Dry camping heating.

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Dry camping heating.

December 12, 2019, 08:17:15 am

When dry camping, what is the most fuel efficient way to heat?
On board propane furnace?
RTU electric heaters powered by propane genny?

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #1 – December 12, 2019, 08:30:38 am

Propane furnace, by far.

But, since the fan is 12 VDC, you will need to run the generator to recharge the batteries. And when the generator is on, use the electric heater. Better for any generator to be run under more than the very light load the charger puts on it.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #2 – December 12, 2019, 08:35:47 am

I would assume that the gas furnace would be more efficient especially if you have solar to replenish the 12 volt batteries, but do not know for sure. I assume this because you would have to run the generator the entire time as opposed to the propane heater which will turn on and off with the thermostat. I know that the propane furnace would be quieter than the generator and if one is dry camping you are probably in nature, or maybe at someone's house or a parking lot and the quieter option is going to provide more satisfaction to those around you as well as yourself.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #3 – December 12, 2019, 08:55:38 am

If you routinely dry camp where good hardwood is available (and inexpensive) then a really free-thinking owner might install a Kimberly!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSPdq5D220s

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #4 – December 12, 2019, 09:15:33 am

Catalytic propane heaters (like this one) are extremely efficient and very quite, but produce "wet" heat vs "dry" heat from a furnace.

The water vapor from combustion in a furnace is expelled with the exhaust. Since the catalytic heater has no external exhaust, all of water vapor is released into the room...then condenses on cold surfaces like the windows. I used one in my 5th wheel when the temps dropped into the teens or single digits.

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Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #5 – December 12, 2019, 09:18:14 am

Just curious, any issues running furnace while traveling?

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #6 – December 12, 2019, 09:21:59 am

Some members dislike using the furnace while traveling, heck... some dislike propane appliances altogether. I use the furnace while traveling and have never had an issue. Make sure your carbon monoxide detectors are in good working order.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #7 – December 12, 2019, 09:33:09 am

Quote from: Moby – December 12, 2019, 08:17:15 am

When dry camping, what is the most fuel efficient way to heat?
On board propane furnace?
RTU electric heaters powered by propane genny?

Been there, done that. Use the on-board propane furnaces and add enough battery capacity so that you only deplete them to 50% state of charge. That's 12.0V resting voltage for lead acid cells.

Our routine, dry camping in New Hampshire every morning, was to check the resting battery voltage and start the generator. Rig up the electric heater and use the microwave and electric kettle for breakfast. Generator run time 2 hours.

Lunch the same routine, generator run time 1 hour.

Evening, pretty much the same routine, generator run time one to two hours based on battery need.

My theory is to allow the batteries to rest between charging, since we're going to run the generator for AC to run the microwave/convection oven for cooking. Resting allows the third chemical reaction inside the battery to complete before another round of charging. The electric heater maximizes the use of the generator and the difference in fuel consumption between a lightly loaded, in my case, Onan and one operating under full load isn't enough to worry about.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #8 – December 12, 2019, 09:35:20 am

Propane furnaces are designed to be used while driving.

Is it safer to have them off while driving-- perhaps a very small amount safer.

But, if that is a concern, even safer to turn off propane at the tank valve.

The risk is well within my risk tolerance range!

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #9 – December 12, 2019, 11:25:29 am

I love propane for heating, cooking and the fridge. The OEM heater is noisy and not that efficient. That said, I use it while underway as it has safety features that prevent fires, explosions. For an unvented heater, the catalytic heater is the most efficient and produces very little CO. It does use up oxygen so keeping a window cracked is a good idea while parked. Uses no 12V either so no worry about running down the batteries.

There are several diesel air heaters as well as water heaters that duplicate the German varieties for pennies on the dollar. I bought a couple but have not installed them yet. Less than $200 delivered for an exact copy of a Webasto (parts interchangeable). Noise is probably the biggest factor as I can't stand the fan noise of the OEMs. About $300 for a AquaHot Chinese replacement diesel water heater.

We had a Dickinson type diesel/kerosene heater in our boat. No fan needed and a few pumps on the pressure tank every couple of hours was plenty. Served us well in the South China Sea/Sea of Japan in the dead of winter.

If you have solar and do a little planning, you don't need to ever start the generator, even for the microwave unless you need AC.

As far as a wood burning stove goes, it's a lot of work chopping wood to fit into the stove. Coal has a lot more heat and comes ready to put into the stove.

Pierce

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #10 – December 12, 2019, 12:24:08 pm

For $4000.00 this free thinker will pass on the Kimberly.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #11 – December 12, 2019, 12:37:00 pm

Quote from: John44 – December 12, 2019, 12:24:08 pm

For $4000.00 this free thinker will pass on the Kimberly.

But they are having a $300 off sale!!! That's o n l y $3700 plus tax. Hey, I've seen Foretravels for less than that. My definition of free thinking means sorting through the appliances at the county dump.

P

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #12 – December 12, 2019, 12:53:44 pm

Quote from: John44 – December 12, 2019, 12:24:08 pm

For $4000.00 this free thinker will pass on the Kimberly.

Remember...you will also need a chainsaw to cut your firewood into small pieces. That's more cash. Then you need to chop the wood into even smaller pieces so they'll fit into the stove. And you have to go outside in the cold to chop the wood...

Yes, I will also pass. Our OEM propane heaters work fine for us, even if they ARE A LITTLE NOISY.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #13 – December 12, 2019, 01:57:27 pm

Quote from: Chuck & Jeannie – December 12, 2019, 12:53:44 pm

Remember...you will also need a chainsaw to cut your firewood into small pieces. That's more cash. Then you need to chop the wood into even smaller pieces so they'll fit into the stove. And you have to go outside in the cold to chop the wood...

Yes, I will also pass. Our OEM propane heaters work fine for us, even if they ARE A LITTLE NOISY.

AND you have top go outside top GET the small pieces of wood.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #14 – December 12, 2019, 02:38:37 pm

If you don't like driving with the furnace on you can also install a heater that runs off the engine coolant. I've done that on other
motor homes and it's free heat. The last motor home I had a small heater from the engine in the wet bay and 2 in the back of
the coach. It kept the rig toasty.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #15 – December 12, 2019, 03:19:30 pm

Well the question was heat during dry CAMPING so we go with the on board furnace. I thought the front one was getting noisy similar to when the back one was noisy and the ele motor was replaced... so,, I replaced the front motor thinking that would solve the noise thing ( like it actually did on the back furnace ). Not... new motor and the front furnace is still whining/ whistling. Guess it's a design thing.

As far as driving down the road, doesn't everyone have a dash heater operating off of the engine coolant. Water stays hot while driving also on ours.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #16 – December 12, 2019, 04:06:49 pm

Quote from: Bob & Sue – December 12, 2019, 03:19:30 pm

As far as driving down the road, doesn't everyone have a dash heater operating off of the engine coolant. Water stays hot while driving also on ours.

While the dash heater is fine in the summer months, in cold weather it does not even start to be adequate. Our water also stays hot while driving but hot water in the sink, does not do much for the inside of the coach. We live up at altitude a bit with most of our campgrounds higher. Dash air does not do much at 8000 feet. Bedroom heater is too noisy so we use the main salon heater or unvented at night.

Pierce

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #17 – December 12, 2019, 09:00:49 pm

Quote from: Bob & Sue – December 12, 2019, 03:19:30 pm

Well the question was heat during dry CAMPING so we go with the on board furnace. I thought the front one was getting noisy similar to when the back one was noisy and the ele motor was replaced... so,, I replaced the front motor thinking that would solve the noise thing ( like it actually did on the back furnace ). Not... new motor and the front furnace is still whining/ whistling. Guess it's a design thing.

As far as driving down the road, doesn't everyone have a dash heater operating off of the engine coolant. Water stays hot while driving also on ours.

Bob........must be something (squirrel cage?) still rubbing something else (housing?). When ours started squealing due to a bad motor bushing, I replaced the motor in ours and no more "squeal", just the normal fan noise.......... nothing that bothers us, even while watching TV. We try to run the gen set while cooking breakfast and again during dinner, at least two hours a day and have no problem running the heat at night. Normally only one furnace at the time, back furnace while showering and dinner and front furnace at night. Temps at camp at night are normally in the mid 20's to upper 30's tho', not as cold as our "northern" or PNW members.
Also we have no solar panels so all battery charging done with the generator.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #18 – December 13, 2019, 02:26:01 am

Justin.. I'll check it again but during the motor installation I couldn't find any evidence on the squirrel cage of rubbing. At least I know its not the motor.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #19 – December 13, 2019, 05:40:04 am

I use a mr heater big buddy plumbed into the rv propane at the stove. It runs all the time on medium and the furnace kicks occasionally at night to keep things warm. The mr heater is so much more efficient and keeps the air humid so you need a little ventilation, but It allows my propane to last several weeks or more depending on temperatures. I run a small 2000w honda a few days a week to charge batteries.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #20 – December 13, 2019, 06:24:23 am

Quote from: John44 – December 12, 2019, 12:24:08 pm

For $4000.00 this free thinker will pass on the Kimberly.

You Guys are missing the point--cut wood with chainsaw --get warm, chop wood--get warm, chop wood into small pieces--get warm, haul wood into coach--get warm and finally burn wood --get warm. Look at all the heat you have generated just to start
a fire--lol
just saying
Chris

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #21 – December 13, 2019, 08:29:55 am

And don't forget clean out the ashes and dispose--get warm.

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #22 – December 13, 2019, 09:22:59 am

The English have a whole system in place for solid fuel heating using bituminous coal briquets.

These stoves are intended for use in a vehicle 6'6" wide.

Canal Boat Stove | Salamander Stoves

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #23 – December 13, 2019, 10:31:10 am

The Salamander Hobbit stove is nice looking and not too big. About US$600. Yes, coal would do the job.

I can see a chain saw cutting wood, being stored below, leaking gasoline, creating warmth but only for a short time.

Pierce

Re: Dry camping heating.

Reply #24 – December 13, 2019, 12:33:51 pm

Quote from: DayDreamer – December 12, 2019, 09:15:33 am

Catalytic propane heaters (like this one) are extremely efficient and very quite, but produce "wet" heat vs "dry" heat from a furnace.

I'm satisfied with the Mr. Heater for taking the chill off the Winter months in the desert, moisture doesn't seem to be a problem. Previous coach I had a catalytic Heat Wave 6 mounted in place of the icemaker hinged to face forward. Again no problem in a dry climate, had to be careful in the Northwest though for moisture buildup. I did pick up a Platinum vented cat heater model 6P12B ThePlatCat new in the box at a gargage sale. The water vapor from combustion in the furnace is expelled with the exhaust. Haven't mounted or used this heater yet in the coach but seems to be a good compromise between the RV furnace and a regular catalytic heater.

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