Help me decide on a heater?

[gwave]

While everyone is talking Air Conditioning I am prepping for winter. I'm hitting the road in a couple of months and mostly chasing nice weather, but reality tells me not every day can be warm. Throughout this summer in the PacNW mountains I have woken up quite chilly! My sleeping bags are fine + a couple wool blankets and warm clothing, it's covered. I will still want heat some days.

The big 3:
- Wave 3 or 8
- Mr Buddy
- Chinese Diesel Heater

Cons on the first two:

• propane, not skilled enough to build a vented box. Trust me, it will not be square.

Buddy:

•  is cheap but I hear it put's out too much heat!
• Seems kind of bulky for storing when not in use.
•  It really should not be left on overnight.

Wave 3 (probably looking at that one not the larger)

•  needs to be covered when not in use and kept clean/free of dust. I imagine that's going to be very difficult when I'm finally full time.
•  This needs quite a bit of space around it (though not behind) and I am not sure I really have the recommended 4 feet or whatever the instructions call for. I have not checked the same for the buddy yet.
• Also should not be left on overnight but I feel it's a little safer than the buddy. I'd not risk it either way.

Pros of the two propane options:

• Easy to install/no installation.
• Will keep me warm(er).
• That's about all I got.

Then the Chinese diesel

Cons:

• My van is not diesel so I would unfortunately keep the tank inside, do not want to deal with mounting a tank underneath. I image that can stink! Who here has their tank inside?
• The tanks are kind of small, about 2.5 gallons. If I run this for a few days I will run out of fuel quick. Carrying a spare tank would also have to stay in the van.
• Cheap quality, probably. A leak would be terrible to deal with if it happened
• They seem a little complicated to install, especially with poor instructions
• No gas version that I can find, even then I doubt I'd try to tap into my tank and I'm too cheap to hire someone
• Refilling seems awkward, pulling up to a diesel pump and running the filthy hose through the van to get to the tank? Or do people always use a smaller portable tank to fill first then fill from that? 

Pros:

• About as expensive as the Wave 3. I'm not interested in the name brands at 6x the price.
• Better heat source than propane, less condensation produced. 
• The one I was looking at had a timer so I can set it to turn on and off.

Some might look at that list and think the choice is somewhat obvious, but I am leaning towards the diesel heater. What do you all you, do you like it, would you switch to one of the other options instead?

 

[MotorVation]

I have the Wave 3. I like it. I didn't build a vented box for the propane tank but ideally that's the way to go.

These Chinese diesel heaters didn't show up on the radar until after I bought the Wave but I may go that route anyway somewhere down the line. I'm sticking with the Wave this winter in the van. I've been using it through two winters, not in the van but in my mobile home. I have the propane tank about two feet from my favorite chair so I'd get used to it. Yeah, I know, it's a no no. I also got into the habit of turning the heat off when I'm sleeping and using a sleeping bag instead. Never slept so good. It goes down into the 40's here occasionally, at night in the winter.

If I get a diesel heater, I'll probably have to have help installing it. I can wrench on the van but I'm all thumbs when it comes to most else.
I like the idea of dry heat

 

[bullfrog]

If you are going to be some place humid and cold condensation is the real problem with unvented propane heaters. The Buddy heaters have built in safety that if it works can save your life, the Wave does not but seems to work better and be more dependable at higher altitudes. I have no experience with the Chinese diesel heaters but have had similar German gasoline heaters in old VWs that were noisey so I would check that out. Really cooking with a cast iron skillet on a small camp stove works for some to heat up a small space quickly first thing in the morning but again so much ventilation is required most of the heat is lost. I've been considering a mini wood stove of some type especially if you could cook on it and it produces dry heat. If you have a generator and charge batteries 3 or 4 hours a day as solar on cloudy days will require you can use a small cheap ceramic heater on low (700 watts) and easily heat up a small space as well as dry it out, so maybe a combination with propane would work? Cook breakfast then later dry it out with a ceramic heater while running the generator.

 

[maki2]

You can have a tank larger than 2.5 gallons if you want to. Be sure to vent it to the exterior.

 

[Matlock]

I packed up my buddy heater and bought a Wave 3.
The Wave 3 running in my box truck burns propane more completely. Meaning it creates less moisture as it burns the gas. Do I have hard numbers to share with that statement, nope. I remember someplace someone saying the difference in the combustion process between the buddy and wave heaters resulted in less water vapor creation and that is what I am experiencing in roughly the same climate.
Mount it/ hang it from the wall about 6" off the floor and run a hose to your propane tank. Make sure you keep a window open a half inch to allow some fresh air in and never run a propane heater when your sleeping. Also get a 9V battery operated oxygen sensor ( CO sensor ) to make sure you have enough fresh air inside you vehicle. Cause if you burn up all the oxygen inside the vehicle when your sleeping then, you know, you probably won't wake up, ever!

just my ol 2¢

 

[highdesertranger]

first off I am not knocking heaters they have their place. however do not rely on a heater to keep you alive. make sure you have a sleeping bag to keep you warm and comfy with out an artificial heat source.

on another note, I can't believe y'all put so much faith in those cheap Chinese knock off heaters. I mean on a device that will easily kill you if it malfunctions.

highdesertranger

 

[HalfShadows]

Wow have people been dying from cheap Chinese diesel heater malfunctions? I was unawares. Thankfully they are cheap enough to test out. My whole rig has been a test bed for Inexpensive components, Except Solar and my new Majestic TV that should be arriving soon. Now I have to do research on the deaths caused by cheap Chinese heaters, can you post a link to those instances. If there are a large incidents of said heater related deaths the Van dwelling community should be forewarned. I will rip that sucker out if that is the case.

 

[MrNoodly]

When I just need a little heat to take the chill off in the morning I use my stove. One less appliance to lug around or to malfunction, and I can make breakfast on it.

 

[Elbear1]

Dont the diesels need battery power? Id pass if so just on that. I have built in tank and outside venting from suburban heater that came in my van so im setup well for wave 3 which requires tank regulator and diesel heater.

But my vote goes to mr buddy. Yes it may sometimes be too much but just open window more. You dont have to use dentents on the temp knob either. Mine makes annoying noise on low like a jet engine. But its way more affordable, has built in regulator, easy to get parts and hoses for it. If you get into a situation of unusually cold temps its nice to be able to crank it up.

My van is a hightop and somewhat drafty from 35 year old single pane windows ive often needed to crank it on high when it drops below freezing.

I used one all winter in north Tennessee last year. Outside the coldest months i generally went 10 days on a 20lb tank.

 

[speedhighway46]

I have used a Mr Buddy heater for the last eight winters. I use common 20 pound bottles, available everywhere. It keeps my bunk area warm down to when it’s zero outside. I do not use a sleeping bag, only blankets. I have the mid sized Mr Buddy and 90% of the time run it on the low setting. I keep one window open abt an inch and have never had a severe condensation problem. I also carry another Mr Buddy still new in the box. My current one has worked flawlessly. Be sure to install a propane filter when you run off a remote bottle. They just screw right on. Even on the coldest nights, heat is something I really don’t worry about.

Hope this helps; it’s based upon my experience.

 

[highdesertranger]

hey Speed how's it going. I haven't seen you post in awhile.

Half Shadow I don't have anything info on the heaters. I don't have enough faith in their quality control. I just have to go to Harbor Freight to reaffirm my suspensions. I know I don't want to be a guinea pig for some cheap chinese knock off, if you want to be that's fine.

highdesertranger

 

[tx2sturgis]

Crowd sourcing to help you decide on a heater generally will result in no clear winner...similar to asking what is the best motor oil or who makes the best pickup trucks.

If you camp in cold environments where you need a heater (which is a lot of us) then it's a good idea to have a backup...that backup can be an RV furnace or an LP stove or grill, or a Mr. Buddy.

So....pick any two and go for it. I prefer reliable, simple and light weight. So that means I prefer LP and the Wave 3, with backups of either the cooking stove or the RV furnace, or both.

The bunk heaters are great, until they crap out...they use sensors and electronics and ignitors and fuses and pipes and hoses and pumps and motors and etc etc...and if you have no backup parts at 3AM in the middle of nowhere when it's 5 below zero...good luck.

 

[skyl4rk]

A vented exhaust heater is superior to a non-vented exhaust heater.

A blower system to circulate air is superior to a space heater.

A thermostatically controlled heater is superior to a manually controlled heater.

 

[gwave]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I'll be going back through them all when I have a bit more time to digest it all.

A few things:
- I did mention I have sleeping bags for cold weather so I will not be relying on a heater to keep me alive
- I'm not trying to be in cold weather and will avoid it as much as possible, but you never know when you will end up somewhere with a turn of weather
- I have thought about and intend to cook with cast iron so it retains some heat for a little while
- Crowdsourcing this type of thing isn't the best move, I know, but kicking it around in my head isn't helping either. I wanted to hear from some experts. 

I did realize I could likely have lowes or home depot make cuts for me or rent/borrow a proper saw (I only have a jigsaw) so a vented box is possible for me.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I use an DIY external diesel bunk heater.  It is packed away when not in use.
One big downside to it is the smell of diesel fuel; and hard to clean up spills.

A rather long thread on the cheap chinese bunk heaters. I built one similar:
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/200-5kw-portable-diesel-air-heater.191458/

 

[MotorVation]

Someone mentioned that the Wave 3 doesn't have a safety shut off. It does.

From the product description:

An ideal secondary heating source for your RV, home, or cabin. Camco Olympian series Wave heaters can be used as portable space heaters and in most cases can be wall mounted in the vertical position.* Olympian series Wave heaters operate on low pressure HD-5 propane gas only and are equipped with a safety shut-off valve to prevent accidental non-ignition fuel discharge.

 

[bullfrog]

I was referring to a low oxygen shut off which the Buddy has and the Wave doesn't, sorry I didn't make it clear.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Which is why the Buddy heaters tend to have trouble operating at higher altitudes.

I know for a fact that my Wave 3 will operate at about 10,000 feet elevation.

 

[Majorcache]

If your that worried about a chill, move lower or further south. I have a Buddy but honestly haven't used it more than a couple times a year.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G530AZ using Tapatalk

 

[jim solo]

I will be paying attention to this thread, I might find a solution also.

I tried the buddy heater last winter in my RV, and it does suck up the oxygen quickly.
That was in the day time, and I forgot to open the window (Homer Simson moment ).
Then I tried a ceramic electric with thermostat and temp controls. the electric one did
a lot better over all. But I don't want to be plugged in all the time.

I am looking into a small wood stove that some of those Schoolies's use in their buses.
I will use my furnace and fridge vent for it, since it is already there. But will crack a window
to get some air.