Here's a question for Gina and anyone who has a "catalytic" heater, like Coleman's ProCat or the Olympian Wave, or Northstar Flameless Catalytic Heater.
I bought a "Portable Buddy" type ceramic heater as a temporary heat source for our heater-less
Surfside trailer and to get a feel for how much heat I need in the trailer. Even on the 4000 BTU "low" setting (high is 9000 BTUs) the Portable Buddy puts out a pretty reasonable amount of heat that could easily heat the
Surfside, but it also creates a kerosene-lamp-like odor as it operates. I'm wondering if the catalytic heaters do this as well.
(On a side note, the 4000 BTU setting on the Portable Buddy does a pretty reasonable job of keeping the 19'
Scamp 5th wheel warmish. It could make the trailer pretty toasty if I set it on "high" and except for a very slight hissing sound it's absolutely quiet! It's major downsides are that it burns through
propane cylinders at the rate of 1 per 8 hours and the kerosene-like smell it puts out.)
--Peter