Operating propane furnace while travelin

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by cariboo camper

Never! Actually against the law in some places. Just ask a fireman or first responder, as my first responder friend said,'' in an accident situation it is one of the first things they look for" and for a reason. Propane gas sinks to the lowest point and stays there unlike natural gas which dissipates into the atmosphere. There have been many documented cases of RVs burning up from running furnaces while travelling, just google it. Not worth it in my opinion!

Care to share a source? I have yet to see any laws against it and I travel a fair bit. The only places where I have seen requirements to have LP shut off have been a few tunnels and ferries.

Aaron

[chrisbailey13]

Originally Posted by cariboo camper

Never! Actually against the law in some places. Just ask a fireman or first responder, as my first responder friend said,'' in an accident situation it is one of the first things they look for" and for a reason. Propane gas sinks to the lowest point and stays there unlike natural gas which dissipates into the atmosphere. There have been many documented cases of RVs burning up from running furnaces while travelling, just google it. Not worth it in my opinion!

Interesting considering my fridge is also propane and runs while going down the road. Based on this I would have to turn my fridge off while going down the road. I know there are a few tunnels where you have to turn propane off, but I have never heard of it being against the law.

[Villagerjjm]

A good set of thermal curtains that separates the driver area from the rest of the living area would probably be the best way to go.

[youroo]

When we had a "Muti-Person Tow Vehicle,with Many Seats" that was used in the COLD winter months to go Snowmobiling,I installed a School Bus Rear Heater that was supplied by the Engine Cooling System! The system required NO Propane,or Generator to provide Heat! The passengers had their own controls on how "Comfortable" they wanted to be! Youroo!!

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by chrisbailey13

Interesting considering my fridge is also propane and runs while going down the road. Based on this I would have to turn my fridge off while going down the road. I know there are a few tunnels where you have to turn propane off, but I have never heard of it being against the law.

Most likely your fridge auto swaps to 12v when you start your tug vehicle. That's what the D+ connection at the back is for. It senses when the truck alternator is running and runs the fridge off the truck battery.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Murbella7

Most likely your fridge auto swaps to 12v when you start your tug vehicle. That's what the D+ connection at the back is for. It senses when the truck alternator is running and runs the fridge off the truck battery.

A small percentage of R/V refrigerators do operate on 12v only but the vast majority of them do not.

While they do need 12v for the control board to operate, the cooling portion of the refrigerator needs either propane or 120v to function.

[Keystoner]

Just thinking off the cuff here, but just because the fridge and furnace both use propane they are designed differently.

The fridge propane system is designed with baffles and sits behind the louvered panel, all which help protect the flame and burner from the 60 mph "highway wind."

I've not taken my furnace apart, but the inlet and exhaust ports are flush on the sidewall without any baffles. My thought is that the constant 60 mph wind (individual speeds will vary) would create a vacuum across both ports. This would likely effect the sail switch and/or prevent/stop any flame from burning. If you were stopped long enough for the furnace to cycle on, rolling back up to speed would again effect operation.
When the flame gets sucked out would the propane continue to flow?

[Wolverine 1945]

Unless you have people traveling in the back of the MH,,, I see no reason to care how cold it gets in the back !!! Maybe by opening the rear roof vent it would suck some heat to the rear ???

[chrisbailey13]

Originally Posted by Murbella7

Most likely your fridge auto swaps to 12v when you start your tug vehicle. That's what the D+ connection at the back is for. It senses when the truck alternator is running and runs the fridge off the truck battery.

it doesn't....the fridge is propane/w 12v for lighting or 110v. not on shore power or GENSET it is propane.
We are talking Motorhome, not 5'er or TT.

[chrisbailey13]

Originally Posted by Keystoner

Just thinking off the cuff here, but just because the fridge and furnace both use propane they are designed differently.

The fridge propane system is designed with baffles and sits behind the louvered panel, all which help protect the flame and burner from the 60 mph "highway wind."

I've not taken my furnace apart, but the inlet and exhaust ports are flush on the sidewall without any baffles. My thought is that the constant 60 mph wind (individual speeds will vary) would create a vacuum across both ports. This would likely effect the sail switch and/or prevent/stop any flame from burning. If you were stopped long enough for the furnace to cycle on, rolling back up to speed would again effect operation.
When the flame gets sucked out would the propane continue to flow?

The furnace on the Georgetown works fine at speed. we have never had a "flameout" because of speed.

[chrisbailey13]

Originally Posted by Villagerjjm

A good set of thermal curtains that separates the driver area from the rest of the living area would probably be the best way to go.

Doesn't really address when folks are in the back of the Motorhome.

[chrisbailey13]

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

Unless you have people traveling in the back of the MH,,, I see no reason to care how cold it gets in the back !!! Maybe by opening the rear roof vent it would suck some heat to the rear ???

I am not really sure it is feasible to expect the dash heaters to heat a 400sqft motorhome. If it could, it would be unbearable for the driver and front seat passengers IMO. Opening the roof vent would just create a cool draft. (tried it before).

[cariboo camper]

Jackie-Boy, Where I live in British Columbia, Canada, the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act specifically requires that propane valves must be shut off while Vehicle is moving. Sec 5.1(3). Took me all of 1 minute to google that. Sure that many other provinces and states have the same laws. I knew this as I took the TDGR course years ago while in the trucking business. As an aside Sec 5.1 (3) specifically mentions RVs. Be safe folks.

[Schvarak]

Originally Posted by chrisbailey13

I am not really sure it is feasible to expect the dash heaters to heat a 400sqft motorhome. If it could, it would be unbearable for the driver and front seat passengers IMO. Opening the roof vent would just create a cool draft. (tried it before).

There's no hazard to using blankets or wearing coats. There is a big hazard to driving with using your propane to heat your coach while driving! A better alternative would be to run your generator if you have one and plug in an electric heater.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by chrisbailey13

it doesn't....the fridge is propane/w 12v for lighting or 110v. not on shore power or GENSET it is propane.
We are talking Motorhome, not 5'er or TT.

My Dometic is a 3-way, mains, gas and 12v, so it does run as a fridge from a 12v supply. Sure, it may be less efficient on 12v but after have the thing screw a couple of batteries (before I discovered how the thing really works) I know that it does.

The bottom line here is that if you leave the gas on and are running appliances whilst you are motoring down the road, expect disaster at some time.

Turn off the gas. It may save your life and those of your family and possibly other travelers on the road.

[chrisbailey13]

Originally Posted by Murbella7

My Dometic is a 3-way, mains, gas and 12v, so it does run as a fridge from a 12v supply. Sure, it may be less efficient on 12v but after have the thing screw a couple of batteries (before I discovered how the thing really works) I know that it does.

The bottom line here is that if you leave the gas on and are running appliances whilst you are motoring down the road, expect disaster at some time.

Turn off the gas. It may save your life and those of your family and possibly other travelers on the road.

Mine is only 2 way. I have had the engine running and heard the gas burning outside the Fridge vent. If I am out of propane, my fridge only works on 110v. Turning off the gas is not an option for a trip more than 4 hrs. with out electricity.

[JimF]

I suspect Murbella7 is talking tag along rather than a Motorhome, which this subject is in regard to. My old tag had a 3 way refer, the larger units are only propane and 110v. Newer units 110v only. Now back to the subject of propane during travel, my unit has a safety feature, as do all the Motorhomes, a propane auto off when the ignition switch is turned off. The auto off will turn the propane off for 15 minutes when the ignition is shut off. For those folks that are running a refer and propane, or furnace, when you pull in to your service stop and shut down the engine all propane flow stops. Now this feature can be bypassed but I personally would not recommend it.

Does this mean the manufacturer recommends use of propane while driving, I doubt it, but it does address a safety issue when stopping for fuel, etc.

[chrisbailey13]

Originally Posted by JimF

I suspect Murbella7 is talking tag along rather than a Motorhome, which this subject is in regard to. My old tag had a 3 way refer, the larger units are only propane and 110v. Newer units 110v only. Now back to the subject of propane during travel, my unit has a safety feature, as do all the Motorhomes, a propane auto off when the ignition switch is turned off. The auto off will turn the propane off for 15 minutes when the ignition is shut off. For those folks that are running a refer and propane, or furnace, when you pull in to your service stop and shut down the engine all propane flow stops. Now this feature can be bypassed but I personally would not recommend it.

Does this mean the manufacturer recommends use of propane while driving, I doubt it, but it does address a safety issue when stopping for fuel, etc.

Thanks for the info Chief!