Bought Litime 230AH 12v battery for full time vandwelling, good or bad?

[Tomthumb62]

Was thinking of using a combination of rockwook flush to the ribs

Look into Havelok Wool. Hypoallergenic lambs wool that has been washed and doesn’t smell. I may have spelled that wrong. Great stuff. Controls moisture unlike rock wool. And the production of rock wool is nasty stuff for the environment.

We bought a box of the Havelok Wool and used it in our camp trailer. Even though we didn’t use much thickness wise, it’s made a huge difference over the polyiso it’s replacing. But we have polyiso under the floor and that’s great there. If I had the stuffing pockets of a van, I’d go to town filling them with the wool. It comes in bats that can be peeled apart with as much or little thickness as you’d want. As thick as I think 4” but we mostly did 1-2” thick sections.

And it’s made in Oregon!

 

[jimf909]

I'm familiar with the venting/condensation issue as I used it last fall/winter in a small unventilated attic and always had it near a cracked window, put a detector between us and the heater and it never went off. Would plan to do the same for in the van as well.

I will still look into the Dickinson heater and other heaters mentioned above, I wouldn't mind going a different route for heat. The heater buddy was just a temporary/cheap solution to get my boy and I through winter.

Good on you for knowing the life-threatening safety issues with Mr. Heater Buddy type heaters.

The 49 state manual says DO NOT USE INSIDE without a vent:

https://www.mrheater.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/36

The CAN/MA manual says: "Never use in an enclosed space such as a car, tent or camper...it can kill you"

https://www.mrheater.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/37

Granted, the CO detector is very sensitive and shuts off well before life-threatening levels and CO detectors do work so they can be used by reasonable people but they do pose a risk if the user isn't careful.

Keep up the good work.

 

[JRH]

Propane combustion releases a LOT of moisture. Running that type of heater in a van will result in a on of condensation inside the van by morning. It will be very wet. Also, CO2 will accumulate and either the CO2 shutoff will turn off the heater or you and/or your pup may be poisoned (worse case = death). You won't want to leave your dog unattended with the heater on.

To use a Mr. Heater type heater you'll need to vent the van to avoid CO2 and condensation buildup (although it's hard to keep ahead of the condensation).

I'm not sure how cold your winter is but a proper furnace (propane from Propex, diesel from Espar or China - google Chinese Diesel Heater to find inexpensive versions) is what's needed for long-term use or when a human or dog will be sleeping.

edit: CO, NOT CO2. doh!

CO affects and kills dogs much quicker than humans.. don’t make bowser a canary in the coal mine…

 

[TMariano]

Look into Havelok Wool. Hypoallergenic lambs wool that has been washed and doesn’t smell. I may have spelled that wrong. Great stuff. Controls moisture unlike rock wool. And the production of rock wool is nasty stuff for the environment.

We bought a box of the Havelok Wool and used it in our camp trailer. Even though we didn’t use much thickness wise, it’s made a huge difference over the polyiso it’s replacing. But we have polyiso under the floor and that’s great there. If I had the stuffing pockets of a van, I’d go to town filling them with the wool. It comes in bats that can be peeled apart with as much or little thickness as you’d want. As thick as I think 4” but we mostly did 1-2” thick sections.

And it’s made in Oregon!

For some reason I thought that was rock wool but that's actually exactly what I was going to use, seems like a great product!

CO affects and kills dogs much quicker than humans.. don’t make bowser a canary in the coal mine…

Propane combustion releases a LOT of moisture. Running that type of heater in a van will result in a on of condensation inside the van by morning. It will be very wet. Also, CO2 will accumulate and either the CO2 shutoff will turn off the heater or you and/or your pup may be poisoned (worse case = death). You won't want to leave your dog unattended with the heater on.

To use a Mr. Heater type heater you'll need to vent the van to avoid CO2 and condensation buildup (although it's hard to keep ahead of the condensation).
I'm not sure how cold your winter is but a proper furnace (propane from Propex, diesel from Espar or China - google Chinese Diesel Heater to find inexpensive versions) is what's needed for long-term use or when a human or dog will be sleeping.

This heater has a built in system to prevent it leaking CO. Even with that in mind I still took great care to ensure it wasn't faulty whenever using it and always kept it near an open window on the opposite end of where we were, also had a CO monitor going between us that I would use in the van. Never ran it longer than 5-10 minutes at a time or left it unattended, haven't had any alarms go off or any condensation issues with it so far. Will still be looking at alternatives though, as awesome as the Dickinson's heaters look i'm thinking the diesel heaters would suit me well price and functionality wise.

Side note: My black lab seems to enjoy the cold weather (he still gets a sweater though), so I only ever really used the heater when I was either doing my business or taking a quick sponge bath/getting dressed. The nice thing about fall/winter is you can always just put on more layers if you're cold. ?

 

[Tomthumb62]

This heater has a built in system to prevent it leaking CO. Even with that in mind I still took great care to ensure it wasn't faulty whenever using it and always kept it near an open window on the opposite end of where we were, also had a CO monitor going between us that I would use in the van. Never ran it longer than 5-10 minutes at a time or left it unattended, haven't had any alarms go off or any condensation issues with it so far. Will still be looking at alternatives though, as awesome as the Dickinson's heaters look i'm thinking the diesel heaters would suit me well price and functionality wise.

We used a Mr Heater in our camper with our chocolate lab. We had a CO monitor and the only time it ever went off is if we used the propane oven and all four stovetop burners at once without the hood exhaust fan on. It never went off using just the Mr Heater. And our dog was fine.

Just looked them up and dang those diesel heaters are cheap! Would be hard to pass on those, but for 5x the price, I’m very happy with the propane Dickinson for the ambience factor alone. And no diesel exhaust stench! (I have a diesel Volkswagen and it’s old now so it stinks and smokes.)

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

The All-In-One (AIO) inverters have a wiring block under a cover; remove the cover, and you'll see "AC Out" connectors for wiring into your van's wiring system. You can wire this up to whatever electrical distribution system you use for the van. Could be a basic circuit breaker panel for vans, or could be a simple (heavy-duty) power strip.

The installation manual that comes with an AIO will cover the details, and you can get an electrician to help with the wiring inside your van. Still have to worry about loads, wires, panels, etc., and do things safely and correctly.

If you want to go the individual component route (separate inverter, mppt, etc), look at those inverters that have both AC plugs (usually 120v) *and* an AC wiring block, to wire into your van's wiring system. Windy Nation is one such inverter ...

On propane, I would look at the models of ventless propane heaters' installation guides, and pick a model that shows various installation methods that you can safely adapt to a van. I'd still crack a window, even though it seems counter-intuitive on a cold day. Definitely monitor, and the monitoring devices need correct installation/testing/maintenance.

We use ventless propane heaters all day, in every room of our (drafty) house ... no problem with either CO or moisture; we do have all kinds of monitoring devices, including air quality monitor. Takes yearly maintenance to keep these heaters clean and operating correctly, and this cannot be skipped.

It's the air quality monitor which has driven us to open doors & windows nearly year-round, to improve inside air quality. Don't monitor if you don't want to know ...

Hope this helps ...

 

[TMariano]

We used a Mr Heater in our camper with our chocolate lab. We had a CO monitor and the only time it ever went off is if we used the propane oven and all four stovetop burners at once without the hood exhaust fan on. It never went off using just the Mr Heater. And our dog was fine.

Duly noted, I was planning on sticking with propane cookware to conserve on power, though I doubt i'll ever have more than 2 burners at a time with my setup. Either way I will make sure to turn on the maxx fan when cooking!

Just looked them up and dang those diesel heaters are cheap! Would be hard to pass on those, but for 5x the price, I’m very happy with the propane Dickinson for the ambience factor alone. And no diesel exhaust stench! (I have a diesel Volkswagen and it’s old now so it stinks and smokes.)

I may very well give those Dickinson's heaters another look in the future when I buy land or a bigger van, if money/space weren't so tight right now i'd much prefer something like that over the diesel heater.

 

[TMariano]

The All-In-One (AIO) inverters have a wiring block under a cover; remove the cover, and you'll see "AC Out" connectors for wiring into your van's wiring system. You can wire this up to whatever electrical distribution system you use for the van. Could be a basic circuit breaker panel for vans, or could be a simple (heavy-duty) power strip.

Ok I see, that is good to know. Was just planning on having a fuse block for 12V stuff and running a couple strips from the inverter, one to the kitchen (solely for coffee maker) and another to the opposite wall for electronics. Haven't looked into breaker panels yet but will do so now!

The installation manual that comes with an AIO will cover the details, and you can get an electrician to help with the wiring inside your van. Still have to worry about loads, wires, panels, etc., and do things safely and correctly.

I'm going to attempt to do all the wiring and installation myself, I do have an electrician buddy who will be guiding me free of charge so I don't screw the pooch, but i'm very adament about learning how to set everything up myself so I have an idea of how to troubleshoot and build future systems. Will also plan on utilizing this forum and any other resources I can as I trudge along.

If you want to go the individual component route (separate inverter, mppt, etc), look at those inverters that have both AC plugs (usually 120v) *and* an AC wiring block, to wire into your van's wiring system. Windy Nation is one such inverter ...

Looks like the AC block is only included in the WN 3000W inverter, which I fear is too big for my system as I read something about inverters not being efficient if you don't have the batteries/recharge capabilities to keep up with it? Either way seems like a very handy feature I will watch out for if I go that route. Kinda thinking AIO is the way to go for my first setup, mainly for sake of simplicity/cost.

On propane, I would look at the models of ventless propane heaters' installation guides, and pick a model that shows various installation methods that you can safely adapt to a van. I'd still crack a window, even though it seems counter-intuitive on a cold day. Definitely monitor, and the monitoring devices need correct installation/testing/maintenance.

We use ventless propane heaters all day, in every room of our (drafty) house ... no problem with either CO or moisture; we do have all kinds of monitoring devices, including air quality monitor. Takes yearly maintenance to keep these heaters clean and operating correctly, and this cannot be skipped.

It's the air quality monitor which has driven us to open doors & windows nearly year-round, to improve inside air quality. Don't monitor if you don't want to know ...

I will make sure to do that if I can find any. So far all i've seen online are standalone units that i'm assuming are not meant to be taken apart, I didn't know there were propane heaters that could be adapted/installed. Do you by chance know of any as an example?

Hope this helps ...

You have all helped me tremendously and I can't thank you fine people enough!

 

[Tomthumb62]

I may very well give those Dickinson's heaters another look in the future when I buy land or a bigger van, if money/space weren't so tight right now i'd much prefer something like that over the diesel heater.

The cheapest place to buy a Dickinson new is as specific marine shop in Seattle. Last I looked they went for $700. Most places sell for $1200-1500. We got ours used for $500. If you keep your eye on Craigslist or eBay you can snag a used one when they come up for sale on occasion. It’s also super efficient, kicks out a ton of heat and burns only 1lb propane for 12 hours. Cute little double walled chimney vent that preheats the intake air using the exhaust. Repair is super easy: every few hundred hours burn time, take 10 minutes to clean the fuel jet hole with a strand of wire and run some sandpaper on the thermocouple to rub off the soot.