Furnace without generator

[OpenRoader66]

Hi, I am looking for suggestions on how to run my furnace all night without my generator. My batteries are two Interstate 12V RV batteries and they can't run heater fan through the night. Burning gas all night and the noise is from generator is getting old. Any ideas?

[Ron3rd]

OpenRoader66 wrote:
Hi, I am looking for suggestions on how to run my furnace all night without my generator. My batteries are two Interstate 12V RV batteries and they can't run heater fan through the night. Burning gas all night and the noise is from generator is getting old. Any ideas?

If your Interstate's are in good shape and fully charged, you should be good, I've done it before. Batteries will be very low in the morning though.

[Highbeam]

Your batteries are dead, broken, ruined. We can go a whole weekend, two nights, without charging the batteries and still be running the furnace all night.

I too miss the days of the vented convection furnace. It was thermostatic, QUIET, and used no battery.

[Tystevens]

I think there must be a battery issue. We can easily make it through a 30* night with the thermostat set at about 62* (warm enough that when the heater kicks on, I usually am throwing off a blanket) all night long on one 12v deep cycle battery.

[JiminDenver]

Once you can understand your needs, you can buy the batteries to last however long you need them too as long as you have the space. We have limited space and can carry only enough battery to keep us going 3 days in cold weather day and night. Once we got the solar to keep the bank up, we stopped fretting about it and set the stat at 74 degrees and left it there. Should the clouds come for too long, we have a generator to keep us going. We haven't needed it since getting the solar but it's there just in case.

[M_GO_BLUE1]

If you go to a portable propane heater inside the TT you need to crack a few windows for fresh air WHICH defeats the purpose of having a portable propane heater in the first place...

We set the furnace on about 60 degrees and throw an extra blanket on the bed...

[Kalabin]

As other's have said, you will need to go with GC2 6v batteries in series to get the amount of capacity you a looking for. Being in Alaska I know what your talking about when it gets cold at night. What we typically do is turn on the generator about 30 minutes before calling it a night and then crank the furnace up to 70, then when I kill the generator I would turn the heat down to 55-60.

Reason for doing so was to try and get a full charge on the batteries prior to going to sleep, while also getting it nice and toasty. In the morning I would do the same thing. I would go outside and fire up the Yamaha until it was warm and my wife had gotten up etc, then I would kill the heat during the days. Because of people going in and out, water pump etc I would run the generator about 30 minutes - hour at lunch time till it was fully charged.

Either way, look into some 6 volt batteries and then go from there.

[Dragonfly]

Bull Rider wrote:
We use a Big Buddy heater when it's cool/cold and when we're not plugged in to power. Love it. Some folks on here really push the alarm button when someone mentions a portable gas heater. But propane heaters are safe, efficient, and they do a great job of keeping the RV warm.

We've had ours for several years, we've used it dozens and dozens of times. No issues, not one. Just follow the directions for safe operation.

I use the Big Buddy and other propane heaters also, with a window cracked, which does counter some of the heat gain BUT, I would not sleep with a portable running. Someday I may install an outside vented catalytic but for now, the portable is fine for when we are awake. Then I switch to the furnace while we sleep and keep the thermostat low so as not to run the battery down too much.

[Dfresh]

Only recently tried a "dry" camp trip, and was reluctant to run the furnace through the night. However being Alberta and "spring" (also known sometimes as 2nd winter) with 2 young kids, I needed to have the heat on. I also do not have a generator.

It worked just fine. With a few minor details. The first being I had left the furnace off until I went to bed which was well after midnight, then I turned it on. We had a solar kit installed when we bought the unit, so even late into the evening (sun doesn't set until well after 10pm around here this time of year, and is rising by 5:30am most mornings) the batteries are pulling a charge. I have also replaced all the light bulbs in the unit with LEDs, but even still we only had one light on when we were inside which wasn't often after the kids were in bed. My wife also boiled a kettle of water on the stove for a cup of tea, and heated some water in a pot for doing the dishes after dinner, which threw enough heat into the camper, that even after I turned the furnace on, it didn't come on for roughly an hour.

I keep the furnace at 60f and it is sufficiently warm for both us and the kids, but not so warm to require a whole night of running. This was pretty much the same thing for both nights we were out, and they were mostly sunny cloud free days. Overnight temps dropped into single digits celcius, but up near 20c during the days. Perfect camping weather in my opinion.

[JiminDenver]

What is the output of the trickle charger? Are the batteries connected to the trailer with the trickle charger hooked up to maintain them? There is a possibility that the parasitic drag is eating up the trickle too the point that it isn't helping the batteries. Even if you take them out, the batteries should get a good charge before a trip. I put ours on a auto charger a day a month and again for 3 days before a trip. After a trip they are taken back out and charged for a few days.

Your batteries and charging might be just fine. Two RV batteries could be two grp 24 with a useable 75 ah total before they get to 12v or 50%. After that they can drop like a rock and become damaged. Depending on your converter, running the generator to recharge them will recover them to a point but fully charged would take a long time. So now you have less than 75 ah to work with.

Barring bad batteries, I'd say you need more battery, bigger batteries or both. You also need to look at the other loads such as lights, TV or other electronics, what ever buttons you push that use even a little power. Somethings can be changed to low power types and save on the battery. Replacing your incandescent bulbs with inexpensive LEDs is one such way. I can light up my trailer end to end for what a few fixtures used before.

So get the batteries checked for damage. Make sure they are fully charged. Make sure they are big enough to do the job and conserve where you can without sacrifice. It's fun to play in the woods without cords, you just have to make sure your rig is set up to do it.

[time2roll]

Batteries have probably been undercharged and are sulfated.
You need an equalization charge and hydrometer check.

You probably need to invest in a better converter that charges at 14.2+ volts.
Standard incandescent lamps are a bigger power hog than the furnace when in use. Consider swapping to LED lighting.

Otherwise two batteries in good shape 90% charged should get you through a night even as outside temps approach freezing.

[korbe]

Our furnace fan uses 6.7 ah. You can calculate how long it will last.

[Bull_Rider]

We use a Big Buddy heater when it's cool/cold and when we're not plugged in to power. Love it. Some folks on here really push the alarm button when someone mentions a portable gas heater. But propane heaters are safe, efficient, and they do a great job of keeping the RV warm.

We've had ours for several years, we've used it dozens and dozens of times. No issues, not one. Just follow the directions for safe operation.

[1rvtogo]

Open Roader, Keeping your batteries on a trickle charger is a good idea HOWEVER, if your batteries are only partially charged a trickle charger will only keep them partially charged. Before heading out you must make sure your batteries are at 100% or close to it. This can be accomplished by using a decent battery charger just prior to heading out on your trip. Also do not rely on your tow vehicle to charge your batteries as you drive either as you would have to drive all day to get them charged if they were low.. Having 2 batteries will easily run your trailer for a couple of days if your batteries start out at full charge which should be 12.6 volts +.

[Huntindog]

OpenRoader66 wrote:
I live in northern Canada and last night it went down to 10 degrees celsius. I also have a 4 old and I don't want her to be cold. Last summer I tried running the furnace last summer on battery power last summer and the furnace blower quit because of drained batteries.

That's not really cold. It is 50F. The TT will be above that just from body heat and cooking etc. Probably wouldn't get much below 60 if that,, without running any heat at all.