Heating--What Would You Do?

[tetonchief]

Heating--what would you do?

I have begun living full time in my new (to me) Canyon Star 3856 Ford V10 gas. I work in the Tetons from late Apr to late Oct so the nights can get down in the low 30's during Apr and Oct. I am a little concerned about preventing my water pipes from freezing. I have 2 ac/HP and 2 propane furnaces. I am not sure if I can get propane delivered to my coach in the park.

I have been looking into several things and was hoping to hear from some people with more experience than me (I have none).

I was thinking of getting (2) of those little 200 watt heaters to put int he basement compartments near the tanks? These would be run off the site electric (something I am provided with for my employment). What do you think of this idea?

Since the HP is not very good below 40 degrees, I was thinking of using space heaters in the coach and heating electrically. My options here that I am considering are:
1) Using the Dyson oblong/circle fan/heater--it is on sale at COSTCO, is very quiet, and I think if placed at the front of the coach by the driver area facing rear ward, it would heat the entire coach. On cold nights I could open the water cabinets to aid getting heat in there.
2) Using those oil filled old fashioned radiators to provide the heat. They are also quiet, cheaper than the Dyson (even if I buy two) but they would take up a bit more room.

I was also looking at the Cheap Heat system I saw on one of the RV emails I get daily but I think I would have to install (by a professional) 2 of these since I have 2 furnaces. This would eliminate having to use propane, however, as good as this system sounds it may be way more than I can afford to spend between the cost of the parts and the extra labor charges for an RV professional to install. Anyone have this and what do you think?

So, what would you do? Long post--I am sorry, but need your expert advice...or just your honest opinion. Thank you.

[wolfe10]

Part of the equation depends on how well insulated your tanks are. Are they in a protected basement or exposed to the outside? What is the configuration of the tanks/plumbing. Will a single heater work or do you have multiple areas? Tanks (large volumes) are less susceptible to freezing than pipes (smaller volume with more exposure to ambient temperatures.

And, temperatures have to dip below 30 degrees for at least a couple of hours before you need to be concerned about pipes freezing.

[hermanmullins]

Chief,

Check with your coach Manufacture. You may already have a basement heater now. Some coaches have them on a basement thermostat.

Herman

[dickandlois]

Chief,

You did not mention the year of the coach, some of your model come with a Polar pack option. there is no mention of additional insulation in the holding tank area or if there are heating options for the holding tanks. So you might get some additional by call the coach builder.

Looks like the holding tanks are enclosed, if that is the case the 200 watt heaters might make a good option. Look into if they have temperature controls, do not want to much heat in the bays.

Check on where the plumbing is run to get a good idea of where lines might be more prone to freezing.

Rich.

[medico]

You also could get a couple of the larger external propane tanks that you can take to a refill station. Many of my neighbors here in Central Florida have them. This allows filling the propane tanks without moving the coach since the propane tanks can be disconnected and taken to the refill station.

On the 40 degree nights here we have a Dyson Infrared heater that heats out entire coach to a temp we can easily stand. I would think one of these heaters would heat your class C pretty easily on those 20 to 30 degree nights. The infrared heaters are much better than the heaters you mentioned. They are very quiet and very efficient. Get the one with the 6 infrared tubes. I found mine on sale for about $149.

The small heater in the cabinets may work to keep the pipes from freezing.

[musselmanphotos]

Not sure how your set up is and how accessible your tanks are but I would look at installing tank mat heaters that run off your 12v system. Install the mats and then insulate around them. For your water lines, once again accessability, I would use the pipe wrap insulation that you can pick up from any box hardware store. If you you were real worried you could always wrap them first in heat tape (like they do for mobile homes) around your lines, they are usually powered by 110V. That would alleviate leaving a "space heater" on while you are not in it. As far as heating inside, my choice would be the box style infared heaters (look like a little fireplace). They may take up a little bit of room, I think they are like 14" square box, but they heat the crap out of 35' FW with slides. One of our co-workers uses it in hers and our temps are getting down to 0's as the low here lately. My 2 pennies.

Jake Musselman

[tetonchief]

I would think one of these heaters would heat your class C pretty easily on those 20 to 30 degree nights.

The small heater in the cabinets may work to keep the pipes from freezing.

My Canyon Star is a 39 foot Class A.