Winnebago Revel 2021 - water lines question

[StNedRevel]

Hi all,

I would like to be able to use my Revel all year round. Temperatures around here can drop to -20 and I'm just wondering if I keep the furnace on full time - am I able to still use the water without it freezing. Is there a minimum temperature I should have the furnace at?

Thanks in advance!

[@Michael]

These folks have an older Revel and are using year around in Alaska. I'm not sure if they use the plumbing or not, and not sure if a 2021 would be better or worse.

https://www.youtube.com/c/WingsandWheelsAlaska

[mechmike10]

If you do this, you will be going through furnace fuel like crazy. We now have a Class B van that we don't use in the winter except in Florida, for a month or so (not this year), so we winterize it. But we have owned small travel trailers with dual 20lb propane tanks. The couple of times we tried to avoid winterization, it became apparent that even at the lowest furnace setting, we would run through one propane tank in less than a week, in temps that seldom ranged below 10 F. If you do this, you should open all cabinet doors where there are water lines, etc., but I think you will find it cost prohibitive.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by mechmike10

If you do this, you will be going through furnace fuel like crazy. We now have a Class B van that we don't use in the winter except in Florida, for a month or so (not this year), so we winterize it. But we have owned small travel trailers with dual 20lb propane tanks. The couple of times we tried to avoid winterization, it became apparent that even at the lowest furnace setting, we would run through one propane tank in less than a week, in temps that seldom ranged below 10 F. If you do this, you should open all cabinet doors where there are water lines, etc., but I think you will find it cost prohibitive.

Yes, that is one of the big disadvantages of a propane-powered furnace. The typical small propane tanks combined with its much lower energy content makes using it routinely tough.

Your two 20lb propane tanks hold 9 gal of propane total. A gallon of propane contains 91,500 BTUs, or a total of 823,500 BTU. A typical small Suburban furnace consumes 12k BTU/hour, or roughly 68 hours of runtime.

Now, compare that to a diesel-powered Espar:
A gallon of diesel contains about 137,400 BTUs. Let's say your van has a 22gal diesel tank and you were willing to use 2/3 of it for heat. That's 2,015,200 BTUs.
Running at a speed comparable to the Suburban's output, an Espar D5 consumers .09 gal/hour. So, that gives us 163 hours with plenty of fuel left over to drive to the gas station.

[DetroitRed]

There are a couple of threads on the FB group saying that if you keep the heat on, keep the area under the sink open, it should be fine. Very useful group in lots of ways, check what they say instead of my attempts to paraphrase.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by avanti

Yes, that is one of the big disadvantaged of a propane-powered furnace. The typical small propane tanks combined with its much lower energy content makes using it routinely tough.

Your two 20lb propane tanks hold 9 gal of propane total. A gallon of propane contains 91,500 BTUs, or a total of 823,500 BTU. A typical small Suburban furnace consumes 12k BTU/hour, or roughly 68 hours of runtime.

Now, compare that to a diesel-powered Espar:
A gallon of diesel contains about 137,400 BTUs. Let's say your van has a 22gal diesel tank and you were willing to use 2/3 of it for heat. That's 2,015,200 BTUs.
Running at a speed comparable to the Suburban's output, an Espar D5 consumers .09 gal/hour. So, that gives us 163 hours with plenty of fuel left over to drive to the gas station.

Good and useful information, thank you. I never looked this from this angle.

[rboegh]

Originally Posted by StNedRevel

Hi all,

I would like to be able to use my Revel all year round. Temperatures around here can drop to -20 and I'm just wondering if I keep the furnace on full time - am I able to still use the water without it freezing. Is there a minimum temperature I should have the furnace at?

Thanks in advance!

Should not be a problem into the 20's.... we have a Solis with similar 4 season systems on board and do not drain water until temps fall into low 20's and teens and have no issues with freeze when not in use.... I believe the Revel heater uses fuel from your diesel tank, ours is propane, but you can set at 40* in either case if temps falls to teens, or plug in and put a safe space heater set on low in van as well as option.

When camping no issues into the teens with heat on, even in our pop top... used 2/3 of 5 gal propane for heat (60-65* settings) and hot water, even showered 4 times on a 5 day trip with snow and temps to 12* at night.....

The Internal routed systems and insulation in the Revel and Solis make them truly 4 season rigs!

Happy Travels and Merry Christmas!!

[nballard76]

StNedRevel...We also have a 2021 Revel and one of its many uses will be as my new ski house. I called Winnebago Technical Support and asked the very same question and the person I spoke with said to leave the furnace ON, but in standby mode. In other words, turn on the hydronic system and the forced air system but don't turn the temperature up. He said that will leave the inside of the coach at about 45 to 50 degrees and we don't need to worry about anything freezing.

The question I forgot to ask is that if you turn it on in standby mode, it turns the furnace on for 24 hours. As I would potentially like to leave the Revel parked at a trailhead for 3 or 4 days while on a ski tour I should have asked him how to make the furnace run for multiple days in 'standby' mode. I forgot to ask how to change the setting so the furnace would stay on for longer than 24 hours but forgot.

Does anyone know how to do this? I could also call back and ask, but Winnebago said if you leave it parked with a full tank, full batteries, and the solar charger on, it will for "a long long time".