Adding catalytic heater

[k corbin]

If you want to bring in fresh air but keep out the rain you can adapt one of the vents in this link to being a screened thru hull vent. Put it on the lower half so that the angle of the fiberglass shell makes it self draining to the outside should rain water try to blow inside. You can use some stiff wired to create a long hook handle for adjusting how far open or closed the louvers are. There are a lot of fittings in the marine business that can be adapted for use in travel trailers to create louvered fresh air intakes. As I had to need to have some controlled fresh air that kept the rain out without opening a window I did quite a lot of looking at local marine supply stores to see what possibilities there were for adapting marine fittings. My waterfront neighborhood in Seattle has a LOT of marine supply stores so it was easy to look at things in person. This was one of the fitting I thought has real potential for an adjustable fresh air intake that would keep the rain out.







Webasto 1320207A High temperature 60mm threaded White Grille



https://www.suremarineservice.com/He.../1320207A.html

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

............................

If we want to extend our camping season we will have to upgrade to a Bigfoot trailer .

I wanted to use our Escape this year during hunting season but with below zero temps predicted , I couldn’t afford the propane plus I have little faith in the furnace .

And that's why we have the Martin to backup the furnace, and the Buddy as a backup, backup.

Hate to break this to you, but our Bigfoot was on it's third furnace (two previous owners both replaced it), our Scamp furnace quit working once, but repaired, and our Jayco 5th wheel furnace also failed and was replaced. Don't know of a single camper that has a truly reliable furnace. We like to camp without hookups, so an electric furnace is not the answer either.

Enjoy,

Perry

[fishdeeper]

Originally Posted by k corbin

Get the heater. Mount the bracket you have in mind. Then measure the surface temperature of the bracket when the heater is running. That will tell you if it gets hot enough to spin the fan on one of the thermoelectric (stirling engine) fans.



Just realize that they do not move a lot of air, very low cubic feet per minute so while it does push some air around it is not even close to being able to move air the way an electric fan can. You can hold your hand in font of one of those fans and not feel all that much air movement.



I have one, it was a gift from a friend who had it on the gas fireplace at his coffee shop. He was closing his shop and I had asked for it planning to purchase it but he said he got it as a gift so he was just passing it on as a gift. I plan to try it out on my Nordic DT diesel fueled ceramic cooktop/heater just to see if it will spin. It should, others have reported it works.

I was wondering how much air they moved. Will need to test one somewhere. I was happy with the computer fan at .17amp draw, and it was quiet enough. Totally silent with zero power usage is the ideal if it is possible. Based on my test some air movement helped reduce the Humidity caused by the propane catalytic process.

[fishdeeper]

Originally Posted by k corbin

If you want to bring in fresh air but keep out the rain you can adapt one of the vents in this link to being a screened thru hull vent. Put it on the lower half so that the angle of the fiberglass shell makes it self draining to the outside should rain water try to blow inside. You can use some stiff wired to create a long hook handle for adjusting how far open or closed the louvers are. There are a lot of fittings in the marine business that can be adapted for use in travel trailers to create louvered fresh air intakes. As I had to need to have some controlled fresh air that kept the rain out without opening a window I did quite a lot of looking at local marine supply stores to see what possibilities there were for adapting marine fittings. My waterfront neighborhood in Seattle has a LOT of marine supply stores so it was easy to look at things in person. This was one of the fitting I thought has real potential for an adjustable fresh air intake that would keep the rain out.

Good suggestion! May also need a screen to keep critters out. Will have a look at my local marine supply.

[John Nazarnko]

I just added in a catalytic heater inside my Boler and it works ok to heat but it creates a lot of condensation in all the windows and surfaces. For this reason I am going to remove it and replace it with a regular propane vented fan forced RV furnace. I should have done it right in the first place. I do have solar panels on the roof as well so power is no problem. Just my thoughts. Do it right in the first place.

[fishdeeper]

Originally Posted by John Nazarnko

I just added in a catalytic heater inside my Boler and it works ok to heat but it creates a lot of condensation in all the windows and surfaces. For this reason I am going to remove it and replace it with a regular propane vented fan forced RV furnace. I should have done it right in the first place. I do have solar panels on the roof as well so power is no problem. Just my thoughts. Do it right in the first place.

Did you try using a quiet computer case fan for some low volume air movement? As soon as I turned one on the relative humidity inside started dropping based on measurement, while the outside humidity increased.
As I already have the oem rv propane furnace, I wasnt going to remove it, but it is quite loud.

[John Nazarnko]

I have a nice Max Fan ceiling fan. I will try using it on recirculate when I next try the catalytic heater. Thanks for the idea.

[cpaharley2008]

A good source of fresh air already installed in your camper is your vent hood. Just open your outside flap and you should be fine, without bugs or fan or drilling another hole indoor camper. A clothespin will keep it open on most vents....

[EllPea in CA]

I won’t be camping in the cold this winter, but am delighted to read these various thoughts on heaters in enclosed spaces. Last year our power went out for about 5 days after a snowpocalypse uncharacteristic for our location; we live in town and this almost never happens. No wood stove in this house, but we hovered near the gas fireplace during the day and under down at night.

I haven’t yet purchased any portable heat for the 1989 Lil Bigfoot (amazingly, the furnace still works but the switch to light it is a pain), but if we had such an animal it might have helped us in the house — if I were comfortable about how much ventilation we needed to be safe. I've been meaning to come here and ask advice about this. I hope this question would not be hijacking the thread?

We have the most beautiful vintage kerosene heater with a glass enclosure for the flame. Hubby occasionally used it in the garage, and we loved lighting it on the patio at night — light plus warmth. Using the family room as an example, about 14 x 22 with a patio door and an attached bath with a window I wonder how much ventilation I would need to safely use that heater in that room during another power outage?

Of course it does not have a thermostat, but you can adjust the flame high or low using a little knob (like a kerosene lantern). I realize that the main answer would be to rely on the carbon monoxide monitor, which i can do, but would like to hear some thoughts on using this if anyone cares to comment. I’d also like to know if this would be safe in my LB...? With windows cracked? The heater is one of these: https://images.app.goo.gl/eeKUE1dmVsYe3JNq5

Thank you in advance for any advice!

[EllPea in CA]

Well, I guess I DID hijack the thread

[lilcamperpainter]

We now carry a Direct Vent Fireplace www.finishedbiz.ca/marketplace
Dickinson Marine Propane Fireplace. Safe. 25% off until Jan 30.
The Little Camper Painter

[fishdeeper]

Ive looked at those, nice units, but they still need 12 volts for the fan, and the original goal was to eliminate that.

[lilcamperpainter]

I see! That's serious outback camping. No battery? Get a solar panel?

[fishdeeper]

Originally Posted by lilcamperpainter

I see! That's serious outback camping. No battery? Get a solar panel?

Got a good battery, just trying to use less of it. And the furnace fan cycling all night is disruptive.

[Tightline]

Thought I'd weigh in...

I had a Wave 6 in a 25 foot bunkhouse and it put off too much heat IMO. For something well insulated like your Bigfoot 17...you might consider a Wave 3.

Great heaters though. I'd buy another in a minute.

Scott

[k0wtz]

We don't run our furnace in our 13f Scamp for the same reasons stated. We use a quick disconnect with a 5ft Campco gas hose so we can put it anywhere we like.

I have never ran it on the high setting been to 18d I think. The camper is not overly warm but don't like it hot anyway.

We have left with a full 20lb tank we also heat our bath water we get back we sill have propane left.. We have been gone as much as a month!

I have read of the 500k bus boys using a Wave 6 for heat! Those things work...

bob

[charlsara]

We use the buddy. When it is warm enough we switch it to pilot. Usually that is enough to go through the night.

[k0wtz]

for a couple of things one big one is our furnace is by our bed. I don't like the thought of that!

then our battery wont handle the fan running frankly I don't know if the furnace works. We have never hooked electricity up to our camper as we boondock!

I went to the Wave 3 after reading the reviews. I had seen the buddy also.

I guess it gets down to personal preferences for heat and how we camp!

bob

Originally Posted by charlsara

We use the buddy. When it is warm enough we switch it to pilot. Usually that is enough to go through the night.

[Barb and Alan]

The previous owner installed a catalytic heater in our Bigfoot 25. There is no fan, but the heater is completely adequate to heat the trailer. We only use it because our large dog crate blocks heater vents and it just makes it easier. We crack a window and leave a roof vent open slightly. That seems to deal with the majority of the condensation.

I suggest installing the heater without a fan and see if it gives you satisfactory results before worrying about trying to circulate the heat.

[Perryb67]

When we think we'll be running low on electricity, we run our Martin catalytic heater. Just crack on window and the top vent. On low it's around 1,500 btu's, enough to keep us nice and toasty. We've used it about 12-15 nights on this winter trip, with most nights below 35 degrees. We have refillable 1# containers and figure it costs somewhere between 50 to 75 cents a night. When our camper gets plenty of solar or above 45 degrees we use the furnace. The Martin is definitely too hot at 1,500 btu's when the low is above 50.

Enjoy,

Perry