olympian catalytic heaters

[kingfisher24]

has anyone installed one of these in an airstream...where...does it work well...keep the trailer warm...worth the money???

thanks

[Kevin245]

We have one installed on the kitchen counter bulkhead next to the entrance door.

Zepp did a really nice installation on his rig. http://www.airforums.com/forums/f427...ion-46720.html

We use ours for supplemental heating. It is a nice feature to have from time to time, but we don't use it all that much.

Kevin

[byamcaravanner]

I installed a Wave 3 below the sink in our '63 Globetrotter. It makes quick work of heating up the trailer and is really easy to use.

[FLYNCLD]

We have a Wave 6 in ours...warm & toasty in 10 minutes!

[kingfisher24]

great information...any thought of how it might be attached to the ceiling.....with a retractable hose contraption coming out of the wardrobe closet between the fridge and the shower on this 08 25FB???. i think i can manage to rig a safe hose throught the wardrobe door with a quick connect...but how would one attach the heater to the ceiling ---aft of the ac unit???. or is this crazy???? do i go with a wave 8 or 6 for total comfort???

thanks

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by kingfisher24

great information...any thought of how it might be attached to the ceiling.....with a retractable hose contraption coming out of the wardrobe closet between the fridge and the shower on this 08 25FB???. i think i can manage to rig a safe hose throught the wardrobe door with a quick connect...but how would one attach the heater to the ceiling ---aft of the ac unit???. or is this crazy???? do i go with a wave 8 or 6 for total comfort???

thanks

The Wave 6 works well for us, but were not in extreme Northern climates.

I don't know that mounting it on the ceiling would be a safe thing to do. The Wave 6 puts out a tremendous amount of heat and having it mounted that close to an overhead surface would worry me. Plus heat rises and it would trap the heat near the ceiling and leave the floor cold.

I'd consider an alternate location closer to the floor for safety and comfort.

Just my thoughts,

Kevin

[FLYNCLD]

Keep in mind that the Wave heaters produce radiant heat. It really doesn't matter that much where they are located or even in what direction they point. Unlike a heater that produces flames, the catalytic material produces more heat 3 feet away than it does right up close. So, just buy one that is the right size for the area you are trying to heat, mount it in a safe place, have proper ventilation, and you will be good to go!

[Kevin245]

Radiant heat warms objects, which includes the walls, ceiling, and furnishings. The Wave heaters can't be safely mounted with 18 inches of overhead combustibles. While the aluminum interior skin is not combustible, the clad materials may be.

Being curious, I ran a little impromptu experiment this morning just to see what kind of heat numbers I could produce using the Wave 8 (I mistaken in last night’s post when I said Wave 6) in our 31' Sovereign.


First: I set up a piece of 0.040" thick aluminum on the kitchen counter and extended it approximately 14" over the countertop edge. At this height the aluminum was approximately 12 inches above the Wave 8. The ambient temperature in the AS was about 77 degrees. With a surface thermometer placed on the top side of the aluminum sheet the plate surface temperature was about 106 after 15 minutes on High. The thermometer was located about 12 inches out from the heating element.

I thought the radiant heating affect at 12 inches would be significant, but I was surprised at the low reading.

Second: I replaced the aluminum plate with a piece of sheet steel and ran the test again with the surface thermometer attached to the underside of the plate. I used steel because tape would not hold the thermometer in place in an overhead position and the surface thermometer has a magnetic back and sticks to steel.

The thermometer was placed directly over the heater grill at a distance of approximately 12 inches. The reading after 15 minutes on high was 140 degrees and climbing. I stopped the test when the plate became too hot to touch with my bare hand. The photograph shows the temperature at 136 which is after the heater was turned off.

Kept burning the hair on my arms trying to get a photograph!!!


A copy of Olympian’s Installation and Operating Instructions are attached.

[kingfisher24]

great experiment....your heater was mounted on a wood surface....???
so the backside of the heaters do not get hot?????

anyways after some more thought...i am going to experi,emt with a coleman "Procat" heater...a 3000 btu deal that operates on disposable propane cylinders..... they are portable little units and i think one in the back and one in the front will better serve my needs.... i believe they can also be hooked to a 20lb cylinder that is placed outside???

thanks for all the info....

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by kingfisher24

great experiment....your heater was mounted on a wood surface....???
so the backside of the heaters do not get hot?????

anyways after some more thought...i am going to experi,emt with a coleman "Procat" heater...a 3000 btu deal that operates on disposable propane cylinders..... they are portable little units and i think one in the back and one in the front will better serve my needs.... i believe they can also be hooked to a 20lb cylinder that is placed outside???

thanks for all the info....

The Waves can be mounted directly on a wood surface as long as it is structurally sound enough to hold the heater.

I'm not familiar with the "Procat" but make sure you read the operating instructions and provide ventilation air as required when the heaters are in use in an enclosed space.

Best of luck,

Kevin

[rseagle]

My Next Project: Catalytic heater for my 22' CCD.

I'm had so much success with mounting my 32" flat screen TV last year with a Peerless SA-740P swing arm mount, I'm thinking about using one to hold an Olympian Wave 6 Cat heater off my wardrobe bulkhead. It's close to the gas line between the water heater and stove/oven. I could T off the line, install a shutoff valve and quick disconnect and use a steel braid flex hose to the heater. I'd then be able to pull the heater out and away from the bulkhead and overhead storage and point it specifically to where I want to heat.

Any thoughts or comments?

[byamcaravanner]

Originally Posted by rseagle

I'm had so much success with mounting my 32" flat screen TV last year with a Peerless SA-740P swing arm mount, I'm thinking about using one to hold an Olympian Wave 6 Cat heater off my wardrobe bulkhead.

Bob,

Great idea! Please post photos when you complete the install.

[65CV]

Bob-

Here's another way to install a 6. See post 107 in this thread:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f145...vel-45046.html

We debated between a 3 and a 6 and I'm glad we went with the latter. Once the temperature drops below 30, you'll need more fresh air to overcome the condensation. Also, as the temperature drops, the vapor pressure of the propane starts to drop and the heat output suffers. Remember that I'm referring to experience in the last two weeks in New England, so your mileage may vary -- dramatically.

John

[rseagle]

John,

That's a good look at the backside of the Wave 6. I'm sure I'll have to drill holes in the Wave 6 that match the Peerless mounting plate holes. Since the sheet metal is too thin to hold a thread I'd expect I'll have to use nuts with my machine screws. Does the heater open up to allow access for this?

[jwgreen]

I have an Olympian model 6100 electronic ignition catalytic heater in my 1999 Airstream Classic 34 ft. travel trailer. It was installed by the previous owner when I purchased it in 2006. This model has on on/off switch, sliding thermostat, and 3 LED's showing status of the heater. It worked fine until a few weeks ago when it would not come on at all. I opened the cover where the electronic components are located, removed, cleaned, and re-seated some connectors to the printed circuit board that controls the ignition sequencing, temperature, etc. It then worked fine for several weeks. Now, it will turn on, make heat for a few minutes, then shut off but the yellow LED flashes. The other LED's are red and green. The red LED is on during the initial ignition sequence, then the green one comes on after 2 minutes indicating gas flow, then the red one goes out 30 seconds later. The owners manual describes the red LED indicating that the heating wire is on (drawing 5 amps at 12 VDC) to heat up the catalytic material prior to gas flow and ignition. The yellow LED is lit when the switch is turned on. Olympian is now owned by CAMCO. Their customer service center in North Carolina states that they no longer service or supply repair parts for this model. Anyone else have one and know what to do short of replacing it with a newer, non-electronic model?

John Green
Currently in Land Yacht Harbor, Melbourne, FL through 3/8/10

[63air]

We have a Wave 6 in our 63GT and it works very well. I mounted it where the original furnace was but I did have to rework the gas line and cabinet. If we are on shore power we use 120v ceramic cube type heater and it does a fine job also.