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Old 11-06-2019, 10:56 AM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Basic propane heater needs

So here’s the deal. I’m in my bus and want to install my propane forced air heater unit. I don’t have my solar setup and won’t be able to install solar panels this year due to time and money constraints. But it’s really cold outside and I would really enjoy a heater. I have a 2400 watt inverter generator and I’m trying to figure out what the best way to get power to my heater is. Should I just buy a marine battery and a battery isolator and charge it while I’m running and hook the generator up to it when I’m stationary or should I invest in a good deep cycle battery. Or should I get a 12volt transformer and a battery charger. If I did that would I be able to run a battery isolator to the charge controller in lieu of panels or is that not going to work. Are there pieces I’m missing here or something I don’t understand about the setup. Thanks for the two cents bus people.

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Old 11-06-2019, 11:05 AM   #2
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Wait, it’s a propane heater? Is the blower 110 volts AC like a park furnace?
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Old 11-06-2019, 11:09 AM   #3
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RV LP furnaces have 12v blowers and igniters.

You should run off a battery of your choice - make sure your projected use doesn’t take it below 50% of its rated capacity.

As for charging it, that depends on your power source. A simple wall charger will work if you have access to shore power. If not, then you will need a power source to charge it with. In any case, you will need a charger connected to the power source you have to charge the battery.
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Old 11-06-2019, 11:13 AM   #4
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Most are 12 volt but, Suburban for instance, makes what’s called a Park Furnace that’s 120 volts. I suppose they are made for mobile homes, but they are the same format as their 12 volt models.
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Old 11-06-2019, 12:13 PM   #5
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You want a heater uses 12V.

The Propex parking-heater type will pay for itself in greater efficiency, HS2211 is great.

Or the Espar-style parking heaters that burn your propulsion engine fuel.

The 12V electricity system is the same as you'd need for a fridge/freezer, fans lights screen gadgets etc.

Proper deep cycle batteries, bank size and energy inputs sized to handle living off grid, inputs need to average each day more than what you're using.

Tap into alternator input while driving, balance genset+mains charger usage with solar, the more panels the better, pay for themselves in reduced genny runtime.

DMM, ammeter and ideally coulomb-counting monitor are the basic starting point tools required.

Job 1, measure the Ah-per-hour consumption of each load device, guesstimate total/average Ah per 24hrs, start putting an energy budget together.
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Old 11-06-2019, 12:28 PM   #6
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I spoke with Airexcel that owns the Suburban company about furnace choice. They recommend 1000 BTU per linear foot.
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Old 11-06-2019, 03:40 PM   #7
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Can you get any more simplistic?

You might need 10x that with poor insulation in extreme arctic conditions

or 1/10th of that with excellent insulation in milder weather.
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Old 11-06-2019, 04:37 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john61ct View Post
Can you get any more simplistic?

You might need 10x that with poor insulation in extreme arctic conditions

or 1/10th of that with excellent insulation in milder weather.
I didn’t ask what metrics they used.
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Old 11-06-2019, 05:03 PM   #9
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seems about right 1000 btu's per foot. I know it is a rough estimate, but at least a starting point.

So for me I have two heaters one is 9000 btu and the other is 20,000. When it is 5 degrees F I need both running full to stay comfortable. 2" fiberglass in the ceiling, 3" compressed to 2" in the walls, which gives about the same value as 2". Much fewer windows, and well sealed windows, see picture.

With temps in the 30's running about half capacity works well.

Bus is 34' total. 28 ft of it is heated with a curtain to block off driving area
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Old 11-07-2019, 09:47 AM   #10
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Thanks for the input and all of the good information. I have a 12v furnace out of an RV with duct hookups. I will install an inverter, good batteries, and eventually solar panels but I’m living off grid at the moment and just want to get a little heat for the mornings. I was thinking of picking up a marine battery for now since I don’t have my quality charging setup. I figured I would rather abuse a cheap marine battery than my nice deep cycle.
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Old 11-07-2019, 12:38 PM   #11
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The best battery value by far is Duracell (actually Deka/East Penn) FLA deep cycle golf cart batteries, 2x6V, around $200 per 200+AH @12V pair from BatteriesPlus or Sam's Club. Deka labeled same batts also sold at Lowes.

Even abused the bank will certainly last much longer than a big box fraud,

and as you start to build a decent setup around it you may find it lasts for many years
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