"A dedicated heater like the propex or others wouldn't get much use in
our van...."

And such machines burns through a lot of propane quickly. Propane is
problematic to me, because it is expensive, and it requires
substantially-strong packaging, which adds to the price. Kerosene, OTOH,
is less expensive, BTU-wise, and is packaged much less expensively. My
Dietz lantern and Aladdin kerosene heater provide light and heat much
more efficiently. In comparison to a Mr. Heater Buddy or similar
propane-bottle heater, my kerosene heater positively sips fuel. Looking
at the specs for the Propex, I get the impression that if I were to use
one to heat near-freezing mornings for more than a few days in a row,
the van's tank would empty quickly.

--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
Bend, Ore.

On 11/04/2013 05:26 PM, Don Hanson wrote:
>    Woolens and down....
>
>    For wet climates, nothing is better than wool...For cold, nothing
> beats down.   Getting up inside my van I turn the stove and  my coffee
> pot on for long enough to perk the coffee...That warms up my tin top to
> make it comfortable to get up out of my expedition weight down bag....
> I pull on a light down sweater and put on my down booties, if I am
> planning on staying in...I have Ugg boots for outside...A ski hat,
> too....comfy to drink my coffee and get going...I really see no reason
> to drive somewhere and just stay inside my van, ....camping...
>    It's great transport for us and our toys and dogs..it's a nice motel
> room with a view, it's a great dressing room and kitchen, and nice
> shelter in a rainstorm.......but hanging out inside, it leaves a bit to
> be desired....
>
>    I saw a 'heater' made from nesting clay pots with a couple of votive
> candles inside....that would do in my  tin top, if I were to be confined
> there during bad weather for some reason....A dedicated heater like the
> propex or others wouldn't get much use in our van....
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 5:06 PM, Rocket J Squirrel
> <camping.elliott@gmail.com <mailto:camping.elliott@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Ol Al writes to say, "Lighting one candle with nominal airflow will keep
>     the inside warmish until you can caffeine or mate' up"
>
>     I used to use one of the smaller Dietz kerosene lanterns lit inside the
>     Westy for (a) light and (b) quite perceptible heat in your colder
>     evenings. They are quite nice and the added warmth is welcome. The soot
>     blackening the overhead, not so much. I have since added LED lighting
>     strips and have relegated the lantern to the outside. The new inside
>     lights provide much nicer lighting but, since they are so darn
>     efficient, kick off no heat. Lose one, win one.
>
>     "Several of our esteemed adventurers keep the lid up but with a heat
>     isolating membrane over the upstairs to keep a modicum of the expensive
>     hot air (we see a lot of that around these days) in the cabin."
>
>     I sleep on the downstairs bed with my head toward the front of the van.
>     On your more frigid nights -- like in the teens -- I definitely feel a
>     downdraft from the upper deck onto my head. I wonder about having some
>     kind of fabric snap-in seal that would close off of the upper deck and
>     prevent that downdraft.
>
>     And in the morning, arising when it is in the low-30s (F) or lower in
>     the van, I fire up the Mr. Heater Buddy (for about 30 minutes, that
>     thing chews through 16.4oz bottles of propane at a fearsome rate, and a
>     Propex heater would empty the van's stock tank quickly, too) before
>     bringing in the preheated kerosene heater and think to myself, I think:
>     sure a lot of hot air up in the top of this thing, sure wish I had a
>     gentle ceiling fan to bring that hot air down to me where I am sitting,
>     wrapped in woolens and down.
>
>     --
>     Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
>     1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
>     Bend, Ore.
>
>     On 11/04/2013 01:47 PM, Al Knoll wrote:
>
>         Following the thread along.  Seems there are several popular heater
>         types, ranging from the unglazed ceramic inverted on the westy
>         stove,
>         to full blown furnaces (propex is a furnace).  Coleman (RIP) had
>         propane catalytics for years and mine still work pretty well.   Then
>         other radiant heaters like buddys, black cats, and so on
>         rounding out
>         the bunch, with the exception of Rocket's kero blaster they all
>         run on
>         either petrol or LPG.  Now since amount of energy going from fuel to
>         water and CO2 is gained by breaking CH bonds is proportional to the
>         number of bonds broken in the process, the most efficient is the
>         Kero
>         using long chain hydrocarbons as the energy source.  The least
>         efficient is the Propane.  So for more BTU per buck stick with the
>         most efficient.
>
>         Lighting one candle with nominal airflow will keep the inside
>         warmish
>         until you can caffeine or mate' up.  Several of our esteemed
>         adventurers keep the lid up but with a heat isolating membrane over
>         the upstairs to keep a modicum of the expensive hot air (we see
>         a lot
>         of that around these days) in the cabin.  Bob has one I think.  A
>         sleepytime hat will do wonders for those of little thatch.  And
>         I use
>         a makeshift shawl around my shoulders made of dead synchilla skins,
>         adjusted to cover those nasty drafts.
>
>         Oh ya, I do have a wondrous old propex which whines away under the
>         seat on occasion.
>
>         Some years a go a fellow in colorado made and marketed a certified
>         radiant heater with an exhaust system to vac the nasties outside.
>         Disremember the fellow and the name of the heater.
>
>         The organic squirrel coats can be a problem as the squirrels tend to
>         come out of hibernation and scurry around inside the coat.
>
>         Pensionerd.,
>
>