While camping a few weeks ago, we were sitting around & Margaret noticed Camping World had cat heaters on sale. We had stopped using the main furnace years ago, I think we used it a few times the 1st winter. It flat kills the batteries and uses a lot of propane, plus it was just plain noisy. Worked great, but even when we had power the fan was annoying. We've been using a small Coleman heater that sits on a bottle, or when with power we use a small electric heater. We've talked about installing cat heater and so we ordered Wave 3. Our lil Coleman was 1100btu, the Wave is a bit more than that on low. So should work for us. If you like it really warm or have a bigger camper I'd go the Wave 6 maybe. Our camper is 9'.
Pretty easy install-hardest was snaking the flex line thru the cabinets. I tee'd off the stove line. Course where I wanted to mount heater it wouldnt fit. I moved cabinet door below down, also moved the fold out table up and the face of the drawer above (not shown) up to get enough room to mount the heater. It faces the dinette. I'm going to put a piece of aluminum channel at the top of the heater to deflect the heat out. The fold up table gets warm but not hot, just to make sure the heat does not warp it. Really like it., nice an warm -gotta leave windows open for fresh air. The new cats burn very clean so its not the fumes, its to replace the oxygen the heater uses.
Then it hit me, 'Why carry a furnace we don't use anymore-wow! Look at all that space!!!'. We only had the one drawer for linens, I could put in another drawer where the duct work is, & where the furnace was, half the width of the dinette seat box, it'd would hold a lot of stuff. So out the furnace came. Built a nifty drawer for Margaret, that's where the furnace ducts were, where the new bottom drawer is. Margaret is stoked. [I removed table to take photos]
I took the heater grill, (I gather this was for air exchange) mounted it to a piece of plywood and made it into a door using piano hinge.
To all the space the furnace occupied.
Using drawer slide brackets, with piece of plywood, I mounted box (That previously sat in floor), in front sets a magazine holder. This all will slide out for access. Now I'm stoked.
This is how I divided up the storage area. I cut the dinette box top in half for access and re-installed using piano hinge. On the floor in back there is some plumbing for the refrigerator so I built little removable boxes to protect the lines. To utilize the area left abvoe the boxes I cut some strips, now I have a place to hold 3 propane canisters. The large area is for the sliding box. On the outside, the left over space I can either access from the top, the front door or the outside door. I've yet to pick up door, this was where the heater external face was. I could put in another drawer for inside access but since I have to install an outside door (to cover the hole for the heater) I might as well make it usable. The outside opening I will cut taller to maximize access before I order a door, I don't know what will be put in here yet. All of the
wood internal dividers unscrew fairly easily and will come out if I need to do any work on anything.
Well the new heater is nice-more heat than the little Coleman and all I have to do is turn it on v s the other heater you had to dig out, screw on the bottle and it was in the middle of the floor. But were way more happy with the new found storage We've gained by removing the old furnace. Oh as I was writing this, looked up and there on the shelf is the old camper door that was replaced when I did the battery addtion. Looks like its the right size....the project continues.
Update: pics of installed "new" door. This was the door I replaced when I did battery addition-been lying around for 5 1/2 years-luv it. I had actually gone to 2 local RV stores, but nither had any doors the right size -I had forgotten it was up there on the shelf. DONE!
