[VAC] Re: replacment heater

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Leslie,

During the 1960s, I felt the same as you just outlined. When I learned about
the non-air tight quality of our Airstream (easily learned on a windy day by
holding a lit candle near edges of the door and windows), I reconsidered my
assumptions.  

At about the same time, I came across an article showing that  a 10" by 1"
opening was more than sufficient to deal with combustion byproducts of a
catalytic heater. 

With that as a benchmark, each time our family used the catalytic heater in
our trailer, we opened the access door (size 30" by 4") under the
refrigerator (directly in front of the fridge ventilation hole in the floor)
and went merrily on our way. For years, we used our catalytic heaters that
way, even when we owned other brands of travel trailers.

Included in those years were family trips during cold weather (late Fall and
early Spring) with our two children and golden retriever (who slept on the
floor). Never once did we notice combustion odors nor did any of us have
headaches or discomfort. And our dog was frisky, friendly and obedient while
he lived to a ripe old age.

As for condensation from using our catalytic heaters, we wiped it up with
scrap towels, all the while knowing it would come back again.  Nothing new
there.  

But, when using our factory furnace (propane and 12 volt blower), the
condensation was less because of the hot, dry air being circulated.  That
was one of our reasons for installing solar panels on all our Airstreams. We
wanted abundant 12 volt power after running our furnace at night while
parked on boondock sites without electrical hookups.

Eventually, we started looking for a "bigger and better" Airstream. At the
time, we knew enough about Airstreams to limit our search only to those
models with thermopane windows and the extra frame supports (Excella 500s
with a back bathroom).

Our '77 31' Airstream met that criteria. To this day (01/13/02), it is our
vehicle of choice during the nine months we play Snowbird in the southern
states.  We splurged with 3 batteries and 3 solar panels.

A few days ago, I replied to a post by a member on the Airstream list (not
the VAC list) which dealt with another aspect of heating our Airstream. The
'86 32' Airstream mention in the example was sold in July 2001. A copy of
that post is included. Maybe there is something among these ideas that will
prove useful to you.

Terry
mailto:tylerbears@airstream.net
'63 22' Airstream Flying Cloud - 3,000 BTU CAT > 15+ years old
'67 22' Airstream Safari - 6,000 BTU CAT > 5 years old
'77 31' Airstream Excella 500 - 6,000 BTU CAT > 15+ years old