Heater needs shore power??

Originally posted by techntrek Originally posted by Jdub Hot water heater and stove and refrigerator were all working fine on propane. I have to assume there is some kind of safety device that does block the firing of the heater when only running on somewhat drained 12 volt batteries (2013 178 with two batteries up front).  Maybe we need a generator,    As I mentioned in my previous post, the safety device is the vane switch.  It will prevent the ignition process but it won't kill the blower.  The battery has to be pretty low before this happens, usually the lights will appear very yellow and the blower will sound very noticably slower.  50% capacity isn't low enough to trigger this.

I was told by service at the rpod RV store  that below 11.5 volts will not fire propane to heat. Our lights were not yellow....the blower ran fine but the propane would just not kick on.

He said the gauge on the wall is worthless at predicting whether or not we had enough battery life to fire the furnace, but he could sell me a voltage meter that could. Another reason to drop a wad on a generator.

Originally posted by furpod If you let your batteries get down to 11.5, the fact that your heater won't run is only one of the problems you are facing.. letting your batteries go that low is VERY bad for them. Very Bad. I worked for 20 years in a field where, if your batteries failed, you could die. I pay pretty close attention to mine and know the right and wrong way to treat them. Just habit. EDIT: also, unless you anticipate boondocking for 4 days or more in cold temps, save the wad of cash and go to a dual battery setup, and LED lights. (unless you just want a generator.. )

We were dry camping for three nights, four days. The battery charge lights on the panel never showed lower than 50% charge. We were a double battery set up as I mentioned above. We very sparingly used the electricity. Just how did we treat those batteries in a "bad " way? I don't think we were in danger of dying.

Originally posted by Jdub ...I was told by service at the rpod RV store  that below 11.5 volts will not fire propane to heat. Our lights were not yellow....the blower ran fine but the propane would just not kick on. He said the gauge on the wall is worthless at predicting whether or not we had enough battery life to fire the furnace, but he could sell me a voltage meter that could. Another reason to drop a wad on a generator.

 

I had the same problem as keith and dar. the first year I ran everything in the drive and it all worked great. first time we needed the furnace (before we got the 1500 watt electric heater) the purge blower ran , I heard the clicking of the igniter no heat and then it shut off. I had to cycle the furnace about 3 times and then she lit and worked fine. that little heater will run you out of the pod. I think the furnace is the last item in the circuit and it has to purge air from the lines before lighting. make sure stove and refrig are doing ok, then run the furnace, it may take a couple of tries but she will light if nothing else is wrong. If we camp with shore power we use a 1500 watt heater with a thermostat, it is quieter and keeps the pod toasty warm. I have got up in the morning and have seen 35 degrees outside with a hard frost and the pod is a cozy 72 inside with the little heater. The factory furnace works great, but when that blower kicks on my eyes pop open.