This has come up before, so you will hear from others. My experience was that they are
better than nothing. I have the Coleman Black Cat. I rigged up a holder for it using
the front table arm and a length of very large PVC pipe slung underneath. The propane
tank fit perfectly inside the pipe and I had it so it was angled up at a slight angle.
I could position the arm so the heater was between the front seats facing rear or
extend it toward the back seat. It heats air space poorly, since it is radiant
heating. Works best when you are right in front of it. Crack a window to let some air
in. Depending on the relative humidity of where you are camped, it will put a LOT of
condensation in the air and on the inside of the windows.
I used it right at the coast in San Diego and in the deserts of California and
Arizona.
And now that my propane furnace (not Propex) no longer wants to work, I may have to go
back to the Black Cat :(.
Oh yes, mine has the piezo igniter, which never worked very well, so I used a Aim N'
Flame BBQ type lighter. Just be sure to hold it UNDER the burner, because the initial
puff of flame will singe your arm. Don' ask me how I know.

Jerry

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Diehr" <md03@XOCHI.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 7:06 PM
Subject: Coleman SportCat - Poor man's Propex?

> Santa left me a Coleman sportcat heater, the basic 1500btu
> model. :-)  Anyone use these while vanagon camping and care to share
> tips?   How long does it take to heat up a cold van in the morning?
> What sort of temperature differential can they handle before you
> drown in humidity or die of CO poisoning?   Would it be possible to
> mount one of these near the stove or fridge, and tie it into the
> van's LP system?  Might make a really cheap alternative to a built-in
> heater?
>