Furnace

Robert Rice · 11-29-2008, 07:02 AM

I am planning a trip after Christmas with a load of passengers. Is is safe and or efficient to operate the furnace while on the road? Any problems?

Thanks in advance

Robert Rice · 11-29-2008, 07:02 AM

I am planning a trip after Christmas with a load of passengers. Is is safe and or efficient to operate the furnace while on the road? Any problems?

Thanks in advance

AFChap · 11-29-2008, 07:31 AM

Should work just fine ...we have done it a few times in very cold weather. If weather is 40 or above you should be able to run the generator and the heat pump rather than burning LP.

skigramp · 11-29-2008, 08:57 AM

Robert ...

I think your question was mainly about safety. The LP furnace is a closed combustion chamber unit so there is no danger of CO contamination inside the coach. If you are concerned make sure the batteries are good in your CO detector.

We leave Wisconsin in late December or early January every year ... it is generally in the single digits or teens ... we run the LP furnace until we get to warm enough temps that we don't need it ...

The heat loss from the large windshield and the air moving around the coach requires a lot of heat to keep the temperature comfortable even with the LP furnace running when the temps are in the single digits.

If you expect to encounter single digit temperatures I suggest that you take lap robes and warm jackets ...

Outbumn · 11-29-2008, 09:49 AM

Our unit came with a coach heater that works off the engine cooling just like the hot water heater. The engine heat keeps the coach toasty while traveling in cold weather.

Ding-a-ling · 11-29-2008, 09:55 AM

Since I have a gas-powered MH I am not all that familiar with the diesel-pushers, however, ..... doesn't Winnebago put a Coach Heater (working off the engine coolant) in the DPs?

I know that I'll be very warm if I leave my Coach Heater switch on High for any length of time.

skigramp · 11-29-2008, 10:16 AM

Frank ...

There is a "engine-aid" only on the hot water heaters on diesel pushers ...

The engine aid is a nice plus for the gassers .. that is the feature that I miss the most from my adventurer ... I also miss the mid entry door a lot.

Jeeperrmartin · 11-29-2008, 11:31 AM

We are taking delivery on a DP this coming week. I too miss the mid entry door, and think they should have a heater somewhere in the middle or back off DP radiators. They could have an heat exchanger in the heat pump area.

Our old unit was a suncruiser 99, one of the lst DP with a driver's door and mid entry door.

NoMoreAZ · 11-29-2008, 01:45 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Posted by Ding-a-ling
..... doesn't Winnebago put a Coach Heater (working off the engine coolant) in the DPs?
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes they do.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Posted by skigramp
There is a "engine-aid" only on the hot water heaters on diesel pushers ...
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
What is an 'engine-aid'? Do you mean 'Motor Aid'? How old is your Journey?

cbeierl · 11-29-2008, 04:53 PM

Unlike some of the gas coaches which have a secondary rear heater core heated by the engine coolant in addition to the in-dash engine heater, my 2005 Vectra doesn't have (and I don't believe any Winnebago diesels have) the secondary rear heater core. I do have the MotorAid core which heats the hot water heater.

skigramp · 11-29-2008, 06:59 PM

NoMoreAZ

My high school science teacher told me that "motors" have rotors (and generally run on electricity) and "engines" have cylinders (and generally run on carbon based fuels) ...

I think he was correct ...

In that context ... my hot water heater (2004 Journey) has a secondary core heated by engine coolant ... there is no auxiliary heater in my coach ...

Do you know of Winnebago or Itasca diesel pushers that have auxiliary heaters that are heated by engine coolant?

Finhawk · 11-29-2008, 09:15 PM

I'm sure glad I have a gasser! So far it's stayed warm with the coach heater

smlranger · 11-30-2008, 03:11 AM

We also miss the auxiliary heater. When we were traveling in February 2005 to Rockford, IL to trade our old Adventurer on our first DP, we were toasty all the way up there. While it certainly was no deal-breaker, I was surprised to discover that the Journey had no such heater in the rear of the coach. The LP furnace kept us cozy, along with the dash heat, but I was still a bit disappointed.

NoMoreAZ · 12-01-2008, 05:01 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Posted by skigramp...
My high school science teacher told me that "motors" have rotors (and generally run on electricity) and "engines" have cylinders (and generally run on carbon based fuels) ...
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
skigramp... There appears to be a semantic problem here. I was refering to the common (trade?) name of the feature that heats the contents of a hot water tank while traveling. You seemed concerned with narrow word definition.

For a good definition of the different items..
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Posted by cbeierl...
Unlike some of the gas coaches which have a secondary rear heater core heated by the engine coolant in addition to the in-dash engine heater, my 2005 Vectra doesn't have (and I don't believe any Winnebago diesels have) the secondary rear heater core. I do have the MotorAid core which heats the hot water heater.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

OSSKOBRET · 12-22-2010, 04:10 PM

does the aux heat controll blow very hard or not i am trying to figure out if mine is working or if it has gone bad

DAN L · 12-23-2010, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OSSKOBRET

does the aux heat controll blow very hard or not i am trying to figure out if mine is working or if it has gone bad

my aux heater would only start on high and it was very noisy when i first got my moho in '06. then it started blowing the fuse.

since the backup camera and display is on the same circuit this was a pita.
i disconnected the heater blower wires at the switch.

there is a lot of info about the coach heater blower on this forum. do a search. the usual problem is that the blower basket migrates so that it touches the blower housing. some folks fix it by relocating the basket on the motor shaft and epoxying it. some replace the motor and basket. the blower is a pita to reach.

my blower is in front of the atwood water heater and i can't reach it without removing the atwood.

if i ever have to remove the atwood for service or replacement, i will fix the aux heater blower. until then i use the dash heater and when necessary my suburban lp furnace while driving in cool weather.

merry christmas and happy new year to all.

DriVer · 12-24-2010, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OSSKOBRET

does the aux heat control blow very hard or not i am trying to figure out if mine is working or if it has gone bad

If yours is somewhat quiet, the cabin will just begin to get hot and then the DW (wife) starts complaining. That's when you know to turn it off.

I have a 2 speed blower and you can somewhat feel the draft but the heat is output through all the floor registers so you're not going to exactly get blasted by the onrush of heated air.

bachler · 12-24-2010, 08:18 AM

We have an Ultimate; It has a line that goes to the front cab heater then the water heater then to a water heater under the rear bed. It will blow hot air at all the heaters While running down the road; Between 165 and 185 degrees, In heat temp; We had the one installed under the bed, it's a mearine heater Tubes rather then cores, The heater was installed because we snowmibile and spend a lot of time in the cold, It kept us warm and toastie; Someone says WHY?? We had several in our group that were using the gas furnace while running , and if it is not in good condition it May do what is called a flame out, The gas burns on the outter vent and will Burn the side of the motorhome, Oh this has also happened to the water heater, These flameouts generaly happen while running down the hyway;; Should you use the hot water heater, or furnace while running, You have to make that decision.