Need some banter on where to install propane furnace

luvrbus · September 17, 2015, 07:12:33 AM

Yep total electric coaches suck for camping away from the crowds,the biggest mistake I think I ever made on the Eagle was going total electric.

Now on the MCI I am looking at 5 grand to replace all the batteries as 1 of the AGM batteries went bad and took out the other 5 of the 8-D's

eagle19952 · September 17, 2015, 07:35:36 AM

in 24 hours boondocking, i can usually get by with 2 hours of generator run time, granted i avoid freezing temps. and visit Death Valley or similar in the winter.
were my needs different i would consider a Webasto/Espar solution.
I prefer charcoal for my steaks, but i do have a Webber Q too.

TomC · September 17, 2015, 10:19:37 PM

I removed the over the road heating/Air conditioning system since that is where I installed my 85gal gray water tank. I kept the big heat exchanger and mounted it fore and aft on the floor under the cabinets across from the side bath. I used two 14" radiator fans with thermostat to power it. Even though it is in the rear half, when it turns on, I can count to 10 and feel heat at the driver's seat.
I also have the Atwood 40,000btu propane furnace. It should be mounted above the floor in a cabinet with proper fresh air cutouts. My kitchen cabinets are raised 6" off the floor to facilitate the ducting underneath for the furnace. The 40,000btu works well for my 40ft'r with 4 outlets. Good Luck, TomC

Scott & Heather · September 20, 2015, 05:37:43 AM

Quote from: sledhead on 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

Dave, my unit isn't designed this way.
It requires me to cut a large rectangle to access it from the access door external to the coach. But, I could modify the design slightly to allow me to just access the panel from inside the luggage bay and just extend the exhaust pipe and dump it outside

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Scott & Heather · September 20, 2015, 08:01:12 AM

One final question:

We don't yet have a battery bank, so can I use this to power the furnace? The furnace is rated at 9.8 amps (12v) 118 watts.

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Scott & Heather · September 24, 2015, 05:57:23 AM

Ok, battery and three stage charger are all wired, furnace is installed. Working on exhaust flue today and I'm all set. Everything works perfect. All this talk about CO and Low Oxygen levels when running a propane appliance got me thinking more about our oven/stove and I began researching articles (from more recognized sources like home energy and others) and there appears to be plenty of studies done that indicate it could very well be dangerous to operate a decent sized gas ventless gas appliance in such a small space as a bus. Obviously typical houses have so much cubic volume that even an all day cooking marathon would likely not allow the concentration of CO or complete consumption of Oxygen in the house. But in a bus that's tightly sealed (ours is), I really began to wonder how safe our oven really is. I'm not a safety nazi people. I now with flip flops, remove the guards on my angle grinders and use them without glasses, I snowboard the back country, so keep that in mind as I state that I really am not sure I want a propane stove in my bus now that doesn't vent. I can recall two occasions last winter when wifey was making batches of her famous granola to give away for Christmas and we both got headaches near the middle of the day. Didn't think anything of it at the time. Then another time during a cooking marathon the same happened and that time I had a feeling it was the oven (which is nearly brand new). When parked, I've never had my CO detector plugged in cause the oven was our only has appliance and I never thought of it as a danger since one is in nearly every home I've been to in Michigan and we never run our generator when on the pole. But today I think I'm gonna fire up the oven and see what levels are coming from the interior vent......

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eagle19952 · September 24, 2015, 06:12:40 AM

For a comprehensive test you'll need one of these

just try it on you before you bring that little canary home.

BY THE WAY CONGRATULATIONS !!!! DAD

http://www.walmart.com/ip/33606440?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227029288803&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=58012408751&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=98278734071&veh=sem

Dawgs · September 24, 2015, 07:44:12 AM

WOW, if both of you had headaches you were close to taking a long nap. Thats one of the places you get in trouble. You just want to sit down and close your eyes for a bit.

sledhead · September 24, 2015, 02:46:27 PM

we have a magic vent above our cook top and open it when ever we cook and let the fan come on as it is needed . no oven just a large toaster oven we use outside

I have heard of people using the gas oven with the door partway open to heat up there rv ..... not a very good idea

propane is a great heating and cooking source if you respect it and use it right

ps did I here right dad ! hows mom and baby

dave

eagle19952 · September 24, 2015, 05:04:20 PM

Quote from: sledhead on September 24, 2015, 02:46:27 PM

ps did I here right dad ! hows mom and baby

dave

I probably am jumping the gun here...just making sure ddad gets a few high fives...after all Mom will be getting all the attention later

Scott & Heather · September 24, 2015, 07:34:20 PM

Lol. Yes, she's a week away from her due date

this will be our first.... And a little girl to boot

hope she looks like her momma cause her momma is cute. Thanks for the congrats! Heather is doing great. She's active. Ran a 5k on her 17th week of pregnancy and has been swimming and riding bikes. She's amazing. Our coach was pretty crazy a few months ago with wires hanging everywhere and just really not a safe place for a kid. So I've remedied that over the past several months. Now it's almost done (ha). But certainly safe and plenty of places for Emma to play and move and sleep etc. anyway, the whole propane stove and co dealio is making me think twice now. Might just get a couple of induction cooktops like the shanks have

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TomC · September 25, 2015, 08:03:05 AM

No matter if you're using a simple converter or an inverter, you should have at least one battery to buffer the voltage. I have two 8D deep cycle AGM batteries powering both my 12v needs and my 2,500 watt inverter. The inverter turns into a three stage battery charger when 120vac is present. My opinion-you can use the inverter for many things to keep from having to start the generator all the time. And with the three stage charger, this will enable the batteries to last the longest. I realize an inverter is a big expense, but it is also one of the most useful. Good Luck, TomC

Scott & Heather · September 26, 2015, 08:31:16 PM

Hi tom. I'll be investing in one eventually. For now I have a 3 stage charger on a 12 volt 1100 cranking amps battery and it's doing the job perfectly.

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