Furnace idea.

Jeepr01

Jeepr01

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2005
Posts
422
Location
Detroit missed
The doghouse heater/air conditioner gave me an idea. Tell me if this is silly. Since I would only need the heat late in the year, like October and November, why not make a heater that was external like the doghouse. The heaters in most travel trailers are ducted, I could build a box that sat outside and housed the furnace and run the duct up into the floor. That way if I wanted heat for the trip, I could throw the heater inside and take it with me. That way it won't be taking up valuable realestate inside the tear when I don't need it. I could probably pick up a used furnace at the salvage yard for less than 50 dollars.

I could do the same with an air conditioner, which is only needed here in Michigan for a couple of months of the year. Plus if we are going wilderness camping, I wouldn't need to bring the air conditioner as there is no power.

Any thoughts?
 
It would work...

But you would need a propane tank with proper two stage regulator, and a 12 volt source, and an enclosure for the furnace (they aren't rated for exterior use). I bet the $50 furnace would cost $100 worth of fabrication parts to install.

I would think- not having a teardrop myself- but if your trailer is insulated you would mostly want the furnace to warm it up when turning in in the evening and possibly when getting up in the morning- so not a lot of use.

How about the Zodi Hot Vent tent heater? Of course if you had electrical hookups just a cheap electric heater and an electric blanket would solve everything. http://www.zodi.com/web-content/Consumer/zodihotvent.html
 
Forget it just buy a that dog house thing i have one it great takes up no room and it's central heat and air. works great.

Bill 8) :LOL:
 
Bill Fernandez":8xkuqf34 said:
Forget it just buy a that dog house thing i have one it great takes up no room and it's central heat and air. works great.

Bill 8) :LOL:
Click to expand...

I would, except I dry camp during hunting season. I would need a 12 mile long extension cord! :LOL:

If I run the propane for the stove, all I would need is a quick connect like they use for outside stoves and a battery hookup. Maybe it's a crazy idea and I should just mount the heater like normal.
 
Well thats a different thing I did't know you were going hunting in that case you could get a genterator and use that or you could find you a sky connection hard to find but worth there sap in gold.

Bill 8)
 
"Propane for the stove" all depends on what sort of stove you're using. If it's the standard campstove it needs tank pressure. If it's an RV stove designed for indoor use it needs a two stage regulator to bring pressure down to 11" WC (Eleven inches of water column or less than 1/2 psi).

If you use a regular camp stove you can get a "propane distribution tree" and hose to connect it to a bulk cylinder. You could also mount the zodi tent heater right on top of this tree. I really like the Century two piece model because it's very sturdy and is only 18" tall when you just use the main part. http://www.centurycamping.com/accessories/hoses/#9060 I got it at Amazon for around $30.
 
I have looked at those Zodi heaters, I love the idea. The only thing I was thinking is that there is no control over the heat. You turn it on and it goes until it runs out of gas (unless I mis-read).

The stove I have is a single side burner off of a BBQ grill, the regulator is off of the same BBQ.
 
At the SLO Gathering I borrowed teardrop that had a simple, innovative, candle heater. The builder had four metal cookie boxes attached to a side wall in which he could burn candles. The boxes were vented to the outside and to one another. He used hardibacker as a insulator between the boxes and the interior paneling. The tops of the cookie boxes were held shut and air tight with a wing nut on the outside of the cookie tin's detachable top via a threaded bolt from the inside of each tin. I'll post pictures. He said it kept the TD warm in freezing weather. He tested for leakage of combustion air into the interior by burning a scented candle inside a cookie box and didn't smell a scent. It was not cold enough at the SLO Gathering to need to try it out.

edit: Robert, my teardrop "landlord," joined the group and posted more info. below about his simple effective heater. Hi Robert.
 
Hi , Im new to this site. I have a 5 by 10 micro camper. Not an official teardrop. I built a heater using 8 hour votive candles for a heat source. outside combustion air is provided with a 2 inch vent in a 2 inch pipe. exaust is 2 inch diameter vent in a 2 inch pipe. no inside air is involved for safety. I light 1 or 2 candles,put on the cover and use a big wing nut to hold cover tight in case something bumps it. the metal box radiates heat all night long.It was tested in 18 degree cold this year and 2 candles plus one body was fine.Even though no inside combustion ail is involved I can still crack both windows and be warm. I tested unit with 6 candles to test for oxygen flame out but never use more than 2. Strips of concrete hardiplank spacers between wood walls and metal box (15 by15 by3 deep) keep wall from getting to hot.
 
With an insulated tear do you even need heat once it's up to temp? My thought on the Zodi was to just bring it up to temp and then shut it off.

Of course I really like the furnace in my Chalet. I just reach my hand out from under the down comforter and flip on the furnace. It seems like a lot of expense, bulk, and complexity for a TD though.

Now the candle heater sounds like a neat idea. I'd like to see pictures.
 
anyone have any more info on the candlebox heater? I searched online with no luck. It sounds like a great idea! Is the box used tall and skinny or short and fat? Would it need both an air inlet and outlet if there is no fan? It would seem that just vented to the outside would be sufficient.
 
Robert is going on vacation today so may not answer for awhile. I searched my photos and found I don't have pictures of his heater. I'll do my best with a written description.

The metal boxes he used were about 3 inches tall from the bottom to the detachable lid and maybe 6-10 inches square. I don't think their size is critical. He mounted them sideways to the trailer wall. The original bottom of the cookie box is mounted to the inside cabin wall. The (original) side of the cookie box now becomes the bottom where a candle is burned. He mounted 4 boxes side by side with 2 in the top row and 2 in a lower row. They had hardibacker, a concrete siding material used here as a heat shield, in between each of the boxes (as a spacer so the lids can be removed) and hardibacker in back of all the boxes as a heat shield for the wood paneling. There are 2 outside vents. One exhaust vent is in a top row box and 1 fresh air vent is in a bottom row box. Robert had about a 2 inch hole between each box he drilled through the boxes and through the hardibacker to interconnect them. He said be used JB weld to seal the holes. The lids are held tight to each box with one thin bolt, from the middle of the (original) bottom of the cookie box (now on it's side), that's long enough to stick out a hole in the middle of the top just enough for a wing nut to hold the top in place. All of the fresh air comes from outside the trailer and the combustion air is exhausted outside too. The cookie box is both a combustion chamber and a heat radiator. (sorry to be so long winded)

That's the idea of how it works as best as I can describe it and understand how it works. Maybe you could just use one box, or one per side if you wanted to. How many candles to burn and how many boxes you'd use would seem to depend on how well your trailer is insulated and how cold the weather is you camp in
 
Steve,
Thanks for the description, that's helps me visualize it much better! I probably only need one on my wifes side. :LOL:
 
So kinda sorta something like this...? (Lids removed for clarity) The candles definitely need to be in a glass container! :)

candle_furnace.jpg


Mike...
 
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