Gas or electric ?

Home Forum topic Campervan Conversions Gas or electric ?

Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #105081
    donaldmac
    Participant

    Hi everyone

    I have a transit lwb medium roof minibus which i am going to convert into a very cheap and cheerful camper, my original plan was to fit a diesel burning night heater but i’ve had some bad experiences in the past with old night heaters so now i’m thinking gas, i’ve heard that gas heaters in a camper have got to be inspected by gas engineer, does anyone know if this is true ? i am also considering using electric heating as i am fitting a small leasure battery and probably an inverter (i know this is a rubbish way to heat a camper but i’m looking for something simple and easily removable) i’m planning on using my trusty little portable gas cooker for all my cooking needs so i don’t want to bother with bottled gas unless i have to.

Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
  1. Insulation is important.

    Insulation is important.  Doing it properly when building makes a huge difference to keeping the vehicle warm, and it makes the inside much quieter.

    Wood burners are great if you intend to live in the van.  They take a bit of room, require a bit of fiddly fitting, and you need to carry wood.  They pump out a lot of heat, and will keep you warm all night.  Great for free camping in the cold, but some campsites won’t let you use them as they give off smoke.

    Gas heaters are best for short trips, or occasional cold weather.  They tend to be smaller and easy to fit.  A good idea is to get one that runs off your spare/main has bottle.  Then you greatly reduce the amount of things to carry.  You can just get out the heater and hook it up when you need it.  You do need to keep a window open slightly though, to allow the burnt toxic gasses to escape.

    As allsorts says, making a cup of tea will warm the van really quickly.

  2. Good isulation is the
    Good isulation is the keyword here.I think that any type of heater is going to give of condensation.I have a cheap gas one bought of ebay running off a small £1.49 gas cannister.To be honest boiling a cup of tea gives the same heat results on the cooker.

    With a gas heater you can turn it off instantly with a wood burning one you can’t.

  3. heating
    Im having same debate. My mate has a woodburner in his cabin and it gives off some heat. He suggested one for van. I’ve looked on line and there are several available. There is a good one at Windy Smithy Woodburners. I’ve decided to leave the final decision till near the end of the build as where I would put It doesn’t affect the rest of the build. Im converting a transit bus myself.

  4. downoutdoorstore March 12, 2008 at 12:21 pm

    Hi,
    I dunno about fitting an

    Hi,
    I dunno about fitting an invertor as 12v leisure batteries are not really meant to run household appliances. Just my thinking – Im totally new to this as well.
    What I am doing for heat until I can afford my eberspacher 🙂 is a gas powered heater on ebay for £12. They are not brilliant and you will need to crack a window open to aid ventilation but they do take the chill off the van and are a 1oth of the price of an eberspacher. You could also look at propex or webasto systems. Some cheap deals on ebay but its whether it works or not.

    I think I am going to follow you with the portable stove option, although if I do intend to fit gas bottles I will place it outside so its well vented.

    You may think im mad, but I was thinking of installing a portable wind generator like a rutland 503. We use our van for windsurfing trips all around Ireland and it makes sense as the van could be sitting on the beach charging its batterys with the genny. They are expensive though and it would need to be removeable.