Ventless Propane Heater vs Suburban Forced Air Heater

[Fred Mc]

I have a Suburban furnace in my bus that is about 30 years old. As everyone knows these things are power hogs.They will drain batteries overnight. Ok if your on the pole though.

So , because we are seldom on the pole  I am considering putting in a ventless propane heater and am quite aware of the precautions needed for fresh air, CO, moisture, etc. With that in mind I am debating whether to "beef up" my battery storage/solar panels to run the furnace off batteries or put in a ventless heater(which takes NO power) Does anyone know the power usage of a Suburban furnace?

Regards

Fred.

[PP]

I would think the specs on the furnace would give that info, but if the choice were mine, and it was at one time, I went with the ventless and except for the added moisture, have no regrets. You'll be surprised at how much more efficient they are compared to the old furnace too. And quiet, did I mention how quiet they are? 

[Fred Mc]

Never thought of the quiet. How big was yours( btu's) and where did you locate it?

Thx

Fred

[richard5933]

Of course the vent-less heaters are going to be more efficient. They're pretty much 100% efficient because nothing is lost up the chimney. That's because there isn't one. Sounds like you're already aware of the dangers of not having a chimney, so I won't repeat all that other than to say those dangers should not be discounted.

The Suburban furnace in our bus is 45 years old, and the only electric part on it is the fan. I found a chart which shows the current draw on a few of the older model furnaces. Maybe this will help. Of course, the current is only used during the time the fan is blowing, so the colder it is the more juice it will use.

For my bus, I'd spend the money increasing the battery bank before relying on a vent free furnace. Not only for the safety and moisture issue, but because a furnace can distribute the warm air throughout the bus.

[lostagain]

I would do both. Redundancy is good.

The forced air of the furnace can be directed anywhere you need, such as in the bays. Sooner or later, you will be travelling in cold weather, and need lots of heat to keep comfortable and to prevent frozen plumbing.

JC

[PP]

Never thought of the quiet. How big was yours( btu's) and where did you locate it?

Thx

Fred

We installed 3 6K BTU Olympians to replace the Cat heaters that were original to the conversion. 1 in the lounge/kitchen facing forward, 1 in the bath, and 1 in the end of the hall near the foot of the bed facing up the hallway (offset hallway). We also have 3 baseboards to back up the catalytic when the pole is handy, which in our case if more often than not. HTH
On a side note, the 2 main reasons we replaced the Cats with catalytic was efficiency and quiet-the DW put her foot down about the noise factor when she remembered the furnace in our 5th wheel, not to mention the drafts it created and the hot and cold spells between cycles, etc. These catalytics will run a week on what the old furnace used to burn up in a night and you never have to worry about losing power. Now, back to redundancy...

[Jim Blackwood]

The newer residential propane furnaces are now exceeding 98% efficiency (98.7 in some cases). Makes a pretty good argument for going that route. With both a primary and a secondary heat exchangers the exhaust is so cool it can be run through a small PVC pipe, making venting about as easy as it gets. The smallest units are about 50-60K btu, plenty for any bus I would think.

Jim

[eagle19952]

Maybe.
Electrical Rating:
120 Volts AC, 60 Hz
Preheat - 240 Watts
Burning - 23 Watts
https://www.toyotomiusa.com/OwnersManuals/Vented%20Heaters/Name%20begins%20with%20Laser/Laser%20300%20Type%20A%20(English).pdf