Capehorny
Florida
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Joined: 08/09/2008
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Hello all, went camping this weekend and needed to run my furnace off the battery power, wasn't able to get to shore power. Everything went fine but I got to wondering how much drain that puts on the battery. Does it simply draw strictly when lighting the pilot and running the fan when it cycles on? It's a 2006 Jayco Jay Flight. Just curious, any opinions would be appreciated.
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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In most RVs the furnace is the largest single draw on your batteries. Yes it does use power to ignite the burner and to operate the thermostat but the BIGGEST draw is running the blower.
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btd35
Spokane, WA
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Yes the furnace draws a significant amount of power. If you are running a dual 12 volt battery setup, most of the time it will just make it through the night if your system is strong, and it isn't too cold. I wouldn't leave your pigtail to your vehicle connected over night to add the vehicle battery to the mix as I have heard some do. They wake up in the morning, and can't start the vehicle because it has been drawn down too far by the furnace.
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canoe on top
Denver, CO, US
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If you look at the bochure for the furnace it should tell you how many amps the blower draws. From that you can figure about how long it will run on the battery capacity you have. Of course, it is off and on so that makes it more difficult to figure. How well insulated your TT is and how cold it is make a big difference.
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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btd35 wrote:Yes the furnace draws a significant amount of power. If you are running a dual 12 volt battery setup, most of the time it will just make it through the night if your system is strong, and it isn't too cold. I wouldn't leave your pigtail to your vehicle connected over night to add the vehicle battery to the mix as I have heard some do. They wake up in the morning, and can't start the vehicle because it has been drawn down too far by the furnace.
If you tow with a Ford or newer Toyota, a relay will protect the vehicle battery unless the ignition is in the "on" position. You won't run down the battery but won't get any battery BOOST by staying connected either.
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Chuck&Gail
In the Colorado Mountains
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Joined: 06/16/2004
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We figure one nite per battery when running furnace.
FYI not all Fords disconnect the TV battery from the TT. My Bronco II did not. IMO if unsure, disconnect TV to TT cable when parked, ESPECIALLY if nobody else is around. TV's are darn hard to push, and automatic transmissions do not jump start well anyway, if that is what you have.
My ML320 does not disconnect when turned off, so we unplug cable.
Chuck
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califRVers
Santa Rosa, California
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This may seem like a silly question, but here it goes, does it draw even more battery power when using the high fan setting over the low fan setting?
Tim and Julie
California RV'ers Blog
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tomdrobin
Perry, MI
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Joined: 06/20/2003
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califRVers wrote:This may seem like a silly question, but here it goes, does it draw even more battery power when using the high fan setting over the low fan setting?
Yes.
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BlueDuramax
Aurora, Oregon
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Furnaces in modern RV's are the worst design flaw they have. They are noisy inefficient current drawing devices. Someday maybe someone will design a good one. Of course they could go back to the great ones we had in our old Aristocrat trailer, a wall heater with actual flames in it and no fan.
[b]2004 2500HD Chev EX/LT Duramax/Allison, Prodigy controller, Old style Reese dual cam hitch, Curt Magnum 5 receiver hitch, 2007 KOMFORT 277TS, Honda 2000.
Note: Due to invalid formatting, all formatting has been ignored.
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smkettner
Southern California
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califRVers wrote:This may seem like a silly question, but here it goes, does it draw even more battery power when using the high fan setting over the low fan setting?
My furnace fan does not change with the fan speed switch. The High/Low just changes the air conditioner fan speed. So on mine I believe the furnace fan draws the same power on high or low.
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