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1775's avatar
1775
Explorer
Jan 27, 2015

Suburban Propane Furnace Vents and Snow

This is a question for those with a suburban propane furnace in their Class B who use it where it snows heavy. We just had a really big snow for this area yesterday and today and the Roadtrek is on the driveway to be used as warm, lit shelter should the power go out. Going out after the snow stopped, the outside vent (two holes one above the other) was clear outside but inside the holes there was snow - light powdery snow, but my concern was that should that freeze what would happen if we needed to be using the furnace. My question is once the furnace lights would that just melt away from the heat of the exhaust? Just in case and since there are on and off forecasts of more snow tonight plus freezing temps, I used an artist paint brush to get just about all of the snow out. So for all the snow RVers out there what is your experience? Thanks!
  • That grate is both combustion air intake and exhaust, but it NEVER blows any air into the camper. If the intake gets blocked, the furnace sail switch won't close and the gas will never turn on.

    Inside air is run through a sealed heat exchanger so that outside and inside air never mix. Pretty good design, actually!
  • The outside of the vents were clear but looking onto the two vent holes there was snow inside. One was half full and I could see the top half of the back, the other was completely filled with snow. I didn't start the furnace. I cleared the vents which was not as simple as I figured it should be as getting the snow out of the small space was awkward.
  • Shouldn't be any problem until the show gets completely over the vents. Heat will probably clear the area around the vents, but be sure and look to see that there is PLENTY of clear area. It might be possible for exhaust fumes to get sucked back inside if there is too much buildup around the vents. Just check it and be safe.