Rv heater on battery

[Myaussies]

Hi there,

I have a 2012 200qb kodiak that I have had for a year. I am looking to have to use my heater on batteries from 10pm to 6am with the temps in the 40s to high 30s at night. I have only one battery and was concerned that I would drain the battery at night. It is hooked up to electricity from 6am to 10pm. Thoughts?
Justine.

[Nana & Poppy]

I would guess that is all depending on what you have the inside temp set at.......however the furnace is a big draw on your battery.....you just may find yourself waking to a cold TT with a dead battery!

[pdonoghu]

We used to run the furnace when we would stop for the night, temps were close to what you are stating. We found we could usually make it through the night on the batter, but it was pretty drained by morning. You could add a second battery, or get a small generator.

[rcharrette]

Lot's of variables here of course (condition of battery, temp setting,etc) but I would be almost sure your battery will get you through the night as long as you don't set the heat to 80! Before our Kodiak we had a pop up and the heat would run through the night no problem on a single battery in the 30's.
We carried a little Honda EU1000 generator with us and ran it just before we shut everything down for the evening that way the battery was full for the night.

[sundancer 87]

The best thought on this question would be to operate the system one night and see what happens, then, adjust as necessary.
If thinking about adding a battery you will want to purchase two batteries. One will be additional and the other will replace the year old battery you already have. To get optimum performance out of a set of batteries they all should be fresh. Adding a new battery to an old battery only gives you the capacity of the old battery. Just like putting one D cell in the flashlight, both of them need to be replaced.
Again, if thinking of adding a battery you'll want to purchase true deep cycle batteries. Those Interstate batteries that come with RV aren't true deep cycles.

The circuit board of the furnace uses very little power whereas the blower motor is the big hog. The blower is an induction type of load that uses a lot of power at start up. Once running the consumption goes down so if the furnace cycles many times during your off grid period you'll be working your battery(s) hard. That's where the need for true deep cycles becomes important.

[mtkodiak]

Wondered how you did with operating your battery all night. I have had many people suggestion those vent pillows that cover the vents and keep your heat inside... Anyone else use them?

[Mole]

A well charged deep cycle battery should take you through the night easily. We have boondocked while traveling during winter months from South Carolina to Missouri and back and had heat each night. We did disconnect from the truck so that the truck would not be drained down when we hit the road in the morning.

[DesertRat]

Originally Posted by Mole

We did disconnect from the truck so that the truck would not be drained down when we hit the road in the morning.

Bill
All the new tow vehicles are set up so power between the tow vehicle & trailer is only hot with the key on. No need to disconnect at night. Can can tell you that if battery is very low or dead & you plug your trailer into the tow vehicle while running it can blow a fuse. You will get to your next stop & wonder why you still have a dead battery. Don't ask how I know.