In article ,
whoyakidding wrote:
On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 02:48:29 -0500, "Existential Angst"
wrote:


My hot-wired blanket now works, and as far as the risk of fire goes, even at
full blast, it's got a long long way to go before ignition... heh, famous
last words, eh?? LOL

It sounds like you're on a parallel path to what I have in my
motorhome. It had 2 tired deep cycle batteries which I replaced and
added a third. If I remember right I have about 1kwh capacity to 50%.
I bought a 1000W true sine inverter on sale for $150. Now I have more
battery capacity for running the furnace heavily overnight when dry
camping in cold temperatures. And I don't have to use the generator
nearly so often. Even the inverter microwave is OK at half power.

In my rig the bedroom is at the back. It stays cool when the rest of
the coach is toasty. I've considered getting an electric blanket and
running it off the inverter and then turning down the furnace
thermostat overnight. I should break even on the battery use and come
out ahead on propane. One wrinkle is that the furnace has an outlet
into the holding tank compartment. If I run the furnace too little in
below freezing temperatures then I'd have to worry about the dump
valves freezing. I've traveled in the off season and my record so far
for being comfortable is 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Man the RV crowd
really thins out when it gets cold. If I get a chance to
experiment further I'll report here.

Valve freezing shut.

Do they still make low-wattage electric tape-warmers to wrap around pipes,
like in a garage? Maybe that would help.

David