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01-27-2023, 07:31 PM #1
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One week in and not happy with heating system
We are fell time stationary while we work on our property. Full hook up.
So my understanding of the furnace systems here is that I have 2 AC units and a heat pump in the middle and propane. Turned on the heat to electric hoping to save propane because we went thru a 30# tank in 2.5 days. That's another story...... Heat pump ran 24/7 for 3 days and we turned it off and bought ceramic heaters that draw less power than the heat pump. What is the purpose of having a heat pump if it only" takes warm air from the outside and brings it inside" I don't need heat when it's warm outside or am I missing something?
Water heater has a gas / electric setting. While on gas the hot water is great, when I put it on electric I have no hot water at all. Am I missing something?
Thank all of you ahead of time for your valuable input.
Glenn
2022 Solitude 372WB
Full time stationary
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01-27-2023, 08:14 PM #2
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You didn't mention where you are, or the temperatures that you are in with the camper. The heat pump units will only work as a "heat pump" as long as the outside air temperature is around 40°F or above. The closer it gets to the 40° temperature, the less heat it will transfer inside. When it gets to the point that it cannot keep up with the thermostat setting, the gas furnace then becomes your heat source. Or you can use other type heaters like you mentioned. The heat pump, when running will pull approx. 12/13 amps of current which is right at 1500W. So using two of the ceramic heaters (if they are 1500W heaters) you will use twice as much electricity as running the heat pump. Having said that, if the outside temperature is low enough that the heat pump won't do the job, it all become a moot point and you would have to use the furnace/propane or run enough electric heaters to do the job
As far as propane usage goes, a completely full 30lb propane tank will hold enough propane for approx. 650,000 BTUs of heat. The furnaces are typically 35,000 BTU input, so doing the math that is approx. 18 1/2 hours of furnace run time for the tank. And of course you don't get the full 35,000 BTUs as some of that heat goes up and out the exhaust outlet on the side of the trailer. Depending on the temperature outside, and how well the trailer is insulated or not, plus door openings, it's a pretty typical consumption of propane that you experienced.
The water heater has a switch outside at the water heater, behind the black grill/screen. Take that cover off and make sure that the switch is turned on. There are also two reset buttons out there in that same area of the water heater....one for gas, and one for electric. Push them in and make sure that they are reset.....put the cover back on and try the electric again.2016 F350 CrewCab Dually
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01-27-2023, 08:20 PM #3
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Thank you for that. Yes our temps are right around 40 in Western Washington but it will get colder this weekend. My hot water tank does not have the switch outside and according to the service dept most of them do not anymore. Having said that, I have hit the reset switches several times to no avail.
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01-27-2023, 08:22 PM #4
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Hi, I can't help with the heat pump but if you don't run the furnace your belly wont be heated for protection against freezing water lines.
For the wate heater it is possible that the water heater has another switch on the back of the water heater itself. We ran into that with ours and had to switch it on which can be a hard task depending on where your tank is. Get out the water heater paper work, the switch could be located in another spot on yours.
Good luck with both!Marcy & Gary
2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
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01-27-2023, 08:35 PM #5
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As WhittleBurner stated, it is imperative to run the furnace when it get down to freezing, to keep heat in the underbelly and keep your water lines from freezing up and possibly bursting. Depending on maybe how long you will be there...and how hard it is to keep getting the tanks refilled, it might be worthwhile to buy a 100 lb tank and the extra length of hose to hook it up. You won't burn any less propane, but you won't have to be refilling the tank as often. The 100 lb tanks are not nearly as easy to move around and load up to take them for refill though, so there is that.
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Excessive Payload is a Wonderful Thing
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01-28-2023, 12:04 AM #6
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01-28-2023, 09:09 AM #7
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All breakers are on and functional. schematic shows a switch but it must be inside or behind the unit...
Glenn
2022 Solitude 372WB
Western Washington
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01-28-2023, 10:10 AM #8
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When we were building our house here on our property in Washington and living in our trailer I had the local propane dealer deliver a 150 gallon tank and that worked out well for us. They would come by every so often and keep it filled during the winter months it was about every three weeks. We had full hookups and supplemented the propane with electric heaters on the real cold nights. The furnace on these trailers are real fuel hogs and insulation is not the same as a home so they tend to use a lot of energy. We lived in ours for about 8 months here in northern Washington it wasn’t to bad but if it was somewhere colder I think it would be a little more challenging.
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01-28-2023, 12:31 PM #9
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If the electric side of your water heater got turned on when the tank was not full of water the heating electrode could be bad and need to be replaced. Doesn't take long with no water to keep the electrode from over heating.
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01-28-2023, 12:47 PM #10
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Laura won't let me get a 100 lb. tank (my back) and propane suppliers can't/won't come on this military installation to fill tanks for private parties. My solution was to buy two more 30 lb. tanks for a total of four on hand. I take them to get refilled two or three at a time and have 120 lbs. of LP on hand for the really cold times like that polar thing over Christmas.
Just as a reference for fuel usage: we use the electric fireplace and keep it on all the time unless it gets too warm inside. If the temps are above freezing during the day with the fireplace and one portable electric heater running, the furnace won't cycle on. At night, regardless of the low temp forecast, we leave the fireplace running and set the furnace thermostat to 65. The fireplace can't keep up with the temps below freezing so the furnace cycles regularly at night and the basement never gets below 52 deg. As of yesterday, we have used two 30 lb. tanks since 22 December (5 weeks) - and that included the miss-named "polar vortex" over Christmas with single-digit lows, highs in the 20s, and 30 MPH winds. During "normal" times here (lows mid-20s to 30-ish and highs in the low 40s, we use about 7% of one tank per night. At that rate, a 30 lb. tank will last us about two weeks. (We cook and heat water with electric and our Solitude 310GK has dual pane windows.)
When it comes time to hit the road, I don't refill two of the tanks and they get tied down and locked behind the truck box in the truck bed.
RobU.S. Army Retired
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