wagoneer said:
Hey Denver where did you mount the wave 3 heater? I am in conflict about where the safest spot could be on my 1976 cabover
wagoneer:
I mounted the Wave 3 catalytic heater in the same place the original Hydra-Flame furnace was located in my 8' NCO, on the lower right hand wall just inside the rear door. Go to the very first post in this thread and click on the two photos there to enlarge each. The left photo shows the original Hydra-Flame furnace on the right, just inside the rear door which is opened. The right photo shows the Wave 3 mounted on a removable stained panel that covers the large hole which remained after the Hydra-Flame furnace was taken out.
The rear views of my Alaskan shows the Hydra-Flame chimney vent to the right of the rear door. I removed the metal chimney inside but left the exterior vent in place as the opening to run the solar panel wires through from the roof to the controller. The old furnace vent also allows fresh air to come inside the Alaskan for combustion. I always crack my roof vent whenever I light up the Wave 3.
This heater location is nice because, being low, it creates a wall of warm air running up along the rear doors, where cold air might enter. It also warms the coldest air on the floor, and is far enough away from the opposite wall so as not to scorch it .I mounted a towel rack on the upper rear door above the window to dry wet towels, socks, and clothes in the warm convection air produced by the Wave 3. The towel rack is also used as a handle to pull to top rear door closed.
I never hang any long clothes on the closet door knobs directly above the Wave 3 when it is lit, to prevent them from unexpectedly dropping down right in front of the glowingly hot catalytic pad and possibly catching on fire. For drying clothes, I thought about stretching a fabric net hammock across the narrow isle from the closet to the stove, but imagined it would usually be in the way and a pain to get around when exiting or entering, so never did it.
If the Alaskan factory installed the furnace on the left hand wall for your year of production, then just mount a Wave 3 on a sturdy panel in that location. A close-to-the-floor furnace or heater is a safe location because it generally is out of the way of combustibles. Moreover, its low location helps circulate the warm air throughout the Alaskan through convection.