? about boondocking with furnace
Ok most of the furnaces run off propane right ? So what powers the fan IF you don't have shore power OR your generator on .....does the coach batteries run the furnace fan ?...if so for how long befor...
Forum Discussion
luberhill,
Your RV's furnace fan (and the furnace's wall control and the flame igniter) is powered from your RV's battery ... while the furnace's heating flame is of course fed by your propane. When you're on hookups or running your generator, either one of these sources is also keeping your battery topped up at the same time that the battery is powering the furnace's fan and it's wall control and it's flame igniter - so that the battery is not getting depleted while it's powering the total furnace system.
However when not on hookups or running your generator, the battery is getting run down at a rate of 6 to 8 amps every hour that the furnace is running if the furnace is running all the time - which it only does in real cold weather. Usually the furnace is cycling ON and OFF several times per hour whenever you have the furnace turned ON ... hence, the fan does not consume 6 to 8 amps out of the battery every hour. For instance, if the furnace is running about 1/2 of the time, it will consume only 3 to 4 amps (one half of 6 to 8 amps) out of the battery every hour. When not on hookups or running your generator, for best battery life you should only use about one-half of your battery's capacity before recharging it. A single Group 24 RV battery has only about 65 to 75 amps of total capacity in it when fully charged.
What this all means is that IF you have only a fully charged single Group 24 battery in your RV and IF the furnace is the ONLY thing that the battery is powering (this is highly unlikely), and IF the outside temperature is such that your furnace only has to run (cycle ON and OFF) about 1/2 of the time ... then your single Group 24 battery should power your furnace for around 8 hours (~65 battery capacity amps divided by 8 furnace consumption amps per hour) to 12 hours (~ 75 battery capacity amps divided by 6 furnace consumption amps per hour).
HOWEVER:
1. Your Group 24 battery may not be fully charged when you turn your furnace ON.
and/or
2. Your Group 24 battery probably also powers other 12 volt things in your RV.
or
3. You may have more than one Group 24 battery in your RV.
or
4. You may have one or more batteries in your RV that are a larger 12 volt size than Group 24.
or
5. You may have two, four, or six batteries in your RV that are 6 volt instead of 12 volt.
For example, we have two Group 31 12 volt batteries in our RV that can easily power the furnace in moderately cold weather for many, many hours ... plus power other things in the RV at the same time. In my opinion, no RV owner should attempt to camp in weather requiring use of their furnace when their RV has only a single 12 volt Group 24 "Marine/RV" battery in it. Our RV came with two Group 24 "Marine/RV" 12 volt batteries and only a few months after buying it I replaced them with two larger 12 volt "Deep Cycle" batteries.
Your RV's furnace fan (and the furnace's wall control and the flame igniter) is powered from your RV's battery ... while the furnace's heating flame is of course fed by your propane. When you're on hookups or running your generator, either one of these sources is also keeping your battery topped up at the same time that the battery is powering the furnace's fan and it's wall control and it's flame igniter - so that the battery is not getting depleted while it's powering the total furnace system.
However when not on hookups or running your generator, the battery is getting run down at a rate of 6 to 8 amps every hour that the furnace is running if the furnace is running all the time - which it only does in real cold weather. Usually the furnace is cycling ON and OFF several times per hour whenever you have the furnace turned ON ... hence, the fan does not consume 6 to 8 amps out of the battery every hour. For instance, if the furnace is running about 1/2 of the time, it will consume only 3 to 4 amps (one half of 6 to 8 amps) out of the battery every hour. When not on hookups or running your generator, for best battery life you should only use about one-half of your battery's capacity before recharging it. A single Group 24 RV battery has only about 65 to 75 amps of total capacity in it when fully charged.
What this all means is that IF you have only a fully charged single Group 24 battery in your RV and IF the furnace is the ONLY thing that the battery is powering (this is highly unlikely), and IF the outside temperature is such that your furnace only has to run (cycle ON and OFF) about 1/2 of the time ... then your single Group 24 battery should power your furnace for around 8 hours (~65 battery capacity amps divided by 8 furnace consumption amps per hour) to 12 hours (~ 75 battery capacity amps divided by 6 furnace consumption amps per hour).
HOWEVER:
1. Your Group 24 battery may not be fully charged when you turn your furnace ON.
and/or
2. Your Group 24 battery probably also powers other 12 volt things in your RV.
or
3. You may have more than one Group 24 battery in your RV.
or
4. You may have one or more batteries in your RV that are a larger 12 volt size than Group 24.
or
5. You may have two, four, or six batteries in your RV that are 6 volt instead of 12 volt.
For example, we have two Group 31 12 volt batteries in our RV that can easily power the furnace in moderately cold weather for many, many hours ... plus power other things in the RV at the same time. In my opinion, no RV owner should attempt to camp in weather requiring use of their furnace when their RV has only a single 12 volt Group 24 "Marine/RV" battery in it. Our RV came with two Group 24 "Marine/RV" 12 volt batteries and only a few months after buying it I replaced them with two larger 12 volt "Deep Cycle" batteries.
