Quote:
Originally Posted by verman84
Also, before dropping money on a heater that requires any sort of chemicals/electricity etc, consider investing in a nice sleeping bag right from the start. It will be safer and require much less energy to keep going throughout the night. There will be no risk of fire, the battery dying, the chemicals failing, or simply not working. And remember not to run a propane heater in a closed environment unless you don't want to wake up the next morning.
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Some propane heaters are rated for indoor use. The catalytic converter should get rid of carbon monoxide, so the only dangers are excess CO2, low oxygen, risk of fire, and lots of moisture in the air. Some of them have an oxygen sensor to make sure the oxygen level stays safe. But I wouldn't trust them while sleeping.
A better solution would be to make some kind of mini-furnace that heats air but has a fresh air/exhaust vent outside. It could also pull in fresh air from the outside, heating it, and expel moist stale air from inside.
I don't want to get side window visors for various reasons*, so a mini furnace would be a good alternative. Maybe it could sit on the roof in the sunroof opening and have a gasket to seal out water. Like the roof vents in an RV, but removable for daily driving.
*Problems with side window visors/deflectors:
-The plastic distorts light, making weird artifacts when you look through them
-The dark ones make it feel like there's less visibility, but clear ones don't look as good and still have other problems.
-They push out the window seals, so if you remove them the windows may not seal well, or there may be extra wind noise
-They add extra wind noise/drag
-More strain on the window motor
-They may trap dirt and scratch the window since they are not as soft as the window seals
-Rear ones have to be installed with adhesive
-Ones that stick on the outside surface of the door might not stay on well, are hard to find, and leave bad residue if you try to remove them
Maybe instead of a furnace, you could have a propane water heater outside the vehicle and run water lines inside, using a small pump to circulate water. Then have a hot water radiator inside as part of the loop.
A heat recovery ventilator might be good to bring in fresh air without dumping as much heat, but you would probably have to DIY a small one, and you would have to handle condensation somehow.
A dual battery setup would be best to power these heating systems since the starter battery isn't really designed for that kind of load.