Do you run your propane furnace when sleeping?

[rvingfamily]

Hi all. My husband and I are relatively new to the RV life. We had a 35 foot trailer we purchased in June but decided we ultimately wanted a driveable with our 2 kids (6 and 9 yo) and pup. We traded it in back in September for a 29 ft Thor Ace. We live in coastal SC so we don't deal with a ton of cold weather. We've had mixed recommendations on whether or not it's deemed "safe" to run a propane furnace while sleeping. Obviously with 2 young children, our first priority is safety. We travel for soccer tournaments a lot, and we will be traveling during the cold weather season.

So should we feel comfortable running the propane furnace while sleeping or would you recommend heated blankets, space heater, etc as an alternative? I recently purchased a thermostat controlled cool to the touch space heater. I didn't give the propane furnace much thought until I had several people mention to me they don't run theirs at night. I purchased a CO alarm, but the pamphlet says not to use in the RV. I assume this is due to close proximity to the tank?

So help me out here!

[sd75mac]

Question - Does your unit have a LP detector?

We use ours all the time.

[miniceptor86]

Yes we use the propane furnace and have a co detector. We also have an electric space heater because it's quieter and to save propane by using the campsite's electricity. You might want to shop for a RV use approved co detector.

[rvingfamily]

Originally Posted by miniceptor86

Yes we use the propane furnace and have a co detector. We also have an electric space heater because it's quieter and to save propane by using the campsite's electricity. You might want to shop for a RV use approved co detector.

Do you have any recs for one? And do you have any idea why the one I purchased wouldn't be RV use approved?

[rvingfamily]

Originally Posted by sd75mac

Question - Does your unit have a LP detector?

We use ours all the time.

That's what I'm working on determining at the moment.

[harleyjt]

Originally Posted by miniceptor86

Yes we use the propane furnace and have a co detector. We also have an electric space heater because it's quieter and to save propane by using the campsite's electricity. You might want to shop for a RV use approved co detector.

I didn't even realize there was a separate approval for RV use. I bought a battery powered combination smoke/CO alarm at Lowes and installed it on the ceiling in the bedroom to replace a CO only unit. Any reason that won't work?
jt

[Kiawah]

I didn't even realize there was a separate approval for RV use. I bought a battery powered combination smoke/CO alarm at Lowes and installed it on the ceiling in the bedroom to replace a CO only unit. Any reason that won't work?

LP gas is heavier than air, so if there is a leak it settles on the floor. You need to have a LP detector down low on the baseboard next to the floor.

There is no reason not to use propane while sleeping or driving. However, the order of preference we use is:
- Fireplace, because if I have electrical hookup it's quietest, builtin, and I've paid for the electricity already in my CG rate.
- 2 Elec cube heaters, added to above when it's colder out and the fireplace can't handle it. Limited by the shorepower current rating. 50A no problem, 30A max of fireplace and one cube. Quiet, and cost rolled into the CG rates.
- Propane, if it's below freezing out, since the rear furnace is the one that heats my wet bay and keeps pipes from freezing. Leave the fireplace or cube heater up front, run the propane furnace in the rear.
- If driving, the propane furnace
- If stopping overnight while on the road, propane furnace.
- I avoid using my heatpumps, because if I have electrical hookup the fireplace/cubes will do the job, are much quieter, and avoids wear/tear on the A/C units.

This assumes that the kids are behaved enough to not touch/mess with cube heaters.....else, I'd stick to the built in propane heaters and use roof heatpumps if your A/C's have that feature.

[hoosierrun]

You might want to mount your co/propane gas detector down low... like on the side of a cabinet near the furnace. I believe propane is heavier than air.

I would think that your MH would have electric heat or a heat pump that you could use if you had hookups. If it is only propane or no hookups, than it is probably OK to run it at night if you have the proper gas alarms.

FYI, we run ours at night when dry camping and have a co/propane detector near the floor, mounted a couple of feet from the furnace.

[Podivin]

From an article about placement of a CO detector.
Based on this, you've got yours mounted too high.
I don't claim to be an expert, but the suggestions below seem reasonable to me.

Getting the Height Right
You must ensure you get your carbon monoxide detector installation height right. While
some guides might recommend placing your detectors on the ceiling, we don't agree.
carbon monoxide detector attached to an exposed beam
The specific gravity of Carbon Monoxide is 0.9657 (with normal air being 1.0), this means
that it will float up towards the ceiling because it is lighter than regular air. However, when
a buildup of dangerous levels of CO gas is taking place, this is nearly always due to a heat
source that is not burning its fuel correctly (motor vehicle exhaust fumes are an exception).
This heated air can form a layer near your ceiling which can prevent the Carbon Monoxide
from reaching a ceiling detector.
For this reason we suggest that it is best to mount your detectors on the walls at least a
couple of feet below the height of the ceiling. If your detector has a digital read-out, then
we recommend placing it at about eye level so you can easily read it. Or if you have some
other structure, like the exposed beam in this photograph which is positioned below the
ceiling level, then you can attach your carbon monoxide detectors to it instead.

[530ktm]

Originally Posted by rvingfamily

Hi all. My husband and I are relatively new to the RV life. We had a 35 foot trailer we purchased in June but decided we ultimately wanted a driveable with our 2 kids (6 and 9 yo) and pup. We traded it in back in September for a 29 ft Thor Ace. We live in coastal SC so we don't deal with a ton of cold weather. We've had mixed recommendations on whether or not it's deemed "safe" to run a propane furnace while sleeping. Obviously with 2 young children, our first priority is safety. We travel for soccer tournaments a lot, and we will be traveling during the cold weather season.

So should we feel comfortable running the propane furnace while sleeping or would you recommend heated blankets, space heater, etc as an alternative? I recently purchased a thermostat controlled cool to the touch space heater. I didn't give the propane furnace much thought until I had several people mention to me they don't run theirs at night. I purchased a CO alarm, but the pamphlet says not to use in the RV. I assume this is due to close proximity to the tank?

So help me out here!

I never run propane furnace at night. We dry camp 95% of the time and in the desert where it can get in the 30's at night. Running the furnace all night will just use up batteries and gas so we just put on more blankets. If you are at spaces with hookups I still would prefer to just use space heaters if necessary and save on the gas. You can turn on furnace in the morning to warm things up but then let the electricity do the rest for you and use a space heater or 2.

[t55watson]

Of course you can run the furnace at night.
If your home had propane heat you would run the furnace at night.
That is what a furnace is for.

[les.warden]

We're in an all electric MH now, but previous rig was a 5th wheel. The 5er had propane furnace, electric fireplace, and a detector near the floor. Whenever it was cool/cold enough, we would have the fireplace on to take the chill off and just enough to keep the furnace off. If it cooled down inside where the electric fireplace couldn't warm it enough, the furnace would kick on. With this combo, we never had any issues the 5 years we had the unit.

[Mudfrog]

If it's a new unit, or even newer used, then it's going to have CO and propane detectors. Look for the propane near the floor, the CO higher. On ours, propane detector is near the doorway, the CO is on the ceiling in the bedroom area.

We use a little electric 1500 watt heater most of the time but we do run the propane furnace, even while sleeping, when it gets cold enough.

[rvingfamily]

Originally Posted by Kiawah

LP gas is heavier than air, so if there is a leak it settles on the floor. You need to have a LP detector down low on the baseboard next to the floor.

There is no reason not to use propane while sleeping or driving. However, the order of preference we use is:
- Fireplace, because if I have electrical hookup it's quietest, builtin, and I've paid for the electricity already in my CG rate.
- 2 Elec cube heaters, added to above when it's colder out and the fireplace can't handle it. Limited by the shorepower current rating. 50A no problem, 30A max of fireplace and one cube. Quiet, and cost rolled into the CG rates.
- Propane, if it's below freezing out, since the rear furnace is the one that heats my wet bay and keeps pipes from freezing. Leave the fireplace or cube heater up front, run the propane furnace in the rear.
- If driving, the propane furnace
- If stopping overnight while on the road, propane furnace.
- I avoid using my heatpumps, because if I have electrical hookup the fireplace/cubes will do the job, are much quieter, and avoids wear/tear on the A/C units.

This assumes that the kids are behaved enough to not touch/mess with cube heaters.....else, I'd stick to the built in propane heaters and use roof heatpumps if your A/C's have that feature.

The kids are behaved. Not so sure about the 5 month old labradoodle.