Propane heating in closed vented metal shed

We do it every year before we head out to Arizona. We want to be in our home for Christmas with the kids, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We have a Morton building 42x96 with sliding doors and I hook up my Bus to a series of LP bottles to run the heaters and prevent freeze ups. Never had a problem and being in the machine shed keeps the Bus out of the wind so we don't have to use as much propane.

Buy a co2 detector and hang it in the MH. POOF peace of mind!

darsben1 wrote:
Buy a co2 detector and hang it in the MH. POOF peace of mind!

If a tree falls in the woods........
If nobody is IN the MH to hear the alarm.......

Yes that should be fine, with two notes:

If the thermostat sticks ON, the thing could catch fire.

Depending on how the water pipes are routed, heat inside might not keep the pipes from freezing OUTSIDE the MH. That depends, of course, on the temperature in the shed.

Could possibly kill all the mice and other rodents that are waiting for a ride south.

Disclaimer: I have no specific experience with doing what is proposed.

The most likely possible difficulty I can come up with would be excessive condensation inside the shed. The furnace is putting a good bit of moisture in the air in the shed (along with carbon dioxide), and metal buildings, particularly uninsulated ones, tend to be prone to condensation since the skin is a pretty decent thermal conductor.

Having adequate air exchange in the shed to keep the condensation at bay would, I suspect, also be more than adequate to keep the oxygen levels appropriate and, assuming the furnace is operating properly, the carbon monoxide levels at a safe point. If the furnace is misadjusted it could emit a good bit of carbon monoxide that would otherwise be dispersed more or less harmlessly in the outside air.

vented building you are good to go. If there is electric just use an electric heater with a thermostat.

How Dun wrote:
To avoid winterizing until we are able to go south can we run the propane furnace in the motorhome while parked in a vented metal 40x60 building. Do you see any problems doing this? We will not be living in it.

you are 100% good to go and will experience zero problems in regards to the situation described the only thing I would do is make sure that your MH is covered by some sort of insurance in this situation

Just ventilate a bit by opening the doors before you go in for any length of time. The shed may not be that tight, but you could possibly create an high CO atmosphere after a while depending on how much the furnace has to run.

darsben1 wrote:
Buy a co2 detector and hang it in the MH. POOF peace of mind!

It is a niggling detail, some would say, but the sort of detail that can kill you: you want a CO detector, NOT a CO2 detector. CO2 is the gas that makes soda fizzy, and is mostly harmless. You exhale it with every breath.

CO, on the other hand, is VERY toxic, which is why there are CO detectors and alarms, and why you should already have one in your MH, and why you should put one in your Sticks & Bricks house.

Propane exhaust has a LOT of moisture in it ! The metal building need good ventilation or the walls will be sweating.