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Old 12-17-2017, 08:22 AM   #1
cocamper
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Carbon 364 furnace not heating on shore power

Not sure if this has been addressed here previously. We purchase a new Keystone Carbon 364 this year and found that the furnace only produces hot air when on propane.

As shown by the thermostat pics the zones toggle between zone 1 & 2. The mode toggles between Heat, Off, and Cool. And the Heat toggles between Gas and Electric.

When the Heat is on Electric, whether or not we are plugged into shore power, the generator is on, whatever...There is no heat produced from the vents.

Is this just a generic thermostat control where the Carbon 364 furnace unit does not have that capability? is there something broken? Is there an option I need to add? Has anyone had this issue before or currently?


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Old 12-17-2017, 08:43 AM   #2
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A question for you: Do you have heat pumps or air conditioners with a heat strip?

If you have heat pumps, you'll notice warm air flowing from the vents if the outside temperature is high enough for the heat pumps to operate, otherwise, if the outside temperature is too low, they will shut off and the furnace will take over to provide heat.

On the other hand, if you have air conditioners with heat strips (small coiled electric heater mounted in the return air vent) you will not feel "warm air" flowing from the vents. The heat strips do provide some heat, but only enough to take the chill off the inside temperature. They are not intended to provide enough heat to effectively warm the interior of the trailer. With a 44 degree inside temperature, there's simply not enough heat produced by the heat strips to warm your coach.

I hope this helps explain the limitations, so with that in mind, is your trailer equipped with heat pumps or heat strips?
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Old 12-17-2017, 08:49 AM   #3
cocamper
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Hi John,

Thanks, I truly don't know if we have heat strips or pumps. In any case what we are looking for is something that provides heat from shore power when the outside temps are well below 40 degrees. sometimes into the teens.

Your explanation does help, perhaps its just a limitation in the unit, or the furnace. Not sure how or if it can be addressed.

Sure wish it could though.

thanks

Stuart
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Old 12-17-2017, 08:55 AM   #4
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If you have heat pumps (check the owner's packet that came with the trailer, in it you'll find the manuals for the air conditioners and that will tell you what's installed), you should feel heat. If you have heat strips, they sometimes are not plugged in (inside the overhead unit) and won't work until they are plugged in. But, even if they are plugged in, they provide very little heat, especially on cold days or when rapid heating is necessary. They just don't give off enough heat to be the only source of heat on cold days. They're more for "removing the chill on a cool day" not to "heat the trailer in freezing weather"......

As for heat, most people use the fireplace (electric heater) and supplement with additional small 110 volt "block heaters" or other types of household electric heaters. If you do that, remember that without the furnace running, there is no heat to the basement area where your tanks, valves and water plumbing runs are located. So in below freezing temperatures, you may wind up with frozen plumbing unless you operate the propane furnace.
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Old 12-17-2017, 09:14 AM   #5
cocamper
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ok, thanks. We love the trailer, just didn't quite understand the thermostat operation or infrastructure design.

I think the small portable electric heater option, when plugged into campground power, for the early spring and late fall trips will work great to supplement the propane furnace operation.

thank you for the help and replies!
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Old 12-17-2017, 10:54 AM   #6
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So basically, on the lower pic of the stat showing elec heat being on, if your heat strips are hooked up in your overhead AC units, that's where you'll feel the warm air from, not the floor registers. Wasn't sure if that was understood.
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Old 12-17-2017, 02:15 PM   #7
cocamper
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Yep got that point. If there is heat coming out of the Air units up top, it is very faint. Definately not enough to warm the trailer when it's cold.

thanks
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Old 12-19-2017, 07:46 AM   #8
dcg9381
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I have a Carbon 327. Coleman MAch III units. No heat strips.
I have two space heaters on board, about 1500 watts each (peak). If it's in the 30-40s outside, they do just fine without having to run the furnace.

There is so much airflow over the AC units, it'd be hard to tell (even if you had elements) if they were heating.
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Old 12-19-2017, 11:32 AM   #9
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excellent, thank you for the tip
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Old 12-26-2017, 02:41 PM   #10
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There is no electric heat in the unit but it shows up on the t stat we have the same issue with are 347
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Old 12-26-2017, 02:44 PM   #11
cocamper
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Thanks Auwing! I think well just use portable electric heaters when needed.

now on to the next 20 things on the to-do/upgrade list lol
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Old 12-26-2017, 02:53 PM   #12
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Cocamper i am with you so many things i want to do.
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Old 12-28-2017, 11:06 AM   #13
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Having just spent the night in Holiday Rambler (Monaco) Class-C that had a true heat pump, I can honestly say that significantly prefer the space heaters. Even with the AC fan on LOW, it's still quite a bit of a roar to hear that AC fan fire up. The benefit is that you're not hauling something else with you..
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Old 12-28-2017, 01:46 PM   #14
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Just spent a month or so parked next to a couple of brothers who are traveling nurses, and they are in a large 5er with heat pumps. It is very strange hearing the A/C units running when it's cold out, but they are running in heat mode instead of A/C mode. I can't imagine what their electric bill is running those units that much. Not sure which is more efficient, gas or the electric, but I'm thinking the gas is cheaper when you have to pay for electric in addition to the space rental.
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Old 12-28-2017, 02:21 PM   #15
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Propane, at $12 for a 30 pound refill that lasts 4 days, that comes out to about $3 a day for propane plus whatever electricity is needed to recharge the batteries that run the furnace fan. I'd guess that it's a little bit more to pay for the heat pumps, but you don't have to spend the time to go get the tanks refilled, you don't have to pay for gas/diesel to drive to the refill station and you don't run out of heat in the middle of the night. I'd suspect there's probably not much more than a couple dollars a day difference in propane heat or heat pump heat, as long as the temps are above about 35F. Below that, the augmented electric heat strips (if installed) or the propane furnace kicks in anyway.
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Old 12-28-2017, 09:11 PM   #16
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I'd love to know where you are getting your tanks filled, at $12 for 30 lbs. I figure I'm lucky if it comes in under $20 to fill an empty tank. Just filled one this morning here in Las Vegas, and it was just under $24, and that is about what it was in California, north of Atwater, during the last couple of weeks. The best price I have ever seen was at Orangewood RV in Surprise, AZ, at $1.99 per gallon. So, at those prices, maybe the heat pumps do have an advantage.
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Old 12-29-2017, 12:07 AM   #17
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At $24 a 30 pound tank, it would be cheaper to run the heat pumps. That's $6 a day for propane plus transportation costs and time to go get it. Around here, ACE hardware, etc are about $20 per fillup. Tractor Supply is $2.39 per gallon, so that's $14 for a tank. During the summer, when propane isn't in demand for home heating, it drops to about $1.79/gallon.
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Old 12-29-2017, 06:21 AM   #18
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I wish I could buy it by the gallon. Everywhere we go they just charge by the size of the bottle - here it's 24.08. Back in TX the propane dealer used to charge by the gallon but they decided to go by the bottle as well - whether empty or partially full....same price.
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