Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 09-28-2015, 11:00 PM   #21
Senior Member
 
rltilley's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 530
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

We have a V10 gas van & just use a Mr. Heater portable propane heater. We don't run it at night but turn it on in the morning to heat the van up a bit. This has worked down into the 20's for us but we live in SoCal and don't need to deal with real cold unless we're out of the area.

__________________
2013 E-350 6.8L V10 4x4 RB50, penthouse top, Aluminess bumpers
rltilley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2015, 08:26 AM   #22
Senior Member
 
boywonder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: So Cal
Posts: 4,045
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

I just bought and disassembled a Mr Buddy heater for a work project......spent half the day yesterday reverse engineering the performance and specs for the unit. Slick little heaters......

These are ceramic heaters, not catalytic as sometimes mentioned online.
__________________
2008 E350 RB passenger 4WD SMB penthouse
2013 KTM 350 EXC
2008 KTM 250 XCF-W
2003 Honda Element
boywonder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2015, 08:32 AM   #23
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Parker, CO
Posts: 477
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

I am assuming that the Espar heater has its own fuel pump of some sort, correct? Has anyone heard of someone, with a gas van, installing a small 1-2 gallon diesel tank to supply fuel to the Espar heater, instead of going with propane? For those that don't cook in their van, don't have a propane tank already installed, and/or live,work,play at high altitude where propane may not work I am just wondering if it would be an option to install the Espar heater instead.

Thoughts?
__________________
New Van: 2000 Ford E350 SMB RB42
Old Van(sold): 1995 Dodge B3500 SMB RB33
Ben10281 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2015, 08:46 AM   #24
Senior Member
 
1der's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 3,259
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

Espar makes a gasoline fired heater, the B2, iirc. Bit hard to find in the US but they are around. It is actually quite a good solution.

That being said, a number of people have installed diesel supply tanks for the Espar diesel.

Search Hal The Van thread
__________________
Ray
Beastie 3: 2002 7.3 EB Cargo: Agile TTB, CCV High Top, Custom Walk Through, Lots of stuff added. www.BlingMyRig.com
1der is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2015, 03:18 PM   #25
Senior Member
 
Viva's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 879
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

Quote:
Originally Posted by boywonder
I just bought and disassembled a Mr Buddy heater for a work project......spent half the day yesterday reverse engineering the performance and specs for the unit. Slick little heaters......

These are ceramic heaters, not catalytic as sometimes mentioned online.
And some companies seem to actively "encourage" the misconception, as isn't the Coleman BlackCat the same type of heater as the Mr. Buddy? (I've had both the BlackCat and the Little Buddy and they seem basically the same to me.)
Viva is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2015, 07:16 PM   #26
Senior Member
 
boywonder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: So Cal
Posts: 4,045
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

The Coleman appears to be catalytic......at least that what the specs say.
__________________
2008 E350 RB passenger 4WD SMB penthouse
2013 KTM 350 EXC
2008 KTM 250 XCF-W
2003 Honda Element
boywonder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2015, 08:51 PM   #27
Senior Member
 
1der's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 3,259
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

We use a Olympia Wave 3 Catalytic. It is good down to high 20's with a non-pop top. Very efficient and easily stored. Brings the inside temp up to the mid 60's.


Going with the Espar D2 in the diesel van and maybe a Wave 6 as supplemental for really cold situations. Have to see how the D2 does on its own.
__________________
Ray
Beastie 3: 2002 7.3 EB Cargo: Agile TTB, CCV High Top, Custom Walk Through, Lots of stuff added. www.BlingMyRig.com
1der is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-30-2015, 12:08 PM   #28
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 533
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

And some companies seem to actively "encourage" the misconception, as isn't the Coleman BlackCat the same type of heater as the Mr. Buddy? (I've had both the BlackCat and the Little Buddy and they seem basically the same to me.)[/quote]


Mr Buddy is a heater that works by normal combustion of gas, the Coleman Black Cat is a catalytic heater. They are not the same thing nor use the same process of converting the propane into heat.

I've always been partial to the marine diesel stoves myself though the chimney mounting might create some problems on a van. http://dickinsonmarine.com/product/newp ... el-heater/
witoke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-30-2015, 03:53 PM   #29
Senior Member
 
Viva's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 879
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

I agree - I've had the "real" marine heaters in several boats and they are very nice. But, sometimes a small portable fills the bill, and a chimney isn't always easy to place.

My bad on the Coleman BlackCat vs. the Little Buddy. Thanks for correcting me! I now understand the Coleman is catalytic and the Little Buddy is not. I've used the Little Buddy quite a bit, but didn't like the upright stance (easier to tip) and the large stowed size. So I got a new-in-box old style Blackcat but haven't used it yet. I like how it is not as vulnerable to tipping and stows very compactly. Just to show what I'm talking about:

Little Buddy:



Old-style Black Cat:



The new style Coleman sits similarly, but the plastic body takes up a lot more space in storage, and some people complained of the arms breaking. The old one seems like a better design to me.

Viva is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-30-2015, 09:55 PM   #30
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: Cold weather heating, your preferred choice?

I've considered one of the Olympian wave 3 heaters as a backup. The little Blackcat just doesn't put out much.
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:42 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.