Adding Furnace to Weekender

[fixedgear]

I am intrigued by the idea of a self-venting furnace in a Weekender. I like the Buddy but have always thought that the ultimate would be a thermostat mounted high accessable to the upper bunk, which would trigger a heater that expells its combustion gases. That means either a gas or propane driven unit. I like the look of the Propex the most, and am willing to give away the shoebox space required either in the closet or the bench seat. But-the extra cost of the tank means I would have to hide the visa bills from my wife for some time to come. I also have some concerns about the tank capacity. To those of you who off-season camp in cold climates-do you find the capacity of the propane tanks limiting? Lastly, how thrilled are they at the mom and pop gas station to fill up such a small tank when it's -25C for a commission of 65 cents or whatever? Two inline tanks would spell divorce-or maybe there is a larger tank that would not steal too much clearance. Thank You.

[914 mike]

From my post on the "Atwood furnace" thread....

I pulled a Hydroflame out of a Toyota camper at the wrecking yard. Paid $20 for it. Got it home, hooked it up to my BBQ propane and a spare battery and if fired right up. I then fashioned it inside a wood box I pulled out of somebody's trash pile.

I set it outside my rig when I camp with a 3lb propane tank, run a piece of insulated dryer ducting from it to my drivers side window where I hook it to a register I created to roll the window up to.

I run the ground wire and the thermostat wires out the box and just shut the door on them. Hook ups for these are in the rig.

I place the thermostat inside my rig, set it at the desired temp and it pumps warm, forced air into my rig. Its a great set up and I think I have a total of $50 in the whole thing. I did spend for a co2/monoxide detector just to be on the safe side....

Its cheap. It doesn't take up precious space in my rig when I dont need heat. Packs perfectly in the luggage rack when I do want to bring it along...and I am willing to bet it works just as good, if not better, than any $700+ set up.

Mike

84 westy, 2.2 suby

[fixedgear]

MIke, thanks alot. So the unit sits outside the driver's door, with the thermo and ground wires entering into the closed driver's door. I guess the register could just be a window wide sheet of plywood with a 5 or 4" vent hole cut in-or did you fabricate something else? Sure sounds attractive cost wise. Chris

[pjinaz]

I' ve wanted to do the same thing in a weekender and like the espar heaters. It's pretty pricey but would be the ultimate set up, drawing gas from your tank and super efficient.

http://www.lubricationspecialist.com/front/showcontent.aspx?fileid=127&p=Air-Heaters

[fixedgear]

pjinaz-what have you determinded for cost, and am I missing something or all they all diesel or kerosene only?

[914 mike]

Thats correct....the "box" sits outside the drivers door on a milk crate. This is the low traffic side of the van so its not in the way when camping. The register was an adjustable unit purchased at Home Depot and it actually can expand to meet the required opening. I used a slab of styrofoam my buddy had left over from an insulation project to shape the opening around the window. The register sort of fits in the opening cut into the slab of styrofoam. When the window is rolled up, it basically makes a leak proof seal.
I have a seperate fuse box located under the drivers side seat that is dedicated to all stuff run off my secondary battery. So, under the seat I have a positive spade and a ground spade for quick plug in and disconnect of the unit. I just set the thermostat on the headrest of the drivers seat. The wires just shut under the rubber seal of the door.
All wires, register, ducting and CO2/monoxide detecter fit in the box when not in use keeping everythingstored nicely.
My thinking throughout the project was A)do it as cheap as I could (sorry, but $700+ for heat is just absurd IMHO)and B)make it so I could have it for the bus when I need it and leave it at home when I dont. In california, I might camp 2-3 times a year where I need heat....the rest of the time, a heater would be a hinderence to valuable storage space....

Mike
84 westy 2.2 suby

[fixedgear]

mike-without running outside and getting blinded by the California sun(lucky bugger!) what would you say that the dimensions of this box are? You mention that you carry it uptop on the luggage rack-this is the stock location in front of the pop-up, no?

[914 mike]

Well, Im at work today and the box is at home.....

It does fit nicely in the luggage rack. The box was a lucky find. It was bigger than what I needed, but it was free. It holds all the stuff that goes with it with room for other stuff as well. You could definitly make/find something else smaller.
If you check the Atwood furnace thread, you can see a pic of what the actual heater unit looks like and probably get some dimensions too....or google Hydroflame....

I am planning a trip to Southern Utah for Spring break.....even though it is desert, I plan on bringing the heater just in case. I bet the temps will drop pretty low at night in early april....

I have enough heater ducting that I will be able to leave the unit in the luggage rack and just drop the wires and ducting down from above the door. The propane bottle is able to fit up there as well.....

Mike
84 westy, 2.2 suby