Charging the camper battery while driving?

I have found a very noticeable difference in cabover temp between the two campers, even when window and vents are cracked. Most of the time I like it, having the 'bedroom' cooler by 10 degrees is fine with me. But when it is 20 outside I find I have to leave the thermostat at about 60 in the dinette to keep it near 55 in the cabover.

Good point about the heat in the basement wet bays and tanks - I hadn't thought about that. A concern in freezing temps.

Burning a gallon fo propane produces about a gallon of water (or 1 lb of propane -> 2 lbs of water). Running the stove or oven is usually done only momentarily compared to a heater, but I can certainly see the effects of the gas stove or oven on moisture levels when it is used, some of which can be exhausted by the hood. Hence my concern about a heater.

Blanco1, we are getting off of the topic of "Charging the camper battery while driving?", but is related to finding solutions to heating the TC. If you want us back on track to your initial question, please tell us.

HMS Beagle wrote:
Question on the Wave3 and cold nights: on my current Bigfoot, there is a forced air heat duct up in the cabover (though the run is long and the flow unimpressive). Even so, it gets pretty cool up there on cold nights. This is the 10.4E model, with forward bath and pantry, making the opening to the cabover bed much smaller than it was on my previous 9.6, which was more typical of camper layouts. In that one, even without an air duct up there, it stayed closer to the temperature of the dinette area which is where the thermostat is.

Obviously, my 1988 Bigfoot is laid out differently than yours. I do not have a duct to the cab over, but do have one to the holding tanks. It is pretty useless when using the Wave heater only.

HMS Beagle wrote:
With the Wave and no air circulating, would it do much to keep the cabover area warm? This is going to depend on camper layout, maybe someone with a similar layout has installed a Wave and can comment. One could always run a small circulating fan, but that takes power too.

The opening to my cab over is wider than yours, but I think you would find that with the cab over windows opened about 1/2-inch or so, the warm air below will heat your cab over. I have an escape hatch in the ceiling of my cab over. I usually have it open a little also. I can also use it to control the heat from the Wave. I find this to be true using the Wave and/or furnace. I do have a switch I can turn on the furnace without getting out of bed to boost the heat, if I am running the Wave only.

I have considered a small computer type fan just to keep the air circulating in the TC. Hot or cold I think it is a good idea, but as you pointed out, takes power. Opening the windows a little has done real well, provides fresh air, circulates the air, reduces the condensation, and reduces the combustion byproducts. I typically leave the dining table window (has a vent cover) open an inch or two for additional fresh air, and I seldom completely close the bathroom vent cover. I do this pretty much year round.

HMS Beagle wrote:
Second question: since it is manually ignited, no thermostat is possible - do you just leave it on all night?

I leave it on all night if I think it will be needed. I have learned that I can usually run the Wave3 on low, and set my furnace thermostat on 50 degrees. During the night, if the Wave3 does not keep up, the furnace will kick in. I might then close the escape hatch, and close my cab over windows to about 1/2" opening. If during the night the Wave3 is too hot and I wake up I will open my cab over windows or escape hatch more. I seldom have the furnace kick in, then only once or twice in a night.

If it is really cold, I will run the Wave3 on its highest settings, and use the furnace thermostat control as a backup.

HMS Beagle wrote:
Third question: the Wave is unvented, which means that the combustion byproducts end up in the camper. Chief among these are water - quite a lot of it. At 3000 BTU for 10 hours you will produce a little under 1/2 gallon of water. I have had serious moisture problems when heating buildings with unvented propane, and often moisture and condensation control are problems in winter RV camping. Do you see any problems from this? You would have to keep windows/vents open to vent the CO2, maybe that vents enough of the water vapor too.

I have condensation in my TC, but it has never proven to be a problem, and my TC is over 26 years old. We even use our stove top and oven. I insist on venting my camper. Even without heat the air gets stale, and if you breath you will lower the oxygen in the air, create condensation, and increase the CO2. Your TC gets to smelling bad also. I prefer to sleep in 55 degrees or less, with lots of blankets.

As a side note, I have a tent cot I use when wheeling. Even with no heat, it will rain rain inside the tent. I wipe it down with a towel, before I get out of my sleeping bag.

HMS Beagle wrote:
There are vented catalytic heaters, which mitigate these problems but use some power (though not very much) and cost more.

It does not mitigate all of these problems, but does reduce them. I will argue that if you use your stove to cook and/or breath, you will have condensation. Unfortunately, the whole truth is not always told on the vented catalytic heaters. Look closely at the design.

Wayne

I find it necessary to keep vents cracked all the time in my TC to prevent moisture buildup.....especially over night or if you get stuck in the camper because of bad weather.
On a recent camping trip with my brother and his wife, I noticed his windows were steaming up inside (We had about 1 1/2 days rain. and it was cold.) He was trying to limit how much his furnace ran by keeping the vents closed.

My camper wasn't steaming up because I kept my vents cracked and was using the furnace a little more.
Each person expels about a pint of water from breathing in an 8 hour period, and with 100% humidity outside, the only way to keep it dry inside was to crack the vents and run the furnace some.
I didn't realize that running a catalytic heater would make it that much worse by releasing over a gallon of extra water in 24 hours.

My other concern with the catalytic heater is the reduction in oxygen level. A study I read a while back showed that a catalytic heater in a 10x10 enclosed area would reduce the oxygen level from around the normal 18-20% down to about 8%. Cracking the vents should also help mitigate this issue. I don't know what the oxygen levels would be with the vents cracked.........but I need all the oxygen I can get while sleeping since I already have to use a CPAP to keep my blood oxygen levels from getting dangerously low.

Everyone will have to decide what works for their situation, but for me, I will be figuring out how to keep the furnace running instead of running a catalytic heater at night.

Reddog1 wrote:
HMS Beagle, great prices on the solar. The question is can Blanco1 instal one of them. I think he can. The next thought I have and in my experience is it is very common to have very poor performance from solar when it is real cold, due to overcast. I am still partial to the Wave3 if it is a one or the other situation.

With one 100 AH AGM and the Wave3, I do not run short on AHs. Without the Wave3, I think I would have to add a second battery which would cost close to the same as the Wave3.

Wayne

Depending on when/where Blanco travels and camps the Wave3, could work well for his application in dry cool environments like California or Arizona.

For some and I fall under this grouping I tend to travel/camp in wet cool/cold high humidity area's, the Wave3 would be a nasty addition to my camping experience. I have a heck of a time trying to reduce humidity in a truck camper, even though I run high temps. with the forced air furnace and vent a lot. The added moisture of a Wave3 would cause mold and rot issues.

Question on the Wave3 and cold nights: on my current Bigfoot, there is a forced air heat duct up in the cabover (though the run is long and the flow unimpressive). Even so, it gets pretty cool up there on cold nights. This is the 10.4E model, with forward bath and pantry, making the opening to the cabover bed much smaller than it was on my previous 9.6, which was more typical of camper layouts. In that one, even without an air duct up there, it stayed closer to the temperature of the dinette area which is where the thermostat is.

With the Wave and no air circulating, would it do much to keep the cabover area warm? This is going to depend on camper layout, maybe someone with a similar layout has installed a Wave and can comment. One could always run a small circulating fan, but that takes power too.

Second question: since it is manually ignited, no thermostat is possible - do you just leave it on all night?

Third question: the Wave is unvented, which means that the combustion byproducts end up in the camper. Chief among these are water - quite a lot of it. At 3000 BTU for 10 hours you will produce a little under 1/2 gallon of water. I have had serious moisture problems when heating buildings with unvented propane, and often moisture and condensation control are problems in winter RV camping. Do you see any problems from this? You would have to keep windows/vents open to vent the CO2, maybe that vents enough of the water vapor too.

There are vented catalytic heaters, which mitigate these problems but use some power (though not very much) and cost more.

HMS Beagle, great prices on the solar. The question is can Blanco1 instal one of them. I think he can. The next thought I have and in my experience is it is very common to have very poor performance from solar when it is real cold, due to overcast. I am still partial to the Wave3 if it is a one or the other situation.

With one 100 AH AGM and the Wave3, I do not run short on AHs. Without the Wave3, I think I would have to add a second battery which would cost close to the same as the Wave3.

Wayne

Blanco1 wrote:
LOL!

My Truck is much louder than my Geni!

Cummins 12 valve hot rod with 4" turbo back straight pipe!
No muffler!

Been there and done that, Finally installed a 4" muffler, per DW instructions. :B

LOL!

My Truck is much louder than my Geni!

Cummins 12 valve hot rod with 4" turbo back straight pipe!
No muffler!

Reddog1 wrote:


Respectfully, I question the notion you can get everything required for 150 watts of solar for $200. I provided links on the Wave3 for $200.

It took me 2 minutes to find this or this. Everything you need for 100 watts including the controller, wire, mounts, free shipping, etc., well under $200. 150 watt panels seem to have fallen out of favor of late and are more expensive, it would take some searching and assembling your own kit. So I stand corrected. I should have said, "100 watts for less than $175". 200 watt kits are currently about $320, all in.

On the rare occasion when the solar did not keep up (hasn't happened to me yet) I would simply idle the truck to charge. Cheaper and quieter than a generator. I have no problem with the idea of installing a catalytic heater - but that only mitigates one problem, solar solves several and is what I would choose to do first.

Posting your mods will help relieve the pressure. Never hesitate to ask us to help you spend your money. Remember, cost is no object as long a it is your money we are spending.

Wayne