Heat strips in 4100. Worth the money and time.

I was on the fence about installing heat strips in my 4100 king. I didn't know if it would be worth the money vs just using propane on the furnace. I dont care about the electricity use since electricity is free at most of the rv parks i stay in.

I found the heat strips and thermostats with control modules for $380 shipped online and decided it would be worth a shot. Took about an hour for both units. It was a Very easy install.

After using them for the first few nights as well as the electric fireplace I am very happy with them. It has been down to 35*f for 8-10 hours at a time and they are keeping the trailer around 70*f.

I didnt want heaters on the floor in the trailer with my long hair dogs. These do not put out a lot of instant heat but if you give them time they slowly heat the air in the room until it hits the set temp. At first it feels like cold air but over time it gets warmer.

Maybe this will help some of you that are looking for other heating options aside from the furnace.
 

oscar

Well-known member
I'll have to look in to this, as not only is the furnace more $$ for propane, I find it less than adequate. Now how does this work with the thermostat? The "Heat" setting on it activates the furnace....
 
They seem to be good down to 32*f with the fireplace to keep the trailer above 68-70. Unfortunately you can't run the heat strips and furnace at the same time due to the thermostat control.
 

olcoon

Well-known member
One thing to remember, especially for those of us farther North is that the basement area also needs some heat to keep the plumbing from freezing.
 

oscar

Well-known member
They seem to be good down to 32*f with the fireplace to keep the trailer above 68-70. Unfortunately you can't run the heat strips and furnace at the same time due to the thermostat control.

So how is it wired? Is the furnace permanently disabled? Way I see this you would now need a separate thermostat for the furnace to keep it available.
 
I'm sure you could have an electrician wire up a seperate thermostat for your furnace. To use a heat strip in the dometic brisk air 1&2 series ac units, you change out the main board on the bottom of the unit above your interior return air. Then you replace the thermostat on the wall with a new thermostat that adds a heat strip setting to to other settings you already have. You Dont lose the furnace, you just can't run it at same time with the default setup.

An ac guy could probably wire up a seperate tstat so you could run both in extreme cold areas.
 

porthole

Retired
We have have heat strips in both AC units.
the original t-stat is replaced with a stat that also has a "heat strip" setting.

furnace or heat strip, but not both together.
 

oscar

Well-known member
An ac guy could probably wire up a seperate tstat so you could run both in extreme cold areas.

No "guy" gets to touch my stuff unless it's a warrantee issue ;) Installing a separate thermostat for the furnace should be no big deal, $19.95 at Home Depot. This would let me run heat strips AND furnace, at least to warm things up as this big monster with it's limited insulation does not heat up easily. Once warm I can shut off the furnace and let the heat strips maintain….
 

vakthund

Well-known member
Installing a separate thermostat for the furnace should be no big deal,
I'm ordering heat strips also. I was thinking it should be possible to re-wire the furnace to zone 2 on the four zone thermostat hence allowing me to run the furnace and heat strips / heat pump independently. That should also allow me to run the fan motor for the furnace so air is circulated in the underbelly keeping the tanks from freezing without using any propane.
 

oscar

Well-known member
Have at it Oscar, I have been thinking about this for almost 5 years now :cool:

Waiting for your report!


Hmmm, all I'm seeing so far is that the heat strips are for un-ducted AC's only. My salon heater is ducted…. but my bedroom one is not. And, that has no heat connection on the thermostat. So for about $50 I could do half the unit this way…… It could be a start.
 

porthole

Retired
My heat strips were installed by the dealer as part of my purchase. IIRC they were $105 each and included thermostats with a heat strip option. You cannot use both the furnace and heat strip at the same time with this t-stat.

Like you, the main AC is ducted and the bedroom is a direct discharge. heat strip in both.
 
Mine are both ducted.... They are about $380 shipped for 2 brisk air 2 ac units at the best online price I could find from rvpartswarehouse.com. comes with new tstats and control boards. They just came out a few months ago for the dometic brisk air 2. The older ac units are a little cheaper.
 
Update:

Went through first night of 27*F with only the heat strips, fireplace, and small space heater in toy box.

They kept the trailer inside over 70*F and the radiant heat kept the underside tanks and plumbing warm enough to keep it from freezing up. Won't be turning on furnace now til its sub 25*F and that's just to heat underbelly.

I may find a space heater for the basement to avoid the furnace all together.
 
I clicked on your link and checked it out, doesn't look bad but doesn't seem cheaper or easier than adding a heat strip to a ducted AC system that is already in place.
 

Phil Smith

Retired South Carolina Chapter Leader
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Based on an assumption that the it uses max. aps (Which it will not) Watts=Amps x Volts. 16.5 x 120 = 1980 Watts I would guess you would be looking at around 1500W
 

danemayer

Well-known member
The EasyHeat add-on has been discussed before and if I recall correctly, installation may run in the vicinity of $800 U.S. on top of the $495 price for the unit.
 
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