LP usage

[vandave]

Recently purchased a 2017 Winnebago 31BE. How long could I expect my propane tank to last under these conditions; slide pulled in, small electric heater running, temp, 29 to 40, out in the open, heat set at 65. I know there are a lot of variables but I'm just trying to get an estimate. I had the tank filled 5 days ago and 1/4 left. Thanks so much.

[ILVMYGT]

vandave wrote:
Recently purchased a 2017 Winnebago 31BE. How long could I expect my propane tank to last under these conditions; slide pulled in, small electric heater running, temp, 29 to 40, out in the open, heat set at 65. I know there are a lot of variables but I'm just trying to get an estimate. I had the tank filled 5 days ago and 1/4 left. Thanks so much.

With the slide in are you living in it or storing it? If you are storing it you could lower the temperature significantly and save some LP.

[doc_brown]

Coffee Grinder wrote:
We have a 35’ Georgetown with 2 roof airs that are heat pumps and won’t draw down on the propane. Haven’t had the opportunity to use them yet and don’t know what to expect. Anybody out there have any information?

My heat pump function stops at about 45 degrees outside temp. I boondock in the desert of Western Nevada for 7 days every January where night temps can get down to 25 degrees and daily highs of 50+. I keep the thermostat at 70 degrees and I'll consume about 25% of my 25 gallon (32 gallon tank) capacity.

[campingman55]

i live in south texas and i dont use any propane i use all electric use space heaters nuwave induction cook top and electric hot water my propane has been at 3/4 full for a yr

[johnwalkerpa1]

vandave wrote:
Thanks for the replies. On my part is a big Duh. I went back out to see how the little electric heaters were doing and noticed I had let all 3 roof vents open.

Aside from the roof vent issue.... 🙂

At those temps, is your electric heater able to keep up? The furnace is the propane hog so if you can avoid using that or use it very little, you'll be able to go a long time.

[2oldman]

Coffee Grinder wrote:
Anybody out there have any information?

Probably best to start your own thread.

[Coffee_Grinder]

We have a 35’ Georgetown with 2 roof airs that are heat pumps and won’t draw down on the propane. Haven’t had the opportunity to use them yet and don’t know what to expect. Anybody out there have any information?

[MitchF150]

How much "open"? Just a crack or wide open?

[Dennis12]

Were the roof fans running ? Not being smart, but you did leave the vents open.

[vandave]

Thanks for the replies. On my part is a big Duh. I went back out to see how the little electric heaters were doing and noticed I had let all 3 roof vents open.

[DrewE]

JaxDad wrote:
Going from a ‘reverse engineering’ point of view, spec sheet says your Winnie has an 18 gallon tank, if your gauge is even roughly close, and assuming it really was full, you’ve used about 13 gallons. Winnie also lists your furnace as being a 32k BTU input unit. Propane is about 91k BTU per gallon.

So 13 gallons times 91k is about 1.2 million BTU, or about 37.5 hours of furnace run time, that’s about 7.5 hours a day for 5 days.

Does that sound about right to you?

I think the 18 gallons would be the water capacity and so a full fill would be 80% of that, or about 14-15 gallons. A little over half a tank would have been used (the gauge is calibrated to the full capacity, not to the usable capacity, typically), or maybe ten gallons. That works out to about 5.5 hours a day, or the furnace running ten to fifteen minutes per hour on average.

If going by a little three/four light gauge inside the RV, rather than the dial on the tank, the actual usage could be a lot different as those gauges cannot be very accurate even when operating at their best.

[JaxDad]

Going from a ‘reverse engineering’ point of view, spec sheet says your Winnie has an 18 gallon tank, if your gauge is even roughly close, and assuming it really was full, you’ve used about 13 gallons. Winnie also lists your furnace as being a 32k BTU input unit. Propane is about 91k BTU per gallon.

So 13 gallons times 91k is about 1.2 million BTU, or about 37.5 hours of furnace run time, that’s about 7.5 hours a day for 5 days.

Does that sound about right to you?

[2oldman]

That sounds like a pretty small tank or excessive propane use.

Is the reluctance to use LP a matter of refilling it, or just money?

[LadyRVer]

Trying to remember what we used in the Class A, 18 gal tank I seem to think,
living in FL, cold months of Jan/Feb... seemed like a tank for 14 days. I had sun to warm it up inside during the day. An electric heater helped during the real cold days.

I currently have a 31' fifth-wheel, heat at 65 at night, 72 in a.m., sun warms it up later on, during "cold" weather (to a Floridian) 1 30# tank a week, think that equals like 7.3 gallons?

Sounds like you are basically within reason.

[Artum_Snowbird]

I guess that is why you often see RV's wintering with a big bottle of propane connected outside. Your current usage seem to indicate about 7-8 days under those conditions.

I would certainly go up to the max with electric heaters instead of the propane furnace, but do watch if it gets colder that your tanks and valves are protected.

I like pipe tape around sensitive spots that comes on when the built in thermostat calls for hear.