Full Timing newbies

[Oh.airstream]

Some background info before my questions. My fiancé and I decided we wanted to move in together. We decided to buy an airstream. We got a 25fb from 2011. With nearly zero camper/TT experience we drove it back from Iowa to it current location in Ohio. We have hook ups. We recently visited the airstream factory and have done extensive research but still have some questions we have not heard straight answer to. So the questions
1) while we have skirted the trailer with straw bales in plastic bags and will put a 100 watt bulb near the tank when it gets below freezing what are the chances our tanks will see issues on consecutive below freezing days? Extra info: we are in central ohio not northern ohio
2) our ac/heat pump has dripped some water at times. It only drips while running sometimes and the drain plug is 100%cleared. Also it does not leak while it is raining.
3) is there any way to turn on the furnace fan without the furnace being turn on to waste propane.

[cwf]

Welcome aboard!

If running propane heater when cold, especially freezing, you should not freeze internal lines... The supply may have the freezing problem.

Direct contact with the AS by the bales, even tho wrapped, may cause a problem with damage to AS finish. Ice dams should be removed quickly. The lightbulb may be sufficient heat just be sure water doesn't short it out, catch bales alight and ruin your relationship.

The AC on our AS lows droplets when there is too much humidity and I am running the fan on LOW.

Running only the heater blower is not possible using the controls as far as I know. But why do you want it?

[andreasduess]

Given that you have hookups, it might well be cheaper and easier to heat the trailer with a small electric heater than with the propane furnace. That's what we use when we go fall camping, a small ceramic heater keeps the entire trailer warm.

A potential drawback of that method is that it doesn't direct any heat towards your tanks.

Do a search on "winter camping" for more information - there are some folks on here who have wintered in Alaska.

[truxpin]

Originally Posted by Oh.airstream

1) while we have skirted the trailer with straw bales in plastic bags and will put a 100 watt bulb near the tank when it gets below freezing what are the chances our tanks will see issues on consecutive below freezing days?


3) is there any way to turn on the furnace fan without the furnace being turn on to waste propane.

Congrats on making the move! My wife & I are about to "learn" our way through our first winter as fulltimers here in South Central Kansas.
As for question # 1

The straw bales will certainly help keep the harsh winter out from under the trailer, when winter fully kicks in with sub freezing temps I doubt just a single bulb is going to help much more than the bales of hay are already doing. The Air space underneath is too great and the bulb will do little to radiate much heat unless it is literally up against the bottom of the Airstream. ( on the other hand, it certainly cant hurt)

Question #3

There is a simple way to run just the furnace fan. (however my knowledge of Airstream furnaces is kinda limited to strictly our particular model)(maybe yours is similar)

Look inside your furnace access door, you should basicly see the blower motor, the gas valve & igniter, relay, on/off switch and a small control pc board.




Pulling that connector with the white, red, yellow wire off the board allows our furnace fan to run with the control off the thermostat inside.
The only downfall is if you decide you actually want to run the furnace, now you have to go back outside and plug it back in.
There are ways around this also. But I'll leave that to your own ideas.

This is what I'm going to be "experimenting" with here when it finally gets cold enough.




Hope this helps. Let me know what you find. Todd.

[Frank&Mike]

Originally Posted by Oh.airstream

2) our ac/heat pump has dripped some water at times. It only drips while running sometimes and the drain plug is 100%cleared. Also it does not leak while it is raining.

Regarding your question #2, check out the thread below. What was initially just a very small drip over the course of 3 years, one day became a steady flow of water that quickly drenched a large bath towel.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f427...ou-111566.html