Propex Compact 1600. How hot does the case get?

[Kev]

Hi.
Hopefully someone has some experience with one of these heaters and can help me with the benefit of their knowledge :bow:

I've just got hold of a Propex Compact 1600 (the discontinued orange one but not the older X1) and as I'm only partway into my build I have the option of several places to put it. However an important factor will be the temperature that the actual case itself reaches....
It could go either in the base of one of the kitchen cupboards (not ideal), in the bed locker (as a last resort as I need the storage space) or ideally in the space under where the fridge will be (obviously dependent upon the heat emanating from it). The fridge will be over the wheelarch and will give more than the recommended 1" clearance for the heater but would the heat from the casing interfere with the efficiency of the fridge, even with any attempts at insulating the space...
I've seen several of the newer Heatsource models installed under fridges but as these are more efficient than the older models there may not be as much heat lost through the case if you know what I mean.

So, can anyone give me an idea of how hot the case gets please :help:

 

[n brown]

about as hot as a hot domestic radiator . i would leave a gap at the back of the shelf the fridge sits on so heat dissipates out of the fridge vents

 

[witzend]

about as hot as a hot domestic radiator . i would leave a gap at the back of the shelf the fridge sits on so heat dissipates out of the fridge vents

Might be better fitted under the bed so you benefit from any heat from the casing

 

[Kev]

about as hot as a hot domestic radiator . i would leave a gap at the back of the shelf the fridge sits on so heat dissipates out of the fridge vents

Hmmm.... pretty hot then...
Wouldn't venting the heat up the back of the fridge affect it's cooling abilities by drawing hot air over the pipes rather than cooler air?

The heat would also probably be too much for mounting in one of the kitchen cupboards, it'd restrict food storage to just overhead lockers I'd imagine...

Might be better fitted under the bed so you benefit from any heat from the casing

Looks like this may be my only option then, though it will probably mean me having to move the consumer unit as it would be in quite close proximity... I'll have to have a trial fit tomorrow to see if I'll get away with it. Watch there be a chassis rail or something in the way... hahaha
At least here it'll warm my feet up when I'm in bed.


Ooh... just had a thought... if it was under the fridge I could vent the heat from the case out into the wardrobe... I wonder if that would remove enough of it to make it feasible?

Thank you both for your input

 

[Byronic]

I have 2 installed at more or less both ends of the van. The casings on mine get little more than warm, the plastic control boxes are stuck on the top surface of the casings they don't melt! The hottest external part is the hot air outlet spigot connection to the plastic ducting. Don't forget he fans are noisy, the further you get them from ear shot the better and the more enclosed likewise.
If you install it under a fridge after time there must of course be some heat transfer conducted into the fridge, enough to make an appreciable difference to fridge cooling is anybody's guess I would suggest. A fridge rear cooling fan may prove worth fitting.

 

[Kev]

I have 2 installed at more or less both ends of the van. The casings on mine get little more than warm, the plastic control boxes are stuck on the top surface of the casings they don't melt! The hottest external part is the hot air outlet spigot connection to the plastic ducting. Don't forget he fans are noisy, the further you get them from ear shot the better and the more enclosed likewise.
If you install it under a fridge after time there must of course be some heat transfer conducted into the fridge, enough to make an appreciable difference to fridge cooling is anybody's guess I would suggest. A fridge rear cooling fan may prove worth fitting.

The noise was another reason for installing under the fridge as opposed to under the bed.
I was intending to thermally insulate the top and the bottom of the shelf the fridge will be stood on in an attempt to minimise heat transfer. It's also just crossed my mind that the times that I'll be using the heating is when the fridge will be on it's lowest setting (due to it being cold outside) so maybe turning it up a little would counteract any difference and the times when the fridge will be working harder is when I wouldn't have the heater on anyway...

Maybe another benefit of the heater being in a smaller space would be the air drawn in by the fan would already be warm and therefore get heated to a slightly higher temperature, causing the stat to come in sooner, saving a little gas.... in theory anyway... :idea:

 

[Byronic]

All true, you would be likely to be using the heater when the fridge only needs to be on lower settings because the van interior is cold, but as the van interior heats up the fridge needs to be set to a colder temp. You cannot win! In practise I bet it wouldn't make enough change to be a problem. I'd just put the heater under the fridge as you suggest.

The supply air to be heated is taken from the air within the van body it'll soon displace (few seconds) any warmer air in the heater's enclosure space, usually this inlet supply is taken through the wall of the enclosure from the van interior.

 

[chrismilo]

Had one in my previous camper just sold it they don't get very hot and they are not a lot bigger than the new ones
I fitted a new one in my movano I;ve just finished, in fact the old ones having the exhaust on the narrow side of the heater was able to fit it in quiet a small place.
parts fitting ex available from propex leisure quiet reasonable. inc a new thermostat instead of the one hour one which was fitted'

X1, X3 & Hotbox Archives ? Propex Leisure