Olympian Wave 3 seems weak?

[flashboiler]

Hi all, 1st post.

I converted a 6x10 trailer to haul an ATV with fold down side beds. Learned alot on this website.

I bought a Olympian Wave 3 off craigslist last summer and checked that it lit but never really used it. Camped in the trailer a few times and it works great. Fast forward to winter and my question:

I lit the Wave 3 and set it to high. The temp inside my 6x10 was about 30 degrees, outside was probably a bit warmer at maybe 35 and sunny... I let the heater run about an hour, and came back to see how toasty my trailer was. The inside temp was only 38degrees. (measured with a thermocouple probe on my multimeter.0

I get the Wave warms by radiant heating but the inside of the trailer was still very chilly. I had the roof vent cracked about 3/4"

Standing in front of the Wave 3, I could feel some heat but it was not very warm at all.

Is this normal? Could my craigslist heater be defective? 6x10 trailer is pretty small, I hoped the heater would cook me out in an hour.

We insulated the trailer by taking all the plywood off and filling the gaps between the metal studs with 1" foam. Plywood is reinstalled.


Thanks for any insight!

[Fenlason]

I have no experience with that particular heater.. but on high it is listed with an output of 3,000 btu's. That is not a lot of heat. I have a little Mr. Heater propane heater in my little shop. hmm I don't recall the size it is maybe 8 x 10. My heater puts out 18,000 btus… and it doesn't heat my space all that quickly.

In my case I was just after something to take the edge off, so I am happy with what I have.

[Nobody]

Glenn is correct, 3K BTUs aint a lot of output. That said, I mounted a Wave 3 on the sidewall under the sink of an 8' Skamper pop-up truck camper which I used for my hunting camp. We don't usually have terribly cold weather in Arkansas but nights well below freezing are not uncommon. When my alarm would go off I'd usually get up, light the Wave 3, & the burner under the coffee pot then crawl back under the covers for 10 minutes or so 'till it warmed up in the camper. It'd be warm enough that I could take my time getting dressed for the day's hunt & be perfectly comfortable. I'd say based on my experience that your Wave 3 isn't putting out as much heat as mine did. Also, I couldn't comfortably stand directly in front of my Wave 3 without getting too warm pretty quickly. My dining table & benches were directly across a 24" aisle from the Wave 3, & I'd turn it down to about half level when eating my breakfast. On cool evenings I'd turn it on & warm up the camper before going to bed. I have a good 20-below sleeping bag & never used the Wave 3 when I wasn't awake & fully functioning. I was completely satisfied with the heat it provided. I used a reinforced 3/8" custom made propane hose connected to a line that had supplied a 12K BTU furnace that was in the camper when I acquired it. The furnace 'went on the blink' & I could no longer get parts for it, hence the Wave 3.

[flashboiler]

Thanks guys,

Harvey, your reply that standing in front of the heater was uncomfortably warm certainly doesn't describe my heater!

I wonder if my propane regulator supplies too low a pressure...

[MADTRAPPER]

Also have a 6x10 all insulated except ramp. The 3000 will keep the trailer about 60 all night on low. Outside temp 32. I also have a little 12 v fan to move the sir around. on high it will get up to 80 '


Sent from my iPhone while sitting on toilet.