We are currently on the road and enjoying traveling at this time of year. (we left on our trip 05/10/2014) The only problem is, it is sometimes pretty cold at night.When we are dry camping we currently do not have a solution to the cold except to put another blanket on the bed.My next project is to install solar panels flat on the roof.The only thing I am trying to figure out is heating?The furnace is noisy and the fan sucks energy like crazy.I don't think I have a good place to install a propane vented catalytic heater.I have a 26' travel trailer without a "winter" package. I am not talking about getting the temps up to 70* but having 50-55* at night would be ok. We were on the north rim of the Grand Canyon a few days ago and it was 24* overnight. We survived lol but a little heat would have been nice.Questions:My trailer is nearly twenty years old do they now make a more efficient fan for the furnace that I can run on solar?I do have a small triangular storage space that has about a 16"x16" door that opens into the interior would a cat heater fit there and would it heat my trailer adequately?Any other bright ideas?Thanks for any advice.jesseannie

I don't know your other uses of power but for covering your heating needs you could simply replace your 20 year old propane furnace with a new one (quieter and more efficient), install twin 6 volt batteries and add around 250 watts solar. This would easily cover any heating needs with the solar keeping that medium sized battery bank charged and battery running the new propane furnace.Or just move farther south until it warms up.

For those very cold nights the furnace is the obvious choice despite the noise and energy consumption. I assume you have a generator to re charge your battery bank the following day?

Get a Wave 6 Catalytic Heater....All you need to do is leave a vent cracked....It will provide nice warmth with out the darn Furnace fan power consumption.We have only had Truck Camper but have been using Wave heaters in past three Campers over 25 years.GARY

Of course the SOLAR PANELs only work during the high sun period which is typically around 5-6 hours a day. You will have to increase your battery banks to be able to use them for running heater fans at night. The Solar would be used to keep the batteries re-charged during the day time hours.Based on my experience the furnace fan will drain one battery per night using the furnace fan all night. If you have two batteries you can hold out for maybe two nights.We have 255AHs battery bank capacity on our OFF-ROAD setup and both an Inverter and direct battery connections can run most of all we want to have running in a one/day night run off our batteries. Then the game plane is to re-charge the battery bank back up to their 90% charge state the next morning using my 2KW Honda generator. With the generator running the trailer shore power cable using a RV30A-15A adapter the on-board smart mode converter/charger unit can be recharge my battery bank back up to their 90% charge state in as little as three hours starting at 8Am in the morning during breakfast.This usually fits with the campgrounds that have generator run time restrictions in place.Having solar panels installed will help in this situation by not having to use the generator as much to re-charge the batteries during the high sun day.Using small solar panels for power to run heaters is not going to work well for you... You can only get around 5-6AMPS of DC current from a typical 120WATT Solar Panel when sitting in the high sun. When the sun goes down you will not have any SOLAR OUTPUT. You have to store what sun power you get into batteries to use later.I would think Propane would be the best solution.. Consider this google search CAT 5 type propane heater install - Pretty neat... All you need is a cabinet door close to outside location for venting. Just some of my thoughts here...Roy Ken

Since we camp at altitudes too high to use the small propane heaters, our only option is to use the solar to keep the batteries up and use the furnace. It was annoying when it woke me the first trip, kinda reassuring when it did on the second trip and now, it doesn't wake us up at all.A quieter furnace may be the answer if you are only setting the stat to 55* or so. We have a 3 season trailer and even on below freezing night the furnace only runs a few times when we set the stat low. Now that we have solar we set it at 74* deay and night and never think of it.

Heating options with solar | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

Almot
Explorer III
May 26, 2014
Jesseannie, a few things to keep in mind. Platinum Cats are pricey, but I don't know another vented propane heater, catalytic or other, suitable for small RV. You will need their 5000 BTU model for a trailer of that size. Their vent kit comes in 2 varieties - directly through the wall or with flexible exhaust hose running to wherever you need it to exit. Photos above show cabinet-mounted heater with exhaust hose, but when mounted on the wall, you'll exhaust directly through the wall. I believe Arnie of Platinum Cat can make the propane intake fitting to where you like it, either on the bottom or on the side.

What Johny said about AZ dust, is true. Catalytic heaters can get clogged with dust and should be covered when not in use.

In terms of solar, this topic is too wide, but in power-saving mode - no microwaves, toasters, 120V coffee makers - and with something other than furnace for heating, 180-200W panel is sufficient. In winter it will harvest about 15 AH on a dark day, and 50 AH when it's sunny. With size and cost being essentially the same for 200, 230 and 250W panel, I would get 250.
jesseannie
Explorer
May 26, 2014
Lots of good replies thanks.
I am not interested in a generator.
I am going to add solar soon so I am looking at options on heating from that viewpoint.
I like the vented Cat heater option and I do have a great place to install one in the main space of my trailer.
Regardless of the testimonies of those that use unvented cat heaters I wont go that way. My lovely has a bit of a compromised respiratory system and I wont chance it. If it works for you great.
Mr Wizard I know that solar does not produce heat for my trailer but it would give me 12 volt battery storage to run heat sources, that was what my question was about.
jesseannie
JiminDenver
Explorer II
May 26, 2014
While not the best for a week of clouds, we ran the basic trailer functions off of 230w of solar and a single 95 ah grp 27 last year. There was only one trip warm enough to shut down the furnace during the day and never at night. Setting the stat at 74* quadrupled our propane usage last year but it was sure nice not being cold or worrying about the battery.
time2roll
Nomad
May 26, 2014
200 to 400w of solar along with 2 to 4 batteries will solve the 12v power issue.
An new two speed furnace should improve the blower noise.
Otherwise run the furnace and get used to it.

I can't help with catalytic heat.
Almot
Explorer III
May 26, 2014
Johny, the heater that you had was not catalytic. Probably, a burner similar to Mr. Buddy, Kozy etc. Unvented and less efficient than catalytic. Yes, people are using them, there are quite a few brands out there. Manufacturers call it "vent-free", to make it sound like something inherently free of any fumes issues. I call it "lung-vented".
Johnny_G1
Explorer
May 26, 2014
Almot, I have used a Vanguard VP10TA plaque heater for 11 yrs now, just crack a window about 1/4 in above heater and enjoy the heat, never had any problem with CM or CD fumes and find it very safe, not made anymore as I bought the last one for sale in Yuma in 2003, have looked for yrs for another one to no avail as I would like to have one for my truck camper. And the other problem I don't have to worry about is dust on the heater like the Wave and other that have the cloth that can get dirty and not put out the heat.
MrWizard
Moderator
May 26, 2014
The avg solar install doesn't provide energy for heat
It has nothing to do with your heating options, except for extending battery use and getting a little more furnace time with a little less battery wear & tear
ggadwa
Explorer
May 26, 2014
I have to weigh in here....I have been using the WAVE 3 and the Wave 6 Catalytic heaters for over 25 years now.....They use ZERO electricity and warm the Camper very nicely. You do not have to worry about Carbon Monoxide or Carbon Dioxide....I leave a ceiling vent cracked for some fresh out side air and to help reduce the propane created humidity.
Wave Cat heaters use very very little propane.

Tons of folks use WAVE heaters without any issues.

GARY
Almot
Explorer III
May 26, 2014
Johny, the heat of catalytic heater is strictly from propane, yes. You turn it on, cross yourself and go to sleep, then get up and turn it off if you feel funny because of CO/CO2 or if it's getting way too toasty in the room.

The Platinum Cat is vented to the outside, low draw from exhaust fan, milliamps, and it has thermostat. So it is cycling on/off, and draws 5A for 2 minutes when starting the cycle. This adds up to few amp-hours overnight, though less propane than unregulated catalytic heater, because it's cycling.
TurnThePage
Explorer
May 25, 2014
Johnny G1 wrote:
Almont, What cat heater do you have that draws power??? Mine is strickly propane and use's very little propane to keep our coach very warm.
Plat Cat