Propane, heater, and computer printer question - Montana Owners Club

drjjj · 12-04-2006, 12:22 PM

We are living in a 2007 3400RL while building our next (and hopefully last) stick home. We have learned so much helpful information from the members of this forum that we turn to you folks first. We have three questions: 1) since space is at such a premium, what model computer printer(s) have you used and where did you locate the printer in the coach?; 2) we are in a park that supplies electricity with the monthly rent. It has been unusually cold here, and we are going through a propane tank about every week. Has anyone "upsized" their tank, and if so, how big did you go and how did you go about connecting it to the propane system?; 3) I have contemplated buying a space heater or two (electric) to cut down on the gas usage. Has anyone done this, what model(s)have you bought, and where did you buy them? We do have a dog and a cat, and I am concerned about safety. Thanks for all your help.

snfexpress · 12-04-2006, 12:33 PM

I can comment on questions 1 & 3:

1) We bought an HP deskjet 5800. Anything in that size group would work for us. We happened to have this one in our stick house. I bought a VCR shelf and put it in the cabinet above the TV. The satellite receiver is on the cabinet bottom, the Quest 3000 is on the shelf and the printer is on top of the Quest. I used the sticky tape fasteners that can be purchased at RV stores for holding down TV's, etc. to strap the printer to the VCR shelf. In over 10,000 miles, no problems with shifting. The printer has wireless ethernet and we use a router (wireless access point) to connect our laptops to our printer.

3) We just bought a couple of 1500 watt ceramic heaters. One is plugged into the W/D closet and the other, turned on low is in the basement.

GordonR · 12-04-2006, 12:40 PM

drjjj - I can't answer your first question - just don't take a printer along since we're still mostly weekenders. I also have no experience with number two, but others have - and should be along shortly to help. I do recall reading that someone had connected a 100 pound tank to their Monty. The third question, I do have some experience with. We've frequently used space heaters, and the electric heater in the fireplace to help heat our 3400. The caveat is that you need to make sure the furnace kicks on periodically to circulate heat to the underbelly areas to keep your tanks and piping from freezing. Hope this helps.
Gordon

Cat320 · 12-04-2006, 12:52 PM

Can't help you with the printer, we don't take ours with us. Re the heat, we have two Lasko Model 5132s...got them both at Wal Greens with a $10 each rebate. I think they are the same price at WM without even without the rebate. They come with a remote, two heat and fan settings and speeds (1500 and 900), seven temp settings, oscillation on/off feature, and timer. They cycle on and off as the set temp is reached. Why burn propane when paying for electric?

Mrs. CountryGuy · 12-04-2006, 01:00 PM

This is a little printer like I use, this model has more bells and whistles, like blue tooth, etc, but it is basically like mine:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...&modelid=11009

It is unbelieveable the print quality. It does color, it does black and white, it does legal size, letter size, and photo paper. It is small, lightweight, compact, and made for travel! I put it on a shelf (I purchased an over the sink shelf that is used for over the kitchen sink etc., the printer fits on there PERFECTLY!!) With the shelf, I can put 2 scanners below and my lap top to the left and have room for cell phone hookups and cords and such. This on the desk in the 3295. (I need to take a photo of this sometime, maybe when we get to the RGV this year I'll do that.)

In case the URL does not work, or something, it is a Cannon PIXMA iP90.

As far as propane, when we winter camped, many many moons ago, we hooked up a 100 pound tank. Worked fine!

Electric heaters, are a wonderful invention and we like many others have 2, one for the bedroom, one for the main living area. They augment the furnace quite well.

GordonR, you might want to chat with snfexpress about running that fireplace a lot. There was considerable chatter about that and trouble doing so about a month or so ago. Bottom line, the way ole Carol understood, is that you should not be running for extended periods of time.

emurray · 12-04-2006, 01:03 PM

drjjj,
Response to your question #3...We bought two 1500 watt ceramic heaters. Make sure that you plug them into outlets that are on different circuits. My Montana Mountaineer 344RET has 2 circuit breakers for outlets, each one is 15 amps. Two heaters on the same breaker will "trip" the breaker pretty quickly. It took a little experimenting to figure out which outlets were protected by which breaker, but once I did that, the heaters work very well. Also, I got some "vent cushions" for the 14" roof vents. They seem to help keep more of the heat inside the Montana. I got them from CW.
Good luck....

Parrothead · 12-04-2006, 02:30 PM

I have the smallest HP All In One. It fits on the desk of the 3400 with a desk top comupter. When I was working and needed a lot of paper I purchased a printer stand that the printer sat on and paper was stored underneath. That will not go with us. We have always used electric heaters in our 5th wheels (this is our 3rd). And we use the fireplace with no problems. As far as the propane tank, we have never needed to do that but we have been in parks where a lot of the "livers" have done that.
Happy trails.....................

Tom Gina 06 · 12-04-2006, 02:53 PM

Well we have the exact same model Monty as yours and here is what we do. We did get the fireplace and that serves very well for an extra heater. We also have a dual swivel ceramic and an oil heater. I saw at either Lowes or Home depot an oil heater that was low profile with a large base for 69.95 that I really liked, and is on my future puchase list. The low profile one will fit in the basement. IMHO the oil heaters are the way to go for good safe supplimental heat. The main thing we have found is if you run them on high they might trip the breakers for that area. The oil heater we have now has low, medium, and high settings which is a big plus.

Now remember if it is below freezing you need to run the gas because it keeps your plumbing from freezing so keep that in mind. I also went to a propane dealer that has a shop and had them make me a 15ft hose that I can use on my 100# tank. Ten ft would probably do but I always over buy when not sure. Take one of your hoses off your Monty with you so they can set up the right connections for the regulator. It cost us around 50 bucks to have it made. The 100# tank doesn't have a quick connect and is the old reverse thread coupling. But the OPD valve on your #30s will accomidate both the quick connect and the older screw type so it doesn't matter.

Propane cost is something that is a big grip for me. Because if you buy propane by the pound they charge so much extra. I stumbled on a way to shop for your propane at a Flying J truck stop last winter. They charge by the gal. for propane instead of by the pound and if you have their card you get a .05 cent a gallon discount. I spent the morning a couple of days ago researching other by the gallon dealers and found that U-haul will charge by the gallon if you purchase more than 15 gallons. Little higher than Flying J but better than by the bottle charges. That is where the 100# bottle comes in handy account they hold 25 gals. To give you an idea of cost difference we paid 60-65 bucks to fill the 100 pd tank by the tank price. Went to Flying J and paid 63.00 @ 1.95 a gal to fill all our tanks the 100# and two 30#ers. Big savings to say the least.

We use a photo printer HP 7350 and it fits under the light on the right side of the desk. Since we have an older desk top going to put in a under the desk keyboard mouse holder found a nice one at Office Max. Hope this helps and happy Holidays! Tom N Gina

Remember the.........

noneck · 12-05-2006, 12:54 AM

Regarding question #1, depends on amount of printing and if you require color...I use a B/W Brother Laser printer for bulk of Black/White stuff. Color is very limited which HP makes a variety of small printers...prefer them as the print head is integrated in the ink cart but this drives high cartridge cost. #2 can be accomplished by going to a local Tractor Supply (TSC) and purchasing these two items (shown in pics below) and then having a local LP distrib bring you a 100lb tank placed next to access panel you have connected these items too. This will also give you the ability to use these adapters for out door grilling and such. #3...no experience sorry.

Dustytuu · 12-05-2006, 04:08 AM

We have a small cannon printer in the Monty. Can't remember which one. We keep it in the cabinet over the desk.

We have the fireplace and that works very well. Haven't had a problem but Don is going to put it on it's own circuit if the weather ever warms enough here to do that. Haven't had any problem but he always does overkill on everything! haha We also carry a small electric heater just in case we need it. Keep it in basement and get it out when needed.

ken · 12-05-2006, 06:12 AM

There is a lot of good information that members have sent in. We did about the same. First we have a HP inkjet 3520 (small)in the cabinets above the desk in our 3475 Montana. I drilled a hole so the wires connect to the laptop and an outlet on the wall of the TV case. I added an extra flush outlet, taking the power from the outlet inside the TV cabinet. That way I can plug the laptop and printer in. The one that came with the RV was on the wrong side and hard to get at with the shades. We added a t-connection that I purchased at Campers World for an external gas grill. It has a cap to cut off the gas on one side if I am not using the outside gas grill. I found a 10 ft gas line that would fit the connections. It would also take a 100 lb bottle. I thought about the same thing if I was going to stay in one place in the winter months. We go to Florida during the winter and so far moved around quite a bit looking at different campgrounds. As far as the heater, we have a small variable speed and watt electric heater (type unknown} that we have carried in three RVs. We do use the fireplace and it shuts down the regular heater. I'm like the other members, the fireplace goes off and on goes the prophane heater for nites. If I remember right, that was about the same length of time we got out of a bottle of gas. We found that BJ discount stores that carry prophane sell it to members for $17.00. I always fill my bottles when I am near a Flying J too. They have a minimum of 5 gal charge. when we travel

GordonR · 12-05-2006, 06:24 AM

Carol, Thanks for the tip about the fireplace. I think we left it on overnight once with no problem. I missed the exchange about heavy fireplace use. We'll be a bit more conservative using it in the future. We didn't get too much Monty time in during the last year. We spent most of our vacation redoing a cottage in the U.P. That's another topic though. Thanks again for the tip. Gordon

Mrs. CountryGuy · 12-05-2006, 06:35 AM

GordonR and others,

My mention of the fireplace was just a headsup for those members who may have missed the thread where several MOC members reported burnt electrical parts and feedback from the manufacturer. Please make your own choice about useage time, and some, as Sue (Parrothead), report using theirs overnight and/or heavily with no problems.

Cottage in the UP, that is exciting, it is such wonderful country up there.

SKOOBDO · 12-05-2006, 12:02 PM

I have a printer, but don't have it hooked up, but if I did I would place it on the computer table behind my laptop. As far as the propane, I'm full-timing, and hooked up a 100lb propane tank on October 25th and it ran out on December 4th. I use ceramic heaters also. I'm in Ohio, and it's been cold outside and toasty inside. The bedroom is VERY toasty...so toasty I have to turn my space heater down or off at night. So far, my unit has been operating just fine through the cold...and of course it will only get colder as the months go on, but so far so good. I'm still a happy camper! Allison

Gene Chaltry · 12-06-2006, 07:56 AM

I have the same model Monty you do only a 05. I keep my printer right on the desk with my laptop. It is a HP psc 1315v (which psc means printer, scanner, copier) Works quite well and never gets in the way. Put a piece of slipstop under it when traveling. It never moves. I paid $70.00 for it a Wal-Mart.

The Oldguard · 12-06-2006, 06:43 PM

We have the HP Photo smart C6180 all in one which we put on the computer desk under the wall light. We put it on the nonskid when traveling and it does not move. It also is very good at printing pictures, and the best is it has six ink cartridges with five being color, so you only have to replace the color that is out unlike the other HP Color Printers.

The Oldguard

Montana Sky · 12-06-2006, 07:27 PM

I use a couple of 1500 watt ceramic heaters to help offset the propane cost. Really helps keep the coach warm during those cold spring and fall days. I use a laptop for my computer and have a HP all in one scanner, printer and copier that sits on my desk. Works well for me.

sreigle · 12-07-2006, 03:41 AM

My printer is an Epson Photo Stylus 300, a "normal" size printer. It sits on the desk. But, I don't have the laptop on the desk. I have it on my lap while relaxing in my recliner. Like Oldguard's, this printer is excellent for photos as well as normal printing and has the six individual cartridges. I am most impressed with the quality of photos printed from relatively low resolution picture files. Oldguard's PhotoSmart would probably do a similar job.

Some parks, including this one, provide a 100lb propane bottle at no additional charge. Just pay for propane. I go write them a check in the park office and they have another bottle delivered to our site and take the old one away when I'm done with it. You'd need the extend-a-stay hose and connectors, or build your own. It works well. I also have an adapter on our hose for our grill.

We have three electric space heaters. The furnace overheats the bedroom area so I've blocked off 2/3 of the register by the bed and we have an electric heater. Nothing fancy. I prefer thermostat controlled heaters. Two of ours have thermostats although one of them seems to have a mind of its own.

In our 2003 Montana, when we were in hard freeze weather we had to turn off the electric heaters in the downstairs area because they would keep the furnace from running. And that was a recipe for freezeups. But this 2007 3400 has the water lines in their own insulated channel between floor and subfloor. You still need the furnace to run occasionally but we've not frozen yet and it got down to 11 F last night and it is 12 right now. We've been able to set the thermostat on 60 and still run two electric heaters downstairs. We just have them pointed away from the wall thermostat. And, before going to sleep we turn off the electric heaters long enough for the temperature to reach 60 and the furnace to run. Then we turn the heaters back on. And we've been fine. The heaters help reduce propane usage. So far this approach has worked very well. Tonight's low is forecast to be 9 F. At night we also close the door between upstairs and downstairs to keep the bedroom a bit warmer.

Our electric heaters are nothing fancy. One is a tower that oscillates. The other two are ordinary small heaters. None was over maybe 30 bucks. Each has a fan to project the heated air.

We also put exterior insulating window film over our windows since we don't have dual panes. This really helps keep the drafts down although it doesn't totally eliminate them. But it's very similar to our stick home experiences as far as drafts and warmth.

mobilrvn · 12-07-2006, 05:08 AM

Use a HP 1315. They are very inexpensive--almost cheap enough to buy a new one when it runs out of ink. Love using the park's power. If you need to use propane, get a catyletic heater. They are very efficient and make no noise. Needs a little venting. We used 2/3rds less propane and were warmer. But since we now follow the sun much better, we haven't used it in two years! :-)

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