How to get some heat??

[mouse29]

Hello,
Haven't posted here much before, I think maybe once last year. Anyway my wife and I bought a used Jayco pop-up 1993 two years ago. The camper was in fair shape, I did have to replace the curbside wood section on the back of it, but otherwise it was in good condition.


The camper doesn't have a heater and we have small kids now my daughter is 2 1/2 and my son is only 6 months old.  So I really want to be able to use the camper this summer but with kids really need some heat. We live at an elevation of 7400 feet and can camp around 10,000 to 12,000 feet. Or by driving into the desert we can be as low as 3500-5000 feet. I am just west of the continential divide close to the four corners area in Colorado. I really am used to backpacking and never even thought about heat for a camper until I had kids.

So the Buddy heater I've been looking at is not reported to preform well at elevation above 7000 feet. I would really rather have something more permanant and not have to worry about emmissions. We also dry camp for the most part, I don't think we will use too many campgrounds this year.

How long willl an electric heater with a car battery last?? I do have a car battery that is mounted on the tongue of the camper, but need to rig a system to get it to charge through my truck.   Right now the battery will only run lights for a small amount of time, but it's not really charged.

So do I have any options? Have any of you had experience with other heaters that work well propane or electric??

Thanks for the help, Mouse

[dkutz]

How long willl an electric heater with a car battery last?? I do have a car battery that is mounted on the tongue of the camper, but need to rig a system to get it to charge through my truck.   Right now the battery will only run lights for a small amount of time, but it's not really charged.

So do I have any options? Have any of you had experience with other heaters that work well propane or electric??

Thanks for the help, Mouse

About 5 minute probably.  Anythiing that puts our heat, (hair dryer, heater, griddle) will drain a battery QUICK!

I would go with the buddy heater, I have heard nothing but good things.  And our PU PO used one that he had rigged to a large propane tank.

Good luck, and post more often.

Where are you located?

[coach]

RADIANT CATALYTIC SPACE HEATERS

Wave heater by Olympian

[AustinBoston]

So the Buddy heater I've been looking at is not reported to preform well at elevation above 7000 feet.

I would go with the buddy heater, I have heard nothing but good things.

 :confused:

The Buddy does not work well above about 7,000 feet, and will not likely stay lit at all at the 10,000 to 12,000 feet mouse29 mentioned.  The Buddy has an oxygen depletion sensor that detects the lack of oxygen at that altitude, and assumes that the heater may start to produce carbon monoxide.

Austin

[mouse29]

RADIANT CATALYTIC SPACE HEATERS

Wave heater by Olympian

Thanks for the link, The solar system is a little too spendy but it seems like a neat concept. The propane heaters look nice.

Oh, and I live in Pagosa Springs, CO

[ScouterMom]

Have you thought about heated mattress pads? they won't 'heat' the pup itself, but they WILL keep the beds warm at night without any danger of fire or CO2.  I'm no electrician, but I don't think they pull anywhere near the power an electric heater does..... anyone know for sure what they pull? I think it's about the equivalent of a lamp.....

Of course, you can also up the insulation factor on your pup with Reflectix in the windows and over & under the bunkends.  

do those things, along with a small propane heater while you're all awake, and I bet  you'll be able to keep the camper warm enough at night with just the leftover heat, body heat from 4 people ( kids are little furnace by themselves) and the electric mattress pads - and not have to run a flame or electric heater at night.

[perterra]

I have seen alcohol heaters in boats, I think Origo was the brand I remember. Around 5000 btus and no open flame if I remember. I dont remember the run time but it was past 6 hours if memory serves me.

Quick search.
http://www.defender.com/category.jsp?path=-1%7C406%7C1066337&id=1066189

[austinado16]

At your altitudes, I would not recommend anything that's not vented to the outside....as well as taking in it's own air from the outside.

I own and love a Olympian Wave 6 Catalytic Heater.  Fantastic.......but I'm not camping higher than 7,000'.

What I would suggest.....for best performance and safety.....is to buy an actual RV/Pop-up furnace.  These take in their own air from outside the camper, and then exhaust their burner air to the outside, through a single vent pipe (a pipe within a pipe).  Your camper battery power's the 12v blower fan and thermostat.  Your camper propane tank fuels the furnace.

There are several manufacturers, (Atwood Everest 8012 on ebay) and they are sized to fit into your existing cabinet space.  For example, I installed a Duo-Therm model in my '87 Starcraft; I simply removed one lower cabinet door, and the furnace uses that existing opening and the space inside.  I drilled a hole through the outside wall with the proper sized hole saw, to fit the intake/exhaust pipe, and drilled through the floor in order to "T" into the copper propane line and run a line to the furnace.

You can find them on ebay, or other sources.  I bought a used one on ebay, then last year found another one a few years newer, sold my older one, and popped in the newer one.  We leave it set to about 65*F and that's plenty of heat when you're tucked into the covers.

Here's an example of a furnace installed in the cabinetry.  Mine's actually down at the floor level, but here's one mounted up higher:


Buy a 1-1/2" or 2" thick memory foam mattress topper from Target (they go on sale for $20) for your kids bunk and they'll sleep warm and comfortable.  Get a 2-3" thick one from Costco for your bunk.  You'll sleep better than at home.

You can also zip "Refectix" brand insulation panels into your kids bunk windows and that will help hold the cold out and the heat in.

[PattieAM]

I have had good results with the Sport Cat (Coleman) catalitic heater and the small bottles of propane, the few times I've been on a non-power site.  I do however allow for ventilation with the top of the door down about an inch and a window on either bunk end open a smidget.

[austinado16]

I have had good results with the Sport Cat (Coleman) catalitic heater and the small bottles of propane, the few times I've been on a non-power site.  I do however allow for ventilation with the top of the door down about an inch and a window on either bunk end open a smidget.

I agree, the catalytic heaters are fantastic and I highly recommend them...quiet, no draw on the battery, radient heat so they warm objects and the air...but my concern is running one at the high elevations he's camping at.  I guess the thing to do would be to call the manufacture (like of the Olympians) and ask what they thought about using them above 8,000 or 10,000'.

[mike4947]

I have to agree with Austin on this issue. Once you're talking about 10K+ altitude even catalytics start producing carbon monoxide due to the decreased oxygen content of the air.
But furnaces are a large draw on batteries. Your basic RV 18K BTU furnace uses 3.4 amps for every hour the fan runs.
 
Years ago there was a basic hot air furnace for RV's that was vented to the outside but without a fan and relied on radiant heat more than circulation to heat a volume. I'm not sure if they even make them any more or if they are legal to install.
 
Our high altitude folks just bite the bullet and add on battery power/generator to match the time/amount they'll be using the furnace when dry camping.

[austinado16]

We used our built in furnace 2 nights in a row, with outside temps in the low 50's and with the t-stat set to 65*F, I think the furnace probably cycled about every 30min and would run for about 10min, maybe a little longer.  I don't think we could have gotten a 3rd night out of it without recharging the battery.  But, that's with one of the smaller Optima Yellow Tops.  A big group 31 RV/Marine, or a pair of golf cart batteries would have held up better.

It was that trip that convinced me the Wave 6 Catalytic would be a great mod....and it has been.  Between that and the new LED overhead lights, we're now really "easy" on the battery.

[mouse29]

Thanks for all of the post's guys, it's a lot of help and much to think about. The propane heaters I'm thinking are not such a good idea, especially with kids and the altitude.  I may look into a furnance and see how expensive that option is.

I also will most likely be camping between 8000-9500 feet and the occasional 10-12000 feet depending on how cold the summer nights are at that elevation. I really only need a battery to last a few nights, three or so would be nice without needing a recharge. I don't regret buying a pop-up, but I do regret not having one with a furnance.

Keep the ideas comming and if I look at doing a furnance I'm sure I'll have more questions.

Thanks again,
mouse

[coach]

All the ads claim safe to 12,000 feet. I don't know.
I think air is still 21% O2 at any altitude.
The pressure may be lower and therefore the partial pressure lower ...

[AustinBoston]

All the ads claim safe to 12,000 feet. I don't know.
I think air is still 21% O2 at any altitude.
The pressure may be lower and therefore the partial pressure lower ...

Ads for what?  There have been 4-5 different products discussed here.

Austin