How long will my propane last.

newtosunline · 08-09-2010, 04:03 PM

I just bought a 17' 87 saturn, and Im wondering how long i could expect the propane to last when using the gas for the frig, cooking, and the heater. I have two 20# bottles on the front. I plan on using it for family and the deer lease. So Im really trying to find out if the gas would last for a weekend hunting trip. While hunting i guess I wouldnt need the frig so i guess i would just need the gas for heating the trailer and for cooking from Friday night to Sunday Afternoon. Will it last that long? Any info on how much each appliance uses would be a great help. Thanks in advance and Great website.

Honda03842 · 08-09-2010, 05:33 PM

Heating is the big drain on the propane. If I were you I would start with two full bottles and only hook up one, run it until empty and then you'll know. A weekend will be no problem, nor would a week.

pwb01 · 08-09-2010, 05:47 PM

We dry camp maybe 20 to 25 nights a year. Maybe 3 or 4 nights with heat. We use it for cooking, hot water and fridge. I might go through 3 bottles in the season.

I use an auto switchover regulator. That way It will swap bottles automatically with a visual indicator that it did. Then I fill the empty and never worry about running out in the middle of the night.

**JohnB** · 08-09-2010, 07:02 PM

The range top and the fridge do not use a lot of LP. If that is all you run on it, it will last one really good long time. Like maybe even a year pending how many days you camp. I had 1, 30# bottle last 3 years.... never ran the furnace and we camped a lot in those 3 years. Use ceramic electric heaters in the winter as we have 120VAC at the campsite

Now the furnace will drain the LP quick and it depends on what the T stat is set at during all day when you are not in the camper. At night we set ours down as if not it will run us out of there is gets so hot sleeping. During the morning we will run it like normal temps to heat up the camper. Then if we leave for a real long time we turn it down.

With 2 full bottles to start with and being a little energy conserving you should have no problem going a long weekend even.

dkasten39828 · 08-17-2010, 12:46 PM

Our 30# tank lasted nearly two seasons of camping using it just for the fridge and occasionally the water heater. We only cranked the furnace once to test it and it's WAY too much heat... we used a small electric ceramic heater, like John.

If you want to make your LP setup more flexible, perhaps you can add one of those Extend-a-stay connectors, which lets you connect a third tank to the coach.

OPIE · 08-18-2010, 07:29 AM

I couldn't tell you...I got my trailer 3 years ago with 2 30# bottles on my T-1550...I know, overkill right...they are still going.

Steve Collins · 08-18-2010, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtosunline

I just bought a 17' 87 saturn, and Im wondering how long i could expect the propane to last when using the gas for the frig, cooking, and the heater. I have two 20# bottles on the front. I plan on using it for family and the deer lease. So Im really trying to find out if the gas would last for a weekend hunting trip. While hunting i guess I wouldnt need the frig so i guess i would just need the gas for heating the trailer and for cooking from Friday night to Sunday Afternoon. Will it last that long? Any info on how much each appliance uses would be a great help. Thanks in advance and Great website.

If you start with a pair of full 20's, you should get through a cold weekend in deer season with no problem. What you might want to do is to weigh the full tanks before the weekend, and then weigh them afterward. That will give you an idea of how much fuel you used up. The tare (or empty) weight of the tanks is stamped on the collar near the manufacture date. Deduct the tare weight from the weight of the tank when filled to determine how much fuel you have.

If you are dry camping, you may have issues with a single battery lasting the whole weekend during colder weather like deer season. The furnace is the big culprit there using lots of 12vdc to run the blower. How much you run the furnace and how warm you keep the camper all will affect battery life. You can be battery conservative by using just a few lights for the evening hours. I think your '87 probably uses #1156 bulbs in the light fixtures. There are lower power bulbs available at any auto parts store that will help here.

The fridge works harder in hot weather than in cold, but the difference in fuel consumption is likely minimal.

The hot water heater will run more often in colder weather and that may affect consumption a bit.

In June of this year, we used up a single 30# tank for a two week dry camping trip in the Adirondacks. We did run the furnace overnight as it cooled off a lot from the daytime temps of 60 to 75 degrees. That may help with figuring your consumption, but if you are camping in late autumn, you'll likely need more heat than we did.

luvrque · 08-18-2010, 09:38 AM

Ok our propane use is NOT average by any means. We have two 20# tanks and we are still on the first one (now less than 1/4 full).
The tanks were filled Sept.2006 when the Que was new.

This was our use:
The Que was used 121 days for camping.
The Furnace was used app. 3 or 4 nights in 30-40deg.temps.
The Refg.was used for 121 days BUT only on 12volts or 120volts. That's a BIG advantage to us in having a three-way Refg....

The water heater was used on 120volts 99% of the time.
The propane stove was used app.50 days out of the 121 days.

Bottom line.....We used less than one 20# tank for 50 days of cooking for 2 people and the Furnace was used for 3 or 4 nights @35deg.

jrsmith47 · 08-18-2010, 09:49 AM

You can go to Lowe's, and in the grill section you can for about $15 get a gauge
that will tell you how much gas you have. They're great use one on both grill and camper.

newtosunline · 08-18-2010, 04:22 PM

Thanks to all of you for the info. being new to travel trailers I didnt think the propane would last that long. After all of your comments I dont think Ill have to worry about a weekend hunting trip. I am going to do what Steve suggested and weigh the bottles so I will know exactly what Im using. Also, I didnt even think about the fan on the furnace I plan on putting a solar powered battery charger on the battery, I know it wont fully charge it, but im sure it will help extend the battery a little. maybe that will be my next post "solar battery chargers" do they help and are they worth it. Again thanks for all the info it really helps.

Honda03842 · 08-18-2010, 06:06 PM

I have about 200 watts of solar panels that I built and they seem adequate to keep the battries charged.

As well I have the ability to charge the batteries from our Tow Vehicle while driving. I use the spare pin in the tow cable running it thru a diode to the positive side of the battery. There is a switch in series with the wire from the TV battery to allow me to charge onl when the engine is running.

Before the Solar cells we carried a 40 pound, 1000 watt, $129 generator to charge the batteries and provide AC. More than adequate for anything except a microwave or AC. Small enough (about 1 foot on a side and cheap enough for anyone.)

As well we have a 1200 watt inverter to allow is to make coffee in the morning and run our AC Fridge. We also have a 100 watt cigarette Inverter to run the TV at night if we choose, or Laptop and wireless.

There are many options and not too expensive for off grid camping.