Heating question

ElkStalker

Member
I fired up the heat and the AC fan started running? Is that normal? My last camper it didn't do that. The other problem it that no heat was coming from the garage heat vent, it was blowing but I could not feel any heat.

I also notice that on the curbside propane compartment that their are water lines running thru it. BAD design as this is not a heated compartment.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
If you have the digital T-stat, It sounds like the fan is set for High or Low. It must be on Auto when using the furnace.

Peace
Dave
 

ElkStalker

Member
bgrendodge
Did you look at the heating duct work under the fridge? (take the two big bottom draws out and you will see) I would have to take a picture but it is coiled around and I think I can cut about 20inches off. That should help and than try to insulate it bettter.

On a side not what kind of hitch do you have. My camper was delivered to me so I have not even hooked up yet. Do you have a 5.9 or 6.7 cummins?
 

Riverman

Well-known member
We have minimal airflow from the garage vent.
Likely due to the 30 foot distance from the furnace.
We generally rely on electric heat in garage if required.
Nature of the beast Im afraid.
 

ElkStalker

Member
I have good airflow but all the heat is lost. I will have to try an insulate the heat duct. Looks like I will have to look at a catalytic heat source as I often dry camp.
 

bggrndodge

Member
Elkstalker, I will take a look at the duct, would still like to know about the heat loss though. I have a Valley 16K Power Pull, non slider. As far as the truck it has the 5.9 with a auto.
Riverman, the duct on the other side of the sliding glass door blows nice and hot so not sure that its a heat loss but something else. Electric heating is great but we do a lot of dry camping. I'm just wondering if the garage duct is even connected to the heat and not just the fan?
 

ElkStalker

Member
bggrndodge,
If you take the "cold air return vent" off you will see that hot air is ducted down from the heater into the central duct work and than two ducts off the end of the heater. One is about 4in and the other which goes to the garage is about 2 1/2in line.

How tight of a turn can you make with your truck? I had a 06 QC/SB and went with the 07 mega cab dually that has a 5.9l. I have a pacbrake and it is awesome for help hold the truck back coming down passes. FYI
 

bggrndodge

Member
Thanks for the info I will take a look today when i go get it for the weekend.

I have not really maxed it out but I've been in some tight spots, I just keep a real good eye on it. Maybe today I will try it out though? I wish I would have gotten a Megacab, but I love my QC/SB. I have the Pac also and it is great towing with. I also have the Smarty Jr, S&B intake, and Straight piped exhaust, the 5.9 is a great motor. Really like the 11's but its hard to justify another payment when the 07's paid for.....
 

JasonShrout

Member
How many BTU's does the furnace put out? I've searched the forum and google, but there is no mention of that... only sites trying to sell me a 2012 Cyclone 3950.
How many amps to run the fan to push that heat through?
 

CabinetmakerII

Active Member
:mad:I have read other posts regarding no heat in the garage... We owners are trying to come up with some type of fix because the factory has not been able to. We too have experianced a lack of heat in the garage in our 2012 3800. I conducted a very simple test. With the ambient air tempreture at 30 degrees F I had 120 degree heat at the floor duct in the main part of the coach. Only 8 to 10 feet away, the garage duct recorded 40 degree "heat" (?) When I personnaly talked to the factory I was told "THAT IS WITHIN TOLERANCE"... Really? Which school of engineering did you go to? 40 Degree heat is not heat, its cold air! Heartland claims the garage is "Conditioned space" Heated, insulated and Air Conditioned. The walls and celing are insulated. The garage floor however is not. The belly pan under the coach stops at the vapor barrier wall. The underside of the garage floor is exposed to the elements. It is coated on the underside to protect the plywood from the elements but that coating does not increase any R rating to the floor (which I believe Heartland claims an R-21 for the garage floor) There is no heat duct at all in the rear bath which could allow frozen pipes. There is a dedicated 2 1/2" flex duct that runs from the furnace, through the basement to the garage. All heat is lost to the basement. I guess that prevents the the main plumbing from freezing. Heartland needs to come up with a better idea on how to heat the garage or stop claiming the space is heated. Hey factory! Go watch the videos on your web page and edit out the things that are just Not True! 40 degrees in the garage is great if you are hanging meat. But not for sleeping! Within Tolerance my foot.:mad:
 

Lynn1130

Well-known member
For dry camping (we have been down to 4 degrees F on a couple of elk hunts with no problem) try the Mr. Heater Big Buddy. We use it in the garage for cold weather hunts and it works great. Some day I may do the underbelly insulation to the garage but right now the Big Buddy does the trick for those sleeping back there.
 

Refertech

Member
I have found a serious problem with how the heater is ducted on my rig a2013 3585rl. It has a 40,000 btu heater with 5-4 inch flex ducts. The problem is that two of these ducts ( the ones that feed the rear of the coach) are taking air from the top and front of the heater. The air does not pass completely over the heat exchangers, and there for is only partially heated. This Would also cause uneven heating of the heat exchanger and could pose a future cracking of the exchanger. also causes cooler air to be delivered to the rear of the coach because it is only partially heated. I have fixed this problem by adding a discharge plenum to the heater that allows all air to pass over the heat exchanger and provides for a quiter heating system.
 

Refertech

Member
Hi cabinetmaker2, you have to take heartland's R-values with a grain of salt. The thermal foil has very little rvalue, maybe R .5 at the most. The R value that they are referring to is a reflectance value which doesn't have a thermal rating. The reflective foil is only functional when it is in direct view of the heat source. In other words if it is behind a panel or another object is in front of it, it is worthless. This is a big problem iN the Rv industry and really is false advertising. To calculate your r value use only the foam and glass insulation values. A another problem is when heating under the floor with warm air there is no vapor barrier and the warm moist air condenses in the insulation making it wet. This is more prone to the colder climates but is a serious issue and will soon saturate the insulation making it worthless. Hope this helps with understanding the foil insulation.
 
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