Cheap Olympian Wave3 Catalytic Heater

[Jake Jacobson]

Mine was mounted inside the door, on the side of the closet......

Hi Gina -

I was just installing a Wave heater in my new 16', and noticed that it states right on the heater that it needs at least 30" clearance in front of the heater. I remembered you had mounted yours in this location, so I measured. On the Scamp, putting a heater in this location does not give the proper clearance. I have no idea about the Burro, but thought I would put this info up in case anyone else is considering mounting a Wave heater in this location in a Scamp.

[Gina D.]

altho I didn't measure specifically, the distance seemed quite adequate, and very close to that measurement. The cubby cover directly in front was in no danger. It was mildly warm to the touch, but nowhere near *hot*.

I had a front dinette and that is where I sat most of the time. I felt no adverse heat on my clothes, and one of my dogs would often curl up directly across from the heater. I trust the "dogometer".. they don't like overheating.

[Jake Jacobson]

"dogometer".... I like that!

[Parker Buckley]

Just a heads up - saw this great price on new Olympian Wave3 heaters:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_RV-Trailer...p4506.m20.l1116

Just thought I'd post a message to say that I bought one of the Wave 3 heaters from this ebay vendor, and all went well. Received a new heater, double boxed, about one week after ordering. (No other affiliation with the vendor)

Parker

[rudock1]

Based on experience, is a 3,000 BTU unit enough for a 13' Scamp, down to 20 F or so?

It looks like this needs to be plumbed to the 20# tank. I'm trying to think where to mount it to make that practical.

Hi Parker,

These heaters "feel" warmer if you can get it aimed at you. We have a Perris Pacer 13' that has the front bench/bunk bed. The fiberglass vertical face under the bench has a nice wooden access door (hiding the porta-potty). I recently hung a new Wave3 on wood screws on the door. The heater points across the trailer directly at the dining table. Time will tell if the mounting is secure. I "tee'd" into the gas line (with a seperate shut off valve) which enters the trailer under this same bench.

good luck!
Billy

[Parker Buckley]

Hi Parker,

I recently hung a new Wave3 on wood screws on the door. The heater points across the trailer directly at the dining table. Time will tell if the mounting is secure. I "tee'd" into the gas line (with a seperate shut off valve) which enters the trailer under this same bench.

Billy,

Interesting idea! As others have done, I was planning on installing mine just below the closet door in our Scamp, which would have it aiming across at the cupboard below the sink. I was counting on re-radition to help warm the surrounding area. Never thought about putting it where you did (the Scamp has a similar bench arrangement to your Pacer). That would have it aiming toward our bed in the back. And they do recommend mounting it low. I'll have to check that out tomorrow. I guess you transition to flex hose for the door to work. I think it would be a matter of how safe it would be from being damaged there, which I could mitigate with a cover. That's also more weight than the hinges were designed for, but they could be changed out easily enough to a piano hinge.

Thanks for posting!

Parker

[rudock1]

I guess you transition to flex hose for the door to work. I think it would be a matter of how safe it would be from being damaged there, which I could mitigate with a cover. That's also more weight than the hinges were designed for, but they could be changed out easily enough to a piano hinge.

Hi Parker,

I had a 12' low pressure rubber gas hose so I attached it to the valve. It's coiled up and stored under the bench. I purchased the 90* elbow brass fitting and the leg stands for the heater from the manufacturer (see back page of the user guide). As an occasional alternative to the door mounting, I should be able to quickly adapt the legs, pull out the hose, and set the heater up on top of the stove cover or elsewhere.

thx
Billy

[Jake Jacobson]

Better late than never, but I finally got a photo of my Olympian installation. It is mounted under the closet.





I installed a vent to the outside, which runs behind the heater through the closet. The vent can be seen next to the door in this photo:





This is a nice arrangment, as it gives the required "low vent" for the heater, and I only need to crack a window or else the roof vent a 1/2 inch to get the required ventilation.

[Parker Buckley]

I installed a vent to the outside, which runs behind the heater through the closet. The vent can be seen next to the door in this photo:

This is a nice arrangment, as it gives the required "low vent" for the heater, and I only need to crack a window or else the roof vent a 1/2 inch to get the required ventilation.

Hi Jake. I tried to visualize your setup earlier, as I'm 90% sure I'll be mounting mine there also. I looked at mounting it on the door below the bench seat, but I'm afraid it will be kicked there and will interfere with the fridge door. So, regarding your vent....where does it vent to, inside the trailer? While I'm not here looking at the back of the heater, I don't think there is any fresh air intake there. So is this just an intake that allows fresh air into the trailer, same as cracking a lower window open? How does the fresh air make its way out of the closet? Or am I missing the point? I could envision a fresh air hose connected across the closet to some sort of opening beneath the heater, however.

Thanks for posting!

Parker

[Jake Jacobson]

Hi Parker -

I would worry about it mounted on a door, too. The flexible hose could get damaged from opening and closing the door or moving/unhooking the heater constantly. The heater fits just right under the closet, and gives a very central location. I found it heats very efficiently from under the closet.

The vent has a flexible tube that runs through the closet to another vent just under the heater. In retrospect, it would have been easier to not include the tube, and just use some of those rubber or felt cabinet door stops on the closet - just enough to let air leak around the door. Then no tube and secondary vent to worry about.

[John Hunt]

Hi Parker -

I would worry about it mounted on a door, too. The flexible hose could get damaged from opening and closing the door or moving/unhooking the heater constantly. The heater fits just right under the closet, and gives a very central location. I found it heats very efficiently from under the closet.

The vent has a flexible tube that runs through the closet to another vent just under the heater. In retrospect, it would have been easier to not include the tube, and just use some of those rubber or felt cabinet door stops on the closet - just enough to let air leak around the door. Then no tube and secondary vent to worry about.

Hello, I am new to this forum, but have been following this link with much interest. I just purchased a 1977 13' scamp and am planning on using it for winter camping/ice fishing. I purchased a wave 6 after reading your posts, and really appreciate your willingness to share info. I am planning on mounting my heater under the closet but was wondering if you could just use the recessed mounting kit, which would place the heater body inside the panel where the air intake leads, and thus provide the heater with an oxygen supply. You could then construct a panel to cap off the bottom part of the cabinet, and keep the items in your closet from becoming as cold as the outside air. All of this depends upon if the heater would draw air from behind the element or from the front.

After reading your initial posts on this topic, I had assumed that the air intake led directly to a vent in the back of the heater. Now I see that the air vent just leads to a port in the camper. Maybe this venting is not even necessary if you have an alternative vent like the gap I have at the bottom of my entrance door.

Thanks again for the free flow of information and ideas. This scamp modification thing is fun and addictive, I would appreciate any info from fellow scamp owners who use theirs as a mobile ice house in the winter months.