The plat cat offers a number of features a real furnace does not offer.
It is easier to set things on fire, deplete O2, and cause other grief.
The major advantage is that it does not need battery power. It is also
miserly on the propane consumption.

To get an idea of how effective 5200 BYU is, try an electric heater. A
1500 watt heater is ~ that.

The suburban furnace will quickly heat the air and interior. It needs
battery power for the fan and controls and it will consume propane. A
gallon of propane s ~96,000 BTU. The Westy tank is 2.5 gallons.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Jeffrey Olson
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 12:02 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Propane heaters

I've been looking into heaters/furnaces for my Vanagon.  Is there any
reason to spend $450 for a Plat-Cat heater that shows up on Thesamba.com
periodically

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=251970

rather than for a Suburban furnace with twice the btus for half the
price that shows up on ebay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BRAND-NEW-SUBURBAN-LP-GAS-RV-FURNACE_W0QQ
itemZ4618095170QQcategoryZ50073QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If the reason is space, that's not an issue for me as I can build the
cabinet to fit the furnace.

Curious minds want to know???

Jeff
Martin, SD