Uneven Furnace Heat In My Bighorn 3970RD

[Nuclearcowboy]

Right now it is getting into the lower 30's and upper 20's here at night and it has become apparent that there is a challenge for me in keeping the rear living area of our Bighorn warm enough without baking us in the bedroom/bathroom. It can be especially warm in the bedroom and bathroom, but uncomfortably cold in the living area. I installed a register in the bathroom that I can damper down but do not want to restrict any more air flow up front for fear of potentially damaging my furnace unit. The bathroom register change hasn't seemed to help the rest of the unit to any degree other than cut down on the heat in the bathroom. Here are my questions:

1. Is there any danger in running the rear fireplace (which I believe is a ceramic-type electric unit) for long periods of time (like potential consequences of overheating something or a fire?). My DW is afraid to run it for long periods for fear of this. I think you should be able to keep in on for as long as you want, but just not sure.
2. Is the furnace controlled by the hallway thermostat only? I think it is, with the bedroom unit only controlling the front AC.
3. Any practical suggestions on how to increase the heat in the rear of the unit? The registers are blowing quite a bit of hot air when the furnace is on, but it appears that there is just not enough hot air flow (or enough registers) in that end of the unit to keep up with the cold migration into the unit because of the size of the rooms, number of windows, etc.

I did think about getting a portable electric unit to put in the living area, but I would think that the design of the unit should preclude me from having to do that, especially since it is really not that cold outside.

Any help would be appreciated, since a cold DW is not a good thing to have....

 

[RoadJunkie]

Right now it is getting into the lower 30's and upper 20's here at night and it has become apparent that there is a challenge for me in keeping the rear living area of our Bighorn warm enough without baking us in the bedroom/bathroom. It can be especially warm in the bedroom and bathroom, but uncomfortably cold in the living area. I installed a register in the bathroom that I can damper down but do not want to restrict any more air flow up front for fear of potentially damaging my furnace unit. The bathroom register change hasn't seemed to help the rest of the unit to any degree other than cut down on the heat in the bathroom. Here are my questions:

1. Is there any danger in running the rear fireplace (which I believe is a ceramic-type electric unit) for long periods of time (like potential consequences of overheating something or a fire?). My DW is afraid to run it for long periods for fear of this. I think you should be able to keep in on for as long as you want, but just not sure.

We have run our fireplace for long periods of time and, after establishing there are no areas of heat build-up, we have no concerns. We have run ours overnight, albeit at a lower temperature set point. However you have to be comfortable with the decision to run the unit unattended.

2. Is the furnace controlled by the hallway thermostat only? I think it is, with the bedroom unit only controlling the front AC.

Yes, hallway thermostat only.

3. Any practical suggestions on how to increase the heat in the rear of the unit? The registers are blowing quite a bit of hot air when the furnace is on, but it appears that there is just not enough hot air flow (or enough registers) in that end of the unit to keep up with the cold migration into the unit because of the size of the rooms, number of windows, etc.

We set a fan on the bedroom floor that pushes warm air into the living area. The key to avoiding temperature differentials within the rig is to keep the air moving. Turn on the ceiling fan (reversed for heat).

I did think about getting a portable electric unit to put in the living area, but I would think that the design of the unit should preclude me from having to do that, especially since it is really not that cold outside.

Don't worry about how we think it should work...how it actually is determines how we compensate. You'll get the hang of it.

Any help would be appreciated, since a cold DW is not a good thing to have....

Best of luck!

 

[BigJim45]

What Roadjunkie has laid out is exactly what I do in our Big Horn. The reason more heat comes out of the Bedroom and Bathroom is because the heater is located just below that point and the hose has a shorter run to those vents.

 

[danemayer]

We spent 6 winters in the Colorado mountains in pretty extreme cold weather. We'll run the electric fireplace along with the furnace and have no problems using it all day long. But I never cared to leave it running unattended when away from the rig or over night. I'm sure the fireplace has safety features built in, but I don't have as much confidence in them as in the safety features of the furnace. That said, I don't have any hard information to justify that feeling.

 

[SNOKING]

I have been thinking about replacing the outlet that the fireplace plugs into, as they tend to use outlets that just have wires slid into a slot that is suppost to cut through the insulation of the wire which does not make the best connection. That is my concern about leaving it on at night or while away. Yours in just plugged into an outlet in the cabinet next to the fireplace. Chris

 

[TravelTiger]

We run the fireplace all day, but not at night or if we are not at home. We have the ceiling fan on reverse (blowing up) on low, and it really helps circulate the warm air. We have a small Vornado heater we set on the kitchen counter. Vornados are great at circulating the air in a room. So even though that heater doesn't run much, it helps keep the overall room temp more even by circulating all the air.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rxbristol]

We've run our fireplace at night, at a lower temperature, for three years with no problems. I recently replaced it with an infrared type and it feels so much warmer.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

We run the fireplace all day, but not at night or if we are not at home. We have the ceiling fan on reverse (blowing up) on low, and it really helps circulate the warm air. We have a small Vornado heater we set on the kitchen counter. Vornados are great at circulating the air in a room. So even though that heater doesn't run much, it helps keep the overall room temp more even by circulating all the air.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

When we are winter glamping we run the fireplace 24-7 on 66 degrees and the heater on about 58 degrees, the heater rarely comes on ever. At night we close the hallway door to keep all of the heat in the living room / kitchen. We open the window next to the bed and turn on the bathroom fantastic fan on very low speed, the cool fresh air flows through the bedroom and make for perfect sleeping weather. Then in the morning when we go down stairs it's a nice and toasty 66 degrees.
Of course we're talking California winter camping NOT Colorado like Dan. LOL

 

[Nuclearcowboy]

Thanks to all of you for the suggestions. Here is a lesson I learned yesterday in looking over my Bighorn slides - DW kept saying she felt a draft coming into the living area (very windy day). On the ends of the bottom seals for three of my slides there was an air gap allowing air to come in to the unit. When I extended the slides, the bottom seal didn't completely 'flip'. I went under each slide and pulled the seal out so it sealed up flat against the bottom of the slide. From now on, I will be checking these seals after extending the the slides out. Will also get them lubricated with a good silicon lubricant, which should also help.

 

[Relayman]

The electric fireplace is completely metal enclosed.
its normally a resistive wire type with a small squirrel cage blower. there is a thermal overload just above the heating element. mine is a 26 " curved glass unit. it is rated at 1500 watts ( which is basically the same as a good hair dryer). it pulls about 12 amps. so running it 24/7 shouldn't be an issue. If you want...run it all day...then feel the outlet. if it feels too warm
cut back on the run time.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk