Need some banter on where to install propane furnace

eagle19952 · September 16, 2015, 08:02:13 AM

still flawed... back in the day, coal miners used canaries to detect lack of oxygen... they would keel over before a human.
your baby is a canary.

lvmci · September 16, 2015, 08:10:10 AM

hi Scott, propane from heater and waterheaters, need to be exhausted directly outside, mine is thru the banner board directly above the bay, if you exhaust into the bays, there are many holes in the C3 floor for for air, electrical and even waterlines that will allow the exhaust to reenter the cabin, a real nono, by the way, I asked Gary and Van to exhaust the tankless water thru the bay door, it became such a large hole to accommodate the swing of the door, thru the inner steel, before the exterior door. we decided it would be better thru wood floor and banner door, lvmci...

Oonrahnjay · September 16, 2015, 08:24:28 AM

Quote from: eagle19952 on September 16, 2015, 08:02:13 AMstill flawed... back in the day, coal miners used canaries to detect lack of oxygen... they would keel over before a human.
your baby is a canary.

Another vote from me. The human body selectively bonds CO to hemoglobin in the blood (the affinity is about 200 times stronger than oxygen) and the hemoglobin won't let the CO go. This excludes oxygen from the circulatory system and cells and tissues in the body; it's basically internal suffocation and it damages brain and nerve cells first. It's also very hard to deal with in an ER or hospital and -- as Don says -- it's particularly damaging to infants and children. "CO - the silent killer".

bevans6 · September 16, 2015, 09:00:27 AM

My 40Kbtu Suburban ducted furnace is in my rear bay. I don't recommend this install, but it's what I got so there you go. The furnace is up off the floor and exhaust.intake is out the side of the bus just aft of the bay door. I built a cold air return duct that takes room air from the floor of a closet/shelf area. I have three ducted hot air outlets, one is very close to the furnace with a very short duct, the other two are far away and I used wrapped insulated flexible duct tie-wrapped to the roof of the bays. It works great, is very quiet for an RV furnace, is probably inefficient as heck, and if I ever have to do any maintenance to it I am looking at around a day to just do the pull and re-install.

Very important to do the air in/exhaust for the combustion to outside, to pull the cold air return intake from the living space, and to keep ducts short, to the point and insulated. And design it so you can service it...

Brian

sledhead · September 16, 2015, 10:15:55 AM

YOU guys are lucky

in ontario canada any rv whether home made or store bought has to have a TSSA gas certificate on the gas system to prove it is safe to use . or not only is it unsafe your insurance will be void if you ever need it . whether you paid insurance or not

the way the gas stove works is that you have to have a pot or pan above the flame to stop the unsafe use of the gas so you do not pass out and there are regulation's about size of btu's that the stove or oven can be

the only thing that I got away with on my small 12 k propane furnace was they let me put stainless steel wool in the exhaust out let to stop the flame from going out as I drive

not tiring to be a dick but you have to be safe

dave

scanzel · September 16, 2015, 11:12:26 AM

I didn't intend to start something but my concern was for your safety and your family. I work in a children's hospital and when the winter months come and the heat goes on we start seeing cases of carbon monoxide poisoning in children and infants because of faulty heating devices and just stupidity of someone having a charcoal grill or propane grill in there house trying to heat it. We are in a large city and see many careless and stupid situations. It is the silent killer especially when you are sleeping, you never wake up. Please be carefull and no question is ever dumb, that is why all of us are here to help each other. Good luck and enjoy your new conversion.

Lin · September 16, 2015, 12:48:07 PM

Perhaps while exhausting to the outside, you could design the exhaust duct as a heat exchanger and heat the bay that way. Has anyone ever come across a code that allows exhausting internally?

Scott & Heather · September 16, 2015, 01:49:30 PM

No no, you guys are right on. I won't mess around with this. I just want to know now if my oven/stove are safe to be using all day....we certainly do not want baby canary to keel over on us. That would....essentially ruin my life. Ok, so I need to come up with a way to vent this thing without having to cut a huge rectangle out of the side of the coach

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sledhead · September 16, 2015, 02:13:09 PM

If you look at page 6 part #19 is the exhaust vent that has to go out side a lot smaller in size to cut through the side of the coach . this is the same size vent that I put in
hope this helps

http://www.atwoodmobile.com/manuals/furnaces/MPD%2031230%20SP%203.08.pdf

dave

Lin · September 16, 2015, 02:32:42 PM

That's and interesting question about how long it is completely harmless to use a propane stove/oven in a confined space. A lot would depend on the amount of outside air infiltration you have. Do you use an exhaust fan while cooking? That would be bringing in outside air. The point that the CO alarm does not register any CO (I am guessing yours has a digital readout) is definitely a positive. I wonder if the gas company or the alarm manufacturer might have an opinion on the subject.

eagle19952 · September 16, 2015, 05:22:13 PM

are you not primarily a pole sitter ? my coach is all electric.

maybe i missed it, what's the point of propane heat. I am not a "green" consumer, and my average electric bill is less the $100.00
is your stove a conventional sticks and bricks type ?

luvrbus · September 16, 2015, 07:35:42 PM

Ovens are not a continuous burn and use a controlled flame I thought all the RV ranges with ovens had a low oxygen shut off

I know ours (Attwood) would not light in the RV and it was because of the oxygen sensor in the gas valve and was a high dollar valve over 100 bucks.If you are worried about it the vent hoods are cheap we have one but Sonja never uses it unless it's hot inside

Scott & Heather · September 16, 2015, 08:18:22 PM

We have a 24" apartment BROWN stove/oven. It's simple but has a digital clock and timer and electronic ignition. Pretty happy with it. I might see if I can purchase an oxygen level monitor of some sort tho.

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scanzel · September 17, 2015, 03:17:45 AM

When ever you have an open propane flame in a conversion living area it will need oxygen and will produce an amount of carbon monoxide so some fresh air will be needed at some point, a range hood or a ceiling bathroom exhaust fan will remove any fumes etc. Do not always rely upon a device to warn you be smart and do it right.

Scott & Heather · September 17, 2015, 06:50:04 AM

Sage advice. I do wish we could go all electric eventually but it really puts a cramp on boondocking and we are realizing we need boondocking capability more and more. So in answer to the pole question, yes currently we are somewhat tied to the pole but would like to transition to boonieville

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