BlackCat portable Catalytic Heater

Submitted: Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 09:43

ThreadID: 35355 Views:2260 Replies:8 FollowUps:8

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Truckster (Vic)

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ANyone else tried one? I borrowed one while in the HCountry the other week tryin to keep my right leg from cramping ( bleep ed circulation from the artery repairs)..

Worked well, although the gas could last a bit longer..

Worth the money $90 at Rays.

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Reply By: mattie - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 10:22

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 10:22

Hi
we have one and i think it works very well but we bought the gas hose to connect to the bottle on the camper trailer so i could not tell u how efficient or unefficient it is but it was cold and the trailer was quite warm as my wife was breast feeding.

Mattie

AnswerID: 180789

Reply By: Dave from P7OFFROAD - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 12:05

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 12:05

They are awesome, we don't need ours often, but when we use it it works sensationally.

(you can do better that $90 if you try hard enough...)

By running for an hour or so to warm the tent up we get 4 nights out of a canister -just!

AnswerID: 180809

Reply By: Member - Pesty (SA) - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 12:25

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 12:25

Hi Bruce,
We have a Procat, same thing with a body built around it, and it works ok, not as hot as we expected, but takes the chill off the camper, and is safe and doesnt have any fumes.
If others are getting only about 4 hrs per canister , perhaps ours isnt as hot because the regulator isnt passing enough gas through??
We get around 6-7 hrs from a canister, and havent tried it on the bottle with the hose yet, but cant see that it will be any problem.
We paid around $170 12 months ago.

Cheers Mate Pesty

AnswerID: 180812

Follow Up By: Dave from P7OFFROAD Accredited Driver Training - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 13:21

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 13:21

My 4 hour figure wasn't exactley derived from precision timing equipment...

:-)

cheers

FollowupID: 437100

Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 15:32

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 15:32

yours has the auto lighter thing on it Pesty? the coleman one has that for an extra $100, but tats a lot of boxes of matches...

FollowupID: 437128

Follow Up By: Member - Pesty (SA) - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 15:37

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 15:37

Yes mate and it also has a fan built in, that runs on 2 d size batteries.
Works good.

Cheers pesty

FollowupID: 437130

Follow Up By: geocacher (djcache) - Sunday, Jul 02, 2006 at 00:14

Sunday, Jul 02, 2006 at 00:14

Just got back from Broken Hill and Mungo.

We took the Coleman Pro version and it was great.

I bought the hose and ran it of a 4kg cylinder, and before we left I made a 12v - 3v converter (there's a 2.5mm socket next to the battery compartment) so I didn't have to take a bucket of D cells.

It ran all night on the last half of the trip as the kids were both not particularly well (which was why I bought it) and kept the temp up when the temp outside was frosty.

It's definately going on any future winter trips if the wife has anything to do with it.

Running off a full 4kg cylinder it ran for about 45 hours with a bit to spare - cylinder isn't empty yet. I would guess you would get about 12 hours to the kg which roughly fits the specs which say you would get 6-8 hours off their 680 gram disposable canisters.

Definately a good bit of gear, worth its weight in browny points with the better half.

Dave

FollowupID: 437752

Reply By: Robin - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 12:45

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 12:45

Unless you need something for inside a tent , I wouldn't really bother as they put out less than 1/2 the heat of the little $20 supermarket stoves.

Robin Miller

AnswerID: 180815

Reply By: Emo - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 14:30

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 14:30

I picked up a second hand one on Overlander recently for $30. I've tried it in the garage and it seems to work quite well. Heading off for a snow driving weekend in about 3 weeks and we're staying in some cabins at Woods Point so it'll get a work out then. That reminds me. I need to pick up an extra gas bottle or two for it.

AnswerID: 180826

Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 15:32

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 15:32

Put it in 1 hr before sleep time.. works well...

If possible, turn off before crashing out, then when the 5am freeze hits, light it up again!

1 cyl per night we used... which reminds me i gotta buy some for shane to replace his

FollowupID: 437127

Reply By: Alloy c/t - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 16:49

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 16:49

We have got one of the older style that u screw straight onto a standard 4.5 or 9kg bottle worked a treat last time we used it ,,but Bruce remember to turn heater OFF before bed or at the barest minimum leave a window open ,, remember a case a few yrs ago a husband and wife + 2 kids never got to wake up due to oxygen depletion using a gas heater in their tent.

AnswerID: 180841

Reply By: brett - Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 17:08

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2006 at 17:08

Also got a Procat, pumps out enough heat to take the chill off the camper but you really need to sit in front of it to be toasty warm. It uses approx 70 grams an hour which equates to nearly 8 hours off 1 cylinder. Although they are fairly safe with no naked flame they still do consume oxygen and produce CO2 like any gas burner, I have no problems running one in my camper for 4 or 5 hours as it is a trakshak and is fairly large in size which means lot's of air but I certainly wouldn't run it while asleep, I'm sure in a large canvas camper it wouldn't be a problem as there are plenty of leaks but still not worth the risk. Best place to buy them is Kmart, they have the Procat for $120, Boots want $199

AnswerID: 180844