Heat ? when boonedocking & NO Electric ?? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 02-19-2018, 08:42 AM   #1
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Heat ? when boonedocking & NO Electric ??

What works for you ?i have 3 safty mon. smoke alarm,,Co2 sensor and carbon minoxide detector???How wouls a "buddy Heater " work ?? i have used them in tents,hunting blinds,,ice shanty??
Thanks and Cheers Ron
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:06 AM   #2
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heat

ron in our 13f scamper I use a wave 3 really nice heater of course open top vent a tad and side vent a bit to get the fumes out and fresh air in!

mr buddy has a little more output I think and cheaper wish I had got that one. we boondock almost 100% so we need this sort of heat.

good luck

bob
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:07 AM   #3
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Heating

We use our properly vented , factory installed propane furnace in our trailer.
I use a Mr Buddy heater in my deer stand but the deer stand only has 3 ft walls , the rest is open to the outside.
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:13 AM   #4
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I have used a Coleman Black Cat for heat overnight, with a couple of windows opened a half-inch for ventilation, in my former KZ 14RB. The open windows are mandatory to maintain enough oxygen. But the heater still was effective at overriding the 'drafts'. And I was only running it at 1500 btu most of the time. The Buddy should be ok for your size trailer.

Prepare to hear from all the naysayers who will tell you that you're gonna kill yourself if you run the Buddy all night...
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:42 AM   #5
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Condensation is another potential issue in a small trailer, as lots of water vapor is released as a combustion by-product.

Read the owner's manual regarding ventilation and clearances- the latter can also be tricky in a really small trailer.

Personally, I am with Steve on this. I'm just not comfortable using an unvented heater in a trailer, especially a really small one. We also have the factory furnace, which draws oxygen and vents byproducts (mainly water vapor and carbon dioxide) outside the cabin. If I were cold-weather boondocking for long enough to deplete the battery, I'd use a solar panel and/or generator to recharge.

Full disclosure: my idea of "winter" camping includes chilly nights- mid-30's and 40's- in the Sonoran Desert, with warm days and nothing below freezing.


BTW, I've never heard of a CO2 (carbon dioxide) detector for RV use. The usual safety suite consists of a smoke detector, CO (carbon monoxide) detector, and LP gas detector. When an unvented heater is used in the absence of adequate ventilation, CO2 builds up and oxygen is used up. The CO2 is not the problem, the lack of oxygen is. Some heaters have a built-in O2 sensor that shuts the unit down when the oxygen gets too low. If not, the CO detector will alarm because CO is formed when combustion occurs in a low oxygen environment.
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:43 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by Mike Magee View Post
I have used a Coleman Black Cat for heat overnight, with a couple of windows opened a half-inch for ventilation, in my former KZ 14RB. The open windows are mandatory to maintain enough oxygen. But the heater still was effective at overriding the 'drafts'. And I was only running it at 1500 btu most of the time. The Buddy should be ok for your size trailer.

Prepare to hear from all the naysayers who will tell you that you're gonna kill yourself if you run the Buddy all night...
It must be a regional thing. I've had several friends who have suffered monoxide poisoning in their fish house running a unvented propane heater . The only differences I can see is that you don't go ice fishing in Oklahoma or you have propane that does not have monoxide, yup that has to be the reason !!.
I don't want to be accused of being a naysayer.
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:46 AM   #7
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Not only naysayers but to the point of well you know with their viewpoints. I have seen 500k rigs with a wave 6 in them!


I guess the individual boondocker will have to figure out his own individual needs and ideas on heating!


bob
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:50 AM   #8
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jon your statement of inadequate ventilation hit it right. everything unvented heater has the same admonishment you must use good ventilation. I have have one in our family room for 35 years or so never a problem. yes if you don't vent you will have condensation I get it every once in awhile on our family room windows.


as for the camper we camped in 18d wx in n. m. none but we did have ventilation going!


bob
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:55 AM   #9
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Dickinson make an LP Fireplace which is completely sealed from the inside and thus no depletion of Oxygen in the RV. It does require a double wall vent pipe to go up through the ceiling but once installed is safe, quiet and efficient. They do use 12 volt but only for a small air circulation fan. Many folks use Catalytic heaters inside their RV with good results. I personally won’t use. Make sure your safety devices are working well, have good batteries and proper ventilation as per the manufacturer’s specs. Try and have the ventilation windows near where you are sleeping.
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:59 AM   #10
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once again

on a trip last year with our A-Liner we used the same heater. the A-Liner had lots of cracks so not much ventilation needed but we still cracked the top vent.

the A-Liner had a lot of exposed metal to the outside of the camper the next morning we had lots of condensation due to this. this was in 20d wx by the way.

with the scamper we don't have the condensation problem at all so far!

bob
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:20 AM   #11
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Take a step up from the Mr. Buddy, which is prone to clogging. Bob Wells of CheapRVliving.com, used to recommend them, but no longer. Also, the Camco works up to 12,000 feet altitude. Others? Maybe 8-9,000 ft.

He now recommends the Olympian Wave 3 from Camco, and why:



Mr Buddy Clogging explained:
The Buddy heaters are a camping appliance designed to be used with the little green 1 lb bottles. The green bottles are a high pressure item designed to be screwed directly into the appliance. The problem arises when people use a conversion hose to connect them to a bulk bottle, like a 20 pound bottle used on barbeque grills. That reduces the cost of the propane by 75% but plugs up the orifices in the heater. That happens because bulk bottles use a regulator to reduce the pressure for low pressure items and hoses are designed to be used in a low pressure system. They have a plasticizer in them that keeps the hoses flexible. But when you take off the regulator and connect them directly to a high pressure camping appliance through an adapter hose, the high pressure pulls the plasticizer out of the hose and that is what plugs up the Buddy Heater.

To get around that, Mr. Heater designed a simple $10 fuel filter that everyone using a Mr. Buddy Portable Heater should have. It is supposed to eliminate the problem, but like Les says, it doesn’t always work. Mr. Heater also makes a special hose designed to be used with the portable Buddy Heaters that they claim allows you to not use the fuel filter. Personally, I recommend you use both, their fuel filter and special hose. As I’m writing this the hose is $35 but if it keeps your Buddy heater from plugging up, it’s well worth it! Here are links to where you can get them on Amazon.com. If you buy them from these links I make a few cents and it won’t cost you any more.
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:25 AM   #12
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Does he also explain that the catalytic pads on the Wave heaters can clog with dust and should be covered when not in use?
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:29 AM   #13
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Get a bigger companion?
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:32 AM   #14
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Olympian Wave Catalytic Heaters are very good quality. I have installed many and certified the gas installation for DIY installers. They work very well but you must cover the heating surface with the appropriate cover when not using. If I was going to have a Catalytic Heater, the Olympian Wave would definitely be the one.
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:51 AM   #15
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Try an extreme cold-rated sleeping bag and beanie hat for overnight.

We don't run our Coleman Black Cat propane heater while we're sleeping, but it will warm up a small trailer nicely in the morning and before bed.

Keepin' it simple~

Fran
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Old 02-19-2018, 11:02 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by francene View Post
Try an extreme cold-rated sleeping bag and beanie hat for overnight.

We don't run our Coleman Black Cat propane heater while we're sleeping, but it will warm up a small trailer nicely in the morning and before bed.

Keepin' it simple~

Fran
We do the same thing . We warm up our deer hunting shack with our Mr Buddy heater , shut the heater off and go to bed.
It is surprising how warm a 20 or 30 below rated sleeping bag can be even in below zero temps if you have a tent or trailer to break the wind
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Old 02-19-2018, 11:07 AM   #17
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Fran ,,thats a great idea,,new sleeping bags are in order,,got ours in the 60s and need replaceing??Mr Buddy heater used as a warm up??
Cheers & Thanks Ron
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Old 02-19-2018, 11:10 AM   #18
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HaHa ! the one we have is a BED HOG and weights about 100# and likes to push and shove??sticks her tail in my face ,,and shed hair at times ??
Cheers Ron
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Old 02-19-2018, 12:07 PM   #19
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Yes, he does explain that you want to keep dust off the catalytic pads of the Olympian Waves. They sell covers for that. I recommend the cover. As for sizes, they have models 3, 6, and 8, which is the BTUs in thousands.
The wave heater is radiant heat. Think sunny day vs cloudy day. It primarily heats objects it is aimed at, and not as much the air. It is a flameless chemical reaction.
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Old 02-19-2018, 12:10 PM   #20
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It appears you have a 24' fifth wheel. And since you are asking apparently you do not have a furnace installed.The Mr. Heater Big Buddy (Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-F274830) should do the job with temps above freezing. I use this as backup for the furnace in my Casita and at home. The Wave is a lot more expensive, but also a possibility, but catalytic type stoves are persnickety and the pads must be kept very clean. Also the catalytic stove will not give you a blast of heat, but rather more of a "I guess it works because it is freezing outside and I have not frozen to death while being inside" sort of heat. Both of these heaters must be vented, which means some of the heat will literally go out the window. Apparently some states and parts of Canada, not to mention Australia and New Zealand, don't allow ventless gas heaters. So vent, regardless of what people tell you. Play it safe.

However if you are full timing or spending a lot of time in your trailer in cold weather, take the trailer to an RV shop and have them install a propane furnace, properly vented to the outside.

I use my furnace for a bit now and then, and when I first get up, so as to not use too much propane. When I camp in below freezing weather for any length of time, I winterize the trailer and use a coat and have plenty of blankets and use my furnace. And when it gets really cold I go to an RV park and use electricity.
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