Furnace and single battery
Okay, so i am back at this camping thing. First my question, if we don't use the lights in the pop up dry camping, so assuming just the LP detecter is running, how long could we run the furnace for un...
Forum Discussion
Jollero wrote:
The Jayco pop up manual shows 12 amps is what the furnace uses...
I question the 12A number if indeed you have a Jayco popup. Can you tell us the make and model of the furnace to double check that figure?
Maybe you have a big highwall unit with a bigger furnace? My Baja uses the Atwood 7916-II (very typical popup furnace) which is rated at 3.5A. Basically the DC draw is from the fan motor.
How long the battery will last depends on:
- Battery capacity and health
- How cold it is outside
- How warm you want it inside.
Best case scenerio:
- Get the largest capacity true deep cycle battery and maintain it rigorously.
- Use reflectix window inserts and PUG bunk end covers
- Use the furnace conservatively - warm it up at bedtime then cut the thermostat back to 55 or so. Use warm sleeping bags or blankets. A digital thermostat will help with more precise temp control.
For a real world example, we spent four nights at 9000' in the mountains of Colorado. Overnight lows were in the low 40's / upper 30's. We used the furnace conservatively as described above (no reflectix or PUGs) and still had >50% state of charge on departure day. Battery was a Trojan SCS225 (130Ah).
