quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cagle:

quote:

We don't go out colder than the teens, so cheap vodka works for us. Smiler

Bill, Life is too short to drink cheap booze

Nick

Quite right, but we don't drink it. We pour it in the tank to freshen the water and make it less likely to freeze.

Post-mortem: The mod worked like a charm (except for the night that, for some stupid reason, I turned off the FW pump; fortunately, the next day thawed). -9F was no problem.

That's pretty cold. How cold did it get inside?

How many watts did it take to keep warm?

Just curious how a Mister Heater Big Buddy or Portable Buddy would do.

Does your Barth have double glazed windows?

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
That's pretty cold. How cold did it get inside?

Worst was 60F, but that was when the outside temp was ~15F with a 25-35 NW wind. AND the ignitor board on the furnace had quit...that was before I wised up to the way the draft through the window seals was lowering the temp (see below).

On the -9F night, the furnace was working, and I kept the temp at the usual 65-68F.

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How many watts did it take to keep warm?

I don't know what the rating of the A/C heat strip, but I ran a small forced-air heater at low (about 800W) and another at high (1500W). In addition, the HW heater was on electric.

quote:

Just curious how a Mister Heater Big Buddy or Portable Buddy would do.

Forced-air heaters work far better than quartz.

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Does your Barth have double glazed windows?

No, but I have upholstery vinyl blackout curtains (necessary for star parties were no white light is allowed), and they helped a great deal. Where double-glazed would have been of no help is the draft through the seals. By duct taping the bottom of the curtains, that was stopped.

well have a plug thats temp controlled plug in a little 6 inch ceramic heater with fan . comes on and goes off with compartment temp.. plugs are 14 $m and ceramic heater was bought at yard sale 5$...stasys toasty ..

When we have trouble with the furnace. We use a Little Buddy propane heater($70.00+-) in the morning in our 28 footer . Twin beds with one electric blanket so I get up and start heater and in 15-20 min warm enough to get up and when dressed it find in 30 or so weather.

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Originally posted by SLOOP JOHN B:
When we have trouble with the furnace. We use a Little Buddy propane heater($70.00+-) in the morning in our 28 footer . Twin beds with one electric blanket so I get up and start heater and in 15-20 min warm enough to get up and when dressed it find in 30 or so weather.

We also have a Portable Buddy that we totally love. We use it on a hose from the outside tank as well as with a portable 1 lb bottle.
We use it with a little battery powered fan on top to move the air around. We boondock down to the teens and sleep with no heat. In the morning, I reach out one arm and light it, and withdraw the arm back under the down comforter until things warm up a little. Pretty soon the coach is warming up and the sun is doing its job.

I love the sound in the morning of our roof creaking from the sun and the hiss of the heater as I sip my tea.

quote: "Then it occurred to me - I had to replace the city water connector a few years ago, and it was under the sink. So was the kitchen faucet hot water line! Off to the RV place for a couple of tees and 12" flex, on to Home Despot for a valve, and a half hour later I can pipe hot water into the FW tank with just a twist of the handle!"

Since then how well has this held up??

No leaks and no other issues.

I did not know how good I had it.

My 1985 Barth Regency had a tank heater switch, just flip it on in freezing weather and a red light would glow letting you know it was on.

We used it several times in snow and freezing conditions in Missouri and North Carolina never had any problems. The tanks were also insulated.

The FW tank in my Regal is under the bed, above the floor. Stays warm inside the coach.

Nearly all the plumbing in the coach is above the floor. I have not had any problems as long as the coach is heated.