LP gas Diagram, help needed.

You might look at the little Propex heaters- perfect for your application-
Propex Heaters at Westy Ventures

You will need a integral two stage regulator, It required by code in the US and I assume up north. It takes tank pressure and reduces it to to 10 psi in the 1st stage then 11" WC (6.35oz) in the second. I assume that your tank was mounted correctly meaning proper orientation. (top up) you will need to pipe the relief valve to the outside of the body so it doesn't impinge on anything, you will also need a rain cap for it.As stated early using an un vented gas heater with and oxygen depletion sensor will work BUT you must supply fresh air and get rid of the moisture produced or you will have lots of mold/mildew and sagging interior body panels. You can use your little grill but you will need to tee into the tank ahead of the regulator.

westend wrote:

evy wrote:

westend wrote:
Careful with those unvented heaters in small spaces. I, personally, won't use one. Doesn't mean you can't. Yes, they operate at higher than 11" WC. That's also true of portable BBQ's. You could try to remove your BBQ regulator to make it work with the tank system's pressure.

Even if the heater has a low oxygen sensor and a LP/CO alarm would be installed, you still wouldn't use them?

No, and since you ask , I'll explain. Even with a new heating element, certain petrochemical effluents are being introduced to the cabin. Along with that, CO, CO2, and a large amount of water vapor are produced. Oxygen is being deleted. Without an exhaust, all of those are in the air you breathe. I choose not to breathe those things.

FWIW, I have a conventional travel trailer. I replaced the standard furnace with a Sportsmen heater (basically a tin can with a gas ring inside). Exhaust plenum stack air and combustion air are piped in from the exterior. A conventional Class B gas exhaust stack exits the roof directly above the heater. This is the third RV that has used this same heater. It is no longer made but there are similar fish house heaters that have an exhaust stack or there are wall mounted gas heaters that directly vent to the exterior. All of these are superior to a heater that spews exhaust in the cabin space.

If you have your plans set on a Mr Buddy heater, remember to open a ceiling vent and also a window as the instructions require.

For the amount of space you will have when done, I would seriously consider a hydronic system. You are going to have a water heater, correct? A heat exchanger, a small pump, and a small draw 12 V fan with tubing and some pipe fittings is all that is required.

A half-way proficient engineer could also design a second hot water loop from the engine to use all of the engine's mass to harvest some heat for the cabin. When underway, the cabin could be heating and after engine shut down when engine temps reach 100f or so, a relay cuts that loop with a TC valve and the water heater takes over. I will send an address to my firm so that initial invoicing can be done, lol. :B

I will have a Tankless warer heater can it be used for that kind of system?

Is there a basic kit I can buy (hydronic) or is it a complete DIY project?

evy wrote:

westend wrote:
Careful with those unvented heaters in small spaces. I, personally, won't use one. Doesn't mean you can't. Yes, they operate at higher than 11" WC. That's also true of portable BBQ's. You could try to remove your BBQ regulator to make it work with the tank system's pressure.

Even if the heater has a low oxygen sensor and a LP/CO alarm would be installed, you still wouldn't use them?

No, and since you ask , I'll explain. Even with a new heating element, certain petrochemical effluents are being introduced to the cabin. Along with that, CO, CO2, and a large amount of water vapor are produced. Oxygen is being deleted. Without an exhaust, all of those are in the air you breathe. I choose not to breathe those things.

FWIW, I have a conventional travel trailer. I replaced the standard furnace with a Sportsmen heater (basically a tin can with a gas ring inside). Exhaust plenum stack air and combustion air are piped in from the exterior. A conventional Class B gas exhaust stack exits the roof directly above the heater. This is the third RV that has used this same heater. It is no longer made but there are similar fish house heaters that have an exhaust stack or there are wall mounted gas heaters that directly vent to the exterior. All of these are superior to a heater that spews exhaust in the cabin space.

If you have your plans set on a Mr Buddy heater, remember to open a ceiling vent and also a window as the instructions require.

For the amount of space you will have when done, I would seriously consider a hydronic system. You are going to have a water heater, correct? A heat exchanger, a small pump, and a small draw 12 V fan with tubing and some pipe fittings is all that is required.

A half-way proficient engineer could also design a second hot water loop from the engine to use all of the engine's mass to harvest some heat for the cabin. When underway, the cabin could be heating and after engine shut down when engine temps reach 100f or so, a relay cuts that loop with a TC valve and the water heater takes over. I will send an address to my firm so that initial invoicing can be done, lol. :B

westend wrote:
Careful with those unvented heaters in small spaces. I, personally, won't use one. Doesn't mean you can't. Yes, they operate at higher than 11" WC. That's also true of portable BBQ's. You could try to remove your BBQ regulator to make it work with the tank system's pressure.

Even if the heater has a low oxygen sensor and a LP/CO alarm would be installed, you still wouldn't use them?

Careful with those unvented heaters in small spaces. I, personally, won't use one. Doesn't mean you can't. Yes, they operate at higher than 11" WC. That's also true of portable BBQ's. You could try to remove your BBQ regulator to make it work with the tank system's pressure.

DrewE wrote:
I can't really help you all that much. I think everything other than the grill and the heater will have either a NPT connection (the tank) or a flare fitting (the cooktop, I'm pretty sure the fridge, and probably the water heater, though it's not shown). In either case, your installer should have the appropriate connecting fittings readily available; they are not at all unique to RVs. I do want to stress, however, that I know rather little at all about the details of gas pipe fitting.

The grill has some sort of a quick-conenct fitting. I kind of hope it came with a hose that has a mating fitting, or at least the fitting itself.

The heater is set up to use 1 pound disposable cans, which means that it has a regulator built into it. You can't hook it up to the regulated propane system in your RV; having its regulator fed by low pressure gas won't work. The options there would be bypassing the regulator in the heater (if that can be done safely—there's a good chance that the regulator and control valve are a single unit), running a line for it from the high pressure output of the tank, using disposable cylinders, or getting a different heat setup. I'd probably suggest the last one, but it's undoubtedly the most expensive and it's always easier to spend someone else's hard earned cash than my own. Something like the smallest Atwood Everest furnace would be quite effective (and arguably safer as the combustion gasses are vented outside).

One other heat possibility is setting up a hydronic (hot water) heat system using your existing water heater and a pump and radiators or heat exchangers. The plumbing side of such a system should of course be appropriate for potable water, and would generally have to be designed to be able to be drained or blown out for winterization if needed. Certainly it's not the simplest option to put together, but it could be workable.

Hi DrewE

You're right, I will let the installer use his standard fittings for the fridge/cooktop/water heater they all seem to have the same connection.

As for the heater... I got the wrong model (little buddy), the one I got only has high pressure :S
this is the model they use in RVs (big buddy) but it's way to big for my little camper, fast forward to 1:56 in this video :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRxUB9tktOs

I prefer having a portable catalytic heater, no need to vent anything outside (with the curved outside panels of my Ford E250 van...) and I like the idea of using it somewhere else (house/tent/garage/etc...) kind of like my portable generator.

This model seems interesting :
http://www.amazon.com/Camco-57331-Olympian-Wave-3-Catalytic/dp/B000BUV1RK/ref=sr_1_55?ie=UTF8&qid=1463451066&sr=8-55&keywords=catalytic+heater

DrewE wrote:
I can't really help you all that much. I think everything other than the grill and the heater will have either a NPT connection (the tank) or a flare fitting (the cooktop, I'm pretty sure the fridge, and probably the water heater, though it's not shown). In either case, your installer should have the appropriate connecting fittings readily available; they are not at all unique to RVs. I do want to stress, however, that I know rather little at all about the details of gas pipe fitting.

The grill has some sort of a quick-conenct fitting. I kind of hope it came with a hose that has a mating fitting, or at least the fitting itself.

The heater is set up to use 1 pound disposable cans, which means that it has a regulator built into it. You can't hook it up to the regulated propane system in your RV; having its regulator fed by low pressure gas won't work. The options there would be bypassing the regulator in the heater (if that can be done safely—there's a good chance that the regulator and control valve are a single unit), running a line for it from the high pressure output of the tank, using disposable cylinders, or getting a different heat setup. I'd probably suggest the last one, but it's undoubtedly the most expensive and it's always easier to spend someone else's hard earned cash than my own. Something like the smallest Atwood Everest furnace would be quite effective (and arguably safer as the combustion gasses are vented outside).

One other heat possibility is setting up a hydronic (hot water) heat system using your existing water heater and a pump and radiators or heat exchangers. The plumbing side of such a system should of course be appropriate for potable water, and would generally have to be designed to be able to be drained or blown out for winterization if needed. Certainly it's not the simplest option to put together, but it could be workable.

Do you have a Mr heater buddy heater? Have you tryed to use it on low pressure? I have. The regulator is separate from the valve. You could install a tee after the regulator or adjust the regulator. If you decide to do this say bye bye to your warranty. And I would suggest NOT using the 1LB bottles with adjustment. I built a simple adaptor and without adjustment it would work on low but would not support high. If you do this, find find someone that understands how the low-oxygen shut-off pilot system works. It is a very simple system. Good luck with your adventure.

I can't really help you all that much. I think everything other than the grill and the heater will have either a NPT connection (the tank) or a flare fitting (the cooktop, I'm pretty sure the fridge, and probably the water heater, though it's not shown). In either case, your installer should have the appropriate connecting fittings readily available; they are not at all unique to RVs. I do want to stress, however, that I know rather little at all about the details of gas pipe fitting.

The grill has some sort of a quick-conenct fitting. I kind of hope it came with a hose that has a mating fitting, or at least the fitting itself.

The heater is set up to use 1 pound disposable cans, which means that it has a regulator built into it. You can't hook it up to the regulated propane system in your RV; having its regulator fed by low pressure gas won't work. The options there would be bypassing the regulator in the heater (if that can be done safely—there's a good chance that the regulator and control valve are a single unit), running a line for it from the high pressure output of the tank, using disposable cylinders, or getting a different heat setup. I'd probably suggest the last one, but it's undoubtedly the most expensive and it's always easier to spend someone else's hard earned cash than my own. Something like the smallest Atwood Everest furnace would be quite effective (and arguably safer as the combustion gasses are vented outside).

One other heat possibility is setting up a hydronic (hot water) heat system using your existing water heater and a pump and radiators or heat exchangers. The plumbing side of such a system should of course be appropriate for potable water, and would generally have to be designed to be able to be drained or blown out for winterization if needed. Certainly it's not the simplest option to put together, but it could be workable.