Reddit reviews Suburban (2438ABK Nt-16Seq Furnace with Black Grill
We found 4 Reddit comments about Suburban (2438ABK Nt-16Seq Furnace with Black Grill. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Electronic ignitionVent assembly includedIdeal replacement furnaceReliable performanceDirect discharge furnace, 12 Volt DC, 16,000 BTU, Black grille
I just put a proper RV propane furnace in my build. I live mostly year round in a damp, cool climate. I used a catalytic heater (Mr.Buddy) in my old van and the condensation from the unvented propane was out of control. I couldn't use the Mr. Buddy here in the winter, it's just too damp and humid.
I haven't seen any builds that have installed a furnace that vents to the outside yet other than mine. I'd be interested in seeing some others.
I bought [this] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B2ATA1M/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480098465&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=rv++suburban+furnace+nt-16seq)furnace on amazon for $350. It's 16,000 BTU and it's the smallest I could find. If you use a BTU calculator you can figure out how many BTU you need to heat your space. Mine only needs about 600 BTU but this is the smallest furnace I could find. It uses 2 watts to keep the fan running. I also had a horizontal propane tank mounted under the van. We installed the furnace ourselves and had to cut a hole for the vent into the side of the van. We still haven't hooked up the gas line, so I can't tell you how it works yet.
My old van had no opening windows and only one roof vent without a fan. It wasn't enough to vent the Mr.Buddy. Maybe the Olympian is better. Also, this climate is very wet (PNW), probably depends where you plan to spend most of your time.
We're installing one of these. Will let you know how it goes.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B2ATA1M
One thing to consider with the Dickinson is that it's a manual control furnace, that is, you have to constantly adjust the heat source depending on the heat level you want. It doesn't have a separate thermostat, like you have in a conventional house, where you can set it and forget it. Plus, the Dickinson is quite costly.
I put a Suburban Nt-16Seq furnace (16K btu) in my tiny house. It pulls combustion air from outside and vents outside, so only room air gets recirculated over the heat exchanger, no fumes inside. The BIG plus, it's controlled from a wall mounted thermostat, so if I want the house 70 degrees, it stays an even 70 degrees and I don't have to play with any other controls.
Here's a link, plus is less costly then the Dickinson:
https://www.amazon.com/Suburban-2438ABK-Nt-16Seq-Furnace-Black/dp/B00B2ATA1M
the furnace is a suburban 16k BTU RV furnace- This one
I really would love one of those propex heaters, their sized more appropriately for a van and draw less electricity for the fan but are soooo much more expensive. When i got mine it was about 320$ and I just decided it wasn't worth spending twice as much for a bit more efficiency.
This is also where the spray foam comes in, in my mind, closed cell spray foam is the best insulation option. R6 per inch and no moisture/condensation worries. However it is was probably 400$ to insulate the van which is probably 4x as much as it needs to be. That said, it feels pretty well insulated considering the doors dont have any and it does hold head fairly well as the furnace cycles.
The ford vans have such shitty wonky framing with openings and cavities that it was difficult to seal everything, which inevitably left gaps that moisture could get into those cavities which sorta defeats the purpose. However modern sprinter/transits or even the chevy cargo vans dont have that and would 'take' spray foam much better.