Catalytic Heaters

[Jammer]

Because the RVIA code doesn't allow them, there are no new RVs sold with catalytic heaters. Many shops won't install them.

They are a popular aftermarket item, to be sure, and have been so for many years.

These products are manufactured by companies that don't make anything else (except a few other accessories of high potential product liability). It is a strategy to remain judgment proof in the event of a class-action product liability lawsuit.

In any case, portable hose-connected propane appliances have no place inside an RV.

Headline in my local paper today: "Family lucky to be alive; CO fills home, father pulls wife, son, outside".
-source of CO: gas boiler. Should we ban those, and force everyone to use electric heat?

So what's the story? 50 year old boiler? Boiler installed by clueless person who didn't connect the flue? Link?

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by Jammer

These products are manufactured by companies that don't make anything else (except a few other accessories of high potential product liability). It is a strategy to remain judgment proof in the event of a class-action product liability lawsuit.

how's that work, in this litigious society? It would seem to me if people were actually being harmed by these things, they'd have been sued out of existence long ago.

Originally Posted by Jammer

So what's the story? 50 year old boiler? Boiler installed by clueless person who didn't connect the flue? Link?

not that old, really. "more than 20". probably original, house built in the '80's. all it said was "leak in the gas boiler". CO detectors saved them.
Family 'lucky to be alive' » Local News » NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA

point is, there is a story like this every day, somewhere.
heck, every now and then, a whole house is leveled by an NG explosion.

There are risks to everything. But perceived risk and actual risk are usually quite different.
Every few months, an newb comes on here and asks about removing all gas appliances from the trailer. The very thought of gas in a trailer (or house) just freaks some people out. {shrug}
Anyway, I doubt my cat heater is ever going to get me. What scares me is driving down the road with a trailer. Or driving down the road without a trailer.
Odds are that'll get me long before a properly installed/maintained/tested/CO-alarmed heater ever will.
Today I was driving on the interstate in some light snow. roads were untreated. (first snow of the year, and they said we weren't going to get any. ha!). Guy in the lane to my left just spontaneously started spinning (we were going ~50)...to his left. I'm to the right...lucky me.
guy in the far left lane t-boned the spinner...they both veered off into the median. (they were ok; I could see in my rear view that nobody rolled...and before I could even think about pulling over (very dangerous, too), I saw a state-y coming the other way with his flashers on.)

[Dave Park]

I think it's a polarized issue over nothing.

I think both can agree that the potential exists with any gas device for it to do harm if operated or maintained incorrectly. I think both can also see why unvented heaters are not to code for new trailers. It's also fair to say that someone who knows the risks of improper use is unlikely to fall victim to a relatively low risk device like a catalytic heater.

However, some people do have difficulty following instructions or assessing and responding to risks - even small ones - which is why people die of "misadventures" every day.

Catalytic heaters are now clearly labelled "not for use in a confined space." This is all the protection the manufacturers need - if you use it in a 150 sq ft trailer with all the windows and air inlets sealed up and you suffocate yourself, your relatives will have some explaining to a jury if they tried to sue.

People have to decide for themselves the risks they're willing to take with grandfathered equipment. There's not inspections for this situation, but if it's not to code and you die, the manufacturer is blameless.

That's why the manufacturers helped write the code. To be as safe as commercially reasonable, and to limit liability.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Chuck

Anyway, I doubt my cat heater is ever going to get me. What scares me is driving down the road with a trailer. Or driving down the road without a trailer.

Or maybe it will be heating the traylah with the stove or oven.

Just sayin'.

[Chuck]

hey, I never suggested that anyone should.

but you turn on a burner to cook...it gives off CO.

a cat heater working properly, doesn't.

[IndyAnne]

I'm grateful for the dialogue. It's a beautiful thing -- as Leonard Cohen sang, "Democracy is comin' to the USA"

Rave on -- I'm on to other issues, like 2 ice storms expected between Indy and our goal:Florida! on our departure day.

And, the water system is still in pieces. Good thing my shopping is done.

Anne

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Chuck

hey, I never suggested that anyone should.

but you turn on a burner to cook...it gives off CO.

a cat heater working properly, doesn't.

The real risk in both cases is when the equipment is older and not performing in an optimum fashion.

But that's not the real point. Many of us on the forums work with hazardous equipment and materials all the time either in our jobs, or hobbies, or our personal lives. Driving a car down the road, as Chuck points out, is one example. Motorcycles. Knives. Weaponry of all kinds. Woodworking and metalworking equipment. Chemicals. Electrical equipment. Aircraft. All things with grave consequences for a moment's inattention or foolishness.

The thing is that we can evaluate our readiness before choosing to work with this stuff and stay away from it when we've had a few beers, a bad burrito, a bad headache, a bad heartache, just had our medication adjusted, or are recovering from surgery or whatever.

That's even true with things like the stove burners.

But it's not true with the heat. If you're on the road and recovering from the bad burrito or whatever and have your judgment clouded, you still need a warm place to sleep. Especially so, in fact. The human reaction to such circumstances is to turn up the heat a little and go to sleep.

[nickclifford]

[QUOTE=64airstream;651703]Just a thought. I bought a Big Buddy portable (Mr. Heater). It puts out 18,000 BTUs on high, 9000 BTUs on Medium and 4500 BTUs on low. It has a built in blower that runs on 4 D cell batteries, or if you have shore power, there's an optional adapter for 110v. It can run from the little 1 pound bottles, it can handle two of them. Or it can be hooked up directly to a 20 pound bottle without a regulator (it has a built in regulator, but you need the optional 12 ft hose). Note the 20 pound bottle has to be outside the Airstream. It also has a quick disconnect fitting that bypasses it's built in regulator and you can run it from the normal 11 inch Water Column pressure that is supplied to your existing furnace or stove. That's how I hooked mine up. I put in a separate isolation valve at the normal furnace connection and hooked up the other optional 12 ft quick disconnect hose. The hose rolls up and stores in the cabinet when not needed and the heater can stay at home or go with you depending on the time of year.

If I knew how to do one of those web site links, I could have shortened this story considerably. Search the web for Mr. Buddy Heater, if you want more specs. This is our first winter with it, so we're early in the testing phase. In Pennsylvania, you can get the heaters at Home Depot or Lowes or any good camping store. I found the hose and adapter at a nearby Cabela's. (you might have to have those shipped.)

Good luck,

Roy:nuke

I use one of those Mr Buddy heaters in my pop-up camper, they're amazing for a quick blast of heat. We only camp in Nor Cal during the summer time.. mainly high sierra so cold at night. I used it recently in my AS, left a window & airvent open as suggested. But i'm looking for a more long term solution as the original 1970s furnace is no longer working and been advised best to scrap?