Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 12:48:40 EST
Reply-To: Iaonbb@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Mm Bitner <Iaonbb@AOL.COM>
Subject: Olympian Catalytic Heaters
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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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