Is there a fairly quiet propane heater?

[AlanKilian]

We have a beautiful Suburban gravity furnace in our 1977 Scamp 13' and we love it.

However, we're starting to (heresy alert!) plan out a van build and we'd like a bigger furnace, but not one that's super loud.

I've read that the Suburban furnace used in modern Scamps have a pretty loud fan that goes on and off with demand so I'd like to learn more about your experiences with small propane furnaces and noise.

Are there any not-so-loud propane comfort air furnaces available?

I know I can go with a gasoline-powered one and they are plentiful, but since we're going to do propane for cooking and hot water, we thought propane for air heating would be the way to go also.

Our minds can be changed based on your experiences.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by AlanKilian

Are there any not-so-loud propane comfort air furnaces available?

Wave 3 catalytic heater.

As long as you crack two windows you’ll be fine and even with cracked windows it more efficient than any forced air heater.

Food for thought,

Perry

[daveandalice]

For a quiet heater many people have installed Propex systems and there's now a new heater/water heater combo from Truma that's supposed to be really quiet.

We don't sleep with our Suburban heater on because it will wake you up as it cycles, we just warm it up in the morning.

https://truma.net/heating-systems/truma-combi-eco

https://truma.net/heating-systems

https://www.propexheatsource.com/

[parmm]

Originally Posted by daveandalice

For a quiet heater many people have installed Propex systems and there's now a new heater/water heater combo from Truma that's supposed to be really quiet.

We don't sleep with our Suburban heater on because it will wake you up as it cycles, we just warm it up in the morning.

https://truma.net/heating-systems/truma-combi-eco

https://truma.net/heating-systems

https://www.propexheatsource.com/

Dave nailed it! the propex is quiet!!!

[AlanKilian]

Originally Posted by Perryb67

Wave 3 catalytic heater.

Thanks Perry, I do think that we want to keep the moisture and combustion byproducts out of the van though. Although the silent operation looks fantastic!

[AlanKilian]

Originally Posted by daveandalice

there's now a new heater/water heater combo from Truma that's supposed to be really quiet.

Oooohhhhh....

I like the idea of a combination unit.

I'll definitely look into that.

-Alan

[Raspy]

I have a Truma Combi unit for heat and hot water. The heat can be ducted (mine is) and it is so quiet I can hardly tell if it is running. With a multi-point delivery system (ducting) the heat is much more even too.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by AlanKilian

Thanks Perry, I do think that we want to keep the moisture and combustion byproducts out of the van though. Although the silent operation looks fantastic!

If you don’t crack the windows you’ll have those problems, if you do you won’t. It simple physics. Catalytic heater are essentially 99% efficient. I speak for experience using a Martin Catalytic heater for three years.

We also had moisture problems when boiling water in the morning for coffee until we learned to keep the MaxxFan cracked open. Again, simple physics.

We installed a second CO detector in our 5.0 and never got a readout with the Martin Catalytic heater, but did when Terry was cooking, with gas especially if we forgot to open the MaxxFan and crack another window. Twice the CO alarm went off while she was cooking. I don’t kid myself.

I’m fine with one not wanting to use a catalytic heater, but will correct the wives tails that unfortunately some believe. A catalytic heater is different from a Buddy pad heater or the infamous sunflower heater. We used a Buddy for quickly heating up our 5.0, but personally would never run a Buddy overnight or even for an hour. Neither a Buddy or sunflower is near 90%, but that’s where the beliefs originate.

There are 100’s if not 1,000’s of campers using Wave heaters correctly. We ran into a couple in a Bigfoot 25RQ last winter at Dead Horse State Park, who’d been using their Wave with similar results.

Because of tight homes it’s been mentioned that a gas range is dangerous and there is evidence of children have a higher chance of autism. When we built our condo we decided on an induction oven instead. We do have the ability to install a air-to-air heat exchanger that would remove the ranges CO and unburnt gas, but got the induction range top instead.

If you don’t mind the inefficiencies of a Propex and it’s noise (there is a fan, but it’s considerably quieter than the current Dometic furnace), or the complexities of the Truma, they are good choices too. I prefer KISS.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Air Doug]

We have a Propex heater. It is not silent, but it is quieter than a normal RV furnace. We have also used a number of electric space heaters when on shore power. Some are noisier than the Propex, some are quieter. I don't find that it wakes me up when it cycles on and off.
Regarding the simple physics of combustion heaters, if the combustion occurs inside the RV, the combustion products are vented into the RV, unless the combustion chamber is isolated from the interior and has its own air supply and exhaust. The combustion products are water and carbon dioxide and any unburned propane and soot. I prefer to keep the water out of our camper - the two of us and the dog make enough of it.

[Joe Romas]

A long while back there was a thread on the Casita forum site on how to quiet down the older Surbaban furnaces and it had a lot of information on how and it did work. Most of the noise was from the fans and Surbaban had introduced plastic fans and a slower motor on the newer modle. The newer fan blades fit the older motors and the there are controles for motors that slow down the starting and running speeds. I did them on our 1999 17' SD and it was much quieter. Members on that forum are mechanically inclined and work together to find a solutions. One of them is the "smart Start" (not the one with just a different capacitor) for the AC that allow a Honda EU2000 to run on Echo mode and still start the AC saving gas and making the generator quieter.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by Air Doug

Regarding the simple physics of combustion heaters, if the combustion occurs inside the RV, the combustion products are vented into the RV, unless the combustion chamber is isolated from the interior and has its own air supply and exhaust. The combustion products are water and carbon dioxide and any unburned propane and soot. I prefer to keep the water out of our camper - the two of us and the dog make enough of it.

You're correct, IF you don't vent slightly. I hate to be obvious, but only a fool would do that, but people still don't seem to understand the physics involved with a very slight venting.

In all the use of our catalytic heater it only needs two windows cracked about 1/4", and we've NEVER had moisture problems with water vapor OR soot. Period.

Now if you're talking about a Mr Buddy heater, they are NOT catalytic, and the soot problem could occur. You want much, much more venting with a Mr Buddy. We have one Mr Buddy and one Martin catalytic heater. Huge difference between the two and two completely different uses.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Jane P.]

Have you looked into a mini split AC/heat pump system? May be perfect for your van needs.

http://https://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/threads/transit-van-conversion-with-mini-split-ac-heat-pump-and-unique-layout.88996/

[AlanKilian]

Originally Posted by Jane P.

Have you looked into a mini split AC/heat pump system?

That's probably perfect for some, but I have no desire for an air conditioning unit and the build you link to has US$3200 for the batteries, $800 for the AC unit $1,400 for the controller.

Not including the solar panels it's like $6000 which is way way more than a $1,200 furnace and probably $200 in plumbing for the LPG.

So, it's not the right thing to heat my van.

Thanks for the link, it was a super interesting read.