furnace amp draw

gossamar · 03-20-2009, 01:33 PM

Okay, as part of my upcoming trip, I will be forced to "boon-dock" one night. The temps will be in the lower 40's overnight. Does anyone know what the amp draw would be with the furnace, or would it be better to run a small electric heater on low setting for a more gradual amp draw. I currently have one group 24 deep cycle and will most likely get another one before the trip to double my battery reserve power. I am worried that the batteries will not have enough juice to keep cycling the furnace for the overnight hours. Yes, I have also thought about an EU 2000-companion generator, but I have been kind of saving my money for the EU 3000, as I don't think the 2000 has enough umph to run the 15k AC.

riverotter55 · 03-20-2009, 11:23 PM

For "one" night you should be fine.

wsc01q · 03-21-2009, 02:53 AM

Your problem isn't so much the furnace as it is also the lights. If you sit around and read into the night you will tax the battery quite a bit. Also, consider disconnecting the tow vehicle power connection for the night or you will draw down that battery and not be able to get started. A extra battery (even if it's not hooked up until needed) is good insurance.

gossamar · 03-21-2009, 05:40 AM

Thanks for the replys. I did some online checking and from what I can tell the furnace pulls around 8.5-9 amps. Factor in some lights, fridge, and some water pump usage and and the amount goes up. The battery tray on the travel trailer is not that big, so I am limited to a group 24, but even with two batteries and given the temperatures predicted for next week, it would be cutting it close. So, might have to sacrifice my generator wattage a bit and go with the new 2000-companion from Honda. It has a 30-amp rv plug already bult in and has a peak demand of 16.7 amps. Now its time to think about de-winterizing!!!!

mapachoo · 03-23-2009, 08:06 AM

fridge should default to gas i would think one night should be ok set it up in the yard and try it overnight

Dayle1 · 03-23-2009, 11:04 AM

"boon-docking" means you don't have shore power and running any kind of DC electric heater or an AC heater thru an inverter would be much worse than running the furnace. It is important to minimize running the lights and have a fully charged battery. The frig, water pump, CO2 detector, etc has very little power consumption.

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