Heating without shore power

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

I rarely use the heat pump. 95% of the time and regardless of outside temperature I use the 12v furnace whether on shore power or not.

Ditto. Heat pump is noisy. If you want to get warm, use the furnace.

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by Wazbro

The furnace has external exhaust (also external intake for combustion) so should be no toxic fumes inside.

Although on older trailers the furnace should be checked occasionally to make sure it hasn't rusted through the fire box to cause this problem.

Propane does not emit 'toxic fumes'.

But it will reduce the oxygen levels so venting is needed, which, the furnace does outside. What is 'toxic' is a propane leak un-burned getting inside, which is why you have a propane detector.

When heating with propane inside, keeping a window open will help regulate moisture levels as some have said. Keeping everything closed up will make it worse.

[gator.bigfoot]

Originally Posted by JJTX

Propane does not emit 'toxic fumes'.



But it will reduce the oxygen levels so venting is needed, which, the furnace does outside. What is 'toxic' is a propane leak un-burned getting inside, which is why you have a propane detector.



When heating with propane inside, keeping a window open will help regulate moisture levels as some have said. Keeping everything closed up will make it worse.

How does it reduce oxygen levels? Combustion air comes from outside. Do you open your windows at home when you run your furnace?

[gator.bigfoot]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

Furnaces consume a lot of propane. A whole lot. I also set the furnace.on 61-63° and dress.for.the cold. Wool socks and layers. A Hoody inside to keep hands and ears warm gets my vote.

I use a hot water bottle under the blankets. Works amazingly well. If in bed or on the couch use a hot water bottle and and a blanket. I also use slippers in the trailer to insulate my feet from the cold floor.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by gator.bigfoot

How does it reduce oxygen levels? Combustion air comes from outside. Do you open your windows at home when you run your furnace?

Hi

The only way you would get that is if you are running a catalytic heater in the trailer. They emit "toxic" H20 and CO2. In doing so they reduce the 02 in the air. Hmmm ... I wonder what other thing often found in trailers does the same thing ... only one I can think of would be the dogs ... I'll just hold my breath a lot ....

One thing I've noted about the trailer .... one would never ever call it hermetically sealed. There is *lots* of air exchange going on, no matter how hard you try to find and block all those holes.

Bob

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by JJTX

Propane does not emit 'toxic fumes'.

But it will reduce the oxygen levels so venting is needed, which, the furnace does outside. What is 'toxic' is a propane leak un-burned getting inside, which is why you have a propane detector.

When heating with propane inside, keeping a window open will help regulate moisture levels as some have said. Keeping everything closed up will make it worse.

OK- couple things to consider...if you want instant warmth, the furnace is best. If extremely cold out (freezing) this also will keep your pipes from freezing...sure it uses propane...but it works great. You can augment with a portable electric heater. If hummidity is an issue for you, don't open the window...use a dehumidifier...thats what we use for heating and also with the AC in humid climets. If burning propane is a concern, then get an extra 20# bottle or 2 of propane from Home Depot or your grocery store before you go. I have 2 extra bottles. Use one bottle till it dies, then turn on the other bottle. Use spare bottles when out, and you go to fill up the 30# bottles. This isn't that difficult, is it?

[field & stream]

On the subject of running the furnace while not on shore power the issue of battery usage is a consideration. The heat source is of course propane, but the fan uses a fair amount of electricity.

The only data I have is from the smaller (12,000 BTU) furnace in my 2007 Bambi. While the fan is running the power consumption from that furnace is 2Amps. How many amps you will consume in a day obviously depends on how often and how long the furnace is running.

We pack a small catalytic propane heater as backup.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

I rarely use the heat pump. 95% of the time and regardless of outside temperature I use the 12v furnace whether on shore power or not.

I'm the opposite.
IF I'm on shore power, I use the heat pump. I'm paying for electric, why use my propane?

I will admit there's a downside to the heat pump, and that's the heat exits at ceiling level and stays there. The floor is chilly. Good to have a fan to circulate the air.
Both are noisy to run.

If I think about it, most of my bad habits come from having a motorhome first. Never open windows, never use the inverter, run the generator.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

I'm the opposite.
IF I'm on shore power, I use the heat pump. I'm paying for electric, why use my propane?

I will admit there's a downside to the heat pump, and that's the heat exits at ceiling level and stays there. The floor is chilly. Good to have a fan to circulate the air.
Both are noisy to run.

If I think about it, most of my bad habits come from having a motorhome first. Never open windows, never use the inverter, run the generator.

Hi

If the electricity is "free" why not? If you are heating the trailer while you are out and about. Does noise really matter? If they stay in the trailer, the dogs will sleep through the racket just fine.

Indeed if you want heat *fast* the answer is to turn on everything. Fire up both A/C units in heat pump mode and turn on whatever the propane system is ( ours is an Alde so it's technically not a furnace. It also will run on a combination of electric plus propane). Doing this *will* test that power pole to see if it's really a 50A feed

Bob