Decision #78: Heat Source

Our original build had two propane tanks in the upper portion of the aft-port storage compartment. This supplied the heating system and the stove in the kitchen. We were not enthused with the space the tanks used or the prospect of having to refill propane tanks while exploring the far reaches of the globe. Cooking on a gas stove was also not very appealing. So, after our return from out shakedown cruise in May of 2018, we explored other options with the team at Plan B.

The first option we explored was to switch to a diesel stove instead of induction and, in fact, this was our initial decision by the time we left Utah. Looking into the diesel units uncovered two drawbacks. First, a long time to heat up and second, a lot of heat put into the living space. Of course, the second could be a benefit in cold weather. We’d had an induction stove in our house for three years. An induction stove heats the pan up incredibly fast and puts out little heat to the surroundings. Once you cook on induction, it’s hard to go back so we looked into that as an option.

Of course, it’s not an easy swap. We would have to overcome several challenges impacting different areas…

·      Install a diesel furnace as the main heat source for the system

·      Provide fuel to the furnace from the fuel tank

·      Find an induction stove that could fit in our kitchen

·      Upsize the entire solar/battery/inverter system to support the load of the induction stove

The decision resulted in:

Increased solar to 1000W

Diesel furnace for hydronic heat and hot water

Upsized inverter

Room for our portable fridge/freezer/beer cooler

Two burner induction stove

Also an upgraded solar controller and more battery capacity.

So far, we are very happy with our decision. The stove draws a bunch of current, so we have to monitor battery charge when using it. The box and hot water heat up fast and provide more than enough for cold weather and hot showers. The furnace does make a noticeable whine when running but not much louder than noise what I’ve heard coming from other RV’s. There are a bunch of ways to skin this cat, decision #78 is working well for us.