# How Much Propane Will I Use?



## curtcherry

Hi all - Need someone to share their experiences. I am upgrading from a popup (Fleetwood Niagara) to a new 312BH. I am use to going through quite a bit of propane in cold weather camping.

Just out of curiousity - How quickly do you go through 60 lbs of propane when camping in the cold? (Yes I know there are varying degrees of cold - so please let me know the specifics)

Thanks - Curt


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## TwoElkhounds

I assume you mean dry camping? When we have hookups, we always use ceramic heaters and the free electric power!

Dry camping with lows in the 30's, we go through a 30 lb bottle in about 3 or 4 days.

DAN


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## Oregon_Camper

Camper Andy provided these numbers a while back...

Fridge use is about 1.5 pounds per *day*.

Furnace use is about 1.5 pounds per *hour*, it does not matter what temperature it is set on it matters how long it runs.

Water Heater is about .5 pounds per *hour*.

Stove/oven not sure but it is in the range of .25 pounds per hour.


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## battalionchief3

WOW good info...good things to know.


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## sunnybrook29

When dry camping the hardest thing to keep up with is battery power to run the furnace fan. In cold weather I travel everday just to make sure that I do not freeze. It gets cold here in Floriduh ! 28 degrees tonite !


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## Northern Wind

Oregon_Camper said:


> Camper Andy provided these numbers a while back...
> 
> Fridge use is about 1.5 pounds per *day*.
> 
> Furnace use is about 1.5 pounds per *hour*, it does not matter what temperature it is set on it matters how long it runs.
> 
> Water Heater is about .5 pounds per *hour*.
> 
> Stove/oven not sure but it is in the range of .25 pounds per hour.


Don't get more specific than that!
Great info!


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## Calvin&Hobbes

Welcome aboard! Gee, you dont mess around, eh? Popup to a 312BH!


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## Lmbevard

Calvin&Hobbes said:


> Welcome aboard! Gee, you dont mess around, eh? Popup to a 312BH!


X2! I went from a Flagstaff Popup to a 30' 5th wheel. We got too old to be cranking up the old one so love being able to pull in and 10 min later have everything setup, mostly with a push of a few buttons. Every so often we look back at being only a piece of fabric away from the outside world, but we sure love the creature comforts and room in the 5er. It's not quite as fun riding out a thunderstorm in the 5th wheeler as it was in watching the canvas walls of the popup first blow outward like a ballon and then suck in as the top of it swayed back and forth, miss those days. Now all we do is rock! At least with the 5er when you heat it up, it stays warm between runs of the furnace. Have fun and this is a great place to get information. Always had several answers to my questions on this board, mostly helpful







but always great. See you around.


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## curtcherry

Oregon_Camper said:


> Camper Andy provided these numbers a while back...
> 
> Fridge use is about 1.5 pounds per *day*.
> 
> Furnace use is about 1.5 pounds per *hour*, it does not matter what temperature it is set on it matters how long it runs.
> 
> Water Heater is about .5 pounds per *hour*.
> 
> Stove/oven not sure but it is in the range of .25 pounds per hour.


This is good info. The only problem is this... I dont know how long in the new camper the furnace will run. That is why I need real world experience. Could the furnace run in 25 degrees all day long like it does in a popup? I would think not considering the walls are much more insulated compared to the tenting on the popup. Once I have some experience, I can definitely apply the above formula. So, please keep your experience coming.

Thanks - Curt


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## Nathan

curtcherry said:


> This is good info. The only problem is this... I dont know how long in the new camper the furnace will run. That is why I need real world experience. Could the furnace run in 25 degrees all day long like it does in a popup? I would think not considering the walls are much more insulated compared to the tenting on the popup. Once I have some experience, I can definitely apply the above formula. So, please keep your experience coming.
> 
> Thanks - Curt


Plan on 3-4 days per tank. If you set the temp pretty low at night you might get 5 days.


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## jcat67

curtcherry said:


> Hi all - Need someone to share their experiences. I am upgrading from a popup (Fleetwood Niagara) to a new 312BH. I am use to going through quite a bit of propane in cold weather camping.
> 
> Just out of curiousity - How quickly do you go through 60 lbs of propane when camping in the cold? (Yes I know there are varying degrees of cold - so please let me know the specifics)
> 
> Thanks - Curt


After seeing the new 312BH at the Tampa RV show, I would imagine I'd burn through 60 lbs of propane in a day or two....with the outside kitchen.







I fell in love with that. Let me know how yours does. Very Nice.


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## Lmbevard

curtcherry said:


> Camper Andy provided these numbers a while back...
> 
> Fridge use is about 1.5 pounds per *day*.
> 
> Furnace use is about 1.5 pounds per *hour*, it does not matter what temperature it is set on it matters how long it runs.
> 
> Water Heater is about .5 pounds per *hour*.
> 
> Stove/oven not sure but it is in the range of .25 pounds per hour.


This is good info. The only problem is this... I dont know how long in the new camper the furnace will run. That is why I need real world experience. Could the furnace run in 25 degrees all day long like it does in a popup? I would think not considering the walls are much more insulated compared to the tenting on the popup. Once I have some experience, I can definitely apply the above formula. So, please keep your experience coming.

Thanks - Curt
[/quote]
Last time I camped in 20-30 degree weather, we went through a full tank in a little over 3 days. Ended up reducing the temp at night and using a ceramic heater in the bedroom. Your furnace is going to be the biggest user of propane, but if you dry camp, you'll run out of battery for the blower far faster than you run out of propane. Mileage of course depends on usage just like water usage. We made a tank of water last us 9 days, had a teenage boy stay with us and was empty in 3.


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## curtcherry

With the popup, we went through a 20 lb bottle in about one day and one night in really cold temps - around 20 degrees. We also faced some super high winds. The first year I had it (November 2005) we were in winds 45 maybe more. VERY SCARY. Didnt sleep a wink all night. Needless to say when it is windy - even with the heater on and ceramic heaters running - THERE IS A BIT OF A DRAFT!!!. So I am anxious to get the new camper which should be a couple of more weeks before it arrives. We use our camper the most during deer season - about a week. Usually temps are 40s during the day and 30s at night. Sometimes gets into the 20s. The hard sides will be nice to have. I have definitely been down the road of conserving water. We only had 20 gallons onboard in the popup. We have electricity but dont have water where we camp. The larger tanks will be great to have.


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## MJRey

We noticed right away after we went from the Coleman Niagara popup to the Outback that our propane usage dropped considerably. We had a couple of nights like you describe with high winds and temps in the upper 30's and we went through a 20lb tank of propane in 2 days. Fortunately the wind stopped for the last, 3rd, night so we didn't have to fill up our propane tanks. Even though our Outback isn't a "4 season" trailer the furnace runs only occasionally at night. Battery power hasn't been an issue for me but I've got golf cart batteries and a 80watt solar charging panel.


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## HodagRVer

curtcherry said:


> Hi all - Need someone to share their experiences. I am upgrading from a popup (Fleetwood Niagara) to a new 312BH. I am use to going through quite a bit of propane in cold weather camping.
> 
> Just out of curiousity - How quickly do you go through 60 lbs of propane when camping in the cold? (Yes I know there are varying degrees of cold - so please let me know the specifics)
> 
> Thanks - Curt


We camped for 5 days during a blizzard in Tulsa over Christmas. We were in a campground with full hookups and had the heat going constantly. We used less that a half of a 30 lb tank.


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## navycranes

Just took ours on her first winter campout in 20's and 30's.

On the nights where we dry camped we used 2 gallons a night. On the nights we had hook ups we ran our little electric heater and the trailers heat still kicked on a few times at night. We used about half as much on those nights.

I came to these numbers because I had full tanks and had them re-filled right before we pulled into our fill hookup site. Then had them toped off when we left.

I have a 28RSS and I leave the heat set at 70.


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## henneylee8

please give me answer of this question
How Much Propane Does an RV Furnace Use?


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## thefulminator

Without any more info that question can't be answered. It's like asking how much gas will a car use. Are you driving in the city or on the freeway. Empty or towing a trailer. In -30 degree or 100 degree temperature.


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