camco wave catalytic heater BTU requirements

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kg4rpc

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Was just wondering which wave heater would be sufficient to heat a 24 ft class C. the wave 3 at 3000 btu or wave 6 at 6000 btu? any advice or experience appreciated.
 
We use the Wave 3. It does a nice job of keeping the bedroom warm, even is sub-freezing weather, but it certainly wouldn't warm a 24' class C. The Wave 6 might, but even the smaller one produces a lot of water vapor. With the Wave 6 running in cold weather, you can expect to have water dripping down the windows.

Joel
 
The wave 6 worked in our 26' Born Free Class C.  Yes they produce quite a bit of water vapor.  That plus the carbon Dioxide (CO2) they produce is why you need to keep your ceiling vent open and a window open a couple of inches. 

We have used catalytic heaters since 2004 and love their quiet efficient operation. 

BTW we travel 5-10 months of the year and frequent areas with outside temps with lows into the low 20's to high teens for a few hours, as well as some days in the 30's in the 40's.  We also fulltimed for 4 1/2 years using the catalytic heater as our main heating source.
 
I was debating on the wave 3 vs wave 6 for my travel trailer. I read a blogger who has same trailer. He had wave 3 and wished he had gone with the 6. I purchased the 6 and am glad I did. The low setting on the 6 is about 3k btu. I usually let it run a bit on high or medium and then turn down to low. I?ve had some nights in low 20s and was glad I had the extra btu?s with the 6. The max on the 3 is 3k, so no cushion for really cold nights.

For a 24?, I?d recommend the wave 6.
 
Keep in mind the standard RV furnace in my 26' class C is 31000 btu. I'm not sure how far even 6K btu would go.
 
sadixon49 said:
Keep in mind the standard RV furnace in my 26' class C is 31000 btu. I'm not sure how far even 6K btu would go.
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That?s a good point, though it does make me curious.  Is the btu rating for an RV furnace based on total heat output, or only on the heat that is provided to the interior of the RV?  A lot of the total heat seems to go out the exhaust vent.
 
I believe the Camco Wave website indicates square footage coverage for each of their Wave catalytic heater units.  If I recall correctly the Wave 3 is rated to cover up to somewhere between 100 & 125 square feet.
 
Yes the 20,000-30,000BTU propane forced air furnaces put out a lot more heat than the 6,000-8,000BTU of the catalytic heater.  However the forced air furnace is designed to heat up the area and then be turned off (using the thermostat) for some period of time. 

While the forced air heater puts 30,000BTU to the inside of the RV, it also blows another 30,000-45,000BTU of wasted heat to the outside, along with the exhaust gas.  All that heat is wasted. 

We travel in a 29' Winnebago Class A with lots and lots of single pane glass in the living area, including the huge windshield. 

We use a Kozy World 15,000BTU catalytic heater that has 3 settings, 5,000, 10,000 & 15,000BTU. We are in Dallas right now.  It has been in the mid 50's with rain and heavy clouds all day.  The heater on the low setting (5,000BTU) has kept us nice an warm, even turning it off from time to time.


 
Thanks for all the input, as usual folks here are really helpful  :)
 
Old Blevins said:
Is the btu rating for an RV furnace based on total heat output, or only on the heat that is provided to the interior of the RV?  A lot of the total heat seems to go out the exhaust vent.
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The BTU rating of a gas appliance applies to the BTU input, the amount of fuel it uses.  The BTU ratings are different for different types of fuels so using BTU as a consumption rating makes it easy to compare operating costs across different fuel types.

Propane delivers about 91,000 BTUs per gallon, so a 30,000 BTU furnace will consume about 1/3 gallon per operating hour.

AStravelers said:
While the forced air heater puts 30,000BTU to the inside of the RV, it also blows another 30,000-45,000BTU of wasted heat to the outside, along with the exhaust gas.  All that heat is wasted. 
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Again, gas appliances are rated according to how many BTUs they draw from the tank, not their heat output.

A 30,000 BTU furnace will consume 30,000 BTU from the propane tank (1/3 gallon per hour).  If it is 50% efficient it will deliver 15,000 BTU to the inside of the rig and dump 15,000 BTU outside through the exhaust.

Another point of comparison:  electricity delivers 3414 BTU per kilowatt-hour.  A 1500 watt room heater consumes 1.5 Kw and practically all of the energy goes to create heat (there is no exhaust) so it delivers about 5100 BTU per hour into the room.
 
Lou Schneider said:
The BTU rating of a gas appliance applies to the BTU input, the amount of fuel it uses.  The BTU ratings are different for different types of fuels so using BTU as a consumption rating makes it easy to compare operating costs across different fuel types......................

Propane delivers about 91,000 BTUs per gallon, so a 30,000 BTU furnace will consume about 1/3 gallon per operating hour.

Again, gas appliances are rated according to how many BTUs they draw from the tank, not their heat output.

A 30,000 BTU furnace will consume 30,000 BTU from the propane tank (1/3 gallon per hour).  If it is 50% efficient it will deliver 15,000 BTU to the inside of the rig and dump 15,000 BTU outside through the exhaust.

Another point of comparison:  electricity delivers 3414 BTU per kilowatt-hour.  A 1500 watt room heater consumes 1.5 Kw and practically all of the energy goes to create heat (there is no exhaust) so it delivers about 5100 BTU per hour into the room.
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I generally assumed (and it is bad to ass-u-me) the furnace BTU rating was the heat output to the inside of the RV.  Also figured it is the same for whole house sticks & bricks forced air furnace. 

I tried looking for a reference to verify that the BTU ratings for these furnaces are for the gas consumption, and not the heat output to the RV/house, but have not had any luck finding a reference, rather than an opinion.

Does anyone have a reference to verify the BTU output. 
 
AStravelers said:
I generally assumed (and it is bad to ass-u-me) the furnace BTU rating was the heat output to the inside of the RV.  Also figured it is the same for whole house sticks & bricks forced air furnace. 

I tried looking for a reference to verify that the BTU ratings for these furnaces are for the gas consumption, and not the heat output to the RV/house, but have not had any luck finding a reference, rather than an opinion.

Does anyone have a reference to verify the BTU output.
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I agree with Lou. I can'f find a reference, but just on the practical side. It would be very difficult to arrive at a standardized method for measuring the BTU output, while it is very easy to measure the BTU input.

Joel
 
AStravelers said:
I tried looking for a reference to verify that the BTU ratings for these furnaces are for the gas consumption, and not the heat output to the RV/house, but have not had any luck finding a reference, rather than an opinion.

Does anyone have a reference to verify the BTU output. 
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Look no further than the manufacturer's brochures to verify the furnaces are rated according to their BTU Inputs, not how much heat is delivered to the interior of the RV.  The latter doesn't appear in the brochures but may or may not be on the furnace nameplate.

https://www.airxcel.com/suburban/products/furnaces

http://www.atwoodmobile.com/furnaces/atwood-furnaces-brochure.asp

The Suburban RV Furnace Service and Training Manual has an Example Nameplate for a SF-35F furnace that lists a 35000 BTU Input and a 27300 BTU Output, for 72% efficiency.  However, the actual Specifications chart in the manual only lists the BTU Inputs.
 
My pleasure, we both learned something new.  It's amazing what a quick Google search can reveal these days.
 
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