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Old 08-19-2017, 11:09 AM   #1
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2006 Winnebago Sightseer running furnace on batteries

Has anyone run their furnace with batteries not the generator..? It pulls only 4 amp.
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Old 08-19-2017, 11:27 AM   #2
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not a problem ran mine on batteries for 4 days i have a solar panel on the roof and it charges the batteries during the day
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Old 08-19-2017, 12:40 PM   #3
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not a problem ran mine on batteries for 4 days i have a solar panel on the roof and it charges the batteries during the day
That's great. Being a new bee have to check if anyone have. Cold nights can use some heat...[emoji4] ..thanks for replay
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Old 08-19-2017, 02:53 PM   #4
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That's great. Being a new bee have to check if anyone have. Cold nights can use some heat...[emoji4] ..thanks for replay
Note that Gordiegaffer stated he had solar charging available. You probably won't get 4 days out of the batteries if it's real cold out. Just depends on how much the furnace, lights, and other 12 volt systems are used. You'll have to keep an eye on battery voltage and run the genset or main engine to add charge to the batteries when needed.

Edited to say,, Just noticed that we three have basically the same rigs. Ours is an older and shorter Itasca version but has a lot of the same stuff the Sightseers have.
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Old 08-19-2017, 05:07 PM   #5
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That's what I was more concerned about if I leave it on for over night how much it would pull out of batteries. But from what you guys been saying it is doable with adequate batteries set up.
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Old 08-19-2017, 05:12 PM   #6
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Furnace only uses 12 volt power and propane, so it works fine on battery. The "normal" 30,000 BTU RV furnaces uses a lot more than 4 amps, more like 8.2 amps when running.

If it runs 50 % duty cycle then you would use less than 50 amp-hours of battery storage during generator quiet hours.
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Old 08-19-2017, 05:41 PM   #7
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Those are the hours I need to have it running (quiet hours). But I have to add more batteries to my system before doing so.
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Old 08-19-2017, 05:44 PM   #8
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Thank you guys for all your inputs and informations.
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Old 08-19-2017, 07:41 PM   #9
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Don't forget that your refrigerator needs 12V to operate. Also, the water pump, your lights (have you changed out to LEDs?). Your TV and antenna amplifier add to the load. What size batteries do you have? Are they the typical small 12V batteries that Winnebago installs? I would almost deplete my batteries to 50% SOC (about 12.1V) running the heater all night. I upgraded to two 6V GC-2 batteries, which gave me more reserve. I now have four 6V GC-2 batteries under the steps, as well as a 10 cubic foot residential refrigerator installed. All runs great.
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Old 08-19-2017, 08:06 PM   #10
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I have a 2010 Four Winds Hurricane and I have used the furnace in northern Michigan heading to Arizona in late December. The temperature dropped to -27F and using two 12v coach batteries we had no problems. I believe the furnace ran most of the night.








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Old 08-19-2017, 10:20 PM   #11
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We winter camp (Alaska) in the Itasca a lot. It has two 12v deep cycle marine batteries powering the coach. Nothing special just the biggest batteries that I can fit under the step.

When it's 20-30f the batteries will hold up no problem and run the furnace all night as long as they are pretty well charged when we head to bed. Lots of times we have the grand kids with us and we will let them watch a movie or two before hitting the sack. This is a good time to run the generator as it will top the batteries off while not drawing down their amps running the TV and BlueRay player.

Sometimes if we are socializing and don't feel like listening to the generator in the evening we will just let the kids watch TV on the inverter. I make sure and turn off the TV and Inverter when we head inside and before we hit the sack. I generally take a look at the coach voltage and if it's around 12 I know the furnace will make it all night. If it's 11.5 or below then there is a solid chance the furnace may not make it all night but it will generally go to about 7am.

When I wake up in the morning and the coach batteries are low (to low to fire the generator) I just hit the battery boost switch on the dash and start the generator off the Chassis battery. We make a pot of coffee and breakfast and get moving and within about 45 minutes or so the coach batteries are about 75% charged. Charged enough to make it all day without trouble.

That the evening, I remember to run the generator for an hour to top off the batteries before we go to bed. Generally, an hour or maybe 1.5 hrs of generator time per day is all it takes to keep all the coach batteries up to snuff and that's even using quite a bit of 12 power with the TV and lights and BlueRay, etc.

IF we run down the road during the day then I dont have to worry about running the generator at all. The alternator running during the day will charge all the batteries just fine for a full night of charge.
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Old 08-21-2017, 04:01 PM   #12
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We winter camp (Alaska) in the Itasca a lot. It has two 12v deep cycle marine batteries powering the coach. Nothing special just the biggest batteries that I can fit under the step.

When it's 20-30f the batteries will hold up no problem and run the furnace all night as long as they are pretty well charged when we head to bed. Lots of times we have the grand kids with us and we will let them watch a movie or two before hitting the sack. This is a good time to run the generator as it will top the batteries off while not drawing down their amps running the TV and BlueRay player.

Sometimes if we are socializing and don't feel like listening to the generator in the evening we will just let the kids watch TV on the inverter. I make sure and turn off the TV and Inverter when we head inside and before we hit the sack. I generally take a look at the coach voltage and if it's around 12 I know the furnace will make it all night. If it's 11.5 or below then there is a solid chance the furnace may not make it all night but it will generally go to about 7am.

When I wake up in the morning and the coach batteries are low (to low to fire the generator) I just hit the battery boost switch on the dash and start the generator off the Chassis battery. We make a pot of coffee and breakfast and get moving and within about 45 minutes or so the coach batteries are about 75% charged. Charged enough to make it all day without trouble.

That the evening, I remember to run the generator for an hour to top off the batteries before we go to bed. Generally, an hour or maybe 1.5 hrs of generator time per day is all it takes to keep all the coach batteries up to snuff and that's even using quite a bit of 12 power with the TV and lights and BlueRay, etc.

IF we run down the road during the day then I dont have to worry about running the generator at all. The alternator running during the day will charge all the batteries just fine for a full night of charge.
That's good to know. Thanks for sharing. We are in Seattle and working our way to Yellowstone I'm sure we will have some cold nights ahead so running the furnace a bit will help a lot..
Now since this will be my first trip to cold with rv, how do I avoid getting frozen water line.. how can I stop it? Seen YouTube videos of people putting lights in water tank and pump area to keep them from freezing.
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Old 08-21-2017, 08:14 PM   #13
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Re: frozen water.

Buy a remote thermometer and place it in each bay. Turn on the propane heater and see if the temperature rises in that bay. That will tell you if it's heated. The upper end gas Winnebagos "should" have heated bays, except for the one attached to the slide out on the driver's side. My big bay behind the entrance door and the water/sewer bay are both heated, as determined by the remote thermometer. Unfortunately, Winnebago didn't think it was necessary to supply heat to the water pump/drain valve bay. I had to add a couple of 75 watt lights to this bay area to keep it from freezing. I plugged them into my 1000 watt inverter so the bay would not freeze when not plugged in or the generator is not on. The bays only get heat from the propane furnace. They will not get heat from portable electric heaters, nor from the heat pump. If you have Motoraid supplement heat it flows through the floor registers, hence will heat the bays while traveling.
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Old 08-21-2017, 08:37 PM   #14
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Re: frozen water.

Buy a remote thermometer and place it in each bay. Turn on the propane heater and see if the temperature rises in that bay. That will tell you if it's heated. The upper end gas Winnebagos "should" have heated bays, except for the one attached to the slide out on the driver's side. My big bay behind the entrance door and the water/sewer bay are both heated, as determined by the remote thermometer. Unfortunately, Winnebago didn't think it was necessary to supply heat to the water pump/drain valve bay. I had to add a couple of 75 watt lights to this bay area to keep it from freezing. I plugged them into my 1000 watt inverter so the bay would not freeze when not plugged in or the generator is not on. The bays only get heat from the propane furnace. They will not get heat from portable electric heaters, nor from the heat pump. If you have Motoraid supplement heat it flows through the floor registers, hence will heat the bays while traveling.
Mine is a Sightseer 34A (W22). I have 3 slides two which have most of the bays attached to it except fresh water tank and pump bay and the drain tanks and outdoor shower bay. That's a good idea to check the way you suggested. Thank you so much for the suggestions.
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