Rv furnaces?

[B and C]

I filled the Roadtrek up yesterday at Bucky's out on 290 West of Houston for $1.569.  Gas is really cheap here in Texas.  Just wish the oil and oil change prices would get down low again.

Oops, got off topic.  Saw gas prices

 

[ahh_me2]

I think to be fair you have to say that's a very atypical price and in many places you'd pay double or more than  that--if for no other reason that most of us aren't near Costcos. I'm a Costco member in the US it's pretty rare for me to be near them so I stock up big time when I am.
Bob

The funny thing is...
As Canadians, we kind of take for granted that Americans pay less for everything except for healthcare!
True or not, it is still a common perception, so I actually thought my propane costs were most likely higher than the majority on here.

However, since this post derailed onto the price of propane, with which I am OK, since the propane needs to be factored in to any heating equation, all I can say is I am really surprised!

Soooooo......everyone else.....expect to pay more than me! LOL

 

 

[ahh_me2]

I filled the Roadtrek up yesterday at Bucky's out on 290 West of Houston for $1.569.  Gas is really cheap here in Texas.  Just wish the oil and oil change prices would get down low again.

Oops, got off topic.  Saw gas prices

Gas prices would be off topic, propane prices wouldn't!

 

[Mobilesport]

I'd never even consider a furnace!

1) Too much battery draw when you can least afford it.
2) Way to complicated for me to install safely=BIG BUCKS
3) In the tiny space of a van the furnace bakes it out, then you turn it off and get cold.
4) Too noisy.

Their only advantage is they are vented, but to me that is just not worth all their other negatives.

Personally, I just use my Coleman propane stove for heat and it works extremely well for me. If it's too cold for that I add the smallest Mr Buddy, the 3800 btu one.

* Less than $100 bucks total.
* Takes almost no room.
* Silent.
* No electric usage

Bob

I find it very interesting that you choose your Coleman stove over your Mr buddy.
Where do you put your Propane tank?
I assume I would have to vent a window when using the Coleman ?
I have a Coleman single burner and I've never thought about using It as a heat source.

 

[akrvbob]

I find it very interesting that you choose your Coleman stove over your Mr buddy.
Where do you put your Propane tank?
I assume I would have to vent a window when using the Coleman ?
I have a Coleman single burner and I've never thought about using It as a heat source.

I have lots of insulation so I don't need much heat, the stove is plenty. I rarely have it on over an hour a night and I never have it on while I'm asleep. Most important is it's slow, the Mr. Buddy bakes you out then you turn it off and you get cold.

The main risk for the propane bottle is going flying so it can damage the valve and allow it to leak. I keep it under something so it can't move, usually the bed.

I don't worry about venting it, never have. But none of my rigs have been sealed very tight so they leak air.

You might consider it, it works extremely well for me. But without enough insulation it may not work. 
Bob
Bob

 

[Mobilesport]

@ Bob  ,, I looked up the specs on my Coleman single burner.
They said little green bottle of propane would run Coleman   2.2 hours  on high
9 hours on low setting .
I might be alright if I could get by on the low setting and run it off a 20 pounder

 

[Mobilesport]

@ Bob  ,, I looked up the specs on my Coleman single burner.
They said little green bottle of propane would run Coleman   2.2 hours  on high
9 hours on low setting .
I might be alright if I could get by on the low setting and run it off a 20 pounder

 

[Mobilesport]

I'm thinking of using the stove method as a backup to my Propex furnace.
I Just bought a portable buddy 2 days ago as a backup ,  i'm going to return it as i dont like the way it makes everything feel wet , especially my sleeping bag that i store up in the ceiling.
I'm going to ditch my ecotemp on demand water heater too , it too causes moisture problems.
The good thing about the furnace is the ducts , I have mine set up were i can swap out the ducts very quick and easy.  E.g  I have a daytime duct that surrounds my little living space giving you heat from all sides.
Come bedtime i swap my little 28 inch long duct in that runs into my sleeping bag , I have a small controlled leak that leaks hot air out to my thermostat tripping it on and off, thermostat is mounted were it is reachable when i'm sleeping. Sleeping bag is also held up from the floorabout 12 inches so the air can flow in it , its held up with 2 plastic tarp clamps and two 3 foot long bungee cords that go to the ceiling.
Ahh-me , you should try aluminum down spouts as hvac tubes , they come rectangelar and you just form the ends into a circle to fit to your heater , the formed round ends are exactly 3 inch diameter

 

[ahh_me2]

Ahh-me , you should try aluminum down spouts as hvac tubes , they come rectangelar and you just form the ends into a circle to fit to your heater , the formed round ends are exactly 3 inch diameter

Thanks Mobilesport, my furnace is actually a front discharge unit, so no need for ducting, but my backup furnace is a ducted unit, and I haven't decided which setup I'll use for the long term.

 

[darude]

hmm if i had some kind of RV. i don't think that i would want an RV furnace propane carries water and lots of rv'ers have moisture problems not to mention i also heard alot of rv'ers say there louder than hell. i also hear that alot of people say there not efficient. i think if i had an RV i would go ahead and install a kimberly wood stove multi use item since you can cook on it bake with it and heat water and make eletricity . though i don't know if they ever put out the device to make eletricty yet or not!! but it's an amazing stove :shy: with an amazing price tag starting a lil 4 grand :s

 

[Willy]

A conventional RV furnace introduces NO moisture into the interior of an RV. The moisture problems people with them are experiencing would be due to other causes. ..Willy.

 

[Mobilesport]

A conventional RV furnace introduces NO moisture into the interior of an RV. The moisture problems people with them are experiencing would be due to other causes. ..Willy.

The moisture is coming from the Mr buddy heaters , isn't it? 
I know when I used the Mr buddy for only a week I had so much moisture that my doors froze shut.
It would fog my windows up too , I cracked my windows and that helped with the consedaton but the windows still fogged up sometimes. 
Never got rid of the wet problem until ditching the Mr buddy

 

[Mobilesport]

A conventional RV furnace introduces NO moisture into the interior of an RV. The moisture problems people with them are experiencing would be due to other causes. ..Willy.

The moisture is coming from the Mr buddy heaters , isn't it? 
I know when I used the Mr buddy for only a week I had so much moisture that my doors froze shut.
It would fog my windows up too , I cracked my windows and that helped with the condensation but the windows still fogged up sometimes. 
Never got rid of the wet problem until ditching the Mr buddy

 

[Mobilesport]

@ darude  ,, don't forget the huge smoke stack out the roof  , that would be a pretty big con

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

. i think if i had an RV i would go ahead and install a kimberly wood stove multi use item since you can cook on it bake with it and heat water and make eletricity . 

A lot of vans and small campers do not have enough clearance for a wood stove.

The moisture is coming from the Mr buddy heaters , isn't it? 

A Mr Buddy is a catalytic heater (combustion byproducts are exhausted into the heated space), not a furnace (combustion in a sealed heat exchanger exhausted to the outside).  You will get about a pint of water vapor for every gallon of propane you burn.

-- Spiff

 

[jimindenver]

A coffee can stove with a small stack out a window wouldn't need much room. It would require small bits of wood and be a pain.

 

[blars]

My Boddy is open flame, not catalytic. Burning propane creates moisture, and any non-vented heater it goes into your living space. Furnaces vent their combustion products outside, including the moisture.

 

[Willy]

AFAIK, yet again, the Buddy brand heaters aren't catalytic. I also have a Wave 3 catalytic heater and, like the Buddy heaters, it dumps a buttload of moisture into the interior. ..Willy.

 

[IGBT]

We put a Atwood 18,000 BTU propane furnace in our homebuilt RV.   It can heat up the interior in no time compared to an electric 1500 watt portable heater we use when on shore power.   I do not see how anyone would want to go without a furnace like this unless they are in a very warm climate.   Waking up to a 50 degree camper and then turning on the furnace for 15 minutes brings the interior up to a lovely 70 degrees, uses a tiny amount of propane and about 1 amp-hour of electricity from our 250 amp-hour bank.

 

[HiddenHighways]

Hi Folks,

It see this thread is a couple of years old but I have some information to add.

I installed a furnace in my minivan. It was tough to get it to fit and work but I did. I guess Bob would be ok with me posted the link to my YouTube video about it here:  https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=xqTZTxwl-80

As far as I can tell, this is the only furnace in a minivan on YouTube. 

I'm just a part-timer. So far, I've slept in the van 8 nights on the road and I've spent lots of hours running the furnace, parked behind my house, while inside the van doing work or hanging out. I don't seem like the power consumption is that bad, but my van is very insulated. 

Since the temps still vary a lot around the van, a lot of times I just turn it off in on with a bypass switch when awake till I feel good. If you crank it up and open the windows, you can get it to like 90 degrees and 18 percent humidity, to really dry things out. Kind of like creating a desert microclimate in the van. I stuff things like socks and towels my homemade heating duct to dry them quickly. 

The power of flip-a-switch heat also cannot be overemphasized. 

John