Alternative Heaters

[DanielB]

My neighbor is a truck driver. I met him over thanksgiving. He has a 2010 Peterbuilt tractor. He said that his is the first year that they have a heater in the cab that runs with the engine off.

He said that it keeps him toasty warm and he has never even turned it up to half capacity, and it burns about 1 gallon of diesel fuel in one night.

Some people that I have met have said that a small heater keeps their A/S warm. Is a furnace overkill if the trailer is insulated well?

[wasagachris]

Daniel the heaters in trucks are called webasto or something like that. They do eat up battery power to run the fan which is not a problem in a truck with a large bank of batteries. I have installed one in my old boss`s motorhome. They do work great. keep in mind that the cab and sleeper in a truck is a lot smaller than a 31ft trailer.
You can install a catalytic heater which does not use a fan only radiant heat. They work fairly good in cool weather but offer no protection to the holding tanks like the furnace does. I plan to install one in mine as well as a gas light for illumination without using battery power.

[DanielB]

Gas lights.. awesome..
Interesting problem with the tanks..

[wasagachris]

Originally Posted by DanielB

Gas lights.. awesome..
Interesting problem with the tanks..

Daniel check out this link
gas-lights.com: Indoor Gas Lights

[DanielB]

Thats for interior lighting.. awesome.. do you have to run gas pipes up through the wall?

[wasagachris]

Yes I plan to install it in the original option location which is on the bulkhead wall forward of the fridge roadside. The gas line will tee off the fridge line.

[Beaker63]

Daniel,
We do not have a furnace in the Bambi. We also installed a NOS Humphrey gas light, in the front, over the dinnete. Both light annd heat! Get up in the morning light the gas light and go back to bed till the coffee is done. Life doesn't get any better.
I ran the copper line up the wall while I had the shell off. Put a tee and a gas shut off in the cabinet over the dinnete table.
!2 inches of snow tonight! Yikes!
Tim

[Jammer]

The factory furnaces are sized to provide 70 degree temps in the trailer down to around -10 or -20 below, at night with no wind. Not overkill to my way of thinking. 5000 BTU (a typical size for the "alternative" heaters) will work for you down to around 55 degrees at night.

I have a Humphery gas light in my stick house but have decided against installing one in my trailer, at least for the time being. They are 2000 BTU so yes some heat but not much. Bear in mind that they're just an open flame with no outside venting, so the same safety concerns that apply to any unvented gas appliance apply equally to the lights.

I recently started a thread on alternatives to catalytic heaters that you may find helpful.

[DanielB]

Originally Posted by Jammer

The factory furnaces are sized to provide 70 degree temps in the trailer down to around -10 or -20 below, at night with no wind. Not overkill to my way of thinking. 5000 BTU (a typical size for the "alternative" heaters) will work for you down to around 55 degrees at night.

I have a Humphery gas light in my stick house but have decided against installing one in my trailer, at least for the time being. They are 2000 BTU so yes some heat but not much. Bear in mind that they're just an open flame with no outside venting, so the same safety concerns that apply to any unvented gas appliance apply equally to the lights.

I recently started a thread on alternatives to catalytic heaters that you may find helpful.

I read your thread after I started this one. Great information.

[DanielB]

There seems to be a hazard with oxygen depletion using catalytic heaters. Apparently they don't put out CO2 but do consume oxygen.

[Jammer]

There are a number of hazards. While they do produce CO2, this is harmless (global warming aside).

You are correct that oxygen depletion is a concern.

Also, they produce CO (carbon monoxide), which is the toxic gas you're probably thinking of. The amount produced increases over the life of the heater as the catalyst deteriorates.