FlameKing portable propane heater w/THERMOSTAT

[MotorVation]

YouTube video review

There are two sizes of these heaters. Large/small. Both have thermostats. The small one is either 10000 or 5000 BTU. I didn't pay much attention to the larger one but it's rated at 20000 BTU on high. Way too much for my van.

I've been looking around for a backup heater to my Wave3 for those really cold nights and came across this video. 95 bucks on Amazon for the small one. I was thinking about an additional Wave3 but they're expensive as hell right now.
If It's cold enough, I think 5000 BTU is doable since it has a thermostat and turns itself on and off.


I'll save someone the trouble of typing this out. I turn my heat off when I'm sleeping.

 

[Camper]

Not vented..... no thanks.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Thanks, I had not seen those. A thermostat is a good upgrade on these units. 

The typical cautions apply, since these are like any infrared propane heater. 

Ventilation and a working CO detector.

 

[MotorVation]

:thumbsup:

I wish my Wave3 had a thermostat.

To clarify, the smaller unit is rated for both 10000 BTU on high or 5000 BTU on low

 

[tx2sturgis]

I like my Wave 3 just as it is...nice and warm and 100% quiet....all night long.

Typically, propane heaters with a thermostat of this type (either a thermocouple/hydraulic with pilot or maybe an electric gas valve and pilot) will make clicking noises as it goes on and off, and might even make clicking or snapping noises as the metallic and ceramic pieces expand and contract during warming and cooling cycles.

Not sure I'd want to hear my Wave 3 clicking and snapping several times each night as it tries to fire up that catalytic pad!

 

[MGfromBC]

A few weeks ago I went to bed under a thin sleeping bag and a liner.  By morning I had added 2 blankets and a tarp and was still cold.  There was ice on the puddles.  I turned on the car.

I went to the only store in the nearest town and bought a single burner stove that screws onto the top of a 1 lb propane bottle.  Once I found a safe place for it it was better but it wanted to melt the ceiling and even with a fan, it was hard to get heat anywhere else in the car.

When I got home I rebuilt it into a heater.

The stainless steel cylinder is from the kitchen section of a thrift store.  Inside are several shallow, round electrical boxes with the holes punched out and a space between each one.  All the metal retains heat, especially the heavier piece on the top... Before my next outing I created a better mounting system that held it securely in place and made extra sure with a chain.  

Out of the back of a closet I pulled a 12 volt fan and a black plastic project box.  They were exactly the same size, the screw holes lined up.  The box and fan sit on the floor in front of the driver's seat, blowing up toward the mirror.  The duct pulls air from under the seat.  I sit in the seat behind the driver's seat.

On my next outing the new heater and improved circulation was much better.  I also had the fan that I had used previously so I put it near the mirror, blowing toward the back.  There was still too much heat near the ceiling but I did manage to get heat down to the floor and the heater continued to radiate heat after I turned it off.

I've now spent 2 days on the next level.  In another thread someone mentioned gravel as a heat battery.  My mind raced.  The heater retains everything it had before but I have added more steel and a lot of small rocks as a heat battery.  The structural metal is heavier than it needs to be so it can hold more heat.  The space between the original stainless steel cylinder and the outer funnel like duct is full of rocks.  I still need to get a few more to top it up.

I let it run for a while in the yard today.  Initially, it only gives off a small amount of heat from the top.  I think this will be easier to distribute.  Over time the rocks and metal started to heat up, beginning near the top and spreading toward the bottom.  As all of it heats up, it gives off more heat.  It also took a long (unmeasured) time for it to cool down.  This was the second required feature.

Once it cooled down I took it out to the car and worked on a mounting system that worked on the 2 ideas that I wanted it to be secure and I didn't want it to be to near anything that could be damaged by heat.

I've got people to see and things to do for the next few days but I'm looking forward to a real world test.

Until then I'm watching TV, cruising the internet and working on better insulation for my window covers.

MG

 

[StacyK]

I see that Flame King also has a small catalytic heater like the old Coleman—3,000 BTU’s. The blurb says it’s only for outdoor use, I’m guessing because it doesn’t have a shutoff feature if it tips over. (?) Currently $78 on Amazon.

https://flameking.com/product/ysn-ad03/

 

[tx2sturgis]

Cool...I have one of the older Colemans like that, and it works great. 

There were some lawsuits and Coleman took theirs off the market...when that happened, and it looked like there would not be any more small catalytic heaters available, anywhere, at anyprice, for hunters, campers, golfers, etc, the price of leftover stock in the stores and online went ovr $400 for those heaters!

I think I paid $100 on ebay for mine....used!

So...in todays post-covid and litigious society, if you want one of those, you better buy it NOW...especially at $79!

That is a steal!

Keep in mind that that this type of heater, like any unvented heater, needs ventilation and CO monitoring, to be safe. In addition, the form factor of the heater is not really 'van-friendly'...it takes up a bit more room on the floor, and has to have some clear space all around it. But if you have the room, it makes for a great back-up heater, or a primary heater if you want to keep buying (or refilling) the 1 lb LP bottles.

Yes you can use an adapter hose...but it's not made for that, it will sit kinda odd, and you end up with a hose and heater and tank that takes up a fair amount of room, and might get tipped forward, and cause a fire if it got up against carpeting or curtains. 

So just be aware of those issues.

 

[txmnjim]

i was looking at the Mr Buddy heaters for our tent a couple of weeks ago but we had our Indian summer so it only got down to 43 one night so i didnt get it. still looking as next Fall (sad that it may be that long!) we may go to Rocky Mtn NP where i'm pretty sure it will be much colder. most reviews i've read say its pretty safe but will watch video to see how it compares to Flameking...also, MG my go to water boiling system is that Coleman set up you have there and not sure i would want an open flame like that configuration in my car, much less when i'm asleep! good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[MGfromBC]

txmnjim  -  I was very reluctant to have any flame in my car.  Coffee and any cooking are by electricity.  My heater is very, very well secured, spaced away from combustibles, vented and the idea with all the rocks and steel is to heat everything up and then turn it off.  I can't see leaving it unattended for any longer than a trip to the outhouse.

MG

 

[MotorVation]

I pulled the trigger on the smaller 10000 BTU- 5000 BTU FlameKing and a hose with the 1lb to 20lb adapter last night. The low pressure regulator is already built into the heater. It won't be here for about a week

 

[txmnjim]

txmnjim  -  I was very reluctant to have any flame in my car.  Coffee and any cooking are by electricity.  My heater is very, very well secured, spaced away from combustibles, vented and the idea with all the rocks and steel is to heat everything up and then turn it off.  I can't see leaving it unattended for any longer than a trip to the outhouse.

MG

that's cool. i'm glad the rocks worked as that's a genius idea and i have heard of it before.
be safe and have fun! jim

 

[MrNoodly]

I don't mean the following question as any form of criticism. I'm just curious about the connections between experiences and preferences.

I grew up with gas stoves, gas ovens, gas grills, gas lanterns, gas furnaces, so using compressed gases and open flames is no big deal to me. So I wonder if some people's discomfort with those things in their rigs is related to living mostly or exclusively with electric appliances.

Thoughts?

 

[MGfromBC]

I'm also in the pre-planning, pondering stages of a larger heat battery idea.

Recently I removed the front passenger seat and built a rather large storage are that I refer to as the basement. It extends from under the dash and forms the headboard of my bed. It is only accessible from the car door and it has a wooden storage on top of it about 2' square and 8" deep. The basement has my deep cycle battery, tools, water, tarps, bungees and a bunch of other stuff. I enclosed it in pegboard for ventilation.

I'm thinking that I could make room in there for a bucket or ammo box full of rocks. I haven't worked on a parts list yet but one idea is to bury some iron pipe fittings in the rocks of my recent construction. I think automotive heater hose would be more durable that dryer vent to move the heat from the heater to the storage. A coil in the storage box, either heater hose with holes or more iron pipe would heat the rocks, with another hose to a fan near my feet on the floor. It would be semi-sealed (i.e. not to liquid standards) and the fan would draw heat from the heater, through the storage and to the floor area.

With enough heat in storage, I could continue running the fan for some period of time. Assuming I turn both the heater and fan off before I go to sleep, there should still be heat radiating from both set of rocks.

Of course, I've also been reading about heat storage and DIY and commercial heat batteries. Paraffin wax is much more efficient (and expensive) than rocks. There are other items as well that provide increasing efficiency and cost. I will probably be trying out my latest heater with rocks in the next few weeks. The additional heat battery with rocks is probable over the next few months.

Somewhere along this path is the possibility of a larger propane tank that could be left in the basement, with access to the valve from the cabin area or it could be on the floor under the steering wheel.

I'd very much appreciate any additional thoughts, comments, suggestions, experiences

 

[MotorVation]

I grew up with gas stoves, gas ovens, gas grills, gas lanterns, gas furnaces, so using compressed gases and open flames is no big deal to me. So I wonder if some people's discomfort with those things in their rigs is related to living mostly or exclusively with electric appliances.

Thoughts?

I grew up in a house with a natural gas heater, stove and dryer. I cooked and made pizza for a lot of years with gas appliances. Using propane in the van is no biggie to me. I'm really anal about ventilation and monitoring my CO levels when I'm either using the Coleman stove for cooking or running a heater. I usually turn my heat off when I crawl in my sleeping bag but if it were cold enough out, say below 25f, I'd probably let the Wave3 run on low to keep my batteries happy.

Having that FlameKing heater as a backup will allow me to go places I normally wouldn't consider during the shoulder seasons. The Great Lakes for instance

 

[MotorVation]

Duh. I forgot to find out if the Flame King will run at higher elevations before I bought it. The literature on those heaters kinda sucks. Last night I emailed the company but haven't heard back yet. When and if I do, I'll post the reply.

It'll be here Friday and I'll be able to test run it but I'm at sea level so I can't test that. 

Duh

 

[MotorVation]

Okey dokey.

Flame King got back to me. Here's their response:

1."The Heater may experience shutoff issues once it reaches 7,000 feet. 2. It will shutoff when it reaches the desired temperature."

I had also asked them about the thermostat. It's not really what I wanted to hear but at least the word "may"  is in there. We'll see I guess.

I've had no issues running the Wave3 around Flagstaff

 

[tx2sturgis]

I've used my Wave 3 at about 9500 feet elevation...no problems at all.

 

[MotorVation]

Good deal. I guess the Flame King and the Mr Heater Buddy act about the same at high altitude due to the oxygen level sensor? In any case I use a lot of ventilation so it may not be a problem.

 

[hugemoth]

The Buddy heater doesn't really have a low oxygen sensor, it has a special pilot jet that causes the flame to lift and extinguish when there is not enough oxygen. You can watch it work. Haven't seen a Flame King but imagine it uses the same system.