New Electric Service - YAY!!! or Life is Better When Everything WORKS!!!

[bugnot1]

Snow last week - snow coming in again -

But, I think I'll enjoy it more on this round. We just got our new 30amp. electric service installed - and a little extra on the outside post - so life is better as we look toward our upcoming snow storm. We didn't have adequate electric before, so I had to be careful about what I was using......and I missed not being able to supplement the furnace with electric heat. I was also using more propane than I wanted to. Now, we've got great electric to the coach - my electric is working like a champ and my furnace hasn't kicked on at all today - temps are running low 30s - so the heat tape in the A/C has been doing a fine job. I know we'll need furnace when the sun goes down - but at least we weren't burning through it all day!!

Our installation is 'semi-permanent'......so some of the hookups are based on the fact that we're not moving around. Pipes are all heat taped and working great - black water tank was dumped and it's doing fine - and I insulated a couple more windows with a bubble-type insulation - and that is really working good. I tried a foam type insulation but didn't like the light being totally blocked out. Dehumidifier is on it's way via UPS.....but I've got a lot of good circulation - so it's not critical - but it will be nice.

So, 5-6 more weeks of winter? Next year I'll be a lot better at this - with the understanding that going on a trip in the winter and living fulltime in an AS in the winter are totally different. There's hard and easy sides to both. For me the hardest thing so far was the furnace sooting up and going out when the tanks switch.......but I've learned that taking off the furnace door and cleaning off the ignitor and burner with a little wire brush do that trick nicely - and - I'm learning to do that BEFORE bedtime (it's easier at 8:00 than it is at 3:00 a.m. - when the inevitable always appears). Also, with the electric where it should be - if the furnace doesn't light, the little electrics will go on and we can deal with the 'soot' later.

Oh, and - I got my DSL line to the RV (since we're here most of the time) - and my wireless set-up inside the coach is screaming fast. I've had a real ordeal with AT&T......for several months there was something wrong with one of their boxes (fiber optic) that transformed signal to data????? That's what they said. Anyway - they said they fixed that - but I still had 'iffy' signal. They checked all my equipment (hoping it was ME not THEM) - but it was all great - but it seems they got their problem finally resolved. They might be a little more energetic about it too - since Verizon got the iPhone - and they won't be the only game in town.......

How is everyone else 'wintering-in'??????

jan

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by bugnot1

Snow last week - snow coming in again -... For me the hardest thing so far was the furnace sooting up and going out when the tanks switch.......

How is everyone else 'wintering-in'??????

jan

Ya really need to get that thing checked...a normal furnace won't soot up...

Dirt Dauber nest... clogged burner openings...regulator that is out of cal...

[bugnot1]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

Ya really need to get that thing checked...a normal furnace won't soot up...

Dirt Dauber nest... clogged burner openings...regulator that is out of cal...

We were told that the problem is the 'Mercam' (the stinky stuff) that the propane people put in the propane. When it gets this cold it settles to the bottom of the tanks and accumulates. When the tank is supposedly 'empty' there is still some propane and Mercam in the bottom of the tank. The regulator has been replaced - everything on the furnace tested great - and the sooting only occurs when the tank switches. We tried putting the supposedly empty tank on a propane heater and burning it out. That really didn't cure it. We're now going to purge each tank as they come off and see if that rids us of the problem.

We've done a lot of cold weather 'camping' but living fulltime in this kind of weather is a whole different set of rules - . We've been to the minus digits a couple of times - and 'things' just act different. In some parts of the country, the propane people put additives in their propane in colder weather to keep this from happening. Evidently Springfield, MO isn't one of those places.

We've replaced the regulator; and had the furnace totally rebuilt - nothing is left but the circuit board (which tested great), the ignitor (which is working fine), and the burner itself which is in great shape. Nothing is clogging the lines - no daubers or spider crud.......just the Mercam. The ignitor board is about to be switched because the new ones evidently try to light 3 times - ours only tries once -

Any suggestions??? It made us crazy for a while.......we must have had it in/out 50 times.

jan

[HiHoAgRV]

Well I stand corrected! Ya'' HAVE done all the checks...I have run tanks dry several times (usually just after midnight...) and never had a problem. I like the purge idea but I'm not sure...the tank pulls from the TOP so gook in the BOTTOM...hummm...

I hear of folks getting gook built up in the copper lines...ya wanna blow them out?

Keep us posted and GOOD LUCK!

[bugnot1]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

Well I stand corrected! Ya'' HAVE done all the checks...I have run tanks dry several times (usually just after midnight...) and never had a problem. I like the purge idea but I'm not sure...the tank pulls from the TOP so gook in the BOTTOM...hummm...

I hear of folks getting gook built up in the copper lines...ya wanna blow them out?

Keep us posted and GOOD LUCK!

I think some of it is burning out. The main problem is #1) end of tank #2) temps in single digits. I did get really good at removing the furnace door and the ignitor. When you look in the little hole with a flashlight you can see a little bit of carbon - about the size of 1/4 a pencil erasure on the burner That's all it takes. There will also be a tiny bit on the ignitor - but almost too little to see. A soft wire brush does the trick. I also think that there would be no problem if our propane supplier made a mix for this kind of weather.

We also took the rear twins out and did some serious insulation under both beds and shoe compartments. We're not using the outside compartments so we closed them and insulated over them. We tend to use that storage from the inside. That insulation really brought the bedroom temps up -

Dehumidifier will arrive this week

Jan

[HiHoAgRV]

Living in Mississippi, I'm a big fan of dehumidifiers, we have used them in every camper with crisp results. Not many folks think about moisture in cold conditions but...well...y'all know about it, huh?

With all that juice...how's the electric heaters helping?

[bugnot1]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

Living in Mississippi, I'm a big fan of dehumidifiers, we have used them in every camper with crisp results. Not many folks think about moisture in cold conditions but...well...y'all know about it, huh?

With all that juice...how's the electric heaters helping?

Little electric heaters are a good thing. I just ordered a Pelonis ceramic. I have a small fireplace looking heater front and back (as much for the look as for the heater). I don't use them all at one time - tend to heat 'zones'. I also am able to use the heat strip in the a/c now (which I love).

Days like today (mid 30s) I used just the heat strip. The furnace didn't go on at all. Tonight I'm using the bedroom 'fireplace' with the furnace and it's quite comfortable. I'll turn off the fireplace when I go to sleep - and use the front fireplace when I get up and make coffee. I keep all the little electrics set to the lower setting.

The heat strip is helping with the condensation but the only 'cure' will be the dehumidifier (7 dogs) - didn't get a small one either. I'm going to drain it through the shower drain........

Jan