Towing with furnace running?

[mtheo]

I might be missing some thing but I alway thought the reason for turning off the propane was in the event of an accident there would not be a propane leak from any one of the lines running through the coach. As a fireman I would see that as more of a hazard that the flame as an ignition source.
Mark

[dsprik]

Mark, I believe the new shutoff valves mandated for all propane tanks now are designed to eliminate any gas flow coming from the tanks in an accident situation.

[bsmeaton]

Mark,

The statistics discussed in the articles say the opposite, and most are written by the fire service industry - http://www.macthefireguy.com/.

The "consequence" of incident may be higher with an LP leak, but "probability" of incident is much higher in the fire category.

[dsprik]

Brad, how did this fire start? Do you know if this was a gas or diesel?

[bsmeaton]

The RV is diesel, but I honestly don't know what started the fire. Makes for a good propaganda page for a guys RV fire safety page thought, eh?

I have seen these pics before - right here on the MOC, just can't remember where.

[dsprik]

One thing for sure... there are not a lot of NON-FLAMMABLE materials in an RV...

[bsmeaton]

And NON-TOXIC!

I guess if the Formaldehyde doesn't get you slowly, the burning Styrofoam and fiberglass resin will before you get to the door.

[sreigle]

quote:Originally posted by bsmeaton

Bingo,

From my MH experience, the refrigerator was actually a 3-way and ran on 12V. The priority was 110VAC, 12VDC, LP. When it was really cold, I ran the furnace while moving, however it also had the standard cab hot water heat from the engine that usually sufficed.

My MH had the nasty little pilot lights so it was quite a chore getting everything to restart after refueling.

I'm kind of having a hard time figuring out what makes the furnace running in a towed trailer any more dangerous than sleeping on top of it through the night. Beyond fueling, I'm not seeing any issues with leaving it running providing the outside airflow does not interfere with the combustion chamber and blow out the burner.

And even if wind blows out the burner the propane flow is shut off by the thermocouple. In our first fifthwheel the flame was susceptible to wind. In this 3400 it seems to be so well protected I can't see the flame without removing the furnace from the rig.

[bsmeaton]

Steve, do you run yours down the road with the furnace lit and does it stay lit? I've never tried.

[bncinwv]

Brad,
During the thanksgiving trip to Florida. the furnace ran for 15 hours there and 18 hours back with the thermostat set on 55. No problems were encountered and the pets did fine in the rig. I would do it again since I personally feel the rig is safe. (MY OPINION ONLY)
Bingo

[bsmeaton]

Oops - found your original response on page 1 Steve (have used it).

Good to know. I run my AC down the road to cool the rig before I arrive, now I guess I'll feel confident running the furnace too Jerry.

[daneboy]

Here's what I did. We left CO with a temp of 10 degrees. Our furnace was set at 55 and left on, for about 6 hours. When we got into warmer weather I turned it off and continued south. It worked fine and nothing froze in the Monty. I made one diesel stop at a truck stop (no gasoline) with the furnace running. I used the outside pump, this left the furnace exhaust pointed out in the open and away from any pumps. I made another bobo, pluged in the electric cord with no water in the water heater, of course the electric switch on the WH was on. We are running the WH on gas until I can get a new electric eliment.
Jerry

[bncinwv]

Glad it all worked out, but sorry about the electric element. Experience is just a long word that means we are learning from our mistakes. I can personally testify to being very experienced in some areas!!!!
Bingo

[mtheo]

Dave
You are right with the advent of the new valves in the last few years the problem of a major propane leak had been reduced. That being said item #8 on Mac's 34 fact was as I stated.
Mark

[sreigle]

quote:Originally posted by bsmeaton

Steve, do you run yours down the road with the furnace lit and does it stay lit? I've never tried.

Brad, we do when there is a possibility of freezing water pipes. Usually that's only for the few days after we leave Kansas City each winter. I cannot say beyond doubt it stays lit because we're never in the trailer running down the road. But we've never had frozen pipes while running down the road and the inside temperature leads me to believe it was running. We usually have it set around 45 or 50.

[sreigle]

quote:Originally posted by bsmeaton

Oops - found your original response on page 1 Steve (have used it).

Good to know. I run my AC down the road to cool the rig before I arrive, now I guess I'll feel confident running the furnace too Jerry.

That's ok. I can't remember that far back anyhow.