Community Forums

Cajunmech · 01-30-2023, 07:14 PM

I have a 2008 Fleetwood Revolution 43' class A coach. We are getting cold wether tonight and my owners manual says that the furnace has ducts below to prevent freezing of tanks and piping. It states to set the thermostat to keep that compartment above freezing. Is there a separate thermostat for that area, or by keeping the interior thermostat at 70 degrees inside going to do the trick. Please help we live full time in this coach and dont want to crash anything.

**NLOVNIT** · 01-30-2023, 07:17 PM

There would not be a separate thermostat.

Cajunmech · 01-31-2023, 11:32 AM

Thanks for that response. I figured that one out, but thank you. When we went to bed last night my propane tank was at 1/4 full. When I woke up at 3am worried about the outdoor temp and the subsequent issues that may develop below, I checked the propane and it was now 1/2 full. That told me to relax because the below area was warm and the exposure of the propane tank in that environment created an increase in tank pressure. Now I realize that that is a false positive because that doesn't increase th available liquid in the tank, so this morning I started the coach up and drove over to the from tof the park to fill the tank. We had the interior zones (3) set to 65 degrees at night and the below area was warm enough. There are actual supply air diffusers connected to flex ductwork that serve the below deck area.
I really want to thank you for your correspondence.

Ed

153stars · 01-31-2023, 02:16 PM

How cold is cold. Many owners also supplement with light bulbs and or small space heaters if plugged in.

Rob_M · 01-31-2023, 03:16 PM

Be aware that probably only one zone heats the basement. On our 2002 Fleetwood American Coach, only the rear zone heats the basement. The owners manual does not mention this.
I found out the hard way 2 years ago when South TX froze over and because my rear zone’s fan was missing some fins and vibrating, I only had the front one on. My water pump froze and had to put a hair dryer down there to thaw it when we were forced outside to the rv when the electricity went off in the house.

It was nice having the MH in the driveway with full diesel, propane and fresh water tanks and we lived in it with the quiet diesel generator running for a solid 5 days.

Bigd9 · 01-31-2023, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob_M

Be aware that probably only one zone heats the basement. On our 2002 Fleetwood American Coach, only the rear zone heats the basement. The owners manual does not mention this.
...

Same thing with our 2006 Fleetwood Discovery.

Since we like to keep the bedroom cool, I also use 2 small 200 watt heaters in the wet bay and monitor the temperatures down there with remote reading thermometers.

theroc · 01-31-2023, 07:31 PM

Welcome to the forum.

You really don't need to keep the temperature inside at 70° to prevent damage from freezing. I would turn down the thermostats just a tiny bit to save propane and bundle up with maybe a few more layers of clothing and blankets, etc. At 65-68° you should save a little on your propane supply. Or if you are plugged in to shore power, use supplemental electric heaters during the day to keep warm and to heat the interior up a bit just before going to bed. We used to turn the thermostat down quite a bit at night when sleeping ...we never had a problem with anything freezing solid with temperatures around 10 to 25° at night. Only once or twice were we in a place where temperatures dipped to around zero or slightly below and even then, nothing bad happened.

If you're keeping the interior temperature at 70° at night and it's substantially below freezing (are we talking about the teens or temperatures near or below 0°?), you'll be using a lot of propane.

Cajunmech · 02-01-2023, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 153stars

How cold is cold. Many owners also supplement with light bulbs and or small space heaters if plugged in.

It has been 28 with constant rain. But all is good since the basement has all areas heated by both furnaces. I am thankful for everyones assistance and for Fleetwood building such a fine coach!

Cajunmech · 02-01-2023, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theroc

Welcome to the forum.

You really don't need to keep the temperature inside at 70° to prevent damage from freezing. I would turn down the thermostats just a tiny bit to save propane and bundle up with maybe a few more layers of clothing and blankets, etc. At 65-68° you should save a little on your propane supply. Or if you are plugged in to shore power, use supplemental electric heaters during the day to keep warm and to heat the interior up a bit just before going to bed. We used to turn the thermostat down quite a bit at night when sleeping ...we never had a problem with anything freezing solid with temperatures around 10 to 25° at night. Only once or twice were we in a place where temperatures dipped to around zero or slightly below and even then, nothing bad happened.

If you're keeping the interior temperature at 70° at night and it's substantially below freezing (are we talking about the teens or temperatures near or below 0°?), you'll be using a lot of propane.

I keep the inside temp at 65 during the night. During the day we have the temp at 68 to 70. We have a very large propane tank so even if we are using a lot of Propane we are comfortable. We are kind of held up in here because all of the roads are iced over. Soooo many car accidents on the roads. Not going anywhere. We are in Austin, Texas.

153stars · 02-01-2023, 05:19 AM

Not to be captain obvious but. At 28f it won't take much extra heating to keep everything from freezing except your fresh water hose outside.

Cajunmech · 02-02-2023, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 153stars

Not to be captain obvious but. At 28f it won't take much extra heating to keep everything from freezing except your fresh water hose outside.

I took care of that with a heated water supply hose I purchased right before winter. It has been a savior to say the least.

jacwjames · 02-02-2023, 07:18 AM

I installed a remote temp sensor in the basement and keep the monitor in easy view. At night on I move it back to the bedroom so I can easily check the temp.

I have a small 12 volt cube heater in the basement wet bay that is controlled by a snap disc, it will automatically come on. In 2021 I also found that my coach had been prewired for tank pad heaters, so I installed them as an added layer of protection. In temps in the high teens the water tank bay stays +45F. I keep quite a bit of water in the tank which also works as a heat sink.