RV tech says Wagonmaster the best!

[Peggy]

Now that we have everything out of the kitchen cupboard,ie. sink, fridge, we are having a good look at that ? original Wagonmaster propane heater. Big and rusty. We were wondering about the smaller ones we see in "Mod" photos. But our RV guy says something about gravity feed, and needing no electricity, I think, and said it is the best. We'd want to stay with propane heat. If we were going to remove it, now it the time... Looking forward to your opinion

[Frederick L. Simson]

But our RV guy says something about gravity feed, and [b]needing no electricity, I think, and said it is the best. We'd want to stay with propane heat.

Many people tell of "forced air" type furnace troubles... noise, and 12 volt battery drain all due to the [b]blower motor. Convection heaters are relatively silent, and do not draw your battery down. I think this is what your RV tech is referring to.

[Chester Taje]

Now that we have everything out of the kitchen cupboard,ie. sink, fridge, we are having a good look at that ? original Wagonmaster propane heater. Big and rusty. We were wondering about the smaller ones we see in "Mod" photos. But our RV guy says something about gravity feed, and needing no electricity, I think, and said it is the best. We'd want to stay with propane heat. If we were going to remove it, now it the time... Looking forward to your opinion

I also beleive gravity furnace is the best in these small units.I had one in my previous Boler but not in my Trill.Fan is noisy and uses power.If i had a option i would go back to Gravity furnace.

[Peggy]

Thanks, Fred and Chester. Have you come across any gravity furnaces, newer than this 30+ year old Wagonmster? Thanks

[Chester Taje]

Thanks, Fred and Chester. Have you come across any gravity furnaces, newer than this 30+ year old Wagonmster? Thanks

Nope

[Frederick L. Simson]

Have you come across any [b]gravity furnaces, newer than this 30+ year old Wagonmster? Thanks

First, a clarification. I had to look it up:

Gravity furnaces

These will usually be found in older homes. They include floor and wall furnaces and some ducted furnaces that are generally in a basement. [b]The term gravity referrers to the fact that the furnace has no blower to move the heated air around the room. They rely on the fact that heated (less dense) air rises and the cooler (more dense) air falls to circulate the heat.

I had not seen this term before, could be a Canadian speech pattern, Eh?

I think an Olympian Wave Catalytic Heater qualifies as a "gravity furnace".

[Per Walthinsen]

For once I knew exactly what the term meant, 'cause I spent a year teaching in a small Eastern Oregon town long ago. The house we bought had a "gravity furnace." How quaint: no fan, just a humongous grate over the furnace in the basement. Huge propane tank outside, and as I found out, the ignition was piezo electric.
Net effect: the power could be off indefinitely, but as long as there was gas left we'd have heat, with no power needed for ignition or fan. Slick and practical in a very cold climate.

[Peggy]

Wow, thanks for the advice. So, perhaps we'll stick with our old Wagonmaster, as it does seem to work. I just find myself questioning an appliance that uses gas, is rusty and 33 yrs old.
Hey, come to think of it, I'm rusty, older than 33, and re the gas...No, never mind!

[Chester Taje]

Wow, thanks for the advice. So, perhaps we'll stick with our old Wagonmaster, as it does seem to work. I just find myself questioning an appliance that uses gas, is rusty and 33 yrs old.
Hey, come to think of it, I'm rusty, older than 33, and re the gas...No, never mind!

If you dont want it i will come and take it off your hands.

[Brian B-P]

I had not heard the term [b]gravity furnace until I was shopping for my first house and found one, in a house from somewhere between World Wars I and II. It may be that they were not common; the alternative of a boiler and circulating hot water (again, by natural convection or "gravity") may have been more common before the advent of modern forced-air furnaces.

Gravity furnaces haven't been made for home use for decades, because they are so inefficient and bulky; however, perhaps the lack of the need for a fan is more valuable in a trailer than a house.

Most of those catalytic and other portable heaters which don't rely entirely on radiant heat transfer are natural-convection designs, too - they just don't have a heat exchanger and exhaust right into the interior of the trailer. Efficient, as long as you're okay with living in the exhaust...

I just find myself questioning an appliance that uses gas, is rusty and 33 yrs old.

I think that's a reasonable thing to question. I would consider having a home heating technician check out the furnace for heat exchanger leaks; other than the obvious risk from gas leaks, that's the risky part (combustion gases getting into the trailer interior), and it's the sort of thing they check for all the time. A gas company tech checked my home furnace once as a routine part of fixing my uncooperative pilot light (they always do safety checks regardless of the reason for the house call) and found cracks in the heat exchanger that were not even leaking gas yet. Because he checked I had to get a new furnace, but it was the right thing to do...