Mr Heater MH9BX 3rd party product to reduce the heat even further down

[lonewolf2koc]

I'm stuck inside a minivan and not able to really move far away from Mr Heater MH9BX. The lowest setting is a bit too hot when the interior temp is about 60-68 F. If I go any lower, I don't think the heater is on and it makes that scary clicking sound. The user's manual states to leave it either low or high and not in between for max combustion and minimize CO2 emission. I have to work a very expensive Mac Book Pro laptop right in front of it and can't really move back much farther than 1.5 ft. The heater is well ventilated by two left and right windows. I lowered them about 1/8 of their full capability. I also looked at Mr Heater Light model and I think it's a few inches too high and may burn the top of the van's fabric. Plus I don't see that I can use external propane hose vs the disposable 1 lb green canister.

Unfortunately a very hard learned lesson is that when I placed the heater high above the roof, it melted the top glove compartment. Luckily I caught it just in time and can still use it. But it doesn't look attractive on the top. If I placed near the center front, I afraid the heater may overheat the car seat and melt or even burn the front seats.

Is there any 3rd party add-on products to reduce the intensity of the heater's center output during the not so chilly nights (50s F outside, 65 F inside van)? I have a 24/7 thermometer and noticed the max interior temp after the heater is about 80-85 degree F. Anything above it is not good for the stuff located near the front area.

 

[Howiet]

I'm stuck inside a minivan and not able to really move far away from Mr Heater MH9BX. The lowest setting is a bit too hot when the interior temp is about 60-68 F. If I go any lower, I don't think the heater is on and it makes that scary clicking sound. The user's manual states to leave it either low or high and not in between for max combustion and minimize CO2 emission. I have to work a very expensive Mac Book Pro laptop right in front of it and can't really move back much farther than 1.5 ft. The heater is well ventilated by two left and right windows. I lowered them about 1/8 of their full capability. I also looked at Mr Heater Light model and I think it's a few inches too high and may burn the top of the van's fabric. Plus I don't see that I can use external propane hose vs the disposable 1 lb green canister.

Unfortunately a very hard learned lesson is that when I placed the heater high above the roof, it melted the top glove compartment. Luckily I caught it just in time and can still use it. But it doesn't look attractive on the top. If I placed near the center front, I afraid the heater may overheat the car seat and melt or even burn the front seats.

Is there any 3rd party add-on products to reduce the intensity of the heater's center output during the not so chilly nights (50s F outside, 65 F inside van)? I have a 24/7 thermometer and noticed the max interior temp after the heater is about 80-85 degree F. Anything above it is not good for the stuff located near the front area.

You are the 3rd party heat control.  When the van gets too hot you turn the heater down to the pilot position.  When the van cools you turn it back up.  In the temp ranges you are talking about it gets to be a Pain but that is the way it works or I suppose you could open the windows wider but that would be a waste of propane.

 

[GotSmart]

I do not use my Mr Buddy unless it is in the 30's. 

Then it is usually on pilot.

 

[SoulRaven]

I believe in a tight space, I would opt to use either a 12v electric blanket, or a 12v electric seat cushion, and just concentrate on heating yourself instead of the whole van.

Space restraints can be a huge problem for running heaters.

 

[lonewolf2koc]

Yes. Putting the window down all the way is another option to decrease the interior temp to a max of a comfortable 70-75 F. But the downsides are: security risk if in urban street area, insects getting into the van (especially those spiders!) even in urban area, heavy snow, rain. It's very hard to get out the slide out door fast in case somebody tries to break in the front left or right door.

I think an easy solution to this is to use the Lasko 200W AC heater. That seems to give me just the right heating level when the heater and laptop are placed within 1.5 ft from each other and the int van temp is around 60 F. It has zero CO2 emission. I have a Micro Solar 1K pure sine wave inverter and it handles it very nicely. Other lower wattage 400W modified sine wave inverters will not work after 20 min. I have yet to find an ideal 12V electric blanket. Most of them have too short of a timer (30-45 m). I'm looking for something like 3-6 hours timer so that it keeps me warm throughout the sleep. I'm connecting it directly to a VMaxtanks 170 Ah AGM battery. It's dedicated just for 12 v loads (fridge, cooler, electric blanket). My other AGM batts are for other loads. In theory, the 200 W Lasko heater with a 1K pure sine wave heater on a fully charged 170 aH AGM should give me at least

(These are planning theories. Please correct if any of the figures are wrong. I don't know the exact formula for the inverter's DC-AC with +-10% energy lost).

Lasko is rated and verified with Kill A Watt: 120v ac@2A, 200W (it should be like 1.6 A draw, but the printed docs stated to be 2A rounded figures).

Inverter DC-AC rough estimates: 12vdc * 16.5 A = ~204 W
I'm drawing about 17 A per hour. 170 Ah / 17 Ah = ~10 h
At 50% depth of discharge for the AGM batt, it's more like 85 Ah/17 Ah = ~5 h
If my rough estimates are correct, I should be getting 4-5 hours from a fully charge 170 Ah per night through an inverter. Sadly I don't see any one making a 12 vdc heater as good as the Lasko brand.

'm still testing out various real world scenarios before actually doing it at the real location. The expenses are keep piling up as I find deficiencies and solutions. But in the end it's quite cheaper than renting a hotel room for $100-300/night.

You are the 3rd party heat control.  When the van gets too hot you turn the heater down to the pilot position.  When the van cools you turn it back up.  In the temp ranges you are talking about it gets to be a Pain but that is the way it works or I suppose you could open the windows wider but that would be a waste of propane.

 

[highdesertranger]

I find the 68-72 degree comfort zone way over rated. my 2 cents. highdesertranger

 

[WriterMs]

I have to agree with HDR and GotSmart...65 MIGHT make me put on a fleece jacket if I"m not moving around.

Somehow the term "weather wimp" comes to mind... and that is just a JOKE. I know each person's circulation, insulation, etc., makes a big difference in the temps they feel are comfortable. I never had a problem with Montana winters in 10 years living there.. it is a dry cold. LOL

 

[Reducto]

Coleman makes a smaller heater but even that was too much for my minivan and it did not last long. The catalyst burned off during use, very smelly and I don't think I was getting a clean burn towards the end before I tossed it.

My current setup for chilly nights is the following:
1) Insulation all around
2) Lined hoodie and blankets
3) I heat up 1 liter of water to near boiling on my camp stove and put it in a water bottle which I keep by my feet

I haven't tried a heated blanket but if you have extra power that seems like a good option.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

That's a lot of heater for a small space.
We have a cone type Mr Heater which stands in a frame (hose & 1gal tank) and it cooks our big van in no time on the low (3000btu) setting. I have to manually cycle it as needed. 
Would be happy with smaller but this Dern thing has served well for into the 3rd year now and only paid 25 bucks for it (in Quartzsite, as a matter of fact).
Guess I'll run the old beast till it dies.

I like to be warm and am not gonna sit around wrapped in a sleeping bag in my house.
Its 1:30 am, 50ish, and windy outside. Couldn't sleep, so I'm sitting here in t shirt and jams...with the heater on, all toasty

 

[Stargazer]

I use a small O2 Cool fan to distribute the heat more evenly. Slip the fan base under the heater's handle. It will sit nicely on top of the heater, just behind the front of the "hot zone" so it doesn't melt. I don't know if this will solve your problem but instead of the heat concentrating UP, it blows it forward and circulates it more evenly.

I haven't tried running it on pilot but that might work.

Good luck! I'm confident there's a solution; keep trying different ideas till you find one that works for you.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

The O2 Cool fans are nice. We have a 5" with USB plug that moves air pretty well.

I know some folks who heat with their cook stove. If you turn a clay pot upside down over the burner the heat will radiate outward better.

 

[lonewolf2koc]

Will try the fan method but that's consuming 30W of power from my AGM batteries. Prefer something without workarounds.

I'll experiment/try out the Camco Olympian Wave-3 heater (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER)

It's almost $100 more expensive than MH9BX but I do like the fact that the output can be a low 1600-3000 BTU vs 4000 BTU minimum for MH9BX in a small minivan setup. The only concern is dust problems on this. One reviewer mentioned it doesn't like dust and will kill erode the catalytic part over time.

I use a small O2 Cool fan to distribute the heat more evenly. Slip the fan base under the heater's handle. It will sit nicely on top of the heater, just behind the front of the "hot zone" so it doesn't melt. I don't know if this will solve your problem but instead of the heat concentrating UP, it blows it forward and circulates it more evenly.

I haven't tried running it on pilot but that might work.

Good luck! I'm confident there's a solution; keep trying different ideas till you find one that works for you.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

The 5" O2 Cool fan running on USB draws mil-amps. Your battery will hardly notice it.

 

[SoulRaven]

I am in South Florida for January and most of February and near Ocala for most of March and I do not use any supplemental heat unless the overnight temps drop below 45 degrees. In fact, I prefer the overnight temps to be near 50 and I only heat my apartment the rest of the year to just about 60 degrees when needed.

My sleepwear consists of 100% cotton Dutch Military PJ's, coldproof single and dual layer tops and bottoms, and heavy sweat pants and bottoms and use these in combination with a thin cotton sheet, a summer quilt, a rectangular sleeping bag on top of a 3" Thermarest base camp XL mattress with a Cabelas 500lb capacity Alaskan guide XL cot.

I have not been using any heat in my apartment (my windows face NorthWest) in Northcentral Pennsylvania this entire fall. The overnight outside temp was 33f and my indoor min/max thermometer shows 61f for an indoor low this AM.

 

[Willy]

I've (now) got an Olympian Wave 3 and have been using it at the lo 1600 BTU setting and we've been having subfreezing weather. Keeps my stepvan nicely warm, though I've noticed the increased moisture. I'm liking that I don't have to worry as much about CO, vs a Buddy radiant heater, and the much lower heat setting allows me to get away with less venting. ..Willy.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Willy...small fans, even ones from computers, move warm air and also help in drying some of the moisture.

 

[Willy]

I've implemented a 2 chamber design in my living quarters that seems to be rather effective at keeping moisture problems at bay while retaining heat (so far). ..Willy.

 

[accrete]

I've implemented a 2 chamber design in my living quarters...Willy.

: ) You can't get away with throwing out a cool verbiage like "2 chamber design" and not expect us to wonder what it's all about! ?

----As others have noted... I too am of the personal-body-comfort over heating up a given bunch of room-air. As I type it is ~1300. 57F/94% humidity outside, 61F/70% humidity inside. I'm quite comfortable relaxing in jeans, a light long sleeve shirt and my full length hooded fleece bathrobe (looks like a grey fuzzy monk-cloak). Yes I would answer the front door in it, it's that nice. We have a small 750 watt electric heater set at 65 and cycling on/off.

Both wife and I are in the ongoing research mode for personal gear to keep us comfy in ~50F temps. Anything over ~65ish and we are looking at opening roof vents (this is in our full time 40ft fifth wheel on the Oregon coast).

: ) Thom