pp space heater in a rv

pnichols wrote:

Gjac wrote:
Everyone has a different tolerance level for risk from non vented propane heaters. I use it to heat the bathroom up so my wife can take a shower at night and not be cold. I run it when we eat inside. I don't run it at night or the RV furnace. I use the RV furnace to warm up the MH in the morning then the Buddy heater to maintain the temperature for breakfast. The furnace and Buddy heater stay of until we return to the MH. My 2 6v GC batteries easily last 3 days without using the genset to recharge. This is for Oct-Nov camping in the White Mts in NH, Temps fall below freezing at night and generally warm up above freezing during the day.

Hmmm .... why don't you run the furnace to heat the entire rig so your wife can both take a shower in a warm bathroom and then step into a warmed rig? You certainly have the battery capacity to do it that way.

We do that ... but our small Class C holds over 60 lbs. of propane when full (18 gallon water-weight tank).

The point I was trying to make in my post was for those that were afraid to use a Buddy heater is that you can use it intermittently during waking hrs and not run it all night while you are sleeping. To answer your question when I open the bath room door it closes off the bath and bed room which is less the 1/2 the volume of the MH. The Buddy Heater heats this area just fine. We then go to bed and are good until morning.

pp = propane.......AH! I get it.
I don't have a good feeling using a propane-fueled heater that burns cabin oxygen.

I would see if you can set yourself up with two 6V batteries so you don't worry about battery-drain when running your furnace overnight.

I suppose other factors include:
- how well your house is insulated
- how good your house windows are (thermal panes help a lot)
- how well sealed your slide outs are
- how many cubic feet of air you are heating overnight.

With our rig SEEN HERE with two 6V house batteries, thermal pane windows, no slide outs, an over-all length of less than 24 feet, a low interior ceiling, a narrow 93" house width, a comforter draped between and tucked around the front seats, and a privacy curtain to the bedroom where the thermostat is located, all in combination, we stay warm letting the furnace run as needed overnight without concern. The furnace does not cycle on/off that much when temps are just below freezing. We've yet to camp in temps below the high 20's.

Folks, any type of heater used inside an RV that uses inside oxygen is a **** shoot for living to the next day. I have been there and done that and survived with my family thank God.

Weather can close up vents with ice or snow while you are sleeping. The only good part is you will never know it happened.

Gjac wrote:
Everyone has a different tolerance level for risk from non vented propane heaters. I use it to heat the bathroom up so my wife can take a shower at night and not be cold. I run it when we eat inside. I don't run it at night or the RV furnace. I use the RV furnace to warm up the MH in the morning then the Buddy heater to maintain the temperature for breakfast. The furnace and Buddy heater stay of until we return to the MH. My 2 6v GC batteries easily last 3 days without using the genset to recharge. This is for Oct-Nov camping in the White Mts in NH, Temps fall below freezing at night and generally warm up above freezing during the day.

Hmmm .... why don't you run the furnace to heat the entire rig so your wife can both take a shower in a warm bathroom and then step into a warmed rig? You certainly have the battery capacity to do it that way.

We do that ... but our small Class C holds over 60 lbs. of propane when full (18 gallon water-weight tank).

Everyone has a different tolerance level for risk from non vented propane heaters. I use it to heat the bathroom up so my wife can take a shower at night and not be cold. I run it when we eat inside. I don't run it at night or the RV furnace. I use the RV furnace to warm up the MH in the morning then the Buddy heater to maintain the temperature for breakfast. The furnace and Buddy heater stay of until we return to the MH. My 2 6v GC batteries easily last 3 days without using the genset to recharge. This is for Oct-Nov camping in the White Mts in NH, Temps fall below freezing at night and generally warm up above freezing during the day.

We have an Olympian heater in both our class c and our 5th wheel. We keep vents “cracked-open” and use multiple CO monitors. memtb

Devocamper wrote:

2oldman wrote:
What's wrong with using the furnace?

Drains your battery when boondocking without power

Probably the more important negative to using your RV furnace much when drycamping is it's consumption of valuable propane - which is also needed to keep the refrigerator cooling and the cooktop cooking. This is especially true considering that many small to moderate sized RVs these days only have skimpy little (IMHO) propane tanks. One can recharge coach batteries way easier than recharging the coach propane tank(s) when drycamping!

As for our exclusive use of our RV's furnace for coach warmth - we only drycamp continuously for few days here and there, so our 18 gallon propane tank and several ways of recharging our coach batteries make use of the furnace a comfortable and safe no-brainer.

2oldman wrote:
What's wrong with using the furnace?

Drains your battery when boondocking without power

We use the single tank buddy heater . It keeps the camper warm and it has a tip over safety as well as low oxygen safety shut off and is a nice size to store and doesn’t have a big footprint when in use. You need to keep a window or vent cracked open . We use a thermal pad under it since to floor gets hot and
The pad deflects some of the heat up into the space . Installed a second co detector to be safe, normally do not sleep with the heater running .Like any heater in a camper you get condensation even more so if you cook without venting or have big space temperature swings .Very happy with the buddy heater after three seasons of use . We also have an built in fireplace type electric heater that is used when we have power .
Mike

I put a t in at the furnace along with a ball valve it works great when I test it and we crack the vent and a window