I'm looking at the Coleman propane fired catalytic heaters and am curious if anyone has tried any of the various models? I'm wondering if the 800 btu output of the Survivalcat model (for use in an automobile) really warms things up much. Any thoughts?

I gave my dad a Coleman cat. heater years ago. Don't remember what model, and both he and the heater are long gone, so I can't ask. It had a heating panel about five inches by ten if I rember correctly. Dad said that it heated the inside of his camper shell, which was on a full sized P/U (short bed), just fine. I assume that it's output was in the 800btu range, so the one you are interested in should help keep the inside of a vehicle a little bit warmer, altho probably not as well as his fiberglas shell, since you will have all that glass around.

I'd keep a window cracked on the lee side, just to be safe...

We use small propane heaters in our permanent, enclosed deer stands. If it's cold, I MUCH prefer to use a Mr. Heater Portable Buddy. We also have a Sport Cat (1,500 btu)....but, you have to be nearly sitting on top of the thing with your hands right over it to feel it.

Yes. I bought a 'survivalcat' a few years ago for use in a camper down in virginia while shooting. We camp on site and I keep a permenant 21ft camper down there. There is a gas problem in it so I do not use the furnace.

That being said it's EXTREMELY safe to use. I have used kerosene, propane, and other heaters. It requires only a 1 square inch opening for oxygen (as stated in the manual). I get that much through the misaligned body panels I usually at most give a window a minor crack.

Further, once 'lit' it will not catch fire to things. The catalytic reaction is very safe aside from directly placing something on the heat source, and even then it won't directly ignite most items that aren't flammable in nature.

It's very economical in usage; Generally I can get 1.5 to 2 full nights of usage out of one propane can. By that I mean letting it run 10-12 hour straight per use. So I guess about 20 hours per small propane can. Never timed it per-se.

The downside is that this heater is nominal in output. It was definitely designed for the 'small two person tent' heating situation. In my camper usually I use the partition to close off the bedroom (making about a 6x8ft room) and use the heater to heat that. It does ok. That plus some blankets makes for a relatively comfortable night as long as it's not extremely cold out (below freezing). I will probably pick up a heavier duty heater though I will always keep the survival cat.

I believe if in small enclosed space (like a car forinstance) this is ideally suited due to low danger to surroundings, excellent fuel consumption rate, low cost, and minimal oxygen usage.

I own the BlackCat model... It's great! I think this thing yields 3000 BTU which is pretty significant.

The current model has legs that you can pull out so the heater stands at roughly 45 degrees... I really like it.

It's slightly expensive if you don't intend to use it a lot, but still... it's a good buy. The SportCat and SurvivalCat are much smaller so be sure to evaluate your needs seriously. The BlackCat is good for car camping or for your home, but if you want to take the heater along for a ride in a snowmobile or ATV... the SportCat might be a better choice.

Thanks for the info! Looks like the bigger ones are the way to go. We don't really have much need for such a thing down here in Houston, since it only gets down to freezing once or twice a year (tonight is one of those times) but it's good info nevertheless.