Hi all,

I have a 28'5" Class C It is equipped with ducted air conditioning and a heat strip.

To test how well it heats I deliberately ran only the heat strip last night.

Outside temperature was 5C (41 F) and inside was 17 C (62.6F) . So a delta of 12 degrees C (21.6 F).

The thermostat was set at 20 C (68F).

Fan speed was set on low.

The RV started out at 6 C (42.8 F) and rose to 17 C (62.6F).

Run time was 100% duty cycle for 7.5 hours.

Start time was 11:00 p.m. so there was no "solar gain" happening.

Overnight Low was 3 C (37.4 F) and at 6:30 a.m. out door temperature was 5 C (41 F).

No one was inside the RV so no gain from the human factor.

Converter was on--no other devices active. The batteries were fully charged, so I ignored any waste heat from it.

RV was plugged into a single 15 amp circuit.

I decided to do some measurements on the air conditioner and heat strip in watts. The readings were the peak over a five minute run time. The fan on low readings seem to be stable. All readings include a 4 watt parasitic load (probably from the display on the microwave?)

222 watts fan on low no heat
250 watts fan on high no heat

1408 watts heat strip on with fan set to low
1422 watts heat strip on with fan set to high

It would appear that the heat strip is about 1186 watts maximum, or 3186 btu's.

You need to come down to Florida where it is warm.

But then he couldn't do these wonderful field tests and thermal experiments!

Actually, I find all these to be of interest, Don. I have a couple of possible trips in the colder months and knowing some of your test results helps me to decide how to equip for them.

JT

Hi JT,

Thanks--I'm glad it helps others plan for the cold.

Pianotuna,
I'm new to camping and most of what you said sounded like Greek to me. What exactly is a heat strip and where is it found? I have a popup, which I realize is VERY different from Class C, but I did notice that on my popup's AC unit there is a switch for optional heat. I don't think it's rigged for heat but I was wondering if it's worth setting it up to include heat. Do you think it would be better to just get a small space heater? How do all of you keep warm without using all of the LP gas?

Hi coachcps,

Yes, if there is a setting a heat strip can be added. The benefit over a "stand alone" heater is that it takes no valuable storage space. It can be used to help recovery time when using propane, and will save on propane costs.