Furnace question on Jay Feather model

[Ray364]

(Note: I posted this under the Tech section too, but I wasn't sure if anyone really visited that area, so I thought I'd post it here as well).


I bought a 2010 Jay Feather Sport 165 today and was reading through an owner's manual for 2008 Jay Feather models that I found online (I assume it's still pretty applicable to 2010 models).

A curious thing: Regarding the furnace, the OM said that it relies on both propane and 12-volt DC to operate. But, what if I'm hooked up to an AC poer outlet provided by the campground? Would the furnace still use the DC (battery)? It seems like this would really run my battery down fast.

Thanks for your feedback.

[gserve]

If the camper is plugged in it will power the 12v DC needed by the furnace using the converter.

[Denise]

When we are plugged in to shore power, the only drain is on the propane.

[RedOrGreen]

I believe that only the furnace fan is driven by the 12V power. The heating itself is provided exclusively by propane. I think I've read that the typical furnace fan draws 5-7A at 12V. As gserve said, when plugged into shore power, the 12V power is provided by the trailer's converter, which is converting the 120V AC into 12V DC (and recharging the battery at the same time).

[pnj442]

12V is also required for the ignition circuits IIRC

[namusmc65]

We were out for ten days of below freezing weather at Christmas time and our furnace ran pretty much all of the time. Never had a problem with battery drain as we were plugged in to shore power the whole time. Did burn up several tanks of propane however and I must say the furnace kept the unit nice and warm.

[Mopar1973Man]

The furnace is still 12VDC powered and propane fired...

But when you hooked up to shore power the converter keeps the batteries charged at the same time as the furnance running. No it will not drain the batteries because of the sole fact the convert puts out more power than you can use... Hence batteries stay charged.

Oh... Something to be aware of some TV's do not isolate the engine batteries after the engine is shut down so if the TT still plugged into the TV it might use those batteries too... So you might wake up to dead TV batteries...