Twotoes Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 I know my heater runs on propane but requires electricity to run the thermostat and fans. Can I run my heater on 12v battery power or do I need 110v shore power or generator? I will be on the road in 2 weeks and stopping for a few nights at truck stops so I need to know if I can get heat while not hooked up to shore power. Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFDR3116 Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Our furnace uses 12 v power if we are not hooked up to shore power. It will work as long as the batteries are charged. We haven't tried for more than 1 night at a time and it would depend on how often it has to run on how long your batteries will last. We could then use our generator if needed to recharge the batteries and/or to run the furnace, as long as we have more than 1/4 tank of gasoline to run the generator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandsys Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 The furnaces in all our rigs ran fine when not plugged into shore power and without running a generator even before we added solar systems. Linda Sand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsara Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 I know my heater runs on propane but requires electricity to run the thermostat and fans. Can I run my heater on 12v battery power or do I need 110v shore power or generator? I will be on the road in 2 weeks and stopping for a few nights at truck stops so I need to know if I can get heat while not hooked up to shore power. Thanks for your help. What RV do you have? Most furnaces run on 12 volt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilishjim Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 12V runs thermostat and fans but with factory batteries the best you could get would be two days and keep in mind that your fridg needs the 12 V to tell the propane when to kick in.. A catalytic heater is the best way to go for heat no electricity required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pieere Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Jim n Sue have the best answer. Catalytic heater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana25k Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 A small Mr Buddy worked for us although we didn't sleep with it on. Worked great as a fast warms up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selah Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Be very very careful with catalytic heater in an enclosed space. As far as running the furnace on battery power it depends on how much battery you have. If you have about 216 amp-hour (typically at least two 6 volt batteries) available then you should have no problem getting through the night. Be sure to shut down all unnecessary items. Unplug wall chargers, unplug sat receivers (simply turning them off is not enough), and things like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2gypsies Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 We used a catalytic heater for over 16 years. It provides an even warmth unlike a furnace and is a lot more economical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimalberta Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 We also use a big buddy heater when boondocking. We also do not run it when sleeping for safety sake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhianna Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 We put a ventless bedroom size propane fireplace in our livingroom. 20 K is plenty big enough to heat the whole 40' MH. No fan needed by it is available. Hooked it up to the propane from the fridge. If it is freezing for more than a couple of days we turn the furnace that heat the basement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w4whh Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 We also have a catalytic heater. It is very efficient and cost effective. Ours is a Wave 8 unit. Per the manufacturer's instruction, we open slightly both an upper and lower window to ventilate the trailer. We also make sure the CO detector is operational for safety. No battery required for an excellent heat source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjstough Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 This is what we have been using for seven years. We connect it to a 20 lb tank with a hose out the front window. The hose requires having the window open which provides ventilation. http://www.amazon.com/Kozy-World-KWP112-Vent-Free-Infrared/dp/B000KKO4PW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453431483&sr=8-1&keywords=kozy+world+heater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugsly Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 Depending on the temperatures, you may need to run the heater to pump heat into your basement where your pipes and tanks are. As others have said, the heat is propane but the fans to move the air are 12V - and they can suck a surprising amount of juice out of your house batteries so understand what the load is. I like propane catalytic (safely done) but wanted to make the point that it may not be pushing heat to protect some of your systems in extreme cold. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reed and elaine Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 We also have an Olympia 8. It has kept the main cabin of 34' fifth wheel in the 50's when outside temperature at night has gotten down to the teens. We like to sleep in the 40's/ We had the propane plumbed so that there is an outlet under the fridge and the heater is attached to the movable islande Catalytic heaters emit only water and carbon dioxide. The danger is from depleting the oxygen in the cabin so the recommendation is that at least 3 square inches of window be left open. We leave windows cracked on both sides of main cabin plus windows in bedroom. The fatalities have occurred in small tightly bound tents and the deaths have been from anoxia (oxygen depleted). You can heat the basement with the incandescent bulbs that most basements have. These are usually 30 W (we did not replace these with LED) and will keep the basement in 30's when outside temperature is in teens. We have about 9 kW-hrs of LFP and so have no problem running these with battery alone when boondocking Reed and Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reed and elaine Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 We also have an Olympia 8. It has kept the main cabin of 34' fifth wheel in the 50's when outside temperature at night has gotten down to the teens. We like to sleep in the 40's. We had the propane line to the refrigerator plumbed so that there is an outlet under the fridge. the heater is bolted to the movable island. Catalytic heaters emit only water and carbon dioxide. The danger is from depleting the oxygen in the cabin so the recommendation is that at least 3 square inches of window be left open. We leave windows cracked on both sides of main cabin plus windows in bedroom. The fatalities have occurred in small tightly bound tents and the deaths have been from anoxia (oxygen depleted). You can keep the basement in the 30s when night time temperatures are in the teens by leaving the incandescent lights on in the basement. We have around 9 kW-hrs of LFP so we can do this while boondocking. Reed and Elaine Reed and Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl&Rita Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 Reed, check your facts before stating the output of the combustion process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 Reed, check your facts before stating the output of the combustion process. Um.. did I miss something? Do you mean he failed to mention hydrocarbons? Not all combustion processes are created equal, and I don't mean to put words into Reeds mouth, but it's generally pretty well accepted in the layman's community that CO and moisture are generally the only ones mentioned as they are generally understood to be the most significant byproduct of interest when using a catalytic heater inside of an RV. (moisture leading to condensation issues and CO stifling da peoples ). Hydrocarbon emissions would certainly contribute in a very small part to hypoxia, but not anywhere near so much as having a campfire or barbecuing anywhere near your rig. I don't believe he was trying to educate everyone from an absolute scientific perspective. At least I did not take it that way. If anyone is interested, here is a link to a report by the CPSC (Consumer Protection Safety Commission) entitled, "CO Emissions from a Portable Propane Catalytic Heater". (aka: "more information than you will ever want to know about catalytic heaters in a confined space") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl&Rita Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 Read his post again, slowly. Thank you for an excellent link, and the use of the proper chemical symbol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 Read his post again, slowly. Thank you for an excellent link, and the use of the proper chemical symbol. Ooooouuuu.. "CO2".. got it! .. on me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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