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Topic: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270 (Read 835 times) previous topic - next topic

Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Temps here in Huntsville AL are going down to 24f in the next 2 days.  The plan is to put a small heater heater in the main bay (36' coach) hoping to heat the secondary water tank bay. We probably will try to heat the inside of the coach with the 2 electric heaters...so no propane heat.  Have 2 110v heater cords that are 6 and 10ft...will tape one to the port side water tank and the other to the pipes around the water pump.  Engine coolant looks pretty green...not sure if I need to check (?).  Also have a 200 watt bulb I could deploy...but seems like a fire hazard as it gets HOT!  This is the first hard freeze of the year...many more to come...will be aboard all winter so looking for long term solutions without decomissioning the coach.
Carl and Kathleen
Killeen Texas
1997 U270

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #1 –
Not sure why you don't use propane heat?Where would you use the 200 watt bulb?You should have a engine block heater,look
under the bed at the foot.If you have free electric try the heaters,the 25 degrees may be too cold for them to keep up.
96 U270 BUILD 4810
85 380SL
Drummonds TN.

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #2 –
Check your antifreeze, don't need block heater unless starting the engine. 2 good electric heaters in the coach should be enough and one in the wet bay. Put aluminum bubble rap on the windshield will may a big difference.   
Peter and Frieda Morin
1999 36ft. U320 Foretravel
Build # 5436
1998 Suzuki Sidekick Sport

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #3 –
Absolutely amazing what a very small fan can contribute to comfort in cold weather!
I salvaged a 3" 120V electric fan (really, another camper gave it to me) and added a switch and male plug, hung it up near the ceiling.
Noise level is almost nil and air movement up near the ceiling is quite light and pleasant. There is no stratifying of hot air above and cold air near floor. After installing the fan we found out we could turn down the furnace thermostat. Saved fuel & electricity and less furnace noise.
Nitehawk,  Demolition Lady, & our NEW master, Zippy the speeding BB cat.
1989 Grand Villa 36' ORED
Oshkosh chassis, 8.2 DD V8
2006 Saturn Vue AWD

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #4 –
Do you not have two roof heat pumps they are all we use. in our  U 270
in our old coach 1988 GV we used 2 1500 watt space (Eletric )while in ohio/michigan for the winter.
be sure to set them on a cookie sheet  off the floor & use a heavy ( # 12 wire cord .
good luck
larry & karen reed

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #5 –
Do a search.  There are a number of threads on living in cold weather.  I posted my experiences at 0 degrees for several weeks back in Dec 13.  I was able to go all electric with some careful prep.

Rich

Camping in Cold Weather-Long but hopefully useful
Rich and Peggy Bowman
2002 U270 3610 WTFS, build #5939--"Freedom"
2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit 4xe
SMI AirForceOne brake system
PakCanoe 15

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #6 –
We run four Lasko 200-watt Personal heaters in the water bay if in freezing temps.  Have extra for Joey Bed area if needed.  Remote thermometers let us know if heaters should be turned on and if the critical water areas are staying warm.  Lots written on these heaters on our Forum, and others are also using them and they are widely available.  Most electric heaters are much too hot right in front of them.  And you are correct that light bulbs are dangerous.  Just have to buy them before you need them.
Lasko MyHeat 200 Watt Electric Portable Personal Heater - Black-100 - The...

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #7 –
One thing to take note is that almost all the 120vac outlets in the RV (including in the basement) go through the inverter and are on the same circuit. In my 34' the only ones that I found inside that are not on the inverter is outlet near end (end with your head) of bed, passenger side and the one supplying the washer/drier. This limits the amount of space heaters you can use. Easy to add another circuit or two in the breaker panel.

Another idea to keep it warm in the basement (if you aren't paying for electricity) is to make a hot water bypass that returns hot water to the tank. Currently, your u270 tank fill takes water from the cold supply and then fills the water tank. If one circulates hot water into the freshwater tank, it will warm everything up down there. This would make more sense for going down the road while heating with free engine heat.

My propane furnace barely blows any warm air into the basement, so I wouldn't rely on it for freeze protection. If temps just dip into the high 20's at night, I wouldn't even worry about it. You'd likely need several days of below freezing temps to cause problems. I'd worry more about how to keep my feet warm!
1998 U270 34'

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Barry & Cindy –
We run four Lasko 200-watt Personal heaters in the water bay if in freezing temps.

We also have those heaters and the plug-in thermostat controllers and highly recommend them.
David and Carolyn Osborn
1995 U320C SE 40' Build 4726 Feb 1995
FMCA 147762
Motorcade 17186

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #9 –
I have two of those 200 watt Laskos in my water bay. Both plug into the electrical outlet to the left of the manifold. One of my heaters sits on the left side of the bay, pointing towards the manifold. The other sets on the right side, just in front of the end if the accumulator, and points toward the manifold, and across the drain pipes.
 
These heaters do a very good job of warming a small space, but do not get too hot themselves. When they have been running a while, you can touch any part of the case without burning yourself.
 
Maybe next week I can work on the rest of my plumbing.  ^.^d
 
Trent
Trent and Jean Eyler
2000  U295  4003  WTFE  ISC  350
Build#5603 MC#17385

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #10 –
We have identified the original 120-volt outlets that are NOT on the inverter, like washer/dryer, refrigerator, central vacuum.  We only use these few outlets for high amperage heating devices, like heaters, toaster, etc, so if we lose shore power our batteries will not be quickly drained by high-amperage loads on the inverter.

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #11 –
I will use the propane furnace and hot water tank to heat some of our 1997 U270 near Philadelphia, PA. The thermostat will be set to 45 degrees. A thermostatically controlled 115VAC switch will conserve power by only turning on the water bay heaters and fans when the outside temperature reaches 35 degrees. I leave the inverter OFF because the following setup will drain the batteries.

In the water bay, I Just added:

1. Two 30 ft Frost King heat tapes, one on each side of the water bay. These tapes turn on at 38 degrees and off at 45 degrees. The only precaution is that the tape does not touch itself, or it can make a hotspot. They are snaked around the water inlet, zig-zagged around fresh water tank, waste water tank water pump and manibloc areas and secured with ty-wraps. Each tape draws about 200 watts, so that's about 400 watts of power in the water bay.

2. Two 5 inch fans, one on each side of the water bay, to keep the air from stratifying.
First fan:
I changed the water bay vents in two ways:
a. Blocked cold airflow by placing styrofoam insulation in the vent between the water bay and joey bed.
b. On the driver's side of the water bay, removed the vent off the bulkhead between the fresh and waste water sub-bays. Pointed one fan into this vent hole.
Second fan:
Loosened the face board in front of the manibloc and pointed a fan from the water pump area to the manibloc area.

3. Big box fan in main living area, to keep the air from stratifying.

4. Four remote thermometers, reading the bottom of both water bays, under the kitchen sink and outside air temperature.

Does anyone know if the shower plumbing is contained in the water bay?
1997 U270 34FT Build 5140 Cummins 8.3 Allison 3060R
Solar 1920Watts, 14KWH lithium. Orion BMS.

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #12 –
We were down in Texas at Potter's Creek CG when the temps dropped down to single digits a few years back.
Had heater in the dump valve bay, had disconnected the water hose on both ends and drained it, had engine block heater going, had both furnaces on and set for around 68 degrees, had electric space heater and electric fan going up front, had just recently done a dump so tanks were pretty empty, had a nice thick sleeping bag on the bed, and had left the park faucet running at a slow drip so it wouldn't freeze, had 44 gallons of propane, and was feeling quite confident I had covered every base (read smug here if you want) until I tried to go outside in the morning.
Couldn't get the darn door open. The latch was frozen!!
The DW, who always comes to my rescue, handed me her hair drier and said: "Here, try this."
Worked like a charm!!
Moral? Always keep feet on ground, always keep a DW handy, always have a hair drier in the coach living area.
Nitehawk,  Demolition Lady, & our NEW master, Zippy the speeding BB cat.
1989 Grand Villa 36' ORED
Oshkosh chassis, 8.2 DD V8
2006 Saturn Vue AWD

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #13 –
I have a heat gun and last winter I used it to open my big bay door. I shut my  inverter in the winter as I want to keep the load on the batteries to a min as I am boon docking. Running the generator for 1\2 hour in the morning and 3 hours in the evening keeps my batteries up and I run 2 electric heaters when generator is running to keep a load on.
Peter and Frieda Morin
1999 36ft. U320 Foretravel
Build # 5436
1998 Suzuki Sidekick Sport

Re: Cold weather living in a 1997 u270

Reply #14 –
I also put a sponge behind the waste hose storage door, which is uninsulated.
1997 U270 34FT Build 5140 Cummins 8.3 Allison 3060R
Solar 1920Watts, 14KWH lithium. Orion BMS.