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Old 11-19-2017, 03:48 PM   #1
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Looking for heater! Propex/suburban

Looking to get a heater for my extended back, fixed high top, e350. Looking for recommendations as well as any info people have on either heater. If anyone has one for sale or knows best place to buy that'd be great too!

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Old 11-19-2017, 05:02 PM   #2
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I installed a Propex HS2211 6000+ btu/hr heater beneath the floor on the left side--propane tank on the right side. It does a good job. It's pretty quiet and runs at elevation--I even ran it at an 11,000' pass in Colorado. I bought mine at Rocky Mountain Westy but because their support is non-existent I would not recommend them... the place to buy is Westy Ventures from Karl Mulladore.. he's the U.S. Propex guru and I believe he's an importer.. nice dude and helpful. I had a few intermittent problems with the unit throwing codes but I was always able to reset with a little routine on the thermostat switch. Our regular length van is pretty well insulated and it keeps us toasty down into the teens... not sure if it would keep up with single digits though. It's pretty quiet and the biggest selling point to me is the fact that it is underfloor. Every cubic inch inside the van is important to me and I like the additional quiet. It has external combustion air intake and exhaust flues. Not sure how vanners get by with Buddy heaters... it seems the stink would be overbearing. I had a Wave 3 prior to this and it was pretty good but hard to position so it didn't set something on fire. :-) I ran an intake duct ahead of the rear wheel well and have the heat duct come in behind the driver seat.. Karl has some nice rubber gaskets to get through the body. I used reflectix pipe wrap on the ducts underneath. So far, so good..
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Old 11-19-2017, 05:20 PM   #3
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What fuel do you want to use?
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Old 11-19-2017, 05:33 PM   #4
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I love my diesel-powered Wallas combination stove and heater (Wallas Nordic DT). Fully enclosed flame, so it is very safe. Quiet. Warm. Sips fuel. Pulls combustion air from the van, and exhausts to the exterior, so it very actively removes moisture from the van's interior. Everyone has different use cases, but for me, this unit is da bomb.
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Old 11-20-2017, 04:31 AM   #5
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Would like to stick to propane! Just wondering propex vs suburban. Obviously suburban is cheaper but i can't find propane usage stats on suburban. I've found propane usage stats for propex and I'd like to draw a side by side comparison as well as get some personal input from people. My heater will be main power draw (winter only) as i do not have a fridge and only other electronic will be an outlet to charge phone etc and some led lights. I know suburban draws more amps but higher btu so my guess is it burns through propane quicker but doesn't have to run as often as propex if van is well insulated. Any input would be great!
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Old 11-20-2017, 08:22 AM   #6
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I had a suburban in my trailer. Great little heater, really pumps it out. Never had any problems with it, pretty simple operation. We mostly used it for during the night when the temps get low. That thing would go forever on a tank of propane. It definitely sips.

If I were going to put a heater in the van now, though, I’d look at the Propex. I like the way it uses air from outside.

I don’t think you could really go wrong with either. These things are pretty efficient at making heat, so not having enough propane has never been an issue.
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Old 11-20-2017, 09:58 AM   #7
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Don't forget about power consumption too, if you have a house battery you'll need to calculate the draw vs storage.
It's one of the reasons why I bought the Espar D4 (and my has a diesel engine)
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Old 11-20-2017, 10:17 AM   #8
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Yeah I've been trying to keep that in consideration as well, it's an area i lack experience (electrical, batt consumption etc) so I've been trying to do my homework. I plan to have a 12v 100ah battery bank. Only things drawing will be. Some led lights, an outlet for phone/laptop charge and then whatever heater I go with. It'll charge via solar. Thinking 200w worth of panels. I'm thinking with this size battery and assuming I can keep a pretty high charge I'll have more than enough wiggle room....??
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Old 11-20-2017, 10:56 AM   #9
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At best with the typical agm batteries on the market, you can only use 50% at most without harming the battery.
A general rule of thumb is 100 ah of battery needs 100 watt input of solar.
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Old 11-20-2017, 02:50 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Bbasso View Post
Don't forget about power consumption too, if you have a house battery you'll need to calculate the draw vs storage.
It's one of the reasons why I bought the Espar D4 (and my has a diesel engine)
Bbasso- Sounds like you like your Espar D4, did you do the install yourself? I have a RB diesel van that I'm looking to put a heater in, I'm considering Espar.
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