Rv furnaces?

[flying kurbmaster]

I have a similar heater in my Dodge Caravan pop-up, not sure of the brand, I don't use it much, in fact I have never needed it so far but I have started it up a few times to see if it works, I think it is cool that it is thermostatically controlled, I am curious after you use it for awhile what you think of it, how much propane it used and how much power it draws, I have a Dickenson P1200 in my Kurbmaster and that one I use a lot, the fan is annoying on it as well, however I am able to control the speed of it so I can turn it down low, it is also vented, I don;t sleep with it on but it warms things up fast in the morning. There are also the ESpar heaters used on boats that have a good reputation. but again I the reason vandwellers don't use them I think is because the initial cost, unless you can get one second hand most people don't use them enough to justify that kind of money. Come back and give us an update, on how it is working for you

 

[B and C]

I don't boondock nor do I have an RV furnace so I couldn't care less BUT boondockers report that it depletes the battery bank overnight.

At last years RTR we ran the heater every morning until the thermostat told it to cut off (one cycle) and at night before bed (couple of cycles).  I do have a large battery bank though, 375 amps worth.  After 7 days there, I finally decided I better recharge the batteries.  I didn't have solar then (still don't but working on it).  I had to recharge using a generator.  They had only been drawn down 40% (60% remaining) even with recharging phones, laptops, tablets, running a 12v TV with a desktop computer (computer runs off 12v DC) and lights.  If a furnace depletes your battery overnight, the battery is not getting a good recharge or is on its' last legs.  Maybe the furnace ran all night without shutting off (need more insulation?).  There is nothing like pulling an arm out from under the warm blanket and flipping a switch to get heat though.  YMMV

 

[compassrose]

 If a furnace depletes your battery overnight, the battery is not getting a good recharge or is on its' last legs.  Maybe the furnace ran all night without shutting off (need more insulation?).  There is nothing like pulling an arm out from under the warm blanket and flipping a switch to get heat though.  YMMV

I've never had to run the Class C's furnace on the battery. But I often read about the boondocking RVers or the ones who are parking overnight in parking lots and I really have to wonder about their RV's. If you stop and seriously think about it, WHY would running the furnace fan overnight kill the house batteries. Something just isn't right there.

But I also have been told lots of things that aren't exactly true, like...
I'm not a "real" fulltimer because I don't travel all the time.
I can't get a skoolie into ANY of the RV parks.
I can't use a "deep cycle marine" battery from Wal-Mart as my house battery (worked on the Class C for over 6 years).
If I do use a "deep cycle marine" battery from Wal-Mart as my house battery, it won't last as long as a golf cart battery (worked on the Class C for over 6 years and the life expectancy of a golf cart battery is 7 years.... they got me there, missed it by a whole year).
And the list goes on and on....

 

[ahh_me2]

I have a similar heater in my Dodge Caravan pop-up, not sure of the brand, I don't use it much, in fact I have never needed it so far but I have started it up a few times to see if it works, I think it is cool that it is thermostatically controlled, I am curious after you use it for awhile what you think of it, how much propane it used and how much power it draws, I have a Dickenson P1200 in my Kurbmaster and that one I use a lot, the fan is annoying on it as well, however I am able to control the speed of it so I can turn it down low, it is also vented, I don;t sleep with it on but it warms things up fast in the morning.  There are also the ESpar heaters used on boats that have a good reputation. but again I the reason vandwellers don't use them I think is because the initial cost, unless you can get one second hand most people don't use them enough to justify that kind of money. Come back and give us an update, on how it is working for you

Last year I had seriously looked at the Dickenson P1200, I had seen it used in many Cargo trailer builds, the dancing flames also give it a nice look/feel. I had also checked out the Espar/Webasto type heaters that are used in the bunk area of the big rigs, the nice thing about these units is they are typically exhausted through the floor, but I only saw them in diesel fuel.

But I will definitely report back on power consumption and fuel usage once the cold sets in, I'm aiming for low numbers as I will be doing extra insulation.

 

[TMG51]

So if the downside to these RV furnaces is only power consumption, how about with my 300 watts of solar panels and two T-125 golf cart batteries? I wouldn't run the furnace overnight. But I might run it for a few cycles in the evening before bed and then shut it off. Sounds like that shouldn't kill my batteries... ?

 

[highdesertranger]

TMG that should work, by not running it all night it cuts way down on power usage. myself I hate sleeping with a heater on, I sleep much better with no heater while sleeping. highdesertranger

 

[ZoNiE]

Your two T125's and solar will be fine. They do drag the batteries down, but so long as you recharge every day, not really a problem. On really cold days, they will take a 12V deep cycle below 50% SOC. Not good.

RV furnaces suck everything.

 

[karl]

I installed An Espar in a SO's sprinter- $950.for the unit, it's about as noisy as my Attwood, but takes up less room and is ducted to wherever you want.

Doubt that I would buy another.

Agree with HDR- I tend to heat the van up and shut the furnace off until morning. only time I left it on was well below 0*F......even then it didn't drain my cheap marine battery.

 

[ahh_me2]

Some basic math says that my furnace with blower only running consumes  1.8 amps, and with the gas solenoid engaged(heating) 2.5 amps, will result in the following:
A 100% duty cycle, very unlikely, will consume 2.5 amp/hours X let's say 10 hours for ease of math , equals 25 amps.
Will a draw of 25 amps overnight kill your batteries? if you have 50-75 amp hour batteries and power lights or other, then probably.

If the furnace is on half the time, we will have consumed 12.5 amp/hours, is that a deal breaker?

I don't think they are the hogs that people portray them as, however I have one of the smaller furnaces, and the large ones do draw more due to the larger fan mainly.

All furnaces will make noise when there is a blower, mine is the SEQ series, the "Q" stands for quiet and consumes 0.5 amps less than the "SE".

The more insulation you have, the less long the furnace will run and vice versa.

The above math applies to my furnace, your furnace may differ!

 

[highdesertranger]

I think their reputation as energy hogs comes from back in the day before solar and with barely good enough batteries and chargers. the batteries on these RV's were never fully charged and couldn't handle any sizable amp draw. highdesertranger

 

[akrvbob]

I have enough solar that it would laugh at that draw, but I would NEVER consider an RV furnace. It's an expensive, complicated, annoying solution to a very simple problem.

Here's my solution:

$80 Mr Buddy heater
$10 Mr buddy filter
$20 adapter hose.

Spend $110, screw everything together, and you're done. Winters over, I can stash it anywhere I want it. If I'm going to take the van and leave the trailer in storage, I just carry it over to the van. Sitting outside with friends, I take it outside and warm us all up with it--and yes, I've done just that.

Smaller, lighter, cheaper ,easier, much more versatile. There just isn't any debating this in my mind.
Bob

 

[bcbullet]

I am solidly in the "The furnace is awesome" camp. I have a 17000 BTU Atwood that I installed in my homebuilt cube van and would not be without it. AT -24C there is enough condensation on the aluminum door frames etc. to give me pause and this is just from breathing....I cannot imagine un-vented propane heat at those temps. I have 525 or so A/H of battery and have never run into an issue  although with spray foaming on the interior, it only runs maybe 10-20% of the time.

 

[bcbullet]

I thought I had a picture on there, but I will try again...it is under the stove and out of the way. In Bob's defense, we also have an extended DIY Dodge converted cargo van that we use just for three season camping and we use a Buddy heater quite successfully in it...

 

[rvwandering]

bcbullet - that's the best homebuild I've seen! Beautiful work.

 

[bcbullet]

bcbullet - that's the best homebuild I've seen! Beautiful work.

Thank you, that's very kind of you to say. 

There are a few more photos here if you are interested: 

http://old-advrider.adcreator.org/f...55a72e7ba7e8597b7bb&p=23743845&postcount=3962 

I am divorced and built it to spend weekends with my kids in their city 3 hours away from home and work. In the last 4 years I have saved over $20,000 in hotels, so it has already saved $4000 over what it cost to build. It is a 1992 F-Superduty with less than 20,000 miles on it, so lots of life left in it yet! It was a former City of Vancouver Police surveillance truck so it did not get out much; it had only 15.000 miles on it when I bought it. Hopefully I live long enough to finish child support, work for a couple of years and then retire and cross Canada in it. Lord knows I will need a ton of gas money as it has a 460 gasser in it!

 

[TMG51]

Thank you, that's very kind of you to say. 

There are a few more photos here if you are interested: 

http://old-advrider.adcreator.org/f...55a72e7ba7e8597b7bb&p=23743845&postcount=3962 

I am divorced and built it to spend weekends with my kids in their city 3 hours away from home and work. In the last 4 years I have saved over $20,000 in hotels, so it has already saved $4000 over what it cost to build. It is a 1992 F-Superduty with less than 20,000 miles on it, so lots of life left in it yet! It was a former City of Vancouver Police surveillance truck so it did not get out much; it had only 15.000 miles on it when I bought it. Hopefully I live long enough to finish child support, work for a couple of years and then retire and cross Canada in it. Lord knows I will need a ton of gas money as it has a 460 gasser in it!

That thing looks great. Congratulations.

Looks like you made your bed the smallest part!

 

[Canine]

Place me in the pro furnace category.I installed a 25000 btu wall heater in a 36 ft camper we had ,but we were unable to use it in cold weather because of condensation.Water was literally running down the walls.I'm looking for a small furnace for our van now.

 

[Willy]

Check out wrecking yards. ..Willy.

 

[ahh_me2]

Ok, So I was able to get some pics of the van/furnace setup that inspired me to buy an RV furnace.

My friend has a Grand Caravan Conversion that is done by some outfit in BC Canada and they installed a ducted
Suburban 12,000 btu furnace.

Here you can see the telltale sign there is a furnace inside(intake/exhaust)



And here we see how it is mounted on the inside rear.

 

[ahh_me2]

Update on my findings after 2 weeks of usage of the furnace.

Very happy with it and wouldn't even consider being without!

Up in northern Canada it gets cold in the winter, currently we are in late fall and temps hover around
35-40F daytime, and 20-30F nighttime, while later on in Jan/Feb we can expect highs of 5F and lows of
-22F.

I have been sleeping in my cube van conversion since the installation of the furnace while I continue the build.
My back wall is just some rough framed OSB with an access door and all kinds of air leaks until I figure out my rear layout.
While the van is spray foamed I am adding a layer of styrofoam insulation all around.

So basically I am not currently sealed up nice and tight as I will be when done, so I expect my furnace to run more due to all the heat losses.

I am using a power meter to monitor consumption, and I have averaged 15amps/day, and I went through a 20# tank in a little over a week.
Propane here is around $7 to fill a 20#er

While the furnace blower is a bit loud, it doesn't affect my sleeping nor does it wake me up.
It is controlled via thermostat, and I have it set to maintain around 62F day and night.

One happy camper!