underbelly heating

[gerald-mullen56]

I'm sorry if I put questions in the wrong place. please bear with me i'm new at this fourm. I have a 2014 Bighorn it uses the furnace to heat the underbelly I try to conserve propane usage so I use space heaters for most of the inside heat. the temp. where I am at gets down into the low 20's. what is a good temp to set my thermostat to? will that also keep the exposed water lines from bursting or freezing .

 

[Speedy]

I have found that a setting of 68 for inside the coach keeps the underbelly and basement areas in the upper 40s to 50s when the outside temps are in the 10s and 20s. That data was measured in Minnesota and Campbellsville, KY over the past two winters. I also supplement our propane heat with one electric heater in the bedroom and the fireplace in the living room.

 

[danemayer]

Hi gerald-mullen56,

If you're using space heaters, they may keep the thermostat from ever calling for heat from the furnace. If the furnace doesn't come on in the evening, before you go to bed, it may not be protecting the underbelly components overnight. If it does come on a few times in the evening, it probably will be ok.

 

[fredwrichardson]

I'm sorry if I put questions in the wrong place. please bear with me i'm new at this fourm. I have a 2014 Bighorn it uses the furnace to heat the underbelly I try to conserve propane usage so I use space heaters for most of the inside heat. the temp. where I am at gets down into the low 20's. what is a good temp to set my thermostat to? will that also keep the exposed water lines from bursting or freezing .

If you use electric heat for the living area you best put a small electric heater in the basement. The propane furnace is design to not just heat the living area but also keeps the pipes in the under belly from freezing. Today it is 12 degrees F and I have the fireplace on (electric heat), a Vornado AVH2 heater in the basement set at 65 degrees F and also have my propane furnace set at 50 degrees F. The furnace still comes on even with the electric heat in the living space and in the basement for this is not enough heat to keep the unit warm. Because we are not using the unit I have drained it of all water but have held off winterizing it for we still may have family staying with us and may need a place for them to stay.

Based on these very cold days I have realized that you can slow down the use of propane using electric heat but you dare not turn the furnace off.

Fred

 

[hoefler]

When we wintered in our Landmark 2 years ago, I kept a space heater with a real thermostat to control it in the basement set on 50*. We had overnight temps around 0* with highs in the teens and didn't experience any issues at all.

 

[Harry1]

We use either an electric heater or the fireplace in the living room area during the day when the outside temps are above freezing. During the night when temps are expected to go below 32, we leave 1 electric heater on the low setting (750 watts) and have the furnace set at 68 degrees. If you use all electric heat the furnace will not cycle on. Our thermostat is above the steps going up towards the bathroom. Heat rises so too much electric heat in the living room area will keep the stat from kicking the furnace on. We also have used an electric heater with thermostat in the basement area when temps go below 20 and we use reflected heat from a 100 watt light bulb behind the basement wall above the water pump and a 75 watt bulb in the UDC area when temps drop low with Yeti package turned on (if you have that).
Don't forget about your fresh water drain line and valve under the unit. I insulated the line and valve with the slotted foam pipe insulation. I used two different sizes as to overlap the insulation twice.

 

[TravelTiger]

We use either an electric heater or the fireplace in the living room area during the day when the outside temps are above freezing. During the night when temps are expected to go below 32, we leave 1 electric heater on the low setting (750 watts) and have the furnace set at 68 degrees. If you use all electric heat the furnace will not cycle on. Our thermostat is above the steps going up towards the bathroom. Heat rises so too much electric heat in the living room area will keep the stat from kicking the furnace on. We also have used an electric heater with thermostat in the basement area when temps go below 20 and we use reflected heat from a 100 watt light bulb behind the basement wall above the water pump and a 75 watt bulb in the UDC area when temps drop low with Yeti package turned on (if you have that).
Don't forget about your fresh water drain line and valve under the unit. I insulated the line and valve with the slotted foam pipe insulation. I used two different sizes as to overlap the insulation twice.

All great suggestions, this is similar to what we do. We made a flap in the underbelly, so we could pull the fresh water drain up inside the belly. prior to that, we wrapped with foam. We don't run a heater in the basement, but do have the reflective light behind the basement wall and light in UDC. We have tank and pipe heaters we installed ourselves (equivalent to Yeti). A Vornado heater in the bedroom, set low. Furnace on 63 keeps us warm without being too hot, and runs often through the night. Use fireplace when we are in the living area (not at night). I have two remote thermometer sensors in the underbelly, and this system seems to keep the belly at 42 or higher, when temps outside are below freezing. We have not added skirting, though some in our park have done so.

 

[bigdob24]

We are in West Texas to escape the mid west winter and we just barely beat a winter storm to get here.
it is now 20 degrees outside and for piece of mind I just put my outside temp sensor in the UDC .
With the furnace set on 70 and the inside temp at 68 - 66 the UDC is at 43+
So the basement would be the same if not warmer.
Not supose to get above freezing till tomorrow but I'm not worried everything seems good.
I do have a 125 watt heat lamp with a protective metal fixture mounted in the under that I can plug in if it gets colder.
Also have one that I can put in the UDC. I have tested these lights and they are just very warm to the touch when on not excessively hot, so safe.
I am now looking into a thermometer that has three sensors, one for the basement, one for the UDC and one in the underbelly by the tanks for cold weather travel.