Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 19:22:18 -0400
Reply-To: Karl Hartmut Filc <kfilc@SYMPATICO.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Karl Hartmut Filc <kfilc@SYMPATICO.CA>
Subject: Re: Converting Coleman Catalytic Heater to LP tank?
In-Reply-To: <0E82A249-1AF8-11D9-9D63-000A959B3796@knology.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hi there,
I have the Coleman cat-heater pat# 5053A751 which uses the green 16oz gas
cylinders. This unit has a battery powered motor and runs on 2 D batteries
for 18hrs. Fits snugly between the front seats and runs permanent for 8hrs
on one cylinder. 3000 BTU is plenty for a Vanagon without the pop off roof.
I like this unit because you can move it around and this is the reason why I
don't connect it to the lp-tank. The gas cylinder cost ca. $3,50 here in
Canada which is a bit pricy. But I got lately a catalog from Harbor Freight
(www.harborfreight.com) better known in the USA than in Canada. They have a
unit #45989-QUAN which enables you to fill the 16oz cylinder from a BBQ tank
and save some money. Works for me and I don't have to use my propane from
the bus tank.
Hartmut
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Jim Felder
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2004 :16:08 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Converting Coleman Catalytic Heater to LP tank?
Those heaters that say they are for tents need ventilation too. The
instructions are very explicit about that when yu get the box home and
open it up.
If you don't want to worry about that at all, buy and install a vented
heater. there are plenty of good installations mentioned in the
archive, I'm sure some of these folks will write you.
I chose my unvented Olympian Wave 3 because of its compact design, wall
mounting and low oxygen use. It stilluses a certain amount of oxygen,
the instructions say a 4 inch square hole so you can figure out what
this is with a side window or front window cracked, I usually do about
half an inch which is probably overkill but it doesn't get all that
cold around here.
Make sure you have a shutoff valve you can get to so you can take the
heater offline if any leaks develop. Test every joint thoroughly with
soapy water. LP is nothing to mess around with.
Jim
On Oct 10, 2004, at 2:37 PM, Parker Beeson wrote:
> Starting to get really cold again in Montana and I was thinking about
> winter heating. Seems the archives are full of intricate conversions of
> externally vented propane solutions with 5,000+BTU, but for me that
> would be overkill and too expensive at this point I think.
>
> Was wondering if anyone has bought one of those little Coleman
> Catalytic Heaters that are designed for in tent use (which I assume
> means they are fairly safe with even minimal ventilation) and hooked it
> up to the existing LP tank? I already have a t-joint inline on the
> stove pipe feed from a previous propane heater that was in the van when
> I bought it. I removed that heater though as it was oooold and deadly
> according to the PO... so kinda useless really. I sleep in the van with
> a warm 0 degree sleeping bag so am thinking a little 1,000-3,000BTU
> unit would be fine to just keep the ambient temperature above freezing
> so my water lines won't freeze up so much. I'd be fine with internal
> temps of 35-40 degrees. With the top down, skylight closed and one side
> window cracked I think that would be enough maybe? My main curiosity is
> would copper piping be required for the line or is the LP tank pressure
> low enough to just use a reinforced flexible tubing?
>
> If no one has done this I'd love to know why and if yes I'd love your
> thoughts. If I do it I'll post a "how-to" link with photos etc.
>
> http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/subcategory.asp?
> CategoryID=3000&SourcePage=category_main.asp
>
> Thanks,
> Parker
> '89 Westy
>