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question on heaters and on stoves!

PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 3:46 pm
by huntinhick
all right I have been working on a couple plans and I need to find out what kind of space you need to have around an Olympian heater (3000btu model)? also does it need to be vented outside. also if I use a stove with an oven in the kitchen area do i have to plumb a vent for it also?

thanks
carl

PostPosted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 7:51 pm
by 48Rob
Hi Carl,

Using a gas stove or oven in a small space like a trailer is not great for your health unless you vent it somehow.
The best option is a thru the wall powered fan/vent, or a ceiling vent.
Some people simply open a window or two and don't worry.
That method is good in the summer when the door and all the windows are open, but when it is cool, or very hot and the heater or a/c is on and the windows are closed, it doesn't work very well.
Having a dedicated vent fan near or over the cooking area to draw the exhaust and cooking fumes out, just like at home, is
the best bet.
If you are talking a stove in a teardrop with the typical open galley, no, you do not neet any special vents.
Having the hatch open while cooking (and during cool down) is pleny of ventilation.
I am not a fan of heaters that are "ventless" as exhaust fumes, no matter how safe the manufacturer claims they are, are still "exhaust fumes".

The resulting air you are breathing all night long while you sleep is simply not the same as fresh outside air. :thinking:

To determine what clearances you need, you can look up the specifics on the heater you are interested in by typing the name and model number on the Internet.

Rob

Re: question on heaters and on stoves!

PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 12:54 pm
by Nite Ryder
I agree with Rob! If you want to be assured of waking up in the morning don't sleep with a ventless heater running unless you have left a vent open so fresh air can enter your sleeping area. When you are awake you can smell the fumes given off by these heaters, and sometimes you might start to get a headache. A headache is the first signs of CO2 poisoning, and if you are sleeping you might not wake up from just a head ache. I have four of these heaters in various sizes, and I use one in my small 5th wheel when I'm not hooked up to electricity, but I use it only when we are awake. I use one in a 8X12' cargo trailer, it is more heat than needed after it has been on for awhile, but a cargo trailer with no insulation cools off quickly.

Re: question on heaters and on stoves!

PostPosted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 8:06 am
by bobhenry
Here is some folks yakkin about your heater.

About halfway down there is a link to the owners manual !

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-35774.html

Re: question on heaters and on stoves!

PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 11:25 pm
by Wobbly Wheels
Another safety thought re venting is to allow the Co somewhere to go. Sure catalytic heaters are safer, but you're still burning dead dinosaurs...
Propane also gives off a lot of moisture when it burns. I used to heat a tent with a lantern while winter camping :shock: but you couldn't leave it on all night.

Re: question on heaters and on stoves!

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:12 pm
by Wobbly Wheels
slow, just a note on those gravity heaters - if you're going to put it outside and duct it in, you'll need quite a bit of vertical separation since they use convection within the room to recirculate the heat rather than continuously heating cold (outside) air. If you want to use an outdoor burner and save your battery, maybe a coil of coolant percolating into a radiator inside would work ?
You seem to be pretty resourceful so it's a thought...

As for the pilot light, try keeping the thermocouple hot with a butane torch - if your flame still goes out, then the Tcouple is the problem (as it usually is). The other trick it pull the Tcouple out, heat it up and see if it's generating a voltage.
With mine, I found the problem to be in the valve body itself: at that point, it was no longer worth throwing more money at it.
:beer:

Re: question on heaters and on stoves!

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 5:13 pm
by Larry C
Wobbly Wheels wrote:Another safety thought re venting is to allow the Co somewhere to go. Sure catalytic heaters are safer, but you're still burning dead dinosaurs...
Propane also gives off a lot of moisture when it burns. I used to heat a tent with a lantern while winter camping :shock: but you couldn't leave it on all night.



Winter tent camping: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :applause: :applause: :applause: nothin like it!!