Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 10:56:35 -0800
Reply-To: davidson <davidson@SIERRA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: davidson <davidson@SIERRA.NET>
Subject: Re: Olympian Catalytic Heaters
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Marc & Monica:
I have the smallest Olympian propane heater. Camping World stocks all the
sizes I think. I paid about $125 for mine. I haven't had the necessary cold
weather to use it camping yet. However, I did test it in my garage last
spring. I live near Lake Tahoe so the test was a pretty good one. It was
freezing outside and 80 degrees in the van with the heater on low. I think
the small heater would be more than enough for most people. (And it uses
less propane.) Unless, like you, they plan on camping in snow country in
the dead of winter.
At first I wanted to hook mine up to a portable propane tank. It seemed the
simplest way. But I asked a mechanic/installer at Camping World and he said
that would be dangerous. He had a lot of experience with these heaters. He
had installed them for Camping World and had one in his own VW Van. He
pointed out to me that the tanks change pressure with temperature and they
have a pressure relief valve that will pour propane into your van (and the
heater) if the temperature (and pressure) gets high enough. He also pointed
out that there was a reason for VW deciding to mount the stock Westy
propane tank outside the vehicle. So I decided to put a T in the copper
propane line under the sink between the propane tank and the stove burners.
I drilled about a 1 inch hole in the lower right corner of the cabinet and
ran a flexible propane line from the T with a quick coupler on the end. My
heater has a flexible propane line and the other end of the quick coupler.
After reading the manufacturer's directions, I realized that this thing
only burns clean if everything is working right. I also know that things
can come from the factory not working right. So I ran the heater overnight
using a Digital Carbon Monoxide Detector. I checked the reading frequently.
I found that if I keep the slider window open about an inch and the
skylight open about an inch and a half and the pop top up, the CO reading
did not go above about 10. With the pop top down the reading went up to
about 20. If I reduced the window or skylight openings the readings went
up. I think below 50 is okay. I think that's the lowest level that alarms
go off (after a period of time at that level as I recall). The
manufacturer's directions say to leave two openings for air, one high and
one low. I'm not sure your method of opening only one wing window up front
away from where you are sleeping is sufficient.
THE ONLY WAY TO BE SURE IS TO MEASURE YOUR USE WITH A DIGITAL CARBON
MONOXIDE DETECTOR (sold at many hardware stores now).
I've never had to light mine with a flame. The piezo seems to work fine.
You might want to call the manufacturer to make sure this is not a safety
problem.
That's what I know.
Bill
90 Westy Syncro
Lake Tahoe
----------
> From: Mm Bitner <Iaonbb@AOL.COM>
> To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Olympian Catalytic Heaters
> Date: Monday, November 02, 1998 9:48 AM
>
> Just finished adjusting the gas heater in my ' 80 westy...Thought I'd
throw in
> some info about an auxillary heater I purchased last year for winter
camping.
> It's a catalytic heater made by Olympian. It operates on propane (I've
got a
> grill sized tank stashed unser the rear bench w\ a hose running through
the
> lower corner into the cabin-lasts at least a week, running on high!) The
> heater is only about 4" thick, 24" high, and 12" wide approx. very
reasonably
> sized/portable. They are available in 3 sizes that I'm aware of ranging
from
> 2000 to 6000 btu approx. I bought the largest one (thankfully) about $250
> dealer cost. He sold it to me just to get rid of it, doesn't sell many I
> guess? They can be freestanding or flush mounted, like in the bathroom of
a
> large RV. It has a ceramic disk of some sort that heats up and conducts
the
> combustion and catalytic operations, lights via piezo ignition (no
current
> draw) except at high elevations where we have to light the thermocouple
> manually, don't know why? It is absolutely the greatest investment I ever
made
> for my bus. We travel all winter throughout the Rocky Mountain region
(powder
> hounds!!!). We can use it while traveling or stationary, especially nice
while
> gearing up in the morning for a day of riding. It supposedly burns 99.9%
of
> all emissions (at any altitude!) so is entirely safe to use in an
enclosed
> van. The only requirement is that you have a source for fresh air-we just
> leave the triangle shaped window in the front open a bit...seems to be
> suffecient since my westy gets a little drafty anyway.My wife and I can
sleep
> comfortably in January at 10,000+ feet!!! (our own little slopeside
condo-ski
> in/ski out) I did a lot of research prior to purchase on RV furnaces of
all
> types and sizes and found this to be the most economical, portable ( we
have
> an extra long hose so we can set it outside of the van in our side tent
for
> those cool fall evenings, and take it out in the summer) and simplest
option
> available. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a cheap,
> reliable, and most importantly..SAFE!!! auxillary heat source for your
bus.
> Just thought I'd see if anyone else has discovered this little miracle
and how
> it has worked for them. I'm especially interested in reliability over a
period
> of years, if anyone has an older model. Also, if anyone has their two
cents
> worth (good or bad experiences) I'd appreciate hearing those too. I'd be
more
> than happy to dig up the info on it if anyone is interested, however most
of
> the RV suppliers seem to at least know about it, or can get it for
> you...remember to buy the large one, since it has a high, med. and low
> seting...you won't regret it!
> Of course I have no vested interest in this company, just wanted
to throw out
> some alternatives!!
>
> Marc&Monica Bitner
> Ft. Collins, CO
> '80 westy
> '72 bus
> '79 westy
> '93 passat glx wagon
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