Furnace running on battery

Irish Mist · 11-19-2016, 05:05 PM

I know there are a ton of variables but generally should a battery be able to run the furnace through the night ? First night on the road and realized the battery is no good Thanks to Mr. Honda all is fine for now.. but got me thinking if a good battery would run the furnace for a night. It is 32 and has been on for an hour but with the help of the electric heater should be up to temp soon.. Just wondering if anyone could comment from real live experience.

Thank you

**chuckster57** · 11-19-2016, 06:12 PM

A single group 24? Might be pushing it in those temps.

ChuckS · 11-20-2016, 08:10 AM

We boon dock a lot in high elevation cold temps. No, my setup would lull a set of group 24 batteries if I ran furnace much they the night. Now have two Costco 6 volt in series and can run furnace all night with juice to spare

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**JRTJH** · 11-20-2016, 10:29 AM

I think the OP's question has as much "hidden considerations" as it does "visible considerations". If you think about it, his 2011 Cougar 327 has three slides, electric front jacks as well as the furnace that all run on (are powered by) the battery system. So, if all he has is a GP24 battery, he may well be at "half power" by the time he gets unhitched and the slides extended. That would be a "VERY COLD NIGHT" once he crawled into bed with the thermostat set on 70F if he were depending on what's left in the battery.

So, if travelling and not deploying the slides, he might "squeak by" for one night "IF" he didn't use much in the way of lights, didn't shower (water pump use) and didn't rely on the battery for any entertainment use (TV or radio). On the other hand, if he unhitched, levelled the trailer, deployed the slides, extended the awning to relax a bit, then cooked supper, washed the dishes, took a quick shower and sat to read a book for a bit before bed, there's a good possibility that the lights will be dimming by the time he adjusts the thermostat and turns out the bedside light. He can pretty much forget about retracting the slides come sunup. On the other hand, if he is dry camping, has a generator to recharge the battery, doesn't use the slide motors, awning, water pump, etc, then he may get through the night with the battery providing power for the furnace.

So, the answer to his question, 'will the battery run the furnace all night?" has more to consider than just the furnace fan motor "battery consumption".

Irish Mist · 11-20-2016, 05:34 PM

You are correct John .. lots of variables.. I do have a Honda.. to qualify it more I would run generator to "Top it off " before bed.. so just wondering furnace only.. On a side note on my first night out I topped off the Honda 2000 and let it idle to keep the battery charged.. ( BTW it is a small marine battery which will be changed once I get settled in Florida ) the Honda ran for 10 hr on 1 tank and was still running when I packed up in the morning, You have to love those little Honda generators. I did turn down the thermostat to 66 .. If staying at truck stops there is no problem letting the generator run, but I would like to not be the noisy one in a quiet spot.. I think I will twin up two 6 volts.. I always hear from boaters how well they work as well
Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond.

talk2cpu · 11-22-2016, 09:52 PM

I have 2 smaller deep cycle batteries (both more than 6 years old) and was finding they were nearly out of juice after a night with temps in the upper 20's, thermostat at 62 and a CPAP running (without the heater). Would run the generator for 2-3 hours in AM and again a couple hours before 8 PM. All lights are LED and there was no entertainment use.

Picked up a 160 watt portable solar setup and after 2 days of full sun I now make it through the night with power to spare. When moved to warmer temps, still down into the 40's, I could run low heat on the CPAP and still not be drained in the morning. Solar collectors worked better than a generator and actually brought my batteries back to "nearly new" condition. Well, at least far better condition than they were in.

Will be interesting to see when I replace them with 2 6v's how much can be run at night without losing power.
Tom

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