DYI -Heat solution

[sneaks]

In fact, on many things I'm seeing what I would call blatant price gouging.
Purely my observation and opinion.

Maybe they are reaching a plateau where the cheap labor once available is demanding higher wages and forced labor is under international pressure?
I am not sure but it does seem chinese goods are escalating in price rapidly.

Correct on both counts. The labor movement in China has raised prices, and yes, the prices are going higher - not only because of that movement - but also the rapid increase in logistics costs. Scroll through AliExpress, pick a couple of "inexpensive" items, then look at the shipping costs to the US. I've seen $4 t-shirts with shipping over $50. There's also a bunch on there with $1k plus shipping, though that I suspect is more to discourage dropshipping to the US than any actual attempt to generate income.

We won't see MFG jobs come back to the US until it isn't significantly cheaper to have them outside the US. This means a couple of things need to change:

- Tax shelters
- The concept that the profits of the shareholder is the sole driving force of companies and the economy. There's a reason why the Dow is no longer a good identifier of the state of the economy. 
- A living wage tied to productivity

Even if they brought MFG back to the US, look around at the service industry (69% of all jobs in the US) and how they are struggling to find people to work. They don't pay enough, they don't give reasonable benefits, and they play with your hours so that the first two aren't even in the picture. At one point in time, going public would increase capital so you could increase innovation and production to get profits by better products and higher volume. Now, profits are made taking advantage of the working class. 

Original topic: Wood is messy. No thanks, and considering the weight of a wood burner, that is the last thing I\d want in my rig in the case of an accident. I've seen ballpoint pens pierce a windshield, can you imagine what a 50# stove would do to the back of your head? 

RE: Propane causing more deaths: Without context from those figures (and working in EMS), I would hazard many of those deaths are a) mobile\manufactured home-related and\or b) adverse weather related where people are trying to stay warm the easiest and cheapest way possible. You can easily store a couple of 20# propane tanks for an outage (or "borrow" from the grill), getting K1 when there's widespread power outage, not so easy. Same with trying to scavenge wood when there's 3' of snow on the ground. Living in northern Maine, I've seen all of it. I have 2 Duraglow K1 heaters, 2 propane heaters, and a generator. They all get used at least a dozen times a year. If the outage looks to be only a few hours, then propane wins. If 8-12 hours, the K1 heaters get dragged out and the windows cracked because they stink even with new wicks. Longer than that, then I trudge out to the shed, fire up the gennie, run the cords, and plug in the Monitor heater (along with the fridge and freezer). Even with the unusually mild and horrifically dry winter we had, they still got used this year. 
Rant over
YMMV.

 

[AeroNautiCal]

Perhaps consider the US manufactured Fatsco Pet Stove Model 450, which is 9.5 inches high, 6 inches diameter and has an 8.5 inch lantern base which has cast in mounting holes.

They use a 3 inch diameter stovepipe.

These beautiful, high quality cast iron and marine grade stainless steel stoves have been made in the US for over a century and are held in very high regard by wooden boat liveaboard communities for their high output dry heat which quickly dries out cold and damp cabins.

Despite their compact size they are highly efficient and economic and are often mounted on their own tiny shelf as they don't need to be situated far from bulkheads or furniture.

They were designed to burn charcoal and smokeless charcoal briquettes, wood and Duraflame logs work well and are economic.

I have no connection to the company other than as a very happy customer whom imported a Fatsco Pet Stove to London. I doubt that these stoves can be bettered on quality, price or appearance (I think the Pet Stove is beautiful).

Every single part can be bought individually.

They can be found at fatscostoves.com

I was never a fan of Chinese diesel air heaters due to concerns about quality and safety, however, long term owners report excellent reliability, which made me rethink and research them further.

I found the leading manufacturer of diesel air heaters in China, an established company whom have been in partnership with the German company Webasto since 2015 and whom are the sole supplier of diesel air heaters to the Chinese Military!

They have their own (separate from Webasto) technical development section in addition to their partnership with the German manufacturer!

They actually manufacture and supply genuine Webasto products alongside their own extensive range of products.

I have decided to buy one of their 2kw models and have absolute confidence in it's quality and safety and they are the only Chinese manufacturer that I would consider buying a diesel air heater from.

I have no connection to this company and have yet to even buy a heater from them.

Their website is auto-parkingheater.com

I hope this is of some use.

 

[PeterPiper]

People are creatures of habit and are by nature afraid of change.

You would not believe how hard people fought against ELECTRICITY in it's early days. Yep...electricity was widely feared. A US President refused to go near it.
It took me 15 years to convince my father to use a computer for his business.
Actually, I never could....he had to eventually see the light on his own and he did. Then he wouldn't leave me alone with questions and asking for help.

You simply cannot "convince" people......if it's important, you can only lead them to the trough...and pat them on the back when they decide to drink (if they ever do).

 

[tx2sturgis]

If I see smoke rising from a van or camper or RV parked in the campground or forest, I'm calling 911, it's ON FIRE!

 

[Lorelei072]

I’d love to put one in my van eventually, but it’s near the bottom of my list of needs. I just run the van heater and an electric blanket off my Jackery.

One thing about the Cubic Mini is that while it’s rated for vans & RVs, everything has a trade-off: This one is that it isn’t big enough to stay hot overnight. To keep it going it must be fed about every 2 hours. I won’t get up every 2 hours to stoke a woodstove.

Also, I like the low smoke recirculating burn feature, but it’s going to break my stealth camping lol

 

[bullfrog]

Wish they made a propane conversion kit for the Cubic Mini.

 

[Chev Cutaway Cube Van]

I had a wood stove in my van-



1. You need fuel, and lots of it

2. Scavenged fuel (wood) is usually not dry, so it produces creosote. If you have a bend in the chimney, it'll leak out the seam.

3. Someone mentioned it's a mess- That's correct. Ashes, bark

4. It's smokey when you open the door, you can't burn full blast unless you are planning on turning the entire vehicle into an oven, closing the flu makes it smolder- When you open the door to add more wood ...

5. You have a very hot object with a very hot pipe sitting in the middle of your floor, if your s-bag happens to slide onto it, it'll melt



It is free, and everyone agrees wood heat is the best heat.

It's safe, as the draft draws fresh air in (or the fire would go out) and exhausts to the outside. I'm sure the internet can imagine all types of calamities that could (or couldn't) occur, but I never had an issue, and sitting on your couch typing hysterical scenarios you could get zapped by you computer.

If something goes wrong you would know it instantly.

Any of the given tens of thousands of farms in the Midwest have woodstoves, and the principle is precisely the same.

But I know ...



You don't need a very big stove to heat a small space- Van- about twice the size of a shoebox is more than enough.



So my humble suggestion is a very small stove, with a tin cookie pan under it to catch ashes. a chimney going straight up and get off your couch and stop typing those 'you're gonna die' posts.

 

[highdesertranger]

Burn bans. Highdesertranger

 

[hugemoth]

I saw a clever idea for making a little wood stove from stainless steel sinks or pans. No welding needed.

Long ago we used an army surplus multi fuel tent heater in our boat. Haven't seen one for years but it worked well. It would burn wood, coal, gasoline and diesel. Probably not available nowadays.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Yes, wood heat is probably the best heat, but there are just so many downsides that I couldn't justify getting one. Stoking the fire during the night is one reason I wouldn't have thought of until I actually started using the stove. 2 nights ago, the temperatures dipped down colder than I thought it would. Both roof vents were open, and all the blankets were out. But dang it, 4am and we were shivering, not sleeping! Mustered the strength to get up, close the vents, and push a button on the thermostat for the diesel heater to kick on. Done, instantly fixed and comfortable for the rest of night. All thoughts of wood stove are gone.

Yes, getting propane crossed my mind, but pound for pound, liquid fuel is more efficient than propane. Diesel is also much safer than propane or gasoline. Gasoline is actually very scary, do some research. It's amazing we use such a volatile chemical to power vehicles. Anyway, the engine is already diesel so heater just takes fuel from stock vehicle tank, so it was a no brainer for me. Just keep filling van fuel tank, never worrying about auxiliary fuel sources. If I had to add an internal diesel fuel tank into van, then I would probably go propane, unless I installed diesel tank in the cab of our step van, which is seperated from the living space. That's where I keep the spare fuel Jerry can anyway. If fuel gets spilled in cab, not really a big deal. If you spill diesel fuel in the living space of your vehicle, just give up and build a new interior.

There are many ways to skin a cat, I mean heat a vehicle. Just do it safe, and don't cut corners. You want a gas stove in your rig, duh, get a propane heater. You want an induction stove, you already have a beefed up battery setup, use an electric blanket. Living at a pallet factory and can cook right on the wood stove, crank that stove, setting your alarm every 2 hours to add wood. Everyone has a different scenario, there really isn't a wrong way. Unless maybe you knowingly gave your money to the Chinese! 

 

[Chev Cutaway Cube Van]

I had access to a welder, metal was cheap, the wood was free, and it worked- very well.

My life was better for negligible cost. Win-win for no dinero.



If you got a bed of hot coals and a nice, large dry hardwood log you can get it to burn all night.

It's not that difficult, people have heated with wood for millennia.

But I'd always slept in unheated van, I slept just fine even in extreme- water frozen in the Morning- cold,

so only used the stove when I was in the vehicle studying.



People can always justify their $90k 8-series strudel tuner-
But it's really just a way from feeling superior to the guy with the '97 Buick.

 

[PeterPiper]

"Scientists estimate that the black carbon produced by wood burning is the second most significant contributor to global warming. Black carbon particles in the atmosphere absorb solar heat. This not only heats the atmosphere, but also melts the earth's snowcaps and glaciers when these particles settle on the ground."

http://www.familiesforcleanair.org/environment/environment5/

DON'T SHOOT !! - Call BS....whatever......I have no clue....Saw this after Googling wood burning.......I'm just the messenger

 

[jacqueg]

Well, the way the weather is changing, discussions about the best way to heat your van will become moot.

 

[bullfrog]

Unfortunately, the extremes are becoming more so it seems and in more of a sporadic pattern.

 

[Chev Cutaway Cube Van]

Burn bans.  Highdesertranger

Show me how you can run an RV's furnace, or a Kero/Propane heater, but not a wood stove inside the vehicle.
I'd very much like to see that.

There are many ways to skin a cat

Never tried that. I'd think they'd be rather reluctant.

 

[Chev Cutaway Cube Van]

"Scientists estimate that the black carbon produced by wood burning is the second most significant contributor to global warming. Black carbon particles in the atmosphere absorb solar heat. This not only heats the atmosphere, but also melts the earth's snowcaps and glaciers when these particles settle on the ground."

http://www.familiesforcleanair.org/environment/environment5/

DON'T SHOOT !! - Call BS....whatever......I have no clue....Saw this after Googling wood burning.......I'm just the messenger

They said tillage was the major contributor- Then Bovine Flatulence- they changed that to the Bovine's eructation!!
I'm not joking! and I know saying that people will STILL think I'm joking!

 

[highdesertranger]

Anything that uses a flame MUST have a shut off valve that immediately shuts the flame off. An RV furnace has a shut off valve, for that matter so do portable heaters like Mr. Buddy. That is why a Coleman stove is ok but a charcoal BBQ is not. Also in extreme burn bans even a Coleman stove is forbidden. Highdesertranger

 

[wayne49]

Mammoth Lakes had a program where they went around replacing wood stoves with a cleaner alternative at low or no cost to the end user.