one.

"Blue flame" heaters are not catalytics, which probably accounts for the difference in performance.

SuzzeeeQ2012 wrote:
hmm...it's vented. Wonder how much work it takes to do this in our motorhome. I'll show it to my husband and see what he thinks. thanks :)

I think this is the important point: "THE PLATINUM CAT is most easily installed on an outside wall. However, because THE PLATINUM CAT uses a power vent system, it can also be installed on an inside wall or in a basement. Regular Schedule 40 ABS or PVC drainpipe can be used for up to 20' of additional exhaust pipe with up to four 90 degree turns. The exhaust pipe can be routed out of the back of the heater, down from the heater, to either side, or straight up."

oops double post - see next post. Need a delete button!!!