Hi folks --

This is just a feeler to throw out on a friendly Friday. I'm not sure
if I want to sell yet, but, I have 5200 btu Platinum Catalytic heater
made by Thermal Systems (the Plat Cat).  It's very efficient (propane
and current draw wise), has a remote-mounted thermostat, and vents
externally.

More info about the heater:
<http://www.geocities.com/harald_nancy/plat_cat_heater.htm>
<http://www.omnicast.net/~arnie/>

One really nice thing about these heaters over the propex units is
that they pull damp (and smelly if you've been camping for a while)
air out of the van, leaving you with a sweeter, dryer space. One
disadvantage is they have a potentially hot surface, versus the
enclosed furnace design of the propex. I purchased this before we had
toddlers and have now realized it isn't small-child friendly in the
restricted space of a westy.

I have a custom box for it similar to the one on Harald and Nancy's
page, built by a marine carpenter friend. Some people mount them in
the side of the closet. The unit was mounted in the van for one winter
and probably used a total of 40 hours. I have about ~$550 into the
project (did I really spend that much? Ouch!). I don't expect to get
that much, but I'm not planning on a fire sale either (no pun
intended).

Give me a yell if you might have an interest in such a unit and then I
can decide if I'm going to sell, or hang tight until the kids are
older.

Thanks.

Tim
--
Tim King
Seattle WA
87 Syncro Westy/Suby 2.5