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08-27-2015, 08:37 PM
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#1
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 50
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Gravity feed propane heater/furnaces
Does anyone have any practical experience with these style of heaters? I used a residential sized one years ago and it worked great. I've found a few on Kijiji that came out of tent trailers, a bit small but cheap, a person could install a couple for "zone" heating, and the beauty is that they use no electricity.
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08-27-2015, 08:46 PM
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#2
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NUNYA
Posts: 4,236
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT408, AT545
Rated Cap: 23 500 gvw
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08-27-2015, 08:55 PM
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#3
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 50
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No, this is a space heater or furnace.
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08-27-2015, 09:03 PM
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#4
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 50
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Though that water heater seems pretty sweet, too bad it's outdoor use only, probably would only last a couple of months of regular use, and probably freeze solid here I'm Canada.
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08-27-2015, 09:22 PM
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#5
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Posts: 1,791
Year: 1997
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: B3800 Short bus
Engine: T444E
Rated Cap: 36
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Can you find an example of one online? "Gravity fed"+"propane" doesn't really make sense.. Propane is pressurized...
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08-27-2015, 09:25 PM
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#6
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NUNYA
Posts: 4,236
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT408, AT545
Rated Cap: 23 500 gvw
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I'm confused.
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08-27-2015, 09:49 PM
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#7
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 50
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Here's an example, they work by heat convection sometimes with a fan added on like this one, otherwise they use no electricity. http:// http://m.kijiji.ca/trailer-parts-accessories/edmonton/trailer-furnace-gravity-feed/v?adId=1082286195&ck=CK&from=Search&ts=14407293345 00"]http:// trailer furnace gravity feed | parts, accessories | Edmonton | Kijiji Mobile
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08-27-2015, 10:02 PM
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#8
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Adirondack Mountains NY
Posts: 1,101
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Maybe instead of "gravity feed" you mean "convection," a wall furnace without an included blower fan to force the air through it? I had saved one out of a scrapped office trailer for a while, thinking I would have a use for it some day. But I scrapped it when "some day" never arrived.
I have lived in a 3-room apartment with a natural gas wall furnace and blower on a central wall, and it kept it warm enough in Northeast winters.
Or maybe you mean "fuel oil" aka diesel? There are oil heaters that work on a drip of #2 fuel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jazty
Can you find an example of one online? "Gravity fed"+"propane" doesn't really make sense.. Propane is pressurized...
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Most propane appliances run on vapor boiled off taken from the top of the tank, but a few run on the liquid fuel drawn from the bottom of the tank. Maybe someone thinks drawing liquid from the bottom forced down by the vapor equals gravity feed?
__________________
Someone said "Making good decisions comes from experience, experience comes from bad decisions." I say there are three kinds of people: those who learn from their mistakes, those who learn from the mistakes of others, and those who never learn.
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08-27-2015, 10:44 PM
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#9
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 50
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Yes it heats by convection, I don't know why they're referred to as gravity feed. Basically they have a burning chamber where the pressurized propane burns, and it is surrounded by a cavity that allows the room's air to circulate through, heat up and rise, drawing colder floor level in.
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08-27-2015, 10:59 PM
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#10
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 50
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Apparently the term gravity feed was used to describe what have become known as octopus furnaces in houses about 100 years old. Their inefficiency was due to the airflow restrictions imposed by the constrictions of ducts and the bends they went through to route the airflow. However, the smaller more modern units designed for RVs employ no ductwork and simply work as a space heater with all noxious gases vented outside. AND, no electricity.
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08-27-2015, 11:01 PM
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#11
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 50
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Or moving parts.
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08-28-2015, 12:00 AM
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#12
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Skoolie
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Alvin, TX
Posts: 122
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Safe-T Liner MVP
Engine: 12V Cummins
Rated Cap: 75
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Gravity feed propane heater/furnaces
Quote:
Originally Posted by Longrun
Though that water heater seems pretty sweet, too bad it's outdoor use only, probably would only last a couple of months of regular use, and probably freeze solid here I'm Canada.
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I love mine / vented it through the roof - it's been going strong for 3yrs...
__________________
1996
Thomas
Safety Liner MVP
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08-28-2015, 08:56 AM
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#13
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Posts: 1,791
Year: 1997
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: B3800 Short bus
Engine: T444E
Rated Cap: 36
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I believe the OP is talking about a furnace for heating the bus, USMCRockinRV.
I have some questions for you over here: Venting an Eccotemp L5 propane water heater. I'd be much obliged if you could throw me some answers
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08-28-2015, 09:04 AM
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#14
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Posts: 1,791
Year: 1997
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: B3800 Short bus
Engine: T444E
Rated Cap: 36
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I've been in a camper or two that have that style of convection propane heater. I don't think they're particularly efficient. Reason being that (like the Eccotemp water heater shown above) they require hot exhaust to keep the convection process working. This means that some of the heat from the propane is going inside the camper and some of the heat is being dumped outside.
Power vented appliances are more efficient. Since power vented appliances don't rely on a draft to pull the exhaust outside the heat exchange can be more efficient, usually leaving the exhaust warm to the touch instead of hot. More heat inside, less outside. Of course, they require electricity to run.
Convection furnaces are simple, though. If you don't mind the added cost of burning excess propane then they may be the way to go.
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08-28-2015, 09:10 AM
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#15
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
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If it is fuel efficiency you are looking for, catalytic heaters are way ahead of everything else at about 98%.
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08-28-2015, 09:19 AM
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#16
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Posts: 1,791
Year: 1997
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: B3800 Short bus
Engine: T444E
Rated Cap: 36
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True, true.. I was lusting over one of these a while back:
Olympian Wave 6 Catalytic Heater
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08-28-2015, 09:38 AM
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#17
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
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Ya...really sweet heat. Had one in my old Bird and loved it. Worth every penny. No exhaust flue required but you do need replace the oxygen it consumes. Remember to leave a window or roof vent cracked open just a bit.
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08-28-2015, 07:49 PM
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#18
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 50
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Catalytics do seem more efficient, but how open do you need to keep your vent? Around here I have to expect outside temperatures of -40 or lower for weeks at a time. I'd like to avoid having to lose heat just to keep things safe.
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08-28-2015, 11:05 PM
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#19
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
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Doesn't take very much at all but is critical if you are in a tightly sealed structure. If the Cat (or any other heater for that matter) consumes too much of your oxygen, you"ll be waking up dead.
I hate it when that happens.
Best to check the manufacturer's recommendations and heed them.
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08-29-2015, 09:29 AM
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#20
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Snowflake, Arizona
Posts: 343
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: All American Rear Engine
Engine: C-8.3-300 Cummins MD3060
Rated Cap: 40 Prisoners
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One of the problems created by an unvented heater is the
amount of moisture they create when they are running.
They may be 98% efficient but one of the major products
of combustion is H2O. In an automobile you get about
1 1/2 gallons of water for every gallon of gas you burn.
That's why the exhaust rusts out from the inside. Water
dripping down the walls and ceiling is not pleasant.
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