Adding a furnace, and a refer

[Kent I]

Would you add a furnace to your trailer? Would you consider a used furnace Safe? I am in the process of insulating a 1972 Compact Junior which did not have any insulation, too much condensation and I have learned that using a propane heater may also be adding to the moisture in the trailer. Local RV tech is cautioning me, how much do I want to spend on the trailer. I have a ice box, but thinking of an extended trip. would you put in a frige: two way or three way. I am also interested in any comments from those who have used portable fridge/freezers? Did you keep it in your trailer or tow vehicle? Our local camping areas do not have hookups. Thanks in advance to all comments and suggestions.

[HikeSticks]

I have experienced the whole range. When I got my Trillium the 3 way fridge wasn't working. I used it as an ice box. On the advice of another member I froze drinking water in two 2 litre pop bottles. I camped in warm weather 70-mid 80's and found they lasted a couple of days; enough for a weekend. In the fall they lasted 4-5 days. I wasn't prepared to buy a new fridge; the high price wasn't worth it to me. I bought a used 3 way and installed it this spring. I also have a portable 12v cooler. I found it drained my battery if I left it plugged in all the time so I plug it in for an hour and unplug it for a period of time before plugging it in again. The time you leave it unplugged varies depending on the ambient temperature.
Hope that helps.
Barrie

[Rick G]

Originally Posted by Kent I

Would you add a furnace to your trailer? Would you consider a used furnace Safe? I am in the process of insulating a 1972 Compact Junior which did not have any insulation, too much condensation and I have learned that using a propane heater may also be adding to the moisture in the trailer. Local RV tech is cautioning me, how much do I want to spend on the trailer. I have a ice box, but thinking of an extended trip. would you put in a frige: two way or three way. I am also interested in any comments from those who have used portable fridge/freezers? Did you keep it in your trailer or tow vehicle? Our local camping areas do not have hookups. Thanks in advance to all comments and suggestions.

As for the furnace, my PERSONAL OPINION ONLY would be that they can be safe to use and you can often tell whether they are or not. This is especially true if you get the older furnaces without fans, which are not made any more. They are very simple (but ingenious) in design and construction, so it is fairly easy to see if the combustion chamber or the concentric vent tubes have any leaks or are in bad condition (other than being a bit rusty, which is inevitable). For a newer furnace, it might be harder to tell the condition. You can put new controls on an old furnace, so I would not worry about the controls too much, the combustion path is my main concern.

Here are some pictures of my old furnace from my former Boler. I took these when I serviced the controller a couple of years ago. It is a basically a big steel box with two concentric tubes leading to the air vent outside the trailer. One tube brings air into the furnace, the other exhausts the fumes after combustion. The steel box has a smaller box inside to separate the fresh from the exhaust vent patterns. The burner is much like a barbeque burner and has a controller to control the gas flow and set temperature. It is basically a space heater that does not use room air. As you can see it, is quite simple and so fairly easy to tell whether it is leaking or not.

In the picture of the furnace back, there is a small tube about 2 inches in diameter that brings fresh air in (the tube is not shown, you can see the port where it fits on to the furnace). The next biggest concentric tube is the exhaust tube, and the biggest one is a heat shield.

I would not use a furnace if I was unsure about leaks from the exhaust port.

Hope that helps.
Rick G