What's
NOT inside
and ...
why it 'taint

Battery Charging

Alternative Fixtures

1 | 2 | 3

---------- >

Catalytic Space Heaters

The top photo is of my install of a Olympian brand Wave 3 UNVENTED catalytic heater. It is not a furnace. It heats objects, not the air. Standing directly in front of it will heat your bad self as hotly as you remember from the old stand in front of fire and burn butt days.

The heat radiates through the room, heats up the objects, and eventually the objects in the room will heat the air. A fan would do nothing for this process. No fan, no power consumption. In my small 10x6 1/2 foot coach, this whole process takes over 10 minutes before heated air is noticeable.

I, however, am warmed almost instantly if I am within line of sight of the thing. After that, the whole trailer is warm.

"Cat" heaters do not give off fumes from spent fuel. Thus, no venting of the exhaust to the outside is needed, and no exhaust fan is needed. No power consumption. And it makes them suitable for use in a properly ventilated enclosed space.

They DO, however, burn fuel and consume oxygen when doing so. The controversy on these is warranted. Many many times a year, campers and van livers find themselves waking up dead. They don't die from fumes, they suffocate because they didn't follow the rules and allow adequate ventilation and flow of fresh air into their rigs.

Proper ventilation can be accomplished by simply cracking the window closest to the heater an inch or so. I have also utilized the guts from my old heaters fan venting system to have a permanent source of fresh air into the trailer. The fan is gone, it's just a controlled opening. This vent can not be closed. It is 1 1/2" in diameter, and is very close to the heater. In the unlikely event I may get drunk and distracted and pass out without opening a window, this may just save my pathetic life.

When I am sober, I always remember to leave the window above the heater, AND the window above my head open. Even in sub freezing temps. The open windows do very little to effect the already overpowering heat from this 3000 BTU heater, and open windows do worlds of good to reduce the condensation commonly spewed from any propane heater. Not to mention the bad breath condensation spewed from me and my two dogs.

The Wave 3 replaced a 6000 BTU vented heater, with fan, that was just way too much for my small space. It was also very old, and the Catalytic pad was no longer effective. The fuel was not burning efficiently, and it WAS giving off fumes. The pads need to be replaced eventually, though, not very often. They will last decades depending on how much they are used.

As a back up, or a supplement to the permanent heater, I have a portable Coleman Black Cat "cat" heater. It runs off those annoying 1 lb propane cylinders. It has come in handy when I run out of fuel in my big tank.

Be careful about placement of these, however. There is nothing like the smell of burning dog hair.

I am not a total fool. For when I do have a 110 hook up, I use a small Slant Fin brand swamp cooler. It is lightweight and easy to maintain.

It consumes over an amp, and I can use it inverted, but I would need to be really miserable before I do.

It is totally useless in a humid climate, but since most of my time out is spent in So. Cal, and I have no need, or desire, to go to Georgia in the near future, it works for me.

I recently used it for several nights, in my driveway, during an extreme heat wave in my area.
 

Endless Breeze Fan by Fantastic Fan

I have no Air Conditioner. They usually run off 110v, require inversion if you aren't plugged in and consume tons of power. Probably more than any appliance one could stick in a trailer. They are also VERY heavy. A consideration when towing.

If you boon dock with one, you HAVE to have at least a 2000 watt generator. The power on surge can get that high, or even higher.

They do make 12v versions that install like a roof vent, but they suck up the juice as well.

Fantastic brand Fans are specifically designed for 12v RV use. This portable unit consumes 1/2 an amp on the low setting and can run on 9 volts (Don't ask me how I know this, but just a reminder that you need to check your battery levels on occasion, AND make sure your solar panel is actually attached to you controller.)

The low setting can blow a Beagle across the coach in two flat seconds if it gets too close. I rarely have a need to use the high setting. These things are designed to do two things very quietly and efficiently. Push LOTS of air and do it very quickly. Wind Chill factor cooling.

This is also one of the few items I will run directly off a solar panel. The low current draw is no test for the 3 amps the panel can deliver. This is handy during the day when you can move it outside to your seating area.

At night, however, this method proves ineffective.

Inside the trailer, it hangs in front of my open rear window and plugs directly into one of the the lighter sockets installed from my aux. batteries.

They also make a roof vent version that can run as an intake or exhaust. To get mine to exhaust, I use the low tech method of turning it around.

This has only failed my once. The outside temp was 114 degrees. If you are the type that needs an absolute 60 degree room, and you camp in the desert, this is not for you. If you want things to be brought down to a bearable temp, this will work fine under normal summer conditions all over the country. At night, the temp in the trailer can be brought down to comfortable sleeping levels. It can get downright chilly too!

It is not suggested for use in the Sahara, ....... or in Yuma.