Adding Electric Heat to the Propane Furnace

[motojavaphil]

Found this over on Youtube. Seems like a good idea!

YouTube - Adding electric heat option to an RV's propane heater

[IC2]

A good idea, but is it really worth it??

I 'zinged' through the presentation and while it looks like an interesting idea, make sure that the caveats are well understood.

A 5000 watt heater element!!! Wow. Unless you have a 50 amp service, don't even consider this mod. At 110VAC, you need approximately 45 amps. At 220 VAC you will need about 23 amps. My major concern is while many of the MH's and big 5ers have the 50 amp service, most of the internal wiring is way too light duty to support this mod. Most RV builders use the bare minimum to pass whatever codes they are building their units to - and quality often suffers. Then, of course is the payback period when you compare to propane. We have done a seasonal a couple of times in the distant past, and I do have to say that electricity is seldom passed on at cost. The cost of propane vs the cost of the electric power along with the expense of wiring mods as well as the element and you may find that it might just be prohibitively expensive.

["007"]

RVCOMFORTSYSTEMS how its design and how it works, follow up to video.

May have a proplem with my coach and some foil ducts for room.

[ChiefJohn]

Thanks Phil -- I too see the benefits of this option for electric heat and will be doing some further research. We've got two furnaces and I would probably install in the secondary furnace in the rear of the motorhome. There is a separate thermostat for this furnace.

[motojavaphil]

I went to their site and checked it out. It's about $900 for the unit with about 5 hours of install time. I figure $1500 will have this item installed. They do address 30 amp power sources as well as 50 amp. We have a hydronic system so if we ever go back to propane I would get this.
Phil

[motojavaphil]

I wonder what happened to this thread. Are we being hit by a virus again?

Answered my own question, it was moved.

[jcthorne]

They need to offer this in a DIY kit with instructions.

Take out the overhead and markup from the retail price and this should sell for well under $500 mail order/internet.

I'd be game to buy one. I will not have a high school kid at an RV joint hacking up my coach. Let me do it myself and do it right and I might be interested.

As it is currently sold, it reaks of over priced protectionism and hiding behind too many levels of red tape.

Good idea, poorly marketed and sold. As its currently presented, its a failure on first glance. Perhaps one of the RV products manufacurers will pick up on the idea or heck, Atwood or Surburban as an add on kit.

[ralper]

This unit/kit could sell for less than $300.00 and they would be making a killing at that. Grossly over priced. A heating element, some wire, a thermostat, a little sheetmetal and a switch for changeover. Wow how complicated ???????

Many A/C units have an electric heating element that can be installed in them. The A/C fan is used for the heat. I do not know the price but I think it may be about $125.00 or so installed.

I installed a 20 amp outlet straight from the breaker box. I did not go through the inverter. I control the outlet with a high voltage thermostat. I plug a oil filled 1500 watt heater/radiator into the outlet and I have a very nice thermostatically controled system.

[ChiefJohn]

"Thank you for sending this link to us. This product is not approved to be installed on Suburban furnaces and we discourage any modifications to the furnace design, wiring or its approved components. Also, any modifications to the appliance will void any remaining furnace warranty."
Art Klee aklee@suburbanmfg.com

Thought you folks would be interested in what the Suburban folks think about this modification -- sent them an email suggesting they come out with a similar add-on for their Suburban furnaces.

[motojavaphil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefJohn "Thank you for sending this link to us. This product is not approved to be installed on Suburban furnaces and we discourage any modifications to the furnace design, wiring or its approved components. Also, any modifications to the appliance will void any remaining furnace warranty." Art Klee aklee@suburbanmfg.com Thought you folks would be interested in what the Suburban folks think about this modification -- sent them an email suggesting they come out with a similar add-on for their Suburban furnaces.

Just a thought, if I had designed and sold a furnace I would not want someone tinkering with it. Propane and flame are pretty nasty if used wrong. I would recommend against modifications as well.

[Ray,IN]

There would be a definite plus for having this option installed by a service shop, deep pockets if things went south I mean.

[motojavaphil]

The concept seems straight forward, reminds me a bit of a heat pump. If I had a coach with propane I'd severely be tempted to sign up. DIY would seem to be the way to go but with my expertise Suburban' hesitation is well founded.