Well, this weekend was a get around weekend. You know.. doing the things you'll "Get Around" to doing.

I have several projects. Here is the first. (and only intersting one)

Installation of a Wave 3 Cat heater.

First, I removed this Lovely, heavy, large, 70s style The Cat 6k BTU, which was vented and powered. It became noisey, temporamental and power hungry. It also rained inside when I would turn it on. Perhaps a side effect of a spent Cat pad? (I know cat heaters give off moisture, but this was rediculous!)

Anyway.. it came out easily, and I found I had pre run extra 12v lines in that space now.

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BTW, if anyone wants this thing, see Pay it Forward forum. It's free! Woo Hoo!)

Now, the Wave 3 is half the size (and a 1/4 of the weight!) of the Cat, so now I have a huge hole twice the size needed for this space. This is the closet over the curbside wheel, and this space is usually dead air.

I don't need no stinkin' dead air, I need storage!!!! So, I figured this is a great place for all the Mungies" Wheel chocks, stablizers, water hoses, other junk that we never want to admit we own, and is usually in some tub taking up valuable floor space while traveling.

My solution.. a HATCH!

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In the pic, several things are happening. The storage was a no brainer. More on that later.

I bought a premade white shelf, 24 x 12, and cut it in half. The heater is offset on the lower half, leaving a 1" gap at the bottom for air intake. (Can't see in photo, and thats good) The heater flush mounts on the board, no venting.

Next, the top half of the board is hinged and made into and access door.

The grate you see next to it is a 2" PVC drain cover. I ran the old exhaust hose from the Cat into it, and now there is fresh air coming into the cabin from the old exhaust tube, all the time.

The intake for the Wave 3 was on the opposite side as the cat, so I had to couple and run an extension tube over, then step up the coupling from 1/4 to 3/8 to attach the fitting on tthe Wave 3. Bending the old tube was done VERY carefully, and there are no kinks or leaks.

I used the gap opening below the heater to run an extension 12v outlet from my now paralleled Gel Cells (Installed in bottom of this cubby) as a power source AND as in input for my 15 watt folding solar panel. (Don't try this near copper unless your source is 100% installated.. the arcing can be colorful)

The extra switch you see was for the Cat heater, but I am going to use it for the 12v propane detector I have ordered so I can switch it off while trailer is in storage.

The storage

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You can see the intake outlet better here. With an unvented heater, oxygen depletion is a BIG concern. This may not do much to help, but it sure won't hurt anything! I figured it could start drawing from the outside instead of from my lung. (Hey I only gots one, and I want to keep all the air in there I can!)

The shape of the compartment is wierd due to the wheel, so it is only good for odd stuff down deep, but I put a plastic tub on top which holds my hand water pump and other odds and ends. One end rests on the screws holding the top od the heater (I got LONG ones for this purpose) and the back sits on top of the wheel.

The heater itself works great, tho it is a manual start, and it gets really HOT at the surface. The grate gets hot. I will have to relearn the dogs about sleeping near there.

BUT, the cabin heats up rather quickly, in about 10 mins on high, and I ran it for a couple hours last nite in 40 degree outside temps. I was comfy with it set on low.

If I need more poop on especially cold nites, I have a Black Cat for back up/suppliment.

The best thing about it.. no electrical use, and no rain inside!

Great change-out Gina! Looks like you've been productive this loooong weekend

Thx!

The more I look at the long extension, the more I am thinking I should fashion a bracket to prevent accidents. It's under the heater and not real accessible, but.. just in case.

I forgot the picture of how the vent tube was done

Nice job, Gina! I am always delighted to see what the women of this forum can do!

Very nice swap out! Love the air vent idea.

Nice install! You seem to have fixed several issues in one swoop. We have a Wave 3 also and love it. I don't think you will be needing the Black Cat after this. The little Wave 3 puts out tons of heat for a 13 ft. Good backup system if your main unit stops working for some reason. I like the green fiberglass used on the Burrow's (inside closet).

Gina, please read the Wave-3's manual closely; I believe it is still an unvented (exhaust) heater. Your mod to provide direct outside air input means you don't have to worry about how much window to keep open to provide oxygen and these heaters have safety systems (even the non-CATs like the Mr Heater line) to shut down well before oxygen levels get too low for safety, but the exhaust is still inside the trailer.

This means that the byproduct of LP combustion, water (aka H2O), is being released into the air at a rate of one ounce of water per 1,000 BTU per hour -- Chemistry again... The great thing about this heater is that the output is adjustable; with my 6,000BTU Empire, I have to open the roof hatch if I want to leave it running (which of course is wasting heat, but most of the H2O is also going out with the hottest, rising air).

There should be some mention of water/condensation in your owner's manual.

Keep the Black Cat for quickly heating a cold trailer, backup, taking to the potty or shower (No, I don't believe it will keep running inside the shower...), warming your backside at the campfire or loaning out to a family freezing in a tent.

Nice job Gina. I would be interested in this cat 3 heater. Who makes it? link? I do a google and got nothing.

Pete, I am fully aware of it's unventedness and make no assumtion that because I have that little opening it is. The "vent" I installed was done as a safety thing, because I could. The infrastructure was already there. The little 2" opening is not nearly enough to bring in what I feel is safe for air, but it certainly is "something" if there is an accident like me forgetting to open the window.. I will still leave a window cracked.

I was also thinking of modding the opening below with a small fan on an independant battery, exhuasting out the floor. A little 20aH Gel Cell, solar charged and a 12v comp fan could do this easily.

I am also aware that condensation can happen. I noted I did not get nearly the rain from my Black Cat (Hardly any, as a matter of fact) as I did from my big vented Cat wall mount tho, so I decided to go with the Wave 3.

That Black Cat has a place in my trailer, and heart. It has bailed me out more than once. It isn't going anywhere!

Colin..

Olympian Wave 3 Catalytic Heater

Look great Gina. I was going to do the same thing with the UHaul. I was thinking about buying the swivel connection that they offer so that I could hinge the heater like you have on the door over yours. That way I could swing it around to the center of the camper for better heating while sleeping. And have that same storage door that you have. My only concern is that it does not have an adjustable control. It only has 2 settings. The darn Buddy Heater that I used for my last trip went out with a plugged regulator in Northern Ca. SO I had no heat from there to Mpls. The company shipped one out to my Dads place and he shipped it to my brother in Mpls. Or course I didn't need it any more by that time. It was kinda nice while I was in Mpls. Freakish 70's by day and 50's by night.

Again looks great.

Thanks Andy.

I did think of that, and as a matter of fact, that is the swivel connection on there, but I found that in a 13.. the direct poiinting thing is hardly needed. It actually is TOO hot near it.

The cabin heats up very quickly with the hard walls of a Burro or Uhaul. You would probably be OK with it stationary.

Nope, no thermo is a big drawback indeed.

Real World Test:

I am camping in the High Desert mountains right now. In spring, it's hotter than heck during the day, at nite

I used it last nite. It was very comfortable!