Propane Usage in Pinnacle

[maejoicer]

Anyone living in a Pinnacle in a colder climate? Trying to determine how much propane will it go through to keep the heat on. It has a 15,000 BTU heat pump and so far in 28 days we have used up all three of the 30 lb tanks that is has. Does this seem right? or did the dealer not fill all the tanks like they said there going to?

p.s. this is a new unit that we just got on 9/14/19.

Thanks!

[JohnWedell]

We don’t leave for Florida until after Christmas. During that time we can get quite cold on Long Island. We’ve already gone through as many as five bottles to six bottles of propane a month when the temperature is in the teens. A lot of it depends on how warm you like it inside the trailer. We keep our thermostat at 68°. A bottle of propane cost us $24 for 30 pounds so five bottles is about $125 per month Which is still a lot cheaper than those that have oil heat in their homes. At about 40 to 45 degrees the heat pump is not efficient and a lot of times it shuts off. So when it gets cold I wouldn’t count on it. With it now in the 50s outside at night we use the heat pump but when The heat pump can’t keep up the gas heat kicks in automatically as additional heat. overall it’s a pretty good system.

[Les7h]

The propane heater uses a lot of propane - use the heat pump as much as the outside temperature will allow ( we can use ours down to 38 degrees ) do you have the electric fireplace? Small electric heaters? Is this a long term location? We have added an “ extend-a-stay “ and use a 100lb tank when we are at our home base and 20lb tanks if we are traveling - we have a motorhome and it is really inconvenient to refill our onboard propane tank Les

[maejoicer]

Originally Posted by JohnWedell

We don’t leave for Florida until after Christmas. During that time we can get quite cold on Long Island. We’ve already gone through as many as five bottles to six bottles of propane a month when the temperature is in the teens. A lot of it depends on how warm you like it inside the trailer. We keep our thermostat at 68°. A bottle of propane cost us $24 for 30 pounds so five bottles is about $125 per month Which is still a lot cheaper than those that have oil heat in their homes. At about 40 to 45 degrees the heat pump is not efficient and a lot of times it shuts off. So when it gets cold I wouldn’t count on it. With it now in the 50s outside at night we use the heat pump but when The heat pump can’t keep up the gas heat kicks in automatically as additional heat. overall it’s a pretty good system.

well, my mistake...according to the manuals I have we just have a Dometic furnace and NOT a heat pump...so that is probably why we went through the propane so quickly. Though I have it set at 65 for overnight...I guess it is going to be a trial and error process

[maejoicer]

Originally Posted by Les7h

The propane heater uses a lot of propane - use the heat pump as much as the outside temperature will allow ( we can use ours down to 38 degrees ) do you have the electric fireplace? Small electric heaters? Is this a long term location? We have added an “ extend-a-stay “ and use a 100lb tank when we are at our home base and 20lb tanks if we are traveling - we have a motorhome and it is really inconvenient to refill our onboard propane tank Les

yes, we have an electric fireplace and a small electric heater, which I will be using a lot more if it is going to use that much propane.....also I was wrong on the heat pump, it just has a Dometic Furnace but it doesn't list how many BTU's so I can figure out the propane usage

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by maejoicer

well, my mistake...according to the manuals I have we just have a Dometic furnace and NOT a heat pump...so that is probably why we went through the propane so quickly. Though I have it set at 65 for overnight...I guess it is going to be a trial and error process

The Heat Pump would have been an option and is in the air-conditioner. As was suggested use some electric heaters and your fireplace. That is all we ever used and never had any freeze-up issues.

Also put your a/c fan on low to help circulate the heat. You can adjust the vents so they don't blow directly on you.

[GHen]

When it’s in the 30’s we can use a 30# tank in as little as 5 days. The built in electric heater and an extra little electric heater help a lot, when I have a 30 amp connection.

[maejoicer]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

The Heat Pump would have been an option and is in the air-conditioner. As was suggested use some electric heaters and your fireplace. That is all we ever used and never had any freeze-up issues.

Also put your a/c fan on low to help circulate the heat. You can adjust the vents so they don't blow directly on you.

Never would have thought of using the AC fan...we have two of those units....