We have a Wallas Duo with the heater lid and have cooked on it for months (2 meals / day) and regularly used the heater in thermostat mode.
I think it is great, obviously there is a slight delay over a gas burner in reaching cooking temperature but hopefully most people are able to plan that in when cooking a meal.
Typically we’ve parked up and put the Wallas on, by the time the roof is popped up, front seats swiveled and screen blinds installed it’s ready to take a pan or kettle.
No condensation from gas combustion, no explosion risk and greatly reduced fire risk. No need for gas system installation / certification or concerns about gas filling stations. I’d still run the CO2 detector with the doors closed just in case there was an exhaust leak.
The fan heater quickly warms the van, there is a steady ‘pulse’ from the fuel pump but nothing that will keep a person awake. Outside the exhaust is ‘clean’ and there is a very slight fan noise. I’ve been in some tight camping spots but never had complaints from the neighbours.
I have found that thermostat does tend to run the heating on the warm side so it’s always set to minimum, preferably with the roof popped for added ventilation.
At around 5 deg outside with roof popped it’s a perfect temperature with two persons in the lower bed at minimum thermostat setting, fuel consumption is negligible.
The under counter area around the burner and insulated exhaust hose are not excessively hot so no concerns with adjacent equipment.
The only fault I’ve had is the fan hood screws rattling loose, just need to be tighter than they are when delivered from new.
Highly recommended.
