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Old 09-27-2018, 03:24 PM   #1
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Furnace Battery Life

Hi All,
So it looks like I will probably taking the trailer out for a weekend towards the end of October. I may be boon docking for the weekend without hookups. At the beginning of this season I replaced my 1x12v deep-cycle battery with 2x6v Interstate ones. One of the biggest benefits to taking the trailer is that we will be on location all day Saturday/Sunday and having the heater (or AC in the summer) helps a lot during the down time. Historically the temps have been anywhere from low 40's during the day to high 20's at night depending on the year. I have generator that I should be able to run during times during the day, but at night I will be running the furnace on battery power. Now I know there are a ton of variable that could effect the battery life (furnace run time), but in general at these types of temps would you think that my batteries would last all night? All weekend? See the specs of my batteries below.
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Old 09-27-2018, 04:07 PM   #2
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From experience the Furnace fan is a "battery killer" You might get one night possibly. I wouldn't expect more than that unless charged during the day.
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Old 09-27-2018, 04:52 PM   #3
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Hi All,
So it looks like I will probably taking the trailer out for a weekend towards the end of October. I may be boon docking for the weekend without hookups. At the beginning of this season I replaced my 1x12v deep-cycle battery with 2x6v Interstate ones. One of the biggest benefits to taking the trailer is that we will be on location all day Saturday/Sunday and having the heater (or AC in the summer) helps a lot during the down time. Historically the temps have been anywhere from low 40's during the day to high 20's at night depending on the year. I have generator that I should be able to run during times during the day, but at night I will be running the furnace on battery power. Now I know there are a ton of variable that could effect the battery life (furnace run time), but in general at these types of temps would you think that my batteries would last all night? All weekend? See the specs of my batteries below.



You may get a weekend out of two real deep cycle batteries. If your batteries have a MCCA or CCA sticker on them they are only deep cycle in name, not in actuality.
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Old 09-27-2018, 05:42 PM   #4
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You may get a weekend out of two real deep cycle batteries. If your batteries have a MCCA or CCA sticker on them they are only deep cycle in name, not in actuality.
Not sure if my battery spec pic is showing. I see it on my PC, but not my phone. Here are the Specs. I will probably also take my Mr Buddy indoor safe propane heater just as a back up and I also have my generator I can run if needed.

Group Size= GC2
(RC) Min @ 75 Amp = 447
Amp Hours @ 20Hr = 225
Voltage = 6
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Old 09-27-2018, 08:28 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Jayro88 View Post
Not sure if my battery spec pic is showing. I see it on my PC, but not my phone. Here are the Specs. I will probably also take my Mr Buddy indoor safe propane heater just as a back up and I also have my generator I can run if needed.

Group Size= GC2
(RC) Min @ 75 Amp = 447
Amp Hours @ 20Hr = 225
Voltage = 6

They don't show up in your post but I see you have golf cart batteries. You have 225 amp hours capacity for 20 hours but you don't want to use it all. You would be good for one night more than likely and have some spare capacity until you recharge with the generator.

Deep cycle batteries are designed to deliver a given voltage for a given period of time before they become technically dead. I have forgotten the percentage of capacity you can draw down before this condition occurs. There are charts, even might be one here that shows the level of charge at certain voltages and capacity.
If you are planning on using this system many times throughout the year you might want to invest in a meter that shows your usage to show you where your batteries are.
I left my solar house with 12 solar panel and 6 deep cycle 6 volters and all the other stuff that went along with the system, however I never paid much attention to my meters because I lived in a zone 6 sun isolation area so I only watched meters when the one day that came along when the sun didn't shine.
I'd say use the furnace at night and recharge in the morning.You should be fine and Mr. Heater will help greatly. I heated my immediate living space with one and had a muffin fan and snap switch affixed to it to move the heated air into the room.
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Old 09-27-2018, 10:19 PM   #6
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Learn something new every day. Thanks
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Old 10-04-2018, 01:07 AM   #7
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You should be able to get two nights of use depending on where you keep your thermostat. We dry camp almost exclusively and during elk season (nov) we run the genni every two days or so but normally out of an abundance of caution (usually have at least 50% showing on the meter). We use two 6v golf cart batteries of about the same size as yours.

However, we don’t use heat during the day (or at least until we get back to camp). At night our heater only runs a few times but we keep the thermostat at 68. We have led bulbs in almost everything and use outside lighting at night.
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Old 10-04-2018, 01:33 AM   #8
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You should be able to get two nights of use depending on where you keep your thermostat. We dry camp almost exclusively and during elk season (nov) we run the genni every two days or so but normally out of an abundance of caution (usually have at least 50% showing on the meter). We use two 6v golf cart batteries of about the same size as yours.



However, we don’t use heat during the day (or at least until we get back to camp). At night our heater only runs a few times but we keep the thermostat at 68. We have led bulbs in almost everything and use outside lighting at night.


Thanks for the information. I ran it off batteries for a little bit this past weekend to heat it up when we were in a parking lot for the day. It was 59* inside to start. Furnace heated it up to 68* very quickly, but the battery voltage never really dropped much. After that it never kicked on. The sun came up and even though it was only 65* for a high I ended up having to open a couple windows and turn on vent fans.

If it cools down again I may run it overnight for a test. I just hat to waste the propane for an experiment. I do have a generator, so it would still technically be okay if it just lasted the night. I also have all LEDs.
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Old 10-04-2018, 03:18 AM   #9
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Thanks for the information. I ran it off batteries for a little bit this past weekend to heat it up when we were in a parking lot for the day. It was 59* inside to start. Furnace heated it up to 68* very quickly, but the battery voltage never really dropped much. After that it never kicked on. The sun came up and even though it was only 65* for a high I ended up having to open a couple windows and turn on vent fans.

If it cools down again I may run it overnight for a test. I just hat to waste the propane for an experiment. I do have a generator, so it would still technically be okay if it just lasted the night. I also have all LEDs.
Yeah, you should be fine. Most newer trailers are decently insulated and will keep things toasty inside. I highly recommend cracking a window or your roof vents to keep the condensation down.
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Old 10-04-2018, 03:54 AM   #10
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@OP I would think with those batteries you should get two nights. I would definitely want to charge them for several hours after that though.
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Old 10-04-2018, 03:15 PM   #11
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Right after getting out new TT last year. We survived 16 degree temperatures with no problem for one night. With standard OEM battery. Sounds like your good to go.
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Old 10-29-2018, 08:15 PM   #12
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Battery Life Running Furnace

Forget it as a long term option.

Been there with two deep cycle golf cart batteries and can't cut it,

Instead invest in an Olympian catalytic heater. No battery needed, just propane source.

Installed a Wave 6 in my 35' Dutchman 3200 toy hauler, end of problem!
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Old 10-29-2018, 08:23 PM   #13
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Forget it as a long term option.



Been there with two deep cycle golf cart batteries and can't cut it,



Instead invest in an Olympian catalytic heater. No battery needed, just propane source.



Installed a Wave 6 in my 35' Dutchman 3200 toy hauler, end of problem!


We ended up making it through the 2 nights we were there without an issue. I ran my generator during the day for a while to help recharge the batteries before the 2nd night.

The Wave 6 looks interesting. I used my Mr Buddy propane heater to help bring the inside up to temp quickly so all the furnace had to do was maintain the temp at night. Only had to run it for about 15 minutes. Put off tons of heat.
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