Forum Discussion

guyg's avatar
guyg
Explorer
Apr 11, 2017

Heater ideas

I've an E250 I've converted: insulation, fantastic vent, LED's etc., all nice. Where and when I go camping, sometimes a heater would be really nice. I've got a small electric for when I've shore power, it's quite satisfactory. But when boodocking, I'm at a loss. The little Buddy I have generates a lot of moisture, more than I'd like actually. The price of the outside combustion units (Eberspacher and Webasto) seems kinda high, and the complexity of a auxiliary diesel tank seems undesirable. Does anyone have any other solutions?
Class B
  • Naio's avatar
    Naio
    Explorer II
    Apr 16, 2017
    What I do:

    Mainly, heat the occupants and not the space. I use my heated mattress pad, extra heating pads as needed, and one for the cat, on inverter. And lots of blankets. I do my reading, netsurfing, tv watching in bed.

    For getting dressed in the morning, I turn on my 300 watt home depot heater for 2 or 3 minutes, also on inverter.

    The cold-night places that I boondock tend to be warm in the daytime. For 24 hour cold, i go where there is electricity.

    This may change when I pick up my new giant batteries. I could also see running the propane stove a little, when I get my bigger van.

    The hydronic heater looks awesome.
  • guyg's avatar
    guyg
    Explorer
    Apr 16, 2017
    The vented cat heater link seems to have gone away.

    The hot water heater concept seems really interesting. I'm wondering if I could do it with a smaller hot water source. I'll look into that.

    thanks.
  • Jayco-noslide's avatar
    Jayco-noslide
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2017
    We don't seem to have any moisture but you do have to allow some fresh air for safety.
  • rtaylor0830's avatar
    rtaylor0830
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2017
    RoyB wrote:
    Have you considered to install a 6-gallon hot water heater...

    You might try this idea for a HYDRONIC HEAT source...


    Roy's image

    the heat exchanger could be one of these AQUA HOT 100/200 model...

    This would use the hot water in a closed loop only requiring minimal heating of the water using propane...


    Google Image
    You would have to have a way to purge the lines to the exchanger or you would get stagnant water in the a/c season would you not

    Using a CAT type propane heater would be a hugh overkill for a small VAN setup...

    Roy Ken
  • rockymtnb's avatar
    rockymtnb
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2017
    Those Olympian Wave catalytic units heat well, but they put out the same amount of moisture as the Mr Buddy since they're also an unvented design.
  • Jayco-noslide's avatar
    Jayco-noslide
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2017
    Our 30 ft. Class C came with a catalytic heater installed by previous owner. Pretty nice and unique. It is attached to the wall just inside the door; about 2 ft. by 2 ft. and 3 in. thick. It's hooked into the propane system. Ingnites by spark and operates with no electric at all. Puts out a lot of heat but of course no fan. Great when dry camping.
  • rockymtnb's avatar
    rockymtnb
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2017
    guyg wrote:
    ...The price of the outside combustion units (Eberspacher and Webasto) seems kinda high, and the complexity of a auxiliary diesel tank seems undesirable. Does anyone have any other solutions?

    Unless you have propane the Eberspacher or Webasto units are your only option for an externally vented sealed combustion heater. But they are available in gasoline fired versions so you don't need a separate diesel tank.

    The Ram Promaster and Ford Transit forums have a lot of posts about installing the gas fired Webasto air heaters.
  • coolmom42's avatar
    coolmom42
    Explorer II
    Apr 11, 2017
    You could get a small inverter-type generator (super quiet) to use to run your electric heater.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Apr 11, 2017
    Have you considered to install a 6-gallon hot water heater...

    You might try this idea for a HYDRONIC HEAT source...


    Roy's image

    the heat exchanger could be one of these AQUA HOT 100/200 model...

    This would use the hot water in a closed loop only requiring minimal heating of the water using propane...


    Google Image

    Using a CAT type propane heater would be a hugh overkill for a small VAN setup...

    Roy Ken

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