How long will furnace run off battery?

[happycamperz]

I tried searching but couldn’t get much off this silly app. Planning a trip from St. Louis to myrtle beach in early March. We will be staying overnight in Knoxville on the way there and Nashville on the way back. In an attempt to save money, we may do a Walmart parking lot on one or both of those nights. If we decide to do that, can we run the furnace , fridge on propane, slide out once and in once, and occasional inside lights off our one deep cycle battery? What research should I do to decide if we will wake up frozen with no heat? Thanks!

[Skip426]

A lot of variables .

Outside temp , RV insulation , inside temp . etc

Biggest is the capacity of your current battery?
I'd recommend an upgrade to a pair of golf cart 6 volt .

I boon docked at -23f for one night in my Triple E , fifth wheel , great insulation , two 6 volt golf cart batteries, inside temp set to 58 and furnace was running about 10 mins on 20 off all night with no battery problems.

[happycamperz]

Originally Posted by Skip426

A lot of variables .

Outside temp , RV insulation , inside temp . etc

Biggest is the capacity of your current battery?
I'd recommend an upgrade to a pair of golf cart 6 volt .

I boon docked at -23f for one night in my Triple E , fifth wheel , great insulation , two 6 volt golf cart batteries, inside temp set to 58 and furnace was running about 10 mins on 20 off all night with no battery problems.

Thanks for the tip, however we don’t plan to do this sort of thing often enough to do major upgrades to boondock. I’d rather just pay $20-30 for a cheap campground for overnight hookup and dump station. Thanks for the info though.

[tuffr2]

The furnace blower requires alot of power. If you have the larger group 29 or 31 battery you have a chance to stay warm.

I had a small group 24 fully charged battery when I stopped on a cold night in South Carolina. I stopped around midnight. I warmed up the trailer, set the thermostat on 72 and went to sleep. I woke up at 5:00am cold with the battery drained.

I have no faith in a small weak group 24 battery.

[mtofell]

2 batteries (and good batteries) will be worlds better than 1. Keep in mind you can always use your TV as somewhat of a generator. Run the vehicle and get the trailer nice and warm right before bed and then hope for the best. In the morning you can always fire up the TV again. Unless your battery is just terrible you should make it through most or all of the night.

[winniman]

I take my rv out up until November hunting season here in Ontario, and it gets plenty cool that time of year as well. If Im parked and didnt start my generator, my two batteries would last most of two nights. The second night can be sketchy depending on how often the furnace is coming on. I find it better to just run the genny for three or four hours a day to keep the coach warm with electric heaters, and run the propane furnace at night. If you are travelling each day, your truck should top up the battery each day. Im sure myrtle beach isnt going to be too cold that time of year. If it is, like you said, grab a campground for the night. I like to use electric heaters when Im on the campgrounds paid electricity.

[Gordon Dewald]

We ran our 5er overnight on one 12 volt battery. Cant recall the size but think it was somewhere around 750 amps. Stayed overnight in a blizzard and still had power in the morning. Still had power to start the generator in the morning.

Additional resource
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f84/gas-f...fan-28296.html

[egwilly]

Get two 6v flooded cell batteries for your trailer. Piece of mind at least.

Your comfort is secondary to having the temps drop and freeze your water lines and break stuff.

[happycamperz]

Peace of mind is paying $20 for a cheap campsite and plugging in for a night. Not looking to make any upgrades at this time. We aren’t boondockers, just wondering if we can go cheap for one night on our way across the country but from doing more research, I’m not comfortable with doing that. I’ll be sticking with campsites for now. Thanks for your input everyone, and that link shared was fantastic!

[JM0278]

I recently installed a Victron battery monitor and found our 2019 Winnebago Minnie's furnace uses 6.1 amps while running. The fan alone used 5.6 amps.

[Chiefblueman]

If you have a Grp24 battery you will likely wake up frozen with no heat. A little info would help when asking specific questions like "how long will furnace run off battery" such as battery size, type and AH rating....

[Highway 4x4]

Do everything possible while the TV is running. Get it warm inside. Then turn the heater off and go to bed. First thing in the morning start the TV and run the heat and pull in the slide.

[happycamperz]

Thanks guys, as per my previous post, this thread guided me in a great direction, as this forum always does. My vague question paid off with enough information to make me not certain enough to try it with a 2 year old kiddo.

[Barbaraok]

First, when stopping overnight at WalMart, etc., putting out slide is tacky as hell and leads to the lot being a ‘no overnight parking’ area. Key is to keep temp setting warm enough to keep things from freezing and just add blankets. Best bet, use Passport America and plug in for the night.