Propane and propane accessories, I tell you hwhat.

[225]

I'm trying to get everything together for heat / hot water for the van.

HEATER:

I thought about one of those high dollar Espar heaters, but it look like they have issues with the burner getting clogged up, AND they cost $800.

Then I thought about a Mr. Buddy heater, but they're not really the best to sleep all night with because you'll die without proper ventilation. Link: https://amzn.to/2Nl8tec .

To meet somewhere in the middle, I'm going with a real RV heater. The Suburban NT-16SEQ. Link: https://amzn.to/2JvAD42 . They draw 2.7 amps/hours. And they're 16,000 BTU.

HOT WATER:

For hot water / shower, I picked up a Camplux 5L 1.32 GPM Outdoor Shower thingy on Amazon Prime days for $100. Link: https://amzn.to/2zN2jBz .

They make the adapters for a standard propane bottle to the 1lb bottle, that I will be using for the outdoor shower: https://amzn.to/2Ju8V7L .

I was planning on using the 1lb bottles for my skottle, and water heater. And a 5lb bottle for the furnace. Considering how small a van is and how fast it takes to heat up such a small space, I'm even considering using the 1lb bottles for the furnace. But not sure how long it would last? If I could get a couple nights out of a 1lb bottle on the furnace, I would be ok with that. I refill my own bottles and I have about a dozen of them. On the other hand, it seems better just to have the 5lb bottle on a bracket on the back of the van for the furnace.

I do lots of winter camping, because I like to ski.

 

[danfromsyr]

besides 1#s are quite inefficient use/space and cost
you won't get a couple of nights out of a 1#
you'll be lucky to get 1 night out of a 1#
of course many things factor into consumption rates.

only you will know that your needs and expectations are met.

a 5# may be too small if you want warmth at elevation or cold windy rain for a weekend.
you can buy 11# bottles too.

 

[Corneilius]

I looked into Wave heaters as a step between a Buddy and a furnace, couldn't find enough reviews and real world testing to justify it. I love our Buddy, front windows crack a couple inches, then we open and close the rest to control the temperature. In the spring/summer I remove it and our 11lb bottle for a little extra space. I carry a couple #1s to cook with.

 

[jkam]

I have a Wave 3 in my RV. It also came with the standard furnace. I don't use the furnace if at all possible.
It's power hungry, uses a lot of propane and the worst, is noisy.
Te Wave is silent, uses little propane and since it has no fan, uses no power.
If it's really cold, I will run the furnace for 15 or so minutes, that gets the chill out of the RV.
Then, fire up the Wave and let it do it's thing over time. Mine is on a 10 ft' hose so it can be moved where it will benefit most.
The Wave will keep the inside comfortable on most days, if not, more clothes.

 

[225]

I've never heard of the Wave 3 before. I'll have to look into that. Thanks. And I'm looking into the 11# bottles too.

 

[dwh]

Propane has a little over 91,000 BTU per gallon. A 1lb. tank has a little over 1/4 gallon.

91,000 * .25 = 22,750 BTU ÷ 16,000 BTU/hr. furnace consumption = 1.4 hours runtime.

Wild guessing the furnace running at a 25% duty cycle (burning for a total of 15 minutes out of every hour), a 1lb. tank might last 6 hours.

 

[dwh]

My camper van has a Suburban NT-12K (12,000 BTU) RV furnace. I never use it, except to verify it works when I do my annual inspection.

It's horrible. Fires up the fan (loud) to clear any fumes, then 60 seconds later turns on the burner, then the ignitor starts clicking...then the freakin' thing becomes a USAF afterburner blast furnace.

In five minutes the van is like an oven and the thermostat trips.

Then the furnace shuts down the burner and runs the loudass fan another three minutes to cool off the furnace and then shuts down.

Depending how cold it is (my camper has lots of windows), the van cools off enough to trip the thermostat and start the whole bloody ruckus again 10 minutes later.

Meh. Screw that.

Normally I just use a heat diffuser on the (propane) stove. Like this:

9k BTU burner on high does a nice job of taking the edge off before bed and in the morning. Hell, I'd be running the stove to make coffee or tea or hot chocolate anyway.

Yes, leave a window cracked. I always do anyway. Humans consume oxygen and produce carbon as much as a propane burner.

No, don't leave it on when sleeping unless you want an honorable mention at the Darwin Awards.

 

[Mwilliamshs]

Other than the high cost and low space efficiency of 1 lb bottles, a major downside is their low vapor pressure. In cold weather, a 1lb bottle works poorly for high btu appliances. The furnace you linked is a good match for a van-sized space if it's not well insulated. There's a "van heating thread" here you'd probably learn something from. The Suburban furnaces are louder and less efficient than the Atwood Everest Star line. A major upside to a forced-air furnace is its thermostat. It only runs as needed, unlike the Wave heaters which are on or off, but must be cycled manually. Good luck with your build. Keep sharing.

 

[brianjwilson]

All I know is I love my espar d2 so far. Maybe it will require more maintenance but it is 10000000x better than any propane furnace I’ve had. Variable speed, multiple heating “settings” it will cycle through to maintain temps.

Unlike the big propane furnaces that are loud and have crazy aggressive heat cycles and cool downs, make a ton of noise. The espar just comes on gradually and smooth, isles down to low as needed and will produce a nice consistent even heat. No extra propane tanks and fuel to fill etc.

We will see how it works over time but so far I wouldn’t trade it for anything else I’ve used. Especially radiant propane heaters.