I'll try to answer all the posts in one fell swoop...

I don't see why it would not be safe driving down the road.  It is
your standard American Rolling Roadblock furnace.

The main burner will not light unless the fan is running (time delay
relay).  The fan is ducted in such a manner that a portion of the air
blows out through the burner exhaust.  This maintains a positive
draft.  Looks and acts just about fool-proof.  Atwood, the current
owner of the Hydro-flame patents, is sending me the installation
manual. (Service instructions are on-line at
<http://www.atwoodmobile.com/Service/Trouble/dsi.htm>) When it gets
here, I'll scan it and put
it up.

Might be a bit of a task to put it into a beetle though.

As far as battery and propane life is concerned; the fan draws 2 amps.
 The propane, only time will tell, though I suppose someone with more
inclination than I could calc out the average number of btus in a
gallon of propane and estimate it.  I suspect that Mike's estimate of
3-4 days is about right.  The unit does not run continuously.  I hung
out in the bus this afternoon for about an hour after I finished the
install. The thermostat was set at seventy, the ambient was about
forty-seven.  The unit cycled about five times in the hour and ran for
about five minutes each time.

However... We will fill the tank and run it empty before the next
winter campout.

BTW, Hydro-flame is not out of business...  They were 'acquired' by
Atwood Mobile Products about two or three years ago. Kinda like
Chrysler... It
still says Chrysler on the packaging, but it's owned by Diamler. (How
do you pronounce Daimler-Chrysler?  Daimler.  The Chrysler is silent.) ;o)

Stand by.

Jim
[...]

Jonathan Smith wrote:
>
> So, is this thing safe to use while driving down the highway?  Is that
> what it was designed for, or was it meant for a stationary vehicle set up
> for camping?  My 74' (Moody Blue) could use something like this.  As a
> matter of fact, it'd work well for my Beetle too ;-).

Bill Davidson wrote:
>
> Wonder how long your propane will last with this torch?... like 30 minutes
> :)
>
> and  the battery?
>

>