Keeping the fires burning

Wrknrvr · January 13

I have night shift starting at 2 am tomorrow.

Ray,IN · January 13

Wind-chill temperature only affects living tissue. Actual temperature affects everything else.

Wrknrvr · January 14

Cold temperatures makes you think of simple little things that can cause staying warm a question?

Wind can cause one to think about how it can, or is affecting the RV staying warm?

Several days of cold temperatures makes things happen that I did not realize, Could cause staying warm a issue.

if you add cold temperatures, wind and several days of extreme conditions, you learn a lot more than I thought of. And I thought I had it covered to stay warm.

With windchills at -45 and colder. Things happen quickly? And bare hands at -45 takes less than 2 minutes to get inside again, to reassessment what I am doing?

At -45 propane tanks tend to not provide enough fuel to keep a furnace operating?

Warming -45 degree propane tanks is a thought I did not think of how to do. Yes I did not think of that. Take cold tank to neighbors heated shop, set up on counter, for hours?

Wrknrvr · January 14

We have a 43’ Teton fifthwheel, that has two furnaces factory installed. I also installed a Aquahot heating system in the fifthwheel. It mostly heats just the floor through out the fifthwheel.

For the winter in Montana, I do have 1 1/2” styrofoam skirting under the fifthwheel. I also installed a Suburban propane furnace to heat under the fifthwheel.

All is fine and dandy. I am prepared for the cold?

I can tell you , I was not prepared for wind, cold and cold propane bottles.

Wind at 20 miles per hour, makes -31 degree air, infiltrates those little drip vent slots on the bottom of rv windows. Really fast? Count how many your Rv has. Try plugging them with bare hand in those temperatures. Wind blows little cloth squares away from cold hands really fast. Little squares of cloth is white. Cannot see little white squares of cloth on snow. Go inside cut more little white squares out of old T-shirt. Warming hands at the same time .

Air can come in those little slots really fast on the windy side of the RVs.

I also noticed snow covered electrical cord is slippery as ? When you step on it in a hurry. Remember the temperature and wind is still outside. So not paying attention to all details in the area.

Bad road conditions dictate when one can get bottles field with propane. Will propane getting vehicles start. First one just goes unk.

Try the old trusty Jeep. Third try it starts. It’s running. Then leaving clutch out. It stalls. Now get this...... The switch with the key in it will not turn far enough to make the starter turn over.

Go inside and warm up? Get hair dryers ready to go. Buy multiple hair dryers at thrift store. They quit at the worst time.

Go outside and electrical cord to Jeep. Get inside, plug hair dryer in and hey, heat steering column is fun. Warm hands at same time. Finally the key will turn far enough to start Jeep. Go get ccccold propane bottles filled. Stop at neighbors shop and put cold propane bottles in heated shop to warm up.

Edited January 14 by Wrknrvr

Wrknrvr · January 14

I am sitting in 71 degrees at this time. But it has taken more thinking of what I did not plan for in colddd temperatures.

20 lb bottle of propane is cold. Frost on propane line to underbelly furnace reeads -45 degrees. Turn furnace on, it ignites, run for 2 minutes or more then the flame apparently stays lit enough to register flame. But not really making regular heat? Furnace does not shutoff, but then it has full burn happening. For 2 minutes or so . Keeps repeating it????

Use hair dyer to heat propane fuel line. Still operating the same.

Finally put hair dryer pointed towards the propane tank. Cover tank, regulator and hose. Go inside for 45 minutes.

Turn the furnace on from inside and it works as designed. Happy now.

Wrknrvr · January 14

I borrowed two 20 lb propane bottles from the neighbor. Apparently they have some butane in them. Butane does not vaporize below 33 degrees, or there about.

There is two 40 lb bottles for the two factory installed furnaces. The one bottle needs filled. I remove it and replace it with a 20 lb tank with some fuel in it. Go get two bottles filled, get back and now the 40 lb bottle sitting out side on a extended hose is too cold to provide sufficient propane for the furnace to operate properly? 20 lb bottle apparently has just butane in it.

Go get 40 lb bottle from shop. It has not been there very long to heat up. But I installed it for the propane furnaces in the rv.

Aquahot has a 55 gallon drum for fuel. it has a commercial heating tape around it. Remove heat tape and install it on exterior of propane tank sitting outside on the long hose. Wrap a foam exercise mat around heat taped propane bottle.

6:39 am Sunday morning, we are warm. All heating systems are working as designed. For now.

My worst fear was losing shore power. I do have a generator, but would it operate at such low temperatures.

I do have antifreeze for water lines if needed.

If this is confusing, or missed spelling is a problem, I am tired, but we did more than survive. Had a few laughs. The heated shop has a unused apartment next to it , just in case we needed it.

Kirk W · January 14

Quite an experience! And here in the D/FW area we are complaining about a temperature of 15°!

Wrknrvr · January 14

Extreme situation takes extreme thinking? But what is this?

Wrknrvr · January 14

Well extreme circumstances can make me goof up at times.

Late yesterday I replaced the propane tank for the underbelly furnace. It worked till my shift was over a 9 last night.

Got up for morning shift at 2:30 this am and things are working fine. I happened to apparently have taken a nap. Got awake and I noticed underneath underbelly furnace will not ignite. Go get a warm bottle of propane from neighbors shop. Take the covering off the propane bottle. Did I not tighten the hose connector fare enough. Apparently so. Tighten it in more, as in tired yesterday caused this problem.

Came back in and turn the furnace on. Working fine now?

My fault 1000 percent

Wrknrvr · January 14

The box above is hot air deflector. I thought of pulling two heat vent covers out of the ducts opening. More air flows with metal duct covers off. But then the air flows straight up.

I cut a opening on each side to allow air flow out parallel to the floor. More heated air per minute of furnace run time.

Gives me something to do while being stuck inside.

Have good day, Vern