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01-06-2014, 10:57 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bloomsdale Missouri
Posts: 122
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lp furnace vs lp generator
Has anyone weighed the Lp usage of operating a 40k btu LP furnace vs running a 6500 watt Lp generator and electric heaters while traveling. I am taking my parents down to Corpus Christy TX. to see family next week and it is -8* today and expected our 16-18 hours of travel will require more than the dash heat can provide. have never operated either continuously on long trips so I'm not sure which is more efficient. always seem to be hard to find LP when traveling outside of normal business hours. we will be traveling on weekends both ways. Thanks for your advise. Bryan
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Bryan & Paula Browne 2007 monaco Dynasty Palace lll 20 F250 toad, 12 Ford Taurus Toad or on stretched dolly w/ Goldwing or golfcart
Cessna Chancellor 414 when in a hurry
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01-06-2014, 12:07 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Clovis, CA, USA
Posts: 13,138
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I think I'd run the generator mainly because of using up all your LP.
Diesel is a lot easier to find.
__________________
2004 Monaco La Palma 36DBD, W22, 8.1, 7.1 MPG
2000 LEXUS RX300 FWD 22MPG 4020 LBS
Criticism is easier than Craftsmanship
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01-06-2014, 12:07 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Somewhere....
Posts: 4,054
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The direct LP furnace will be more efficient for pure heating. You wouldn't want to use space heaters while in motion anyway.
__________________
2008 King Aire 4562, Spartan K3(GT) w/ Cummins ISX 600
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 5.7L V8 Hemi w/ Blue Ox Aventa LX Tow Bar and baseplate, SMI Air Force One brake
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01-06-2014, 12:08 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Somewhere....
Posts: 4,054
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland
I think I'd run the generator mainly because of using up all your LP.
Diesel is a lot easier to find.
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He said it's an LP genny.
__________________
2008 King Aire 4562, Spartan K3(GT) w/ Cummins ISX 600
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 5.7L V8 Hemi w/ Blue Ox Aventa LX Tow Bar and baseplate, SMI Air Force One brake
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01-06-2014, 12:25 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Dallas,OR
Posts: 4,584
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Your furnace will burn approx .5 GPH running. A generator will definitely use a lot more than that.
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Don and Lorri
Resident Dummy. 
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01-06-2014, 12:50 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,526
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 450Donn
Your furnace will burn approx .5 GPH running. A generator will definitely use a lot more than that.
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X2 .. And your furnace probably cycles on and off and combined with your engine heat, you should consume less propane using the furnace.
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01-06-2014, 01:41 PM
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#7
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: In a lawnchair
Posts: 11,993
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Wouldn't the generator need to be running so that the furnace blower will work? 
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01-06-2014, 01:44 PM
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#8
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Community Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 53,543
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SarahW
Wouldn't the generator need to be running so that the furnace blower will work? |
It takes 12v to run the furnace motor.
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Cliff,Tallulah and Buddy ( 1999-2012 )
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01-06-2014, 01:47 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Somewhere....
Posts: 4,054
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SarahW
Wouldn't the generator need to be running so that the furnace blower will work? |
As Cliff said, the furnace blower runs off 12V, and the engine alternator provides that.
__________________
2008 King Aire 4562, Spartan K3(GT) w/ Cummins ISX 600
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 5.7L V8 Hemi w/ Blue Ox Aventa LX Tow Bar and baseplate, SMI Air Force One brake
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01-06-2014, 01:59 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Texas Boomers Club
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Cypress, Texas USA
Posts: 8,854
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Furnace is probably ~70% efficient. The lp engine/generator would struggle to reach 35% thermal efficiency with all the losses taken into consideration.
Rusty
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01-06-2014, 02:36 PM
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 8,777
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 450Donn
Your furnace will burn approx .5 GPH running. A generator will definitely use a lot more than that.
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According to my Onan manual my 6.3 LP Onan uses .77 gal of propane an hour.
If it is true that a 40,000 BTU furnace uses .5 gal of propane an hour, heating the coach with the furnace will use less LP than the genset.
Besides, (even though a furnace may be only 50-75% efficient), it will provide as much heat as 4-6 1500 watt electric space heaters.
And since it will probably NOT run constantly, (cycling on/off as necessary to satisfy the thermostat setting), it won't use .5 gal an hour.
Mel
'96 Sahara
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01-06-2014, 02:36 PM
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#12
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: In a lawnchair
Posts: 11,993
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clifftall
It takes 12v to run the furnace motor.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingDiver
As Cliff said, the furnace blower runs off 12V, and the engine alternator provides that.
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Good to know!  We have mostly warm weather camped, or it has just been cold enough for the electric fireplace to be sufficient. We haven't used our furnace very much at all yet.
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01-07-2014, 09:29 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bloomsdale Missouri
Posts: 122
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Thanks for all the reply's. I was pretty sure the furnace would be the better alternative but it good to get your input. Thanks as always. bryan
__________________
Bryan & Paula Browne 2007 monaco Dynasty Palace lll 20 F250 toad, 12 Ford Taurus Toad or on stretched dolly w/ Goldwing or golfcart
Cessna Chancellor 414 when in a hurry
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01-07-2014, 10:10 AM
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#14
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 34
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Perhaps being in a major cold area makes me a little more concerned with water freezing, remember your furnace USUALLY also sends heat to your water/sewage bays, which your electric heaters do not. Unless you put a heater in those areas as well.
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'99 Allegro Bus '05 Honda CRV
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