Range hood and cold weather camping

jamie beers · 10-13-2013, 03:16 PM

Hi, a question for those of you who do cold weather camping with your Escapes, and who have range hoods. Do you find any issues in cold weather from coldness entering trailer through range hood vent?

It seems like you can get the extra insulation and thermal windows, but cold (or even hot) could still come in.

It seems like a minor detail ( and a minor source of coldness!), but it's a thought that occurred to me. Just looking for reasons for and against ordering the range hood. Thanks! j

gabeck · 10-13-2013, 04:04 PM

Hi , how cold are you thinking. We are not winter campers, but very much "shoulder "season campers . We just got back from a 6 week trip to the other wet coast , and really feel the extra insulation and thermal windows were worth every penny . Did not notice any problem with the range hood allowing in cold . We used it quite a it and found it very helpful - did most cooking indoors . Did lock the flap after use because wind can catch , and that could be annoying . We had only 1 morning with real frost , a lot of nights down to 0-5 c , so not overly cold . Glad we have the hood fan. The only heat source we used was the Braun 170/174 , similar ( or same ) as CPAHarley built into his 19 , it was quiet and kept us very comfortable .

gharper · 10-13-2013, 04:04 PM

For the short time we have owned our 19 with a range hood and camping in cool weather hard to say the range hood contributed to additional heat loss. In near freezing temperatures the plastic flap covering the range hood vent probably leaks a bit of cold air, but I don't think it is significant. I like the idea of venting moist air out of the trailer, e.g. cooking spaghetti, particularly when on the coast where there is humidity. In dryer climates I think it might be less important. Don't know about Transport Canada's requirements for having a hood with a cook top/stove.

jamie beers · 10-13-2013, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gharper

For the short time we have owned our 19 with a range hood and camping in cool weather hard to say the range hood contributed to additional heat loss. In near freezing temperatures the plastic flap covering the range hood vent probably leaks a bit of cold air, but I don't think it is significant. I like the idea of venting moist air out of the trailer, e.g. cooking spaghetti, particularly when on the coast where there is humidity. In dryer climates I think it might be less important. Don't know about Transport Canada's requirements for having a hood with a cook top/stove.

Hi, thanks a lot for the input. I too like the idea of the range hood. I live in the rainy PNW and camping seems to usually involve rain, so I'm thinking of the full kitchen ensemble of stove/oven/range hood. Just seems that many people eliminate the range hood and I wanted to explore all options. Thanks. j

jamman · 10-13-2013, 04:57 PM

We deleted the vent hood and added a light. We had a 17' Casita - and only used the vent 2-3 times in 8 years - running the ceiling vent took care of the odors/steam more efficiently and more quietly.

Also the kitchen is much more open without the hood, and we added a standard light fixture where it was.

And we added the opening kitchen window - more light and air are always (well - not in the summer in Arizona) good.

For a discussion of the hood see: http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...vent-1908.html

Picture without the hood: Kibitka Escape: Escape 19 Interior Photos, Part 2

Picture with the hood: Flickr: escapett's Photostream

gharper · 10-13-2013, 05:08 PM

The photos without the range hood that jamman provides looks nice. We did find the max fan and our opening window above the sink provides very good air flow. The light in the hood isn't LED and we find hardly worth using.

cpaharley2008 · 10-13-2013, 05:10 PM

Here is my $.02 worth. In my 19 I opted out since the stove was next to door and close to the overhead and I had an awning window over sink. Now that awning windows are no longer available , I decided to get the hood and put the stove away from the door towards the dinette where it will not interfere with clearance. The stove vent can be my awning window now, I can prop it open during rainy days and not worry about water, still look out my kitchen window and the vent can supply my intake at night for my MaxxFann. I will use it in the winter as my source of air for condensation elimination and if I close it, I can stuff a piece of foam on top in the vent to make it less prone to cold air leaks. In addition I plan on replacing the worthless vent light with a red led light that will be my night light at dusk.

Burloak · 10-13-2013, 06:35 PM

I have the range hood and no kitchen window. No problem with cold air ingress unless I want it by running the max air in exhaust mode.

I start the camping season in March in the BC interior so -6 - 10c (15 - 20f) at night. I've found that the colder it is the more important it is to try to cook as much as possible outdoors especially boiling water, making pasta etc. Once water vapor condenses indoors on cold surfaces it takes energy and time to re-evaporate it, even more if it's a solid :-( in a remote closet behind clothes, linen etc.

barry · 10-13-2013, 07:15 PM

Like Gabeck we are also shoulder season season campers; we just got back from a 3 week trip to the Rockies and Kootenays. We leave our stove vent open 24/7 when camping using it as our source of fresh air. I clip it open with a clothes peg and only clamp it shut when travelling. When we cook inside I put then Maxfan on the lowest setting and it draws air through the stove vent picks up any moisture from the cooking and pulls it outside ...... works like a charm even when its raining.

Barry

cpaharley2008 · 10-13-2013, 07:22 PM

Why not reverse the MaxxFann and have the cooking blown out the stove vent in those certain cooking situations? Is it not the purpose the vent was designed for?

JimJ · 10-13-2013, 07:27 PM

We don't have a stove vent and rely on the Maxxfan as cpaharley suggests. No problems at all.

Jubal · 10-13-2013, 08:11 PM

When we were shopping for a TT one of the requirements was a venting range hood fan. We have the 3 burner stove in the standard position near the bed. When cooking and using boiling water all of the vapors are vented by the range vent fan. By comparison we opened the awning kitchen widow and used the Maxxx fan to vent the water vapor from boiling water. While there may be some other variables, the interior temps, the cooking time and the duration the fans were on were the same. Condensation was noticeable on the ceiling with the Maxx fan but not so with the range hood vent fan. The range hood vent fan works best for us. Yes, we did replace the range hood bulb with an LED lamp. There multiple sources for air exchange and heat loss in the Escape trailers including the door.
A good point by cpaharley. Maxx fan blowing in and range vent fan blowing out.

jamman · 10-13-2013, 08:41 PM

And the one, the only, the correct answer is: It all depends on what you want and what you prefer.

Like so many of the decisions we make: trailers, life, you name it, ...

Burloak · 10-13-2013, 09:07 PM

The colder the weather the more important it is to keep avoidable water vapor outside the trailer. I have a single burner Snow Peak stove that burns ISO butane propane mix fuel in liquid injection mode that lights and cooks well in very cold/high altitude conditions. The action shot is at Banff Tunnel Mtn II campground earlier this Oct.

jamie beers · 10-14-2013, 09:05 AM

Thanks very much everybody for your feedback. Your opinions and experiences really give me lots to think about and decide what 's best for me. Thanks ! j

Jim Bennett · 10-14-2013, 05:36 PM

No issues here with cold and the hood fan. In fact, when it is cold is when it is most needed. The added condensation of cooking inside needs to be evacuated. You could do this with the Maxx Fan, but it is sure nice to have it go directly out at the stove.

As mentioned above, cooking inside when real cold should be avoided if possible.

Last night we camped with an overnight low of -10°C (14°F). With the short days (and the stupid DST still in place), even as late as 7:30 it is still dark out, so I made the coffee inside while I read a bit. I REALLY appreciated the hood fan, as it carried the steam from the boiling water directly outside.

I was one of the early promoters of the idea of just using the Maxx fan, but I think I am just as glad to have the hood fan now.

gbaglo · 10-14-2013, 05:47 PM

And steam tends to set off my smoke detector.

jamie beers · 10-14-2013, 05:52 PM

Thanks very much for the feedback Jim and gbaglo. So many decisions to make! j

dave macrae · 10-15-2013, 11:16 AM

Anybody else find the flaper on outside vent for the range hood doesn't really open when the fan is on? I use a bag clip to keep it open but it is kind of anoying that it doesn't open properly with jus the force of the fan.

LeonW · 10-15-2013, 03:40 PM

Dave, my experience matches yours...the vent doesn't really open from the force of the fan. On the other hand we were camped in Western N.D. Last weekend with 40-50 MPH winds and gusts that were higher. In those conditions, the vent flaps quite a bit!

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