Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-02-2020, 08:35 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 124
How long will propane hold out

I have a sunseeker, its getting cold tonight, 28 degrees, i left heat on lowest setting. Propane has 3/4 of tank so wondering how long it will hold out? I need 2 nights. Alternative is leave space heater inside unit unattended, bad idea??
sgoharley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 08:52 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
A32Deuce's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Posts: 9,230
I would not leave a space heater unattended. That should be a 9lb tank, so you should be good for several days. In the fall when temps vary from 20s overnight to 40s plus during the day. My tank lasted almost 30 days with the heat set on 40 degrees.
__________________
2012 SunSeeker 3100SS Toad-1962 Futura Average 100 + days camping
A32Deuce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 09:24 PM   #3
Kanadian Kamper
 
kenandterry's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Southern Ontario
Posts: 8,113
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgoharley View Post
I have a sunseeker, its getting cold tonight, 28 degrees, i left heat on lowest setting. Propane has 3/4 of tank so wondering how long it will hold out? I need 2 nights. Alternative is leave space heater inside unit unattended, bad idea??
Why are you concerned about heating an empty Sunseeker?
__________________

Ken and Terry
2018 Sunseeker 2430S-CD, nicely modified and carried by a 2017 Ford E450 Sport
Former Georgetown 330TS owner for 10 years with more mods than I can count, pushed by our 2017 GMC Terrain
kenandterry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 09:42 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Bow WA
Posts: 769
I use an electric oil filled radiator type heater; unattended for years.
..................
Ram 2500 / FR Surveyor 251rks
debit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 10:22 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Space Coast of Florida
Posts: 3,954
Quote:
Originally Posted by debit View Post
I use an electric oil filled radiator type heater; unattended for years.
..................
Ram 2500 / FR Surveyor 251rks
X2 ^^.. funny how it is ok to leave a propane (flame) heater on unattended but a space heater is strictly prohibited.
__________________


2016 Siverback 33IK, Towed 50K+ mile
2018 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7L V8 Diesel 4WD Crew Cab

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."
dalford is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 11:20 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: TEXAS
Posts: 9,097
It may depend on the type of space heater. Does it have a thermostat to turn it on and off, overheat protection, located in a space where it won't heat up nearby materials?

Either leaving an electric heater unattended or a propane heater unattended is going to present some risk. Any unattended appliance presents some minor risk.
__________________
2015 Dynamax REV 24TB class C
Reverse_snowbird is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 11:26 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 4,295
What is the concern? Water tanks/pipes freezing? The propane furnace probably ducts heat into the waste tank area. A space heater in the living space will not.

If the goal is just heating the living space, an electric space heater would be fine. Just use common sense and keep it away from flammables.
__________________
2020 Sunseeker 2440DS on 2019 Ford E-450, Trekker cap, Topaz paint
BehindBars is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2020, 06:30 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
jenandjon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Northeastern Nebraska
Posts: 172
I always keep a space heater going. Get a infrared heater like a sun heat heater. Pricey but they are pretty safe and put out a ton of heat.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Original...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
__________________
Father, grandfather, husband, farmer, trucker, mechanic, equipment operator, 03 Freightliner Columbia towing 06 Forest River Cardinal
Quando omni flunkus moritati-When all else fails, play dead
jenandjon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2020, 07:40 AM   #9
Site Team
 
KyDan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 10,505
Here's a thought.... some units send a bit of the furnace warm air into the belly area to help keep tanks from freezing.
A space heater in the main cabin won't do that.
But- I always worry about things like low point drains and even dump valves that typically are sticking out below the belly cover... what about them?
__________________
Peace!
Dan & Rita D
2017 Nissan Titan 5.6L King cab 4wd
2016 Evergreen Everlite 242RBS
29' empty nest model. Blue Ox WD hitch
(1 queen bed, large main cabin and huge bathroom)
Camping days 2010-53, 2011-47, 2012-41, 2013-41, 2014-31, 2015-40, 2016-44, 2017-63, 2018-75, 2019-32, 2020-41, 2021-49, 2022-43, 2023-66
KyDan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2020, 07:49 AM   #10
Kanadian Kamper
 
kenandterry's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Southern Ontario
Posts: 8,113
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgoharley View Post
I have a sunseeker, its getting cold tonight, 28 degrees, i left heat on lowest setting. Propane has 3/4 of tank so wondering how long it will hold out? I need 2 nights. Alternative is leave space heater inside unit unattended, bad idea??
Anyone else notice sgoharley hasn’t been back?
His last comment.........Bad idea?
__________________

Ken and Terry
2018 Sunseeker 2430S-CD, nicely modified and carried by a 2017 Ford E450 Sport
Former Georgetown 330TS owner for 10 years with more mods than I can count, pushed by our 2017 GMC Terrain
kenandterry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2020, 08:35 AM   #11
Site Team
 
Mr. Dan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Grayson County, Texas
Posts: 21,473
Quote:
Originally Posted by kenandterry View Post
Anyone else notice sgoharley hasn’t been back?
His last comment.........Bad idea?
He only posted Yesterday, 08:35 PM... that's just now 12 hours, right? He might not be able to sit and watch FRF at all times... and he may never come back. Let's give him a minute.
__________________
2015 FR Wildcat 295RSX / GMC Sierra

Nights Camped: '13 = 49/'14 = 74/'15 = 74/'16 = 85/'17 = 110/'18 = 111/'19 = 86/'20 =108/'21 = 115/'22 = 135/'23 = 78; Booked for 2024 = 69
Mr. Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2020, 07:19 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 124
Kenandterry, i am still around, just had to work. Last night had a cold spell and RV is no longer winterized so I was worried. Just left heat to 45 and let it go and all worked fine. I had a heater available as back up if needed.
Sounds like I am going to be ok.
sgoharley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 08:49 AM   #13
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 35
Propane use

Hi
Have a 2015 coachmen leprechaun 260 dsc. depending on day time temps, sunshine or not and furnace set at 55 or so, I would expect to get 5 to 7 days on 11 gallons at those kind of temps and much lower. We’ve been in cold temps quite a bit and have had it set while plugged in, while visiting relatives, running the furnace to avoid freeze ups. We had inserts in the skylights, windshield covers, etc which made a difference. We checked daily, never had an issue.

Old_hippies
Old_hippies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 09:17 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 10,907
Quote:
Originally Posted by jenandjon View Post
I always keep a space heater going. Get a infrared heater like a sun heat heater. Pricey but they are pretty safe and put out a ton of heat.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Original...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
That heater may look nicer than all the other $30 heaters at Home Depot, but it doesn't put out any more heat than any other $30 1500 watt, which is the largest you can purchase for 110VAC through a 15amp plug.

All the power is turned into heat. 1500 Watts = 5118 Btu/hr. No more, no less.
__________________
1988 Coleman Sequoia - popup (1987-2009) - outlasted 3 Dodge Grand Caravans!
2012 Roo19 - hybrid (2012-2015)

2016 Mini Lite 2503S - tt (2015 - ???)
2011 Traverse LT, 3.6L, FWD
2009 Silverado 1500 Ext Cab, 5.3L, 4x4, 3.73
2016 Silverado 2500HD Dbl Cab, 6.0L 4x4, 4.10
rockfordroo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 09:17 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
Chuck_S's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Richmond VA
Posts: 4,510
I recall the 19,000 BTU furnace in my Roo burns 1 pound of propane every hour of flame time.

HTH,

-- Chuck
__________________
2006 Roo 23SS behind a 2017 Ford Expedition
Chuck_S is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 11:15 AM   #16
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 648
Quote:
Originally Posted by KyDan View Post
Here's a thought.... some units send a bit of the furnace warm air into the belly area to help keep tanks from freezing.
A space heater in the main cabin won't do that.
But- I always worry about things like low point drains and even dump valves that typically are sticking out below the belly cover... what about them?
We use a oil filled electric heater that works great. To insure that the underbelly gets the heat it needs we simply turn on the heater fan to circulate the heat in the TT. When it is really cold out, enough to freeze, we carry a water pipe heat tape to wrap around the grey and black water tank so the valves do not freeze. Has worked for us.
Happy camping.
campers302 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 11:19 AM   #17
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: North of Seattle, WA
Posts: 17,263
Quote:
Originally Posted by BehindBars View Post
What is the concern? Water tanks/pipes freezing? The propane furnace probably ducts heat into the waste tank area. A space heater in the living space will not.

If the goal is just heating the living space, an electric space heater would be fine. Just use common sense and keep it away from flammables.
You do realize that common sense can often be as scarce as TP is today
__________________
"A wise man can change his mind. A fool never will." (Japanese Proverb)

"You only grow old when you run out of new things to do"

2018 Flagstaff Micro Lite 25BDS
2023 f-150 SCREW XLT 3.5 Ecoboost (The result of a $68,000 oil change)
TitanMike is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 11:34 AM   #18
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: TEXAS
Posts: 9,097
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgoharley View Post
Kenandterry, i am still around, just had to work. Last night had a cold spell and RV is no longer winterized so I was worried. Just left heat to 45 and let it go and all worked fine. I had a heater available as back up if needed.
Sounds like I am going to be ok.
Glad everything worked out ok. Hopefully that means winter is on the way out but if old man winter comes back, you could always winterize again.
__________________
2015 Dynamax REV 24TB class C
Reverse_snowbird is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2020, 12:06 AM   #19
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 124
Thanks for help new to owning an rv. It's like watching a 3 year old as soon as you think you know what your doing it does something else
sgoharley is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
propane

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:56 AM.