Vent free heater install

Started by Gary M, June 11, 2018, 02:58:24 PM

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Gary M

I do a lot of cold weather camping in the fall up in the mountains of WA, with temps dipping down into the teens at times, so I installed this Procom blue flame heater. Uses no electrical power, propane only, and has a thermostat. Just need to make sure you have enough ventilation when using these types of heaters. I just crack open the overhead vent, and I use an extra propane detector in addition to the Co2 sensor, but I still choose not to sleep with the heater on for safety reasons. Some people do though. Others choose to just use their furnace instead of vent free heaters because of the ventilation risks. For me, the benefit outweighs the risk, and I feel safe by using it responsibly. The stock furnace will drain your battery fast in cold weather. There's a great article on vent free heaters here...

https://roadslesstraveled.us/rv-heater/

I've used a Mr Buddy heater in the past, but it didn't have a thermostat. This one does. It's very efficient, and it's really good at maintaining a steady temp in the coach without draining my battery. I decided to go with a blue flame instead of the camco wave heaters, because these run a bit cooler with less chance of my dog getting cooked from it.

I tapped into the existing propane line to the stove (behind the drawers on 21BHS), and installed a T fitting, shut off valve, and a quick connect with built in shut off valve.

I originally had the heater on the floor with the base mount feet, but found it better to hang it on the cabinet door by using a hanging bracket taken off of an RV trash can. This way I don't need to put any holes in the cabinet door. The bracket has protective material, and I added stick on felt pads to the back of the heater to prevent scratches. I still need to drill a hole for the hose to pass through the cabinet, and redirect the quick connect fitting to point downwards instead of off to the side. I had it this way from when I was using the base mount feet. I was also just leaving the cabinet door cracked open to pass the propane hose through. Here's a video and some pictures...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYRRJT6AH0I

The heater looks to be out of stock but this is the one I got..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0752WJLK4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here's the quick connect..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y3HTK8W/ref=od_aui_detailpages03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And here's the trash can I took the hanging bracket from..
https://www.amazon.com/simplehuman-Gallon-Cabinet-Kitchen-Heavy-Duty/dp/B00DMMW22W/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1528739631&sr=8-5&keywords=rv+trash+can