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Suggestions on which furnace to buy for a 4 place enclosed?

H

HiWaYman92

Well-known member
Hi guys, I’ve been researching for a while but a lot of the threads are old. I want to get as much current information I can about setting up a forced air furnace in my trailer. Atwood or suburban, which model, how many BTU’s, where and how to mount it, what to use for ducting, etc.

Thanks for the help!


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Ended up finding an Atwood sf30 30k BTU furnace on eBay for $160. Now I need advice on inverters, mounting setups, etc.


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RV furnaces such as Atwood do no need an inverter. They run on 12 volts DC from a battery.

Expect to consume about 8 amp-hour of battery power. A typical Group 24 battery has about 80 amp-hour of capacity with only 50% usable since you do not want to go below 50% state of discharge (it shorts battery life a lot). If

So for a 2 nights of heater use if you are sleeping in it, your best bet is to use tow golf cart batteries wired in series for 12 volts. This will give you about 110 amp hours of battery capacity.

To run the heater on a generator you will need a converter which converts 120 volts AC from the generator to 12 volts DC. A progressive dynamics converter will allow this and also recharge your batteries.

An inverter converts 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC. Use the smallest inverter possible since inverters have a parasitic load that increases with capacity. Also, a 2000 watt inverter to power a TV will consume more electricity then a 1000 watter inverter to power the same TV because inverters are more efficient at near max load capacity.

30k BTU should be plenty and mount on side wall high or low depends on your preference and trailer use and ducting can take care of the rest. Most folks build a shelf to mount the heater.

You will need a propane tank, a line with connector two a 2 stage propane gas regulator. It must be 2 stage. RV heaters use only .4 psi of gas pressure and the tank pressure is anywhere from 130 to 350 psi depending on temperature.

From the regulator you can use black pipe which is on my RV or copper pipe which is what is found on newer RVs.

Use of a propane heater in a trailer requires a propane leak detector, a carbon monoxide and smoke detector. Mount propane gas leak detector on floor since propane is heavier then air.
Propane tanks to feed heater must be mounted outside.

Here is a good website with more info:
http://www.hardcoresledder.com/foru...stall-heater-enclosed-snowmobile-trailer.html I do not agree with only plumbing the heater exhaust to the outside. You need to plumb air intake for heater to outside also or you can risk consuming all of the oxygen in your trailer when it is in use and doors are closed.

Feel free to contact me regarding electricity and stuff. I have a fifth wheel RV and installed a very impressive solar system with all of the bells and whistles.
 
Thank you very much! I’m going to have to mount the propane tanks on the non-door side of the V front, and build a bracket off of the frame to hold them. It looks like the actual tank holders and double tank piping and regulator can be found pretty reasonably on Amazon. I found a link on snowest once, but can’t find it again, where a guy built a bench in the front on the “off side” of the v front and put the furnace down low below the bench. It looked really clean! I may try that it just build a shelf like most guys do. I want an inverter so I can charge the batteries at home by plugging the trailer in, but I need some direction on what specific models I should be looking for. Any advice is appreciated, keep it coming guys!


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Drewd is the man!!! all his suggestions are spot on. The only thing I can even add is my attwood heater needs to see a certain battery voltage or it will not fire off on the propane side. I don't have an impressive battery bank or solar system. I run all Led lights and have 2 12 volt deep cycles to run the house and I can go 2 days easy running the heater, watching movies, lights and stereo. I can run like a week on under 10 gallons of propane. Mine is a motorhome and I have the house side and the Truck side separate. I only need a generator for the microwave or the AC...since we use it as a camper not a living space and my generators are not part of the coach I almost never bring them.
 
I think I want an inverter/converter (whichever it’s called) so I can plug in 110 at the house to charge batteries. Maybe I’d be better off just putting a maintainer/charger in there? I just got all the advantech flooring and insulation today. I’m going to start working on that tomorrow. What’s the best material to mount the furnace? I was thinking of using unistrut. Also looking for ideas on fanning up a battery box/bench setup toward the front of the V.


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If venting the heater out towards the front of the trailer you'll want to vent it as high as you can to keep road grime, snow, slush, mud etc. out off the furnace exhaust/intake vents. As far as a converter goes it all depends on what your amp draw will be and you'll want 1 with a trickle charger.
 
Put A mesh screen on the intake and exhaust ports outside the trailer.

Critters will go in die or nest and ruin the heater or just not heat.

I've learned my lesson ... time to pass it on.
 
I’m working on the insulation and flooring now. Have any of you guys tried using a solar panel charger setup instead of a converter? I only plan on needing the inverter for charging, really no other needs for 110v.


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I’m working on the insulation and flooring now. Have any of you guys tried using a solar panel charger setup instead of a converter? I only plan on needing the inverter for charging, really no other needs for 110v.


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Ran one on a work trailer for many years. It charged two deep cells that went to an inverter that only powered battery chargers for hand held tools. Was a slick setup until the hail pounded it out.

I don't remember any of the specs. It's been a few years.
 
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