[king.module]

finally got my Propex up and running yesterday... all works fine but after 1/2hr it still hadn't really warmed the van up (ok it was -2c outside, and is a lwb with not much inside)... BUT i could easily leave my hand over the outlet, it was more like a warm hand dryer than a heater...


how hot are these things suppose to blow? - i was expecting somewhat more output than i'm currently getting
(it's the red1600w one with the thermostat running on butane)


:*

 

[Discodave]

Proper will be hotter with propane, but are only really good if you have the van insulated etc etc, the newer ones are 2kw and 2.5kw for more beef.

 

[king.module]

cheers - will give propane a try next exchange.

not quite as bad as i thought - just ran a 1/2 test at start up the interior van was around 3c and the propex blew out at 72c at the end of the run with -1c outside - wasn't quite the instant heat i'd hoped for as it was a slow climb from the 50c (after a min or so @ start up) ... was expecting it too run at around 90c +/- from pretty much turn on (i have no idea where i got that figure from - prob. plucked out of the air..I.

guess once i fill the interior with the usual junk it'll reduce the heating space by quite a large margin so it should warm up a bit quicker.


@caingorms this weds onwards (or cape wrath region if there's no snow for boarding) so just happy i managed to get it all installed and working in timeA:

 

[X28ART]

We camped Saturday night and set the thermostat at halfway and it never dropped below 20 degrees all night that was on electric as mine is the h2000e I've had it as warm as 29 degrees on test!!

 

[king.module]

would've loved to get the h2000e - maybe next time round - but as always it's down to costs etc...


quick update - this morning it was -1.3c in the van and after 20 mins of running the van had reached the dizzyingly high temp of 4.2c (sensor placed on dashboard - the propex outlet is pointing towards the cab and is positioned roughly in line with the rear edge of the side windows... behind and to one side of rear seats).

not exactly toasty but def. took the edge off the cold for the wee ones.

anyone any idea on how the eber compares??

 

[edbluejuice]

Had -8 outside/inside on mine last winter and within 15 mins was 25C with no thermal blinds in T: but is a 3000w one LOL:

You sure its running right as if you had a 1kw fan heater blowing into the van it would warm up a lot quicker than that

I am running propane too

Also seems to almost full running temp in under 2 mins

Ebers run up slower and the heat provided is comparable to the wattage of the unit

 

[traversd]

Butane doesn't like temperatures down near 0...it gets affected by the cold. I have the 2Kw blue propex and I only need to run it 5 mins for the van to start getting too warm. That's in an insulated van with full interior. Haven't tried it over the last few days as my leisure is flat, but I would expect more heat than that tbh.

 

[karlos]

butane has a freezing point of 0c degrees,whereas propane freezes at -42c

 

[king.module]

You sure its running right

I haven't a clue - it's all installed as per instructions - fires up first time and turns on/off @ the thermostat, sounds ok etc...

If it's left running for a while, turned off and then just the blower activated it seems to blow quite a bit hotter for a min or so (before it cools down obviously).... the exhaust output is a lot hotter than the blower output

I'm at a bit of a loss to if this is just how it is or if there's a problem somewhere:*

 

[king.module]

good points about the butane - will rig the outlet pipe to heat the butane bottle a bit and see what difference that makes

 

[edbluejuice]

good points about the butane - will rig the outlet pipe to heat the butane bottle a bit and see what difference that makes

LOL: heating the Butane will not help the end heat T:

Its just butane will freeze really easily its why I run on propane

 

[king.module]

LOL: heating the Butane will not help the end heat T:

Its just butane will freeze really easily its why I run on propane

shirly it would help if it's hovering around gassing level?!?!?

grasping at straws here - the only other thing i can think of is some kind of restriction in the gas flow or a gas leak (though i checked it all over and it was fine).


ho hum...!

 

[edbluejuice]

shirly it would help if it's hovering around gassing level?!?!?

grasping at straws here - the only other thing i can think of is some kind of restriction in the gas flow or a gas leak (though i checked it all over and it was fine).


ho hum...!

I get ya!

If the gas pressure is low mine cuts out and gives a 1 or 2 flash warning light and then its regulated pressure (I am no gas engineer).

I think I am wrong though now you illustrate your point as the heat does seem to fall on the dregs of the bottle may be it will run below regulated pressure just a bit :* but would seem strange as the propex's are so safety cut out loaded

Worth a try keep us posted T:

 

[mini-geek]

I would take the gas bottle out and put it in the houses for a few hours to get it nice and warm then try again,

 

[Bluebird Customs]

good points about the butane - will rig the outlet pipe to heat the butane bottle a bit and see what difference that makes

you do really need to run on Propane in the colder winter months as stated before butane freezes at 0 degrees but it starts jelling up at approx 4 degrees.

my advise would be change the gas. Another thing on the compacts was that they had a gauze in the fitting where the gas goes in, this gauze can get blocked with what they call "bad ends" ( it's a gas thing) the newer Propex heaters don't have this gauze so you can either clean it or do away with it , but if it's not blocked then leave it in.

The burning nozzle could have partial block but you would need to get into the heater to get to it easy enough to do but you would have to reseal the heater on assembly, Propex can check the heater for you but you would have to contact them for costs etc.

If I think of anything else I'll post up

Richard

 

[king.module]

just been out 'snooping' the gas joints - was 7.2c in the cab (was in the window so say 5c in the back??)

- ran it and was up to 68c in 5 mins (which was a vast improvement on last night’s check) - spent the rest of the time hovering around the 74c (also fell back down to around 65c a couple of times before rising again)
- if i disconnected the output ducting and positioned it so it was more or less on an incline the temp rose to hover around 80c (am running it through around 1m of ducting but only need around 40cm to get to the output hole - bit loathed to cut down the ducting yet as the interior setup is only temporary and who knows where the final output is going to be located when i finally get it fully camperised.
-for a final test i placed the hot outlet near the cold intake it went up to 87c quickly...as would've continued to rise (as you would expect)

- @ turnoff the purge fan ran until 68c - so the unit is only operating at around 6c above the purge temp - something isn't right with it.... am really hoping it’s a butane gasing issue rather than the unit (anyone know if they have an internal operation temp setting??)



by the way this is the temp gauge i'm using - bargain!!! was going to run the sensor through the external 'intake' hole under the propex but forgot to do it during the install.


Check it out on eBay!

 

[king.module]

the unit was 'allegedly' refurbished by propex before i got it (the gauze, exhaust pipes, ducting, thermometer, all screws Etc were all certainly new) and the gas is a full 4.5kg (only ended up with butane because i didn't have an exchange canister and found a full unused 4.5kg on gumtree for £5).

 

[Bascule]

would've loved to get the h2000e - maybe next time round - but as always it's down to costs etc...


quick update - this morning it was -1.3c in the van and after 20 mins of running the van had reached the dizzyingly high temp of 4.2c (sensor placed on dashboard - the propex outlet is pointing towards the cab and is positioned roughly in line with the rear edge of the side windows... behind and to one side of rear seats).

not exactly toasty but def. took the edge off the cold for the wee ones.

anyone any idea on how the eber compares??

I thought this was interesting, so thought I'd have a look at this for you this morning, as Ihave a new Eber (well, 6 months old) and I also have the same LCD temp monitors and I knew it would be proper cold today so turned the timer off last night - however, I didn't have much time by the time I got outside this morning as I was late leaving!

So, took this at 07:52 this morning: One LCD simply sat on the roof, the other fed inside and hanging down over the passenger seat (well away from any vent outlet) - starting point was interesting, I had thought all my insulation would have made more than 1.6 degrees difference, -3.6 outside and -2 inside.. proper chilly.

Then I turned the Eber on, to be fair on about 85% power, and went back in to grab my bag etc. The followup pic was taken at 08:01 so 9 minutes of use:

I couldn't leave it any longer as I had to go to work, but I reckon thats a pretty good difference for just 9 minutes, especially as it takes a couple of minutes or so to start producing any noticeable heat at all, but pretty soon its too hot to hold your hand in front of.

(5 minutes into the journey it got shut off!)

i do love it in the mornings, none of this waiting 15 minutes before any engine warmth starts to appear!

I'll do a more scientific check at some point, but wanted to get a starting point!

hope that helps.

 

[trism286]

you have got the return air duct into the heater inside of the van havn't you?

 

[king.module]

cheers bascule - very intresting def. a lot more output than mine.

and yes return duct is in the van - am off today to freeze in the cairngorms for a few days so will run some more checks (and get some photos of the install).