electric heater for boondocking?

[UncleTim]

Are there really three Escape owners in Boulder? Really?


We need to have a rally!

[Earl]

Originally Posted by fudge_brownie

I just finished camping at 9,000 feet. I have been temporarily driven to lower altitudes with the Colorado storm predicting 9-16 inches. While at that elevation I had trouble with the refrigerator alarming in the early morning as the high elevation causes the fuel to be too rich for combustion. I have a four year old Marshall regulator.

I had my digital manometer along and checked the column inches. It showed 10.7 at the regulator. I dialed the adjustment down to 9.7 and it performed flawlessly.

I would argue that having a recommended propane regulator vs the model provided by Escape may have helped. I would first invest in a quality regulator followed by a digital manometer and your pocketbook will only have a $75 dent.

It is also said the cold is especially hard on regulator efficiency, they also have a lifespan before the internal parts harden and fail. Eight to ten years.

I plan to return to 9,000 starting on Friday. Hope the snow has melted.

Had the same thing happen in cold at 7,500ft. Lowered the regulator pressure until the 'fridge worked fine. If you do you may want to adjust the air intake on the stove burners.

[cpaharley2008]

All this talk about propane and refilling makes me want to look at the new Escapes.........

[kevfeely]

CharlesPou,

Yep. I live in Denver and camp regularly between 8,500 and 10,000 feet in Grand, Jackson, and Routt counties. My Dometic furnace refuses to ignite at around 8,600 feet. I have contacted both Escape and Dometic and Domestic states that the furnance is not made to ignite at that elevation. I spine with a Denver propane expert and there is no propane supple alternative. I asked a highly rated RV repair shop if they could tweak something, but they didn't want to try anything because of liability issues. I have a 2018 Escape 19 with a big comforter on the bed. Loving it!!!

[CharlesPou]

hello kev, thanks for reply. we are doing the same, extra covers work well. would be nice if furnace worked better, but we don't let it ruin our camping. have had same experience with Escape/ Dometic, no solutions, but they can waste a lot of your time.

I haven't given up yet, because there are those that claim furnace works at high altitude. I bought a manometer, new regulator, and new furnace board. today, I checked the inH2O, and was right on approx 11". I didn't think that was problem, but was able to verify is apparently working properly. maybe will do some more testing later with various combinations of propane appliances on using propane, but don't have the time right now.

also today, I replaced the furnace board, and verified it works in my driveway. it was 88 degrees, I set thermostat at 90, and it came on lols. at home, I'm less than 1000' so not a good altitude test. I'm leaving on trip soon, and will be at some higher elevations, so it will get tested.

concerning using the manometer, I tested inH2O at the regulator. it has a plug that is easy to remove, and replace with the test fitting. I looked at the stove, furnace, refrigerator, and water heater and didn't see any easy way to check propane pressure at the appliance. cheers

[kevfeely]

Charles,

Please keep up the research on the Dometic furnace and let me know if you do find a work around. Thanks!!!

[alanmalk]

We are on the lucky end of propane appliances - ours all work at high campgrounds in Colorado.


But for those cold nights we really don't want to listen to the roar of our furnace - we use an electric mattress pad that runs off of a 300 watt inverter. With good solar recharge in the day we have no worries about taking the batteries too low. And a nice down blanket sure helps, too.


--
Alan

[canyonrider]

Originally Posted by CharlesPou

today, I checked the inH2O, and was right on approx 11". I didn't think that was problem, but was able to verify is apparently working properly. maybe will do some more testing later with various combinations of propane appliances on using propane, but don't have the time right now.

Not sure if earlier posts made it clear, but if you are having issues at altitude then you will also want to be checking and adjusting the propane pressure at altitude. It checks out fine now because it was likely adjusted from the factory at or near sea level. Altitude and temperature changes will alter that pressure. But good to practice at home so you can easily do it on the road.

[dstreight]

FYI/FWIW, the 15A we have is all electric and did not come equipped with a furnace. I installed an Espar S2 D2L diesel heater to keep us toasty warm during colder forays.

We had a Webasto version on our former Kimberley Kamper and it worked fine except for not being higher altitude compliant (actually didn't work very well at all above 4500').

Rated to 9900'. It sips diesel, is quiet compared to any typical RV furnace I've experienced, and uses a relatively small amount of 12v current (6-31 watts while running, depending upon the speed of the fan, about 100w at start-up). And its super compact.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by dstreight

FYI/FWIW, the 15A we have is all electric and did not come equipped with a furnace. I installed an Espar S2 D2L diesel heater to keep us toasty warm during colder forays.

We had a Webasto version on our former Kimberley Kamper and it worked fine except for not being higher altitude compliant (actually didn't work very well at all above 4500').

Rated to 9900'. It sips diesel, is quiet compared to any typical RV furnace I've experienced, and uses a relatively small amount of 12v current (6-31 watts while running, depending upon the speed of the fan, about 100w at start-up). And its super compact.

Interesting. I’ve seen these in Sprinter van builds but they connect to the existing onboard diesel tank. How do you handle the fuel in you installation and do you have any diesel odors?

[dstreight]

I mounted a RotoPax fuel container onto the side of the nose box. No diesel smell inside the trailer; however if you are standing outside the trailer near the heater's exhaust outlet you will get a wiff of diesel especially at start up but less so when its hot and putting out heat.

There is also the Propex propane heater that is similar...popular in the Sprinter/van crowd too.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by dstreight

I mounted a RotoPax fuel container onto the side of the nose box. No diesel smell inside the trailer; however if you are standing outside the trailer near the heater's exhaust outlet you will get a wiff of diesel especially at start up but less so when its hot and putting out heat.

There is also the Propex propane heater that is similar...popular in the Sprinter/van crowd too.

Nifty installation. For the higher altitudes do you have the high altitude sensor or high altitude pump kit on the Espar? Also what is your maintenance schedule with carbon build-up? Is it a problem?

I'm familiar with the Propex heaters but I can't find anywhere what altitude limitation they may have. Not an issue for me on the eastern seaboard right now just curious. The HS2800 has just about the same output as the Atwood/Dometic heaters supplied by Escape as standard.

[dstreight]

rubicon327, the latest version of the Espar heater, the S2 D2L, features automatic altitude adjustment (unlike previous model). A few other improvements came along with the new model too. More information here: https://www.heatso.com

The highest elevation I have used it so far: 8200' and without issue.

Its been a while since I looked at the Propex units; I can't remember their upper elevation limit. But if you are considering it I would contact Van Cafe in Ft. Collins, CO about it. https://www.vancafe.com/?gclid=CjwKC...BoCjFoQAvD_BwE

I like the variable speed of the Espar unit. I am 100% happy with with all aspects of it including ease of installation. Having said that, the controller operation wasn't intuitive for me but now that I am familiar with how it operates its no big deal; the learning curve was just a little steeper than I thought it would have been...

[fudge_brownie]

Back to the discussion of refrigerators at altitude. After descending because of a winter storm we spent four days at 6,000 feet and on electricity (electric will always work at higher elevations) I returned to 9,000 and no electric. With the manometer I still measure 9.7 column inches. Temperatures are still at freezing at night. I get intermittent failures. Some nights it will operate without alarms others it fails to start and alarms. I am not sure I want to go below 9.7 column inches.

I finally throw up my hands and reset the propane pressure to 11.7 as measured at the regulator in preparation to returning to home and lower elevations. That night it works fine through out the night. Go figure.

[dscottsmith]

I have a '21 and live at 9,000 feet in the beautiful Colorado San Juan mountains. Routinely camp at elevations over 10,000 feet as well as lower elevations. Never had a problem. I certainly read the owners manuals on the fridge and heater in describing potential issues over 7,000 feet but again never had a problem. What is a problem is my wife wanting to turn the thermostat up all the time.