Conserving propane when using the heater

[dbrownmcse]

We have just bought a 31K and will not take it out until late March. I am concerned that the 18 gallon propane tank will not last long when using the heater, stove, and water heater. I have bought a Blackstone gas griddle to cook outside instead of using the stovetop. I have also thought I would turn the water heater off at night to conserve gas.

I have thought that it might be a good idea to get an electric space heater to take the load of the gas heater but I am concerned that it may cause damage to the RVs electrical system. The one I like is the Broan Big Heat Cube. I also considered a portable propane heater but it appears that it would use a lot of propane.

Any suggestions?

Dan Brown

[powercat_ras]

If you in a campground with un-metered electricity included in the camping fee, then run your water heater in electric mode. Use a electric heater as well. It won't cause damage to the electrical system. If in a campground with metered power then depending on your rate per KWH of power chances are it will be cheaper to heat both water and your RV with propane. You can install an Extend-a-stay and use a portable external tank so you can replenish the propane without a trip in the RV.

If your RV is 30 amp service then you have to learn to juggle things. The electric heater and the water heater together will use over 20 amps so you have to remember to turn off the water heater or electric heater when using hair dryer, coffee pot, toaster, etc. Your RV will have a energy management system that will switch off the electric hot water heater when it senses the microwave is running so that's not an issue.

If it is below freezing then heating with propane will minimize the chance of anything in the basement freezing up, the propane heater has a small duct that blows warm air into the basement. If heating only with electricity you have to figure something else to put heat into the basement. Lots of threads on that on irv2.

[dbrownmcse]

Thanks Randy. Good information. My heater and hot water heater. Are both gas only.

[macnut]

If dry camping rather than plugging in, these indoor propane heaters work great and sip propane. Follow directions (crack open a window for ventilation) and they are very safe to use.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Oly...eater/29764626

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mr-Heater...pter/168869361

[thompwil]

We have a gas only water heater too, go figure? The one thing I wish we had that it doesn't is the electric water heater. I've been turning on the water heater around 5:00am'ish during my morning bathroom run. It's hot come morning shower times. I turn it off after showers, then on again while fixing supper. Off again after supper dishes are done. It's insulated pretty good and does retain heat fairly well through the day, recovers quickly too. I've been kicking around the idea of a 12vdc timer to control it, but have other things ahead of it on the list of priorities.

https://www.amazon.com/FAVOLCANO-CN1...s=12v+dc+timer

[CJBROWN]

The furnace is definitely a gas hog - most of the heat gets blown out as exhaust.
If you're dry camping it will run your battery down too - IIRC mine is about 6ah running - that wouldn't take long to run 200ah bank half down.

Get a down comforter and set it at 55-58.

I think I have the same tank - could never quite figure why thought that was big enough for a 32' coach - it's a 25gl that accepts 80% fill. duh. When we camped out in the dez over winter it would burn up half a tank over a few days. IMO the water heater doesn't use much but shutting it off can't hurt since you're not maintaining the temp all night in the cold. Cooking grill uses nill.

All of my gas appliances are 110v as well, except the furnace, so plugged in they run on shore power.

Even better, drive to the southern part of the country. LOL

[SuperMike]

Originally Posted by macnut

If dry camping rather than plugging in, these indoor propane heaters work great and sip propane. Follow directions (crack open a window for ventilation) and they are very safe to use.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Oly...eater/29764626

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mr-Heater...pter/168869361

Catalytic heaters are safe, but like all appliances burning gas they produce a lot of condensation.

[dbrownmcse]

Thanks Chris & Sherry. Heading south is a good idea, particularly now with the Canadian air coming in.

[CJBROWN]

If'n I was going to spend much time boondocking in the cold I'd install one of those camco olympian heaters. It would still use some propane, but surely less than the furnace, but even more importantly it wouldn't run your battery down. Just enough to take the chill off.
I suspect you'll need to run for propane once a week or so if you're dry camping in cold weather. An alternative would be to install a second tank somewhere under the chassis. Ya I know, PITA.

If it's really cold - below freezing - you're going to have problems with frozen waterlines too.

[Hardroad]

Mr. Randy - thanx for the info - What is an "Extend a Stay"?

[powercat_ras]

Camco 59123 Propane Brass Tee with 4 Port with 5' Aux Tank Hose and 12' Accessory Hose. The Tee is not patented so there are many brands. Can buy just the tee and the Aux Tank Hose of the length you prefer vs. the kits that generally come with only a short Aux Tank hose. One sells by the trademark Extend A Stay, and you will get lots of results if you google search this. This installs just ahead of the RV's propane regulator on the high vapor pressure side. Note that this will move over the regulator several inches and on some RVs there is not space to do this. Or moving the regulator over requires reworking the outlet hose on the regulator.

[Gene36542]

I was concerned with my propane usage too... but at some point I realized it was 18 gallons, not pounds. This equates about the same as FOUR 20 pound gas BBQ grill tanks. It gets confusing when manufacturers list gallons while some (Thor) list pounds in their specs.

[n5pht]

Originally Posted by dbrownmcse

We have just bought a 31K and will not take it out until late March. I am concerned that the 18 gallon propane tank will not last long when using the heater, stove, and water heater. I have bought a Blackstone gas griddle to cook outside instead of using the stovetop. I have also thought I would turn the water heater off at night to conserve gas.

I have thought that it might be a good idea to get an electric space heater to take the load of the gas heater but I am concerned that it may cause damage to the RVs electrical system. The one I like is the Broan Big Heat Cube. I also considered a portable propane heater but it appears that it would use a lot of propane.

Any suggestions?

Dan Brown

Hello Dan (and others)

We have the 31KP Minnie Winnie and gas only water heater and heater. However, we carry TWO space heaters and have actually used them at times.
You simply have to watch you overall use. Some suggestions:

1. Go through the coach and label each circuit. I think we have 2 or 3 and I labeled them with little pieces of green and orange labels. This helps you to not put too much on one circuit. Of course, total you are limited to 30 amp on a 31K. But it helps you to divide stuff. So if we do run two space heaters we make sure it is separate circuits.

2. We installed a separate 120v input on the outside of the coach. It is a UL receptacle that accepts a standard hd extension cord. From that I installed a plug in inside and labeled it as such. Most campgrounds have that extra 120 V and I use it all the time. That gives me a separate 120 V. line outside of the 30 amp in the coach.

3. Get a nice electric skillet - we just got a new copper plated one and the wife loves says it is great. She still uses the propane burners some but not a lot.

4. Get a "pizza go round" - electric. It allows you to cook pizzas on electric. HOWEVER, it will cook biscuits and many other items - just Google for lots of hints.

We do use propane for the fridge but only when traveling and some people turn off the fridge when traveling and that is no doubt fine too for a few hours at a time.

With the above strategies we go quite a few months on the 18 gallon. Just filled it today because the meter was showing 1/3 and it only took 6 gallons. And we are on the road about half time.

Good travels.

[elcriollo]

Consider the Extend a Stay connection. You can run your furnace and everything else while parked from a propane tank like the ones used for patio bbq's and not have to keep filling your on board tank. Also an electric blanket is nice to have.
We just went through a week of 0 degree nights and were very comfortable. And we never had to worry about taking down camp to go get propane.

[luckydog08]

Oh yeah, the appliance dance. We've an older Adventurer, 30 amp service. For non electric site first order of business is crank up the genny and then the gas furnace. Then we endure about 20 min of freezing smelly air until we get out of bed. No idea why the furnace tries to gas us but it does especially when not used for a while.
Our routine is pretty straightforward and we both need to recall what to do and not do. For coffee which is single cup Keurig type, I make two cups. When done steam milk in microwave. Then, flip on water heater switch and wait for scalding hot water while drinking coffee. Once there's enough hot water I shut off the water heater. And after the furnace takes the chill off we put on enough clothes and remind ourself it will soon be scorching hot out...

We blew threw two tanks of propane on two separate occasions. The first was during winter at high elevations and the power went out. We finally were able to leave after the snow was cleared. First thing we had to do was use the hairdryer to melt the hose to get it off the faucet.

Second occasion I had 15 amp svc in a hospital parking lot. Again winter, third week of January. My mom was in the hospital and my husband took the coach to the courtesy lot and took my car back. On the third 37 degree night I got a ride to Walmart and bought an electric heater. It was those last few days there that I really honed my skills. Keeping an eye always on the amp meter I figured out exactly which two things could coexist. And since I was essentially a prisoner (pouring contact downpour all week) I had lots of time on my hands after visiting hours ended. So I made a little chart up with all the amp needs of everything we have. Electric blanket was suprisingly low.

As for propane I seriously don't use it except to heat water under normal dry camping conditions. I either run the genny and use the microwave and reheat food I prepared ahead of time and use the Weber grill which has its own gas.

I'm really thankful for the electric water heater function. Probably saves a lot but then we don't wash a lot of dishes and take long showers.

Originally Posted by n5pht

Hello Dan (and others)

We have the 31KP Minnie Winnie and gas only water heater and heater. However, we carry TWO space heaters and have actually used them at times.
You simply have to watch you overall use. Some suggestions:

1. Go through the coach and label each circuit. I think we have 2 or 3 and I labeled them with little pieces of green and orange labels. This helps you to not put too much on one circuit. Of course, total you are limited to 30 amp on a 31K. But it helps you to divide stuff. So if we do run two space heaters we make sure it is separate circuits.

2. We installed a separate 120v input on the outside of the coach. It is a UL receptacle that accepts a standard hd extension cord. From that I installed a plug in inside and labeled it as such. Most campgrounds have that extra 120 V and I use it all the time. That gives me a separate 120 V. line outside of the 30 amp in the coach.

3. Get a nice electric skillet - we just got a new copper plated one and the wife loves says it is great. She still uses the propane burners some but not a lot.

4. Get a "pizza go round" - electric. It allows you to cook pizzas on electric. HOWEVER, it will cook biscuits and many other items - just Google for lots of hints.

We do use propane for the fridge but only when traveling and some people turn off the fridge when traveling and that is no doubt fine too for a few hours at a time.

With the above strategies we go quite a few months on the 18 gallon. Just filled it today because the meter was showing 1/3 and it only took 6 gallons. And we are on the road about half time.

Good travels.

[as000ll]

Your furnace and water heater are probably your biggest propane consumers. If you have access to power, add a few electric space heaters and you'll get rid of one consumer.

If you feel like it, you can replace your water heater by an on-demand water heater. You can then shut it off when you do not need it. If you need a shower or to wash dishes, it will take a minute after you put it back on to get some hot water. Super efficient.

And you can install a separate 120v receptacle that you can connect to the 20 amp outlet that is usually available in most of the campgrounds (along with the 30 amp outlet). So you can dedicate this receptacle to a 1500 watts (or even more) space heater. A simpler methos would be to use an extension cord to do the same thing. But you will have to make sure that your extension cord can support the amperage your space heater is using.

When I am dry camping, I use a Gas Buddy propane heater. It is quite efficient even if I have to crack a window for safety.

If you are still concerned with your stove bas consumption, you can buy a convection plate. They are cheap. But again, you will need electricity. A nice side effect of your propane stove is that it provides heat while you're cooking.

[Robmat]

I have an 18 gallon propane tank and between Christmas and New Years I was at Nashville for the week. The temperatures were in the teens at night and barely above 32 during the day with the coach temperature was set at 68 degrees and we ended up having to refill the tank after 4 days of use. I might have gotten longer but it was at the 1/4 mark for better than a day so I didn't want to take a chance. The refill was only 8.4 gallons and as the tank is only filled to the 3/4 mark (13.5 gallons) I had 5.1 gallons remaining. At the Campground propane was used for heating only and the only other use on the full tank was the refrigerator during the trip down. After having to disconnect to get propane mid-week I will be getting an extend-a-stay for my tank and start carrying one or two 20 lb tanks which hold 4.5 gallons or 1/4 of an 18 gallon RV tank.

We did bring a small electric heater that we used to warm up by the front of the coach and used plenty of extra blankets we carry at night. Didn't want to take a chance of anything in the basement freezing up so we left the heat on 68 degrees.

[Cherokee9]

We are living full time in our Journey 40R and are currently in our son's back 40. It has gotten down in the teens here in East Texas over New Years so we quickly ran our onboard propane tank out. I purchase an adapter that goes between the onboard tank and the regulator that allows you to use portable propane tanks. Works well but you have to have spares handy because when the weather gets cold you can go through a small tank in a day and a half. I purchased the adapter at a local RV dealer.

[vonheise]

I have always used electric heat in my fifth wheel and now my Minnie if I am in a campground with connections. If it is getting below freezing, then I set the furnace to come on around 60 degrees as back up. I use the electric to keep it about 68 at night and 70 during the day and we are always comfortable in the Minnie. The 32 footer we had did have the furnace to come on a few times. Our daughter and family live in a fifth wheel and still mostly use electric as they believe it is similar in cost and much easier than changing out tanks every week or less. However if I am out in the wild, and run my generator, then I use the propane so the generator will run all night.

[Pnutbutter]

We had a 31K Sunstar and had an extended stay t-valve installed which allowed us to use an external propane tank. We just shut off the main tank & used the portable tank. Worked great.