Forum Discussion

memtb's avatar
memtb
Explorer
Sep 25, 2018

Olympian Wave iinstall on our 5 er

As we do a lot of cool/cold weather boondocking, we finally decided to save battery consumption, cut back on propane consumption, and stop the furnace noise on the cool days/nights. Obviously, this will only work down into the mid 20’s (or so), as we will need the forced air to keep things flowing when it gets colder.
Dropped the insulated underbelly, “snaked” the flexable gas line thru the insulation and framing from the desired heater location, forward up into the utility area of our unit, and tied-in to the existing gas supply to stove, water heater, etc. I also ran a 10’ joint of electrical pvc conduit over the gas line were it went thru the frame area, in case of contact with a sharp or abrupt edge (that I couldn’t see), to stop any wear or abrasion to the flexable pipe.
I absolutely hate working overhead , with dusty/dirty fiberglass insulation, but hopefully the added comfort and practicality will “nullify” the several days of misery doing the modification! ;)


  • Nice job Almot. And, thanks for the tips. We bought a cover for ours.....we’ll be sure to use it!
    We’re looking forward to trying it out in about a month!
  • Almot's avatar
    Almot
    Explorer III
    Did the same in my trailer, on the wall.



    Entry door is to the left of fire extinguisher. Bold spot is where I removed one dinette bench to run the copper line. The chair was SO much better, more comfortable, more versatile, more space - that I threw the bench out for good. The photo was made right after the install. Sloppy workers left pencil marks where bench was attached to the wall, I cleaned it and covered the screw holes with small patches of the same wallpaper.

    I screwed a piece of 1/2" plywood to the wall behind the heater, as 1/4" plywood wall with no studs in this area didn't look strong enough for heater weight.

    Soft copper tubing goes along the wall, into the other dinette, to Excess Flow Valve, to regular shut-off valve, and into the floor under the dinette. EFV will automatically shut the propane if there is a major leak before the heater.

    Copper tubing under the frame (about 1ft run) is tapped into propane black iron pipe. Originally black pipe there was terminated with brass adapter and a similar copper tubing for water heater. I replaced this adapter with Tee to connect the Olympian. Water heater line was covered with 1/2" electrical corrugated split-conduit, so I covered the Olympian line with another piece of split-conduit.

    Keep the clear bag that Olympian is wrapped in. With some packing tape and a piece of bungee cord it makes a good dust cover. Catalytic heaters should be protected from dust when not in use.
  • Thanks folks! Also, actually considered bringing it up into the cabinet. But, wife and I decided to place it here. Hopefully, will not later regret that decision!
  • Nice job but for future reference I think I would have brought the gas line up into the cabinet and then installed it to the heater. I would have avoided penetrating the floor in a finished area.