Doing away with propane

[Titan Guy]

Has anyone tried this? Any suggestions?
I am seriously considering trying this. May not be cost effective but what the hell, it's only money.

[markw]

Can I ask why?

Mark

[johnboytoo]

Well,
if you use your electric heat and fireplace for heat, use your electric hot water heater, get an inductive cook top, and always be plugged in or on generator...

You may not eliminate, but bet it would last a LONG time... ?!?

[Titan Guy]

At first I was justifying this using safety. This morning when my wife asked me to light the oven, I knew it was bad knees.

[0nTheRoad]

The big questions...what do you do about...
1. Heat - the heat pumps lose the ability to heat below ~40º?
2. Refrigerator [assuming you are using a RV refer]?
3. Oven, is there an RV electric oven? The alternative is using your microwave for all oven cooking.
4. Wate heater - yes you can use it on electric but if you have high demand you'll not be able to heat the water fast enough?

[Titan Guy]

I am looking at Heat from: www.rvcomfortsystems.com
Adequate hot water might be an issue.
I have been wanting to switch to a residential refer.
Not sure on oven.

[markw]

Unless your somewhere with included electric, I don't see the point. I don't consider propane in an rv to be a safety issue. Last winter we spent 3 months in Crystal River FL in our 36re. There were 5-6 nights with frost and maybe 8 below 40. We used the ele. heat and fireplace always above 40 except the first time, and found it wouldn't keep up. We never used the fireplace after going to bed but used ele. for water. We only used two 30# tanks of propane and one, I think, 4# for the grill. I don't see any real savings in it.

Mark

[johnboytoo]

Titan guy - it's your coach, so I give you approval to do what you want to it...

Mark, we found just the opposite... (course we were in the 'cold' of the southeast )

once heated, the electric kept up with OUR use - (No w/d nor DW)

and the f/p was nice the whole night

now, we will add a tower plug in heater sometimes just for the fan noise to drown out outside noises, but we were cozy in 40 degrees...

[lwg]

What about just installing more propane safety devices? Add a few more alarms in various areas, in the basement behind the wall, one in the bedroom, etc? You'd have complete redundancy at that point as well.

[rcflame]

We use very little propane, but I wouldn't want to do away with it. The only time we use it is for the frig when traveling, and when it gets too cold for the heat pump to keep it warm enough. We use more for the grill since we can hook it up direct. I don't know what you would gain by totally doing away with it. Been full timing for over 12 years and camping numerous years before that. Never had a propane problem.

[Tobys Home]

Over thirty of camping with no problems. Inspect once and awhile. Keep equipment clean and the tanks full.

[Oriana]

Like Roger, we use very little propane - only filled a 40# tank once in 4 months of use. Never use the furnace, as we don't go anywhere cold, but use propane for cooking and currently the water heater, as the electric doesn't work.

Even although we use very little, I still consider it essential - required for cooking and BBQ and back up for water heater and fridge.

From a risk perspective, the consequence of an incident is substantial, but the frequency is very low. The risk is therefore low. The minimal risk is mitigated by detectors, so we are very comfortable continuing to use propane.

[arcticman1957]

I would just like the option, several nights in the twenty's and had to run the propane for the plumbing. I did add an oil filled heater in the basement and this help a lot. I still only used 1 40 lb bottle of propane. Love the insulation in the RW and the duo pane windows.

[Titan Guy]

I have a cousin who had a recent propane fire in a 5th wheel and was lucky to get out alive. His safety alerts all worked and he was able to get out but still was in the hospital for 3 days for smoke inhalation issues. I am just looking at possible options. Current feeling is do away with propane totally or make no changes.

[travelin' texans]

Titan Guy
Hope your cousin went & bought a lottery ticket after that, as the odds are about the same to win as it would to have a propane fire in an rv!! Glad he was OK.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by Titan Guy

I am looking at Heat from: www.rvcomfortsystems.com
Adequate hot water might be an issue.
I have been wanting to switch to a residential refer.
Not sure on oven.

Would be curious to hear what you find out about these. I had the idea years ago and was told by an HVAC guy on the forum that couldn't generate near enough BTUs to be effective (it is probably HIS patent ) I do know it slows your fan down because the coils cannot heat the air as fast as the LP exchanger.

As far as propane safety - electricity packs an even higher energy punch and risk potential! I don't know statistics, but I believe you will find electrical failure (loose terminals & bad wiring) as well as electrical heat coils up against combustibles (space heaters, etc) probably contribute to far more RV fires than LP.

[Foxfire]

In the month of April we picked up our RW and it was below 30 every weekend. The outside hose had slush. We used 2 30 lb tanks. The heat pumps wouldn't have been able to keep up with the cold. From May first until now. We used 3 30lb tanks almost all the hot water and cooking with a night or two below freezing. Didn't seem like a lot of out of pocket even if the electric was free with the site.

[rcflame]

Many people have lived in houses with natural gas furnaces and water heaters. It is just as flammable as propane and just as dangerous. Actually, I feel a little safer with propane which is heavier than air, so it will drift down where natural gas is lighter than air and will fill an area from the top down. We have heard of a few fires caused by propane in our travels, but the are few, and it seems most are a result of not heading the warning signs.