Driving with Furnace On

Topic: Driving with Furnace On (Read 1353 times) previous topic - next topic

Driving with Furnace On

October 20, 2016, 08:56:53 pm

In order to keep water from freezing in the wet bay while driving, can the propane furnace be used with relative safety? I know it's not ideal, but what can be done while in motion?

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #1 – October 20, 2016, 09:35:10 pm

Yes, it was designed to be used while driving as well as when stopped.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #2 – October 20, 2016, 09:41:46 pm

You will get a variety of "opinions" on this subject, because everybody's got one...

My opinion:

1. Read the operation manual for your heaters. If it does not prohibit operation while moving, then it becomes a personal choice.

2. Decide if you are comfortable with using propane fueled devices while moving. Some owners are - some are not. The question of "safety" becomes part of this decision. Some owners don't want their propane valve open while driving, citing increased danger of fire in the event of a wreck. Other owners are not concerned about this potential danger.

3. If you do run your heaters while driving, recognize that there are times when you should shut them down. Some tunnels, for instance, are posted that you should not enter with propane devices operating. Having a fire burning in your heaters while refueling is probably not the smartest thing to do, although I'm sure it happens every day in the "cold" parts of the country...

4. Some say that if the RV manufacturers did not want you to operate propane devices while driving, they would have safety interlocks built into the coach that would prevent you from doing just that. The fact that these interlocks do not exist suggest tacit approval.

5. In the end, it's really up to you. Do what makes you happy. We use ours while driving, if we need them.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #3 – October 20, 2016, 09:48:01 pm

I have run propane furnaces while in motion, never had a problem, never read a warning against it. I was in a wind storm camped in atlantic city so bad my fridge went into fault several times because the flame would not stay lit. Thats never happened to me before, even driving.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #4 – October 20, 2016, 10:04:35 pm

Probably don't need to mention it, but, it must be turned off when refilling the propane tank.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #5 – October 21, 2016, 10:30:45 am

Quote from: craneman – October 20, 2016, 10:04:35 pm

Probably don't need to mention it, but, it must be turned off when refilling the propane tank.

Yes, you DO need to mention it, as well as shutting off the fridge/hwh if it's on propane. I don't have any pics, but a coach close to us caught fire whilst re-fueling propane and burned to the ground + could have blown up half the town should the big refuel bottle at the gas station blown!

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #6 – October 21, 2016, 10:44:43 am

Quote from: craneman – October 20, 2016, 10:04:35 pm

Probably don't need to mention it, but, it must be turned off when refilling the propane tank.

Good point. Although, if the attendant doing the refilling is properly trained, he will take care of that for you, by closing the master valve on the tank. I did have one kid one time ask me if it was "OK" to close the tank valve before filling my tank. I asked why he would even ask, since it is required. He said a coach owner told him on really old RVs (I did not take offense) the valve could be "frozen", and trying to close it might break the valve. I told him to go ahead and close my valve, and recommended if that ever came up again, that he should (politely) tell the customer to go someplace else for his refill.

The last time we got a refill, the guy closed the master valve but forgot to re-open it when finished. I was distracted by something, and did not notice his error. Discovered it when the Gaggenau would not light that evening.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #7 – October 21, 2016, 10:56:17 am

In the instance I mentioned, the Fire Marshal determined the coach main shut-off was leaking-by (common on older coaches) and the owner spaced-out the proper shut-down procedure. No one killed, but a VERY SCARY fire!

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #8 – October 21, 2016, 01:14:45 pm

Shutting off the main valve without the owners knowledge has killed a lot of food and refers that we're running on propane at the time

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #9 – October 21, 2016, 01:51:43 pm

We don't count on our propane furnace to keep bays warm, as furnace only heats a few places and only when furnace is running. And I think during a very cold freeze some water lines could freeze due to their locations away from furnace heat.

We, like others have 200-watt Lasko personal heaters ($20) placed in water bays.
Amazon.com: Lasko #100 MyHeat Personal Ceramic Heater: Home & Kitchen

We have one in water manifold, water pump, sewer valve, and fresh water tank areas. All four are turn on from inside coach when needed. We have sometimes put a 5th Lasko in large Joey-bed area to be sure liquids don't freeze. We also have wireless remote thermometers to report how things are doing down there without having to open bay doors.

As an Amazon Associate Foretravel Owners' Forum earns from qualifying purchases.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #10 – October 21, 2016, 04:24:36 pm

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – October 21, 2016, 01:51:43 pm

We, like others have 200-watt Lasko personal heaters ($20) placed in water bays.
Amazon.com: Lasko #100 MyHeat Personal Ceramic Heater: Home & Kitchen

Those little Lasko heaters are great - very quiet, and surprisingly good quality for the price! In addition to the uses you mentioned, when it is cold outside, we put one of them on the dashboard between the curtains and the windshield. Leaving it running all night will help avoid the unpleasent surprise of waking up to condensation dripping down the inside of the glass. Eliminating that excess moisture buildup goes a long way towards preventing dashboard plywood rot.

As an Amazon Associate Foretravel Owners' Forum earns from qualifying purchases.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #11 – October 21, 2016, 11:02:09 pm

Thanks for all the replies. I have purchased two 30 foot Frost King thermostatic heat tapes for the wet bay. Each tape consumes 210 watts. A small circulation fan will be placed on each side of the wet bay.

A few questions:

1. Are there any more precautions I need to take to avoid freezing water besides:
- Keep propane filled
- Keep fresh water tank filled for increased thermal mass. Disconnect and drain shore water hose when not in use.
- Keep lower bath and kitchen cabinets open
- Seal and close the small utility access door (I cut two U channel slots for the water and electric lines so the door can close) and cover with a rag
- Remote temperature sensors on both sides of the wet bay
- Use air conditioner strip heater above 32 degrees to save propane
2. Does the plumbing for the Uline icemaker, directly opposite the kitchen sink and stove, needs any special attention?
3. Is the shower plumbing under the coach part of the wet bay, or does some of it extend to an unheated section?

We will practice keeping the coach water from freezing this winter in preparation for our 10 month fall-winter-spring USA trip in 2017-2018.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #12 – October 21, 2016, 11:42:28 pm

You might keep your water heater on - it adds a lot of heat to the wet bay. We have remote temp sensors in both ends of our wet bay, and the end with the water heater always runs 10-20 degrees hotter (when the heater is on).

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #13 – October 22, 2016, 08:58:47 am

Regarding the hot water heater section, it is outside the gasketed portion of the wet bay. I wonder why Foretravel designed it this way?

I thought it may be wise to put a gasket around the hot water section to keep out the cold air coming from the side wet bay access door hinge. There must be a lot of cold leakage there, but this may be by design: to let propane escape in the case of a propane leak.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #14 – October 22, 2016, 11:45:43 am

We have cut sections of Reflectix for all water bay compartments. The fit in each area to contain the heat from our 200-watt personal heaters. We have a piece for the hot water heater, but have to be sure to not use propane when covered, which is not a problem as we almost always use 120-volts to heat water.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #15 – October 23, 2016, 12:28:09 pm

I put a heater in my wet bay area that runs off of the engine hot water and also put in heaters in the rear of my coach I don't have to
worry about freezing when driving.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #16 – April 02, 2017, 11:48:38 am

In searching for information about driving with the propane on, I found this thread. While it started with a question about driving with the propane furnace on, it did (almost) address the more generic topic of driving with the propane on.

This came to my attention last month, while attending the FMCA RV rally in Chandler, AZ, and the Escapees RV rally in Tucson, AZ. At both rallies, I attended seminars where different presenters, including Mac the Fire Guy, recommended to turn the propane off while driving. For two and a half years, I have driven with the propane on, without a problem. What do you fofummers do with regard to the propane while driving?

The thread also addressed turning the propane off while filling the propane tank. When driving between Phoenix and Tucson, I stopped at Flying J to fill up with diesel and propane. At the propane tank, the employee asked if I had any propane appliances on. I told him it was on for the refrigerator; he said that was okay, and proceeded to fill my tank. (Prior to that the tank gauge said it was 3/8 full, but he was only able to put 17 gallons in. The previous year, when I filled up for the first time, TSA put in 35 gallons IIRC.)

I know that my fridge has two AC outlets behind it one is brown and one is white. One is the normal AC, the other is from the inverter. Anybody know which is which?

What is the consensus amongst this great body of knowledge?

Thanks,

Trent

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #17 – April 02, 2017, 11:59:53 am

We do not drivw with Propane on for safety issues and another reason why we changed to Res' fridge. If you are involved in a crash with tank open and a line gets severed it has potential to cause a nice fire and fuel a larger issue.
JohnH

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #18 – April 02, 2017, 12:20:45 pm

I leave the tank valve on fridge on, and run the heat if necessary. As always do what makes you comfortable.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #19 – April 02, 2017, 12:55:31 pm

I've always driven with the fridge on propane, I like my beer cold. Hardly ever with the furnace. That being said, we saw a horrendous fire, no one killed, where they spaced shutting down the fridge before taking on Prop. Fire Marshall figured they had a leaky main shut-off and, "ka boom!".

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #20 – April 02, 2017, 01:36:49 pm

Trent, one outlet behind the refrigerator is land line, gen or inverter. This one is for the ice maker. The other one is land line or gen only. This is the one your LP refrigerator should be plugged into. If you are not connected to a land line and the generator is off and the inverter is on the one will have power and the other will not. I moved both and don't recall which was which. Testing them is the only way to know for sure.

The refrigerator switches to gas if there is no land line or generator power.

For safety reasons, you should shut off an LP gas furnace or refrigerator while fueling.
In our last RV we never had any problems driving with the LP gas furnace on.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #21 – April 02, 2017, 01:38:32 pm

I have a residential fridge, so that isn't a problem. I generally have the generator running, so when it is cool out I have the roof unit(s) on heat. We haven't been anywhere where we needed to be concerned about freezing temperatures for a couple of years now, and don't intend to be.

The propane hot water heater is always on. When we got propane last week I shut down both engines, and we both stood outside while the tank was being filled. No one mentioned the propane hot water heater.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #22 – April 02, 2017, 01:45:28 pm

Maybe I'm naive, but I understood the Regulators to be a safety feature that restricts flow if a catastrophic break or leak occurs. This is why if you have a quick discharge on a regulator it needs to be reset by turning the propane off then slowly turning it back on.

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #23 – April 02, 2017, 01:51:25 pm

Barry,

I thought our bay-doors were already insulated due to air being between the inner and outer sections of fiberglass. Mine are cool to the touch below 40 and warm on the inside panel.

I bought 2 hair diers.for temp below 20 wit electric hookup.. on low it's a tosty 55 in the main bay and 74 in the water bay...

Re: Driving with Furnace On

Reply #24 – April 02, 2017, 04:43:11 pm

I always shut everything off when filling up with propane and drive with the fridge and hot water on. I have heaters that run off engine
hot water in the back off my coach and in the wet bay and that keeps the coach and the wet bay warm. So far -4 is the coldest I've driven in.

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