nice heater for the truck
 

We went to Cabela's yesterday and were snooping in the camping section and ran across a heater made by Coleman it is a ProCat. It uses a one pound LP bottle and keeps the truck nice and warm and it is safe for small spaces. There is a oxygen depletion sensor on it so it will cut off if not enough oxygen. We only use it while awake anyway....

It will run 8 hrs on one cylinder. It is cold where we are right now and we have NOT had to idle the truck at all since yesterday afternoon.

Just a thought for those of us who cant afford APU's!!

tootie

you better get some sort of CO alarm...better be safe than sorrry

and I am sure that having a propane bottle in a CMV is legal.... :roll:

Why do people spend so much time and energy to put a hillbilly heater in a truck when there are safe and legal options available ?????

Speaking of hillbilly heaters, there is a guy on another forum that has a 2 stroke generator strapped to his deck plate. :shock:

Re: nice heater for the truck
 

Be careful!

That sounds like a recipe for an eternal nap.

Yes, propane is legal in a CMV but this has been talked to death before :roll: . As long as it is used while you are awake and have your vent open then it is fine....I was a medic in another life so I think I know what to do to be safe.

I'll take my "hillbilly" heater :lol: any day than a noisy stinking APU.

tootie

Now you have a place to hang your stocking for Santa. :P

Please cite the reg's.

§392.51 Reserve fuel; Materials of trade.

Small amounts of fuel for the operation or maintenance of a commercial motor vehicle (including its auxiliary equipment) may be designated as materials of trade (see 49 CFR 171.8 ).

(a) The aggregate gross weight of all materials of trade on a motor vehicle may not exceed 200 kg (440 pounds).

(b) Packaging for gasoline must be made of metal or plastic and conform to requirements of 49 CFR Parts 171, 172, 173, and 178 or requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration contained in 29 CFR 1910.106.

(c) For Packing Group II (including gasoline), Packing Group III (including aviation fuel and fuel oil), or ORM-D, the material is limited to 30 kg (66 pounds) or 30 L (8 gallons).

(d) For diesel fuel, the capacity of the package is limited to 450 L (119 gallons).

(e) A Division 2.1 material in a cylinder is limited to a gross weight of 100 kg (220 pounds). (A Division 2.1 material is a flammable gas, including liquefied petroleum gas, butane, propane, liquefied natural gas, and methane).

I went online and read up on that heater. You should check out the manual at the end, there are some foot notes....


Notice: Consumption of Chili or Mexican food is not recommended while using this product.

Is this the one?

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/co...005701hz02.jpg

I think the one that Tootie is using is smaller and has a round heating element.
Tootie?

If you don't use it while you're sleeping, and you haven't been idling at night, what are you guys doing to stay warm? :shock: http://www.bakabanashi.com/icons/naughty.gif Details Please! http://www.bakabanashi.com/icons/hurray.gif

lol

From what I understand, her husband is able to sustain a flame for more than 8 hours!

Good tip, never get too close to him, he might "accidentally" bump someone with it. :shock:

Since the " camping " heater appears to be legal, does not mean that it is the brightest idea. But what do you expect........ :roll:

I've had a few propane camping accessories in the past, and I remember the warnings not to use them in confined/closed spaces beacause propane gas tends to settle low and doesn't always vent easily. I doubt the fumes would ignite from being in the cab, but its still a tiny bit dangerous.

I have an Espar heater, and I think they can be bought and installed for around 800. While still pricier compared to a propane heater, it is much safer and more convenient. Burns off diesel from the tanks, ad ha a in-cab thermostat.

Happy Holidays

I think she's talking about this one. It's flameless, and can be used inside a tent.

Looks a lot safer than the propane heaters I had in mind and have seen. Thats a bargain if it is fume-free.

Catalytic heaters are very efficient up to 99%. I use one in my truck and it keeps the sleeper at 70 degrees even when its 14 degrees out, and I use the low setting. In the last week I have gone through 3lbs of propane in the heater and 2lbs in my hot water tank and stove, for a grand total of $5. I have two 20lb tanks in one of my boxes (secured in quick change brackets) and could not be happier. I also have hard wired LP gas sensor (mounted near the floor), a Co2 sensor (mounted near the ceiling), and a smoke detector.

I am thinking of getting the Espar, I left a place for it, but this seems to be working.

Be sake Tootie thats all that matters,...and warm :wink:

http://www.uscatalytic.com/uscatalyt...ProductId=2319

Propane and Natural Gas are the cleanest burning fuels we have. Far cleaner than gas and diesel. More fumes come from them then Propane.

Diesel fuel fired heaters are far more dangerous than propane. How many diesel stoves have you seen lately?

i just use my bunk heater.. hit the button go to bed. no idling.

Thats the one.

tootie

Thank you Rev....sometimes you are a sweetie!! :wink:

Well, you just get the cab real warm just before you go to bed.....and then keep close all night long.....

That little heater is really nice and warms up the cab quick. We only have to use it for about 1/2 hr every couple of hours while we are up.

Banditscousin....there are no fumes. That is what makes it nice.

tootie

I carry 2 small cyclinders of propane in my side box, good o know its legal! I got a stainless grill I keep in the belly box with the rest of my party supplies (folding chairs, cooler, girll, stripper pole, etc ) 8)

CO is colorless and odorless. No fumes does not mean no CO.

You are probably aware of this and are using proper precautions. :wink:

We have all those goodies too....except the stripper pole.... 8)

tootie

I went to their website aprox 4 week's ago and studied all of em. Id absolutely treasure one as a lifesaver when stranded and broke down in every way in a blizzard as survival equip etc. Also the heat it provide's will last in cab a while after turning it off for sleeping. Obviously crack a window while it's on. Though my instincts/reasearch kept takeing me back to googleing "dc electric heaters" and im amazed @ what i found/learned. Even ton's of APU's are becomeing illegal in Cali. per land line mag dot com. "Idleing" stop's in Cali too Jan 1rst does'nt it? I wish i was out their instead of home. Have'nt found a position yet. :( Yal stay safe & GO OOIDA!

Yes, idleing stops in CA on Jan 1st and NO SLEEPER EXCEPTIONS!! I dont know about APU's though.

tootie

It's not an "open" heater steve. It has a very efficient heat exchanger.

There is no exhaust running in the cab.

Well, after reading this post I went to a Canadian Tire in Ontario and checked out various heaters. I bought a small Coleman model, but it's only rated for 1,500 bpu. I thought I'd give it a try with the sleeper partition closed. The best thing I liked about this ProCat is that 1 bottle of propane that retails here for about 5 bucks lasts up to 10 hours. Too bad, the first thing I saw in the manual after opening the box were these words:

"WARNING. THIS APPLIANCE CONSUMES AIR.

- When used in any inside area, provide a fresh air opening of at least 6 square inches (39 sq.cm)
-NEVER OPERATE THE HEATER WHILE SLEEPING (!)
-Do not use other burning appliances inside".

Actually, I thought of keeping it going to be able to sleep without idling the engine!

Another interesting quote from the manual:

"WARNING: This fuel, and byproducts of combustion of this fuel, contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm."

we dont use the heater while sleeping.....and everything is known to cause cancer in CA. I think the one we have is a 3,000 BTU Procat catalitic (SP?) heater and is safe to use in small spaces. I would never use a heater without some sort of ventalation anyway. we just usually roll the window down a few inches or open the vent in the bunk.

Tootie

These are valid safety points.

But those that use Dweller logic, it is a wasted post.

BigDiesel I have to ask.....were you born a prick or did something happen to make you that way?

:lol:

It is not his fault the stars were lined up wrong when he was born and being dropped several times didnt help :lol: .

I just dont let his comments bother me anymore. 8)

tootie

Well, I tried a smaller version (1,500 bpu) of the heater tootie04 referred to. It made no effect on the temperature inside the truck. I closed the partition in the sleeper to make the space smaller and sat there like an idiot for probably an hour - watching my breath turning into steam. Finally, I gave up, turned off the sucker and started the 15 liter behemoth. The cab was warm in 30 minutes :)

I returned the heater to the Canadian Tire and - call my crazy - bought a 10,000 BPU Kero World heater. This is very well designed and it does produce the heat I need. They don't recommend you sleep with it, so I just run it before going to bed - all the windows get covered in steam from inside :) But you have to be on guard (check the flame to make sure it is blue; keep the window open to provide at least 6 sq.in. "hole" etc.etc.). The heater is very well insulated and mostly sends heat in one direction - to the front. You need at least 32 in of space ...

Of course it runs on kerosene, but I just tried it and was quite happy. 1 gal of kerosene goes for the same price as diesel, but this heater only uses 1.5-2 gal of the stuff during 10 hours of operation!

I don't know how much it goes in the U.S. for, but I paid $229 Cnd yesterday in Saskatoon, SK.

HOLY CRAPOLO T.......I'm pretty sure that's got to be the most dangerous heater you could use in a cab.

+1

Good news: I'm still alive :) but you probably right. It's weird to have an open FLAME heater inside. It's away from everything and the heater is very well insulated as I said ... all the heat goes in one direction - forward. I should probably return it and get a refund from the Canadian Tire (1 month return no questions asked). But then I'll have to run the engine :( Don't wanna spend 1,400 Cnd for a weak ass 7,000 bpu Webasto.