Venting my furnace through my van's wall.

[CosmickGold]

I purchased this furnace, and have two questions about installing it's external vents (vents on the outer skin of the van wall, for the flame inside).


1)  I find nothing to protect the fire chamber from getting wet inside when rain pounds against those vents.  Isn't that going to be a problem?  Won't rust eventually take over and make a hole through the fire chamber?

2)  The exhaust vent (the upper one) is well sealed from the air inside the van, so any carbon-monoxide is vented outside.  But the lower vent (air intake for the flame) leaves a small gap between the furnace exhaust pipe on the actual vent cover on the skin of the van.  This obviously exposes the intake vent to both outside air and inside air.  Isn't that a problem?  Potentially dangerous?  What makes such a design safe, or what can I do about it?

 

[Trebor English]

Combustion chambers rust through exposing people to carbon monoxide.  That's why people have CO detectors in homes.  Stationary home or mobile doesn't matter.  Usually combustion chambers are made of corrosion resistant materials like stainless steel. 

Rain doesn't need to get in.  Combustion exhaust gasses include water vapor as well as small quantities of acids.

If the combustion air has some contamination from the exhaust how does it matter?  The fire won't get sick from it.  In car engines the EGR system, exhaust gas recirculation, actually does this on purpose.  How can it be dangerous to you if the fire gets some exhaust?

 

[B and C]

Ahh, Suburban furnace. I have a 16k BTU one with the thermostat where I can reach it while in bed. It is nice to just reach out from under the covers in the morning to turn it up. They are the industry standard AFAIK. My intake and exhaust on the outside and each has a small round screen protector on it (keep bugs out, etc. (rain?)). My van is a 2000 model so my furnace is not new. I do worry about the clamshell heat exchanger burning through on this old unit though.

Do the tubes (intake and exhaust) extend any? Do the remove so they can be inserted from the outside? If so, making a fitting to extend the intake shouldn't be much of a problem. I have never taken mine out so I don't know. The important one is the exhaust and in any case you will want a CO alarm and a propane alarm to go with it. Weather seal all the openings.

 

[CosmickGold]

THANK YOU!  --  Both of you.

You've answered my every concern.  I've already found and attached a small extension to the intake, propane and CO detectors from Amazon, and will place my thermostat where I can easily reach it from bed.

Great info and advice guys.

 

[JeanInaBox]

Glad you posted this heater...
I’m about ready to get one of these and would sure appreciate any installation tips or updates about how your installation went and if you satisfied.

Are there instructions that come with it for installation? I’m clueless about any kind of wiring it may need.

What attachments/extras did you have to buy. Can post the links please.

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[1shemp]

These heaters are very safe and reliable.Put a screen over the outlet and intake to keep the bugs out.

 

[abnorm]

They need a dependable 12 volt power supply to operate.....The fan runs continuously in use...if the fan slows because of low voltage the unit will not ignite (sail switch)

When Boondocking you ARE the "power company"...…I think most of these are used in RV's using shore power to charge the batteries

The RV Forums always have complaints concerning their power consumption

 

[B and C]

I don't have any complaints using mine while boondocking. I might if I kept the thermostat at 70+ all night though. Run up until I go to bed at a comfortable temp, then turn it down to about 55 or so for sleeping. When I wake up I stick my arm out and turn the heat up before getting out of bed. If I am chilly I stand in front of it for a bit. I generally go to bed about 10 and get up around 5.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Those furnaces are very SAFE and super easy to use.

But they are noisy and inefficient.

The fan is pretty loud, and they burn thru propane at a fairly high rate, since the efficiency is around 60% if memory serves. Combustion air is vented outside, of course, but you paid to heat that air too.

Plus, they use a fair amount of 12v power from your batteries to keep the blower turning.

But, if safety (and ease of use) is your primary concern...yeah, go for it.