Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 14:51:34 -0800
Reply-To: H R <harald_nancy_vw@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: H R <harald_nancy_vw@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Ramblings about plat cat heater
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Couldn't resist to throw in my 2 cents about heaters in vanagons.
(I'm using a 5200 btu vented plat cat)
There always seems to be so much confusion about the pros and cons
of the different heaters that can be used in vanagons.
Many folks don't seem to understand that it's very tricky
to get any kind of self-contained long-term heat in that ice-box.
(a heater that can operate off-the-grid for at least 24 hours).
The problem with any car is that it easily gets too hot or cold inside.
It's built from steel with almost no insulation.
The cold surfaces suck the heat right out of your bones.
Bob Hoover once wrote up something on how to insulate your bus.
He seems to like spray foam inside and outside.
Don't know if I would want to do that to my bus though.
The vanagon heater challenge:
Very little space, no insulation, not much battery power, even with aux.,
limited clearances, not many surfaces to mount heaters, and you also
don't want to lose valuable cabinet space, only 2.7 gallons propane in
most cases.
So it really doesn't give one much to work with.
Here are the reasons I got hooked on the vented plat cat:
1) It can heat the vanagon for days without any plug ins or charging
on one propane tank.
2) Even if the vanagon is not insulated, it's always warm in front of the
radiant heater (place where I spend all my time in the van)
The heater faces back towards the sitting area.
3) It doesn't matter if the poptop is up, even if the sliding door is open,
or poptop vent is open, it's still warm in front of the heater.
We often use it with the sliding door open, and the pt vent open, especially
in the misty PNW summers. You never have to worry about excess fuel
and battery consumption, even if the thing is running all day long.
4) I don't expect perfection, or to heat every last crook and cranny in
the vanagon to 70 degrees when it's below freezing outside.
But I do know that I've sat in shorts in front of the heater when the vanagon
was covered with snow outside.
5) I've used the heater on the low setting when the vanagon was
parked outside by a motel or trailheads, so the water tank and other
things wouldn't freeze up inside the camper.
It's comforting to come back to the vanagon in these conditions,
and it's not frozen up inside.
6) Insulation is always necessary no matter what heater you use,
if you want to be really warm during the most inclement conditions.
A few tips: Make an insulating front curtain that you use in the winter.
At fabric stores, they sell insulating curtain material. Use the original
curtain as a pattern.
Make a few insulating pads for the rear and left and right windows
by the bed. That way the heat will stay in much longer, and your
feet won't get so cold. Also insulate under the side panels on the
inside of the vanagon where accessible and under the rear hatch panel.
Use foil faced bubble pak found in hardware stores or whatever material.
Put a couple of big pieces under the rear mattress, and run it all
the way under the rear bench/storage box to cover the sheet metal.
The window panels can be held up with self-stick velcro.
There is lots more you can do, but this is getting too long.
7) I found that the plat cat, even while drawing only 0.5 amps, which is
almost nothing, can draw down my 5 year old Optima battery after a few days
used with fluorescent light, 3 muffin fans by fridge, and occasional
radio/cassette player (stock).
If I would be using a heater that draws more current, like for example,
2.8 amps, like most forced air heaters, the Optima would not last
very long, despite all the calculations.
It's important to have a very efficient dual battery charging system,
if you want to use a self-contained heater.
Otherwise it will kill your aux. battery fast, and you have to buy a new
one every year.
8) Different heaters may be appropriate for different camping lifestyles and
climates. I never see that being addressed. There are vanagon owners
from Colorado, California, Washington, Alaska, etc. all talking about the same
subject. One doesn't understand why the other has different needs than
themself. Some places are more temperate but more humid.
Others are icy cold with wind chill factor. No heater will keep your vanagon
cozy warm in the van's last corners in conditions like that.
You just can't expect that. If you want that, you have to build a new
vanagon, like the Karmann conversion, which is more like a mobile home.
I could go on and on about winter camping in a vanagon, but I'll spare you.
You can see my plat cat installation here, but many of you already know it.
http://www.geocities.com/harald_nancy/index.htm
Harald
'90 westy with 5200 btu vented plat cat
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