Can you run the furnace while the slide is pulled in?

[Tashajo]

My husband and I live in out TT most of the year. We are leaving first thing tomorrow morning to go from Pennsylvania to Arkansas. I was hoping to get everything winterize tonight so all we had to do was hop in the truck and go, but we are leaving some water in the black tank to clean it on the way home. We can use electric heaters for the night, but I was wondering if we could run our furnace so our black tank would stay warm and not freeze we will have a low of around 25 tonight. We are also stopping about half way and staying in a parking lot to rest for the night and we're wanting to run it then as well.

[time2roll]

My furnace brand new would overheat due to poor airflow through the ducts. Burner would cycle on the high limit switch and did for years. Then I added two additional ducts and all is good.

Restricted ducting can be an issue depending on the OEM layout and quality of installation.

[big_jim_2]

Our motorhome has knob on some of the registers ,to reduce or stop airflow. Never had a problem!

[valhalla360]

I wouldn't run the furnace with a blocked duct. It probably (but not for sure) won't start a fire but you start creating big temperature differentials that can warp things.

More importantly, it's unlikely to do enough going down the road at 60mph. Windchill will quickly cool the tanks and will blow away any residual heat off the ducts.

As others have said, pick another time to "clean" the tanks or dump some antifreeze in. Reality is you aren't going to do much cleaning unless you drive like a maniac or go off roading with the trailer. Just cruising down a smooth freeway, the water is just going to sit in place.

[bobndot]

RV furnaces are designed to expel the heat through the ducts. If one of the ducts becomes blocked, the remaining ducts will work a little harder to get the job done. In extreme cases the fire in the furnace shuts off and the fan continues to push the warm air through whatever ducts remain.
Furnace hot air is not going to burn anything to catch on fire. I accidentally block one of my vents on a regular basis with a vinyl footrest and pillow, the hot air then gets exhausted through the remaining vent and has never overheated to automatically shut down.

[NMDriver]

25 degrees for a few hours--it will not freeze. Water with stuff in it has a lower freezing point that clean water. Add some salt, sugar, or antifreeze and lower the freezing point even more.

AS for running the furnace I would not, but my slide covers two of four vents. You need to decide if the vent covered by your slide will heat the slide bottom enough to cause a problem. No one else knows how hot your vents get or how tight the slide is to the vent.

[Lwiddis]

What does your owner’s booklet say? Regardless, I wouldn’t.

[Lantley]

azdryheat wrote:
I'd wait for warmer weather to clean the tank.

I agree. I would not let tank cleaning be the reason for putting water in the tank and running the heat:h

[azdryheat]

I'd wait for warmer weather to clean the tank.

[bfast54]

Yep that's exactly why I suggested draining the tank...... but oh well I guess even though I've been RV ing....
most my life... I guess I don't know anything

[time2roll]

25? I would do nothing. I don't think the tank will freeze. Flush with hot water if you like. I would be far more inclined to run the furnace overnight vs on the road.

Doubt it will matter either way. Super clean black tank is overrated.

[2oldman]

Tashajo wrote:
We're putting a treatment in it to clean it, not just the water.

Many try putting ice in there too, but it has minimal effect. But good luck. I guess you don't have a flusher on yours.

[TurnThePage]

I would add some pink antifreeze to the mix.

[Tashajo]

We're putting a treatment in it to clean it, not just the water.

[2oldman]

Tashajo wrote:
We want the water to slush around while we drive and clean the tank.

I wouldn't count on that doing much.