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Smawgunner
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2013 02:58pm
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Thinking of using propane for water heater, stove/oven and fridge. Several questions:
1. Do ALL of these things need to be vented to the outside?
2. Is the water heater normally placed on the outside of the cabin?
3. Can all of them run without direct electricity and use only batteries for pilot lighting etc? (I need to do more research)
4. I'm a bit uncomfortable working with LP...is plumbing this stuff fairly easy or should I hire someone?
5. Any good books out there on this subject?
6. Should I be looking at all RV components?
7. Are all components compatible?
8. It'll usually be my wife and I visiting every other weekend,...how much consumption am I looking at? What size LP tank(s) would you recommend?
I'm sure specific answers depend on numerous variables..but any insight would be great. Thanks!
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2013 03:29pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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1. water heater, generally yes... especially to meet code, ranges, never are in residences, fridge, generally no, but some have vent kits available
2. some tankless water heaters are for outside mount, but need freeze protection in winter. some use small 120 vac heaters and that rules out off grid use
3. depends... as you said research. Our water heater has no power requirement, our range uses pilots no power, our fridge uses 2 D cells for the interior light, no power for anything else; has a pilot.
Be aware that most ovens in a range with electronic ignition stove top burners MUST have 120 vac to operate the oven. makes those impractical for off grid
4. IMO, easy enough but requires knowledge and care. Or a Pro. As with many things it is easy if you know everything about what you are doing.
5. propane101.com i think that is the website. hard to find DIY install directions though probably because of liability issues.
6. depends and up to the individual and whether or not you have codes to pass. RV appliances are not rated for home use; doesn't mean they won't work, just means they won't pass a code inspection.
but why? not all RV items are made for full time use; be aware. some RV stove top burners have nowheres near the heating ability of a good home range for example.
7. not sure what you mean.... they all do require the same LP pressure. and the piping must be sized to allow the full volume needed for all appliances to be run at once. Not hard to figure but takes planning. there are pipe sizing charts online. different ones for propane and natural gas. use Google.
8. depends. we use less maybe 100 gallons of LP a year; fridge, range, water heater, wall space heater.
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Smawgunner
Member
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2013 04:03pm
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EXCELLENT! Thanks Don!
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2013 10:54pm
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You've got a wide range of choices for features on on-demand water heaters. Some are meant to mount outdoors and vent straight out the side of the unit, some are meant for indoor and require a vent through the roof. Some ignite by means of a 120 elec hookup, some do so with batteries, some have standing pilots, some use a turbine that uses the force of water flow to ignite the gas.
All must be protected from freezing. Outdoor units as Don said, but if you leave your cabin unheated an indoor unit will freeze and burst the heater element. If left in freezing conditions it must be drained, indoor or out. Some have drain plugs for the purpose, some have heater elements, requires electricity.
I chose a Bosch 330 which uses a standing pilot light so needs no electricity, vents with natural draft through a B type vent which is not very expensive, and has a drain plug to empty it before I leave. But I plan to blow out the whole piping system with compressed air before I leave the cabin to freezing temps.
Some people use the outdoor heaters indoors, allowing the exhaust to blow in the house. Not a good idea, in my opinion.
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Sustainusfarm
Member
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2013 11:10pm
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I have a vented wall heater and an apartment size stove/ oven...we have two one hundred pound tanks that need refilling every 2-3 yrs. 200 lbs of LP gas cost me about $135 delivered... That's $45 per year! We are at the cabin a lot at least 8-15 days per month....we cook most of the time and the heater runs only if the temp drops below 60 degrees inside if the stove goes out in the middle of the night. Hope that helps!?
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skootamattaschmidty
Member
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2013 06:23am
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My interior lighting is propane supplemented with a few led lights off my 12v system. I have a stove and oven that runs off propane, as well as an eccotemp propane on demand water heater and propane fridge. I also have two 100 pound tanks. They will last me several months depending on how much I am up there and time of the year. My propane BBQ is also hooked up to these tanks. You can get a regulator that automatically switches over the tanks when one runs empty.
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MJW
Member
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2013 08:26am
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Quoting: Sustainusfarm 200 lbs of LP gas cost me about $135 delivered...
Must be nice to be able to have portable tanks filled on site. The MO propane industry is a real racket. No one will deliver fuel if you have a portable tank and when you take it to be delivered the cost is 3 times the rate of delivered fuel. 
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Sustainusfarm
Member
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# Posted: 10 Nov 2013 10:56am
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I don't go get them refilled...they bring it to me and take the empties...
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