On Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:58:11 +0000, Jamie Fitterer
<fittdog8848@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:

>ANyone have any ideas besides running a space heater off of the secondary
batery for heating a van for winter camping.  I seem to remember that
someone years ago had a small RV furnace put in a WESTY and running it off
the propane tank.  Anyone that has done this or has ideas please help.
>
Jamie,
It all depends on what you wish to accomplish.  If you're just trying to
take the chill off in the morning while camping in Spring or in the Autumn,
or warm the cabin for an hour or two in the evening, a small catalytic
heater may do.  Just be aware that these heaters emit combustion products
into your van, including carbon monoxide under certain conditions.  I
personally would not consider one of these unless it also incorporates a
low-oxygen cut-off (many do not).

For more heat, and a heater that draws its combustion air and exhausts the
products of combustion from/to the outside, there is the Propex, available
in either 6500 BTU/hr or 9500 BTU/hr.

If it's serious winter camping you have in mind, a higher heat output would
be advisable; look at the Atwood Everest Star which also draws/exhausts
from/to the outside, which is available in 12,000, 16,000, and 18,000
BTU/hr.    http://www.atwoodmobile.com/Products/furnace/7900.cfm

These units are usually installed aft of the refrigerator in the lower
cabinet, and vent through the wall of the van.  Some accommodation must be
made for the length of these furnaces, since they are about 1-1/2 too long
to fit entirely within the cabinet (if you proceed with an Atwood, ask me
about this).

There other heaters too, such as Webasto and Eberspacher, which utilize the
onboard fuel source, either gasoline or diesel, but these are much more
expensive and not so common in a Vanagon.

Keep in mind that you will likely never be able to heat the van as though
it were your living room, at least not for any extended period.  There is
just not the battery capacity, even with an auxiliary battery, to run the
fan on these units for extended periods, and only so much propane can be
accommodated due to space constraints.

If you spend time at significant altitude, remember that the BTU ratings
above are input ratings, and must be de-rated 3-4% per thousand feet of
altitude for the output rating.  And one more thing, if you plan on being
out in very cold temperatures, the vaporization rate of the liquid propane
will slow, and if the rate of withdrawal of propane from the tank is high
relative to the capacity of the tank, it will slow even further, such that
the supply can become insufficient to operate your heater.  The tell-tale
sign of this is a frosty tank.

Finally, I never operate my heater (an Atwood 12,000BTU) without a
functioning carbon monoxide detector in place, even though it draws in
combustion air and exhausts combustion gasses to the outside.  I have too
much experience with how insidious carbon monoxide poisoning can be to do
otherwise.

Bill