LP Heater Questions!

I always find it funny, that in California use of camping heaters is one of the smallest, yet seems it is the only state that bans selling ventless heaters.
I know they have oxygen sensors, but in my years of RV-ing I hear about too many deaths just because of small misalignment with the fumes.
Moisture is easy to deal with.. if you stay healthy.

I am not sure how to understand "I'm all-electric now".

If you are on grid, then use 120V space heater. This will be the driest and the cleanest.
If you are off-grid and don't have REALLY big solar and/or Lithium battery bank, with any electric heat you will have to run a generator pretty much all the time that you need that heat. The same goes for most of your other 120V devices.

Propane heat - other than furnace that burns in fact outside - will always introduce humidity, CO2 and some CO. These are by-products of burning propane, there is no way around it. The more you burn, the more humidity and CO2. Catalytic heaters burn less propane so there will be less humidity and CO2, and they also generate less CO than open-flame heaters. Venting will reduce humidity and CO/CO2, and will also reduce the efficiency a little.

I haven't seen any vented catalytic models lately, though with what little fumes and humidity they make, most RV-ers don't seem to need venting other than one window slightly open. I know what CO poisoning is (had it once), and tend not to trust marketing blurb easily, but those Olympian catalytic heaters are probably installed in hundreds or thousands rigs by now, with no fatalities reported.

12000 BTU is the smallest built-in propane heater that you found? Olympian heaters come in 3, 5 and 8K size and can be mounted recessed if you like. I just put mine on the wall, reinforcing thin plywood with backer.

Humidity: Water is a by product of combustion, so an "indoor" ventless heater puts out HEAT, Water and Carbon Dioxide (if properly adjusted) and Carbon Monoxide (if not properly adjusted) and both of these gasses are not good for you.. Too much of the first chokes you and the second is poison.

A Properly VENTED heater, such as an RV furnace, puts the water, and gasses, outside, The flame heats a heat exchanger (Metal box/baffles) which then heat the air inside, True DRY heat, less like me you have leak where it can get into the air intake (fixing that as I type). (Oh, least anyone worry, it is a WATER leak.. I have identified it and dissabled the leak and will get replacement seals tomorrow).

Great find, Chris Bryant!

Thanks for the info, everyone. Since I have zero experience with LP heaters I have no idea what to expect. I had heard these things put out humid exhaust, but as long as that's going out of the cabin I'm sure I'll be okay.

My desire is for a low-level of heat that I can increase on demand by adding an electrical space heater. I don't like thermostat cycling because it ends up being either not enough heat or too much. And I really do walk around in a heavy jacket all day, so I don't want to use a lot of LP heating the cabin up to shirtsleeves temps.

These Nuway propane heaters don't use any electricity and can be adjusted for heat output. They do require a 3" vent to the outside and a fresh air combustion supply is also a good idea.

I have something similar in my trailer and it heats everything up nicely. They sip propane because after everything is warmed up, I usually turn mine down to idle.

You might look at Propex heaters- 6500 and 9700 btu/hr versions, low amp draw (under 2 amps), installable outside the rig (under floor) so very quiet.

A propane furnace (with a heat exchanger) will produce equally as dry heat as an electric heater, since both just take the air from inside and warm it up without changing the amount of water vapor in it.

If it's the noise of the furnace cycling that is objectionable to you, perhaps it would be worth considering a hydronic (hot water) heating system. The pumps and radiators can be pretty close to silent, and you might be able to run it off of the existing water heater for the shower and sinks. This would likely not be a typical factory option for most travel trailers.

Probably too much BTU but look at the two speed models to reduce the noise effect of cycling.

Atwood has (had?) a 15k/22k model Excalibur 1522
Maybe others.

greenrvgreen wrote:
Thinking about my next TT. I am all-electric now, but I think I will introduce a propane system into the mix with the next TT.

MY QUESTIONS:

1. I am researching humidity with LP heaters (I want it as DRY as possible). It appears that the humidity issue is with the add-on "ventless" catalytic heaters. Can I depend on the standard built-in LP heaters to give me DRY heat (like electric)? I want bone dry, skin-cracking DRY! Will LP heaters do this?

2. According to the internet, a standard 1500 watt heater puts out ~5600 btu's of heat when on high. That is all the heat I will ever need--I usually use 1/2 of that. Does that 5600 btu figure apply directly to LP heaters, which are typically 25,000 btu's? If so that is WAY too much heat!

3. The smallest built-in replacement built-in LP heater I can find is 12k. Is there a method for maybe re-jetting these things so I can get the heater down into the 8k btu range? If it's freezing outside I like the cabin at 60 degrees max. And I don't like thermostatc cycling! What I wnt is a low-power heater that doesn't use a lot of LP!

Thanks!

Stick with electric heating

LP heat is only as dry as the air in your RV is.......inside air recirculates thru LP Furnace heat exchanger

Propane exhaust is wet but that is outside and doesn't affect the air inside

12K is smallest .....and they ALL are 12V DC power hogs