3/3/01 15:45:01, Jill Hari <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>...or if I'm doomed to freeze my buns off.
>
As you may have gathered from the replies you've already received, the only honest
answer probably is: "it depends". It
depends upon the age of your a/s, how it is set up, and how well it has been kept up.
At one extreme, the newest coaches have had special attention given to the issue, and
even have extra insulation
between the ribs and the interior skin to decrease heat transfer by that route. Some
as far back as thirty years ago were
double-glazed. All of them for many years have had a layer of fiberglass sandwiched
between the inner and outer
aluminum skins.
How well does this work? You probably can judge this only by gathering the individual
experiences of other owners, and
try to extrapolate that to your own personal comfort level.
John and Dan already have outlined their experiences for you. My own personal
experience is based on three winters in
the less draconian climate of central Ohio, in a fairly stock '72 Safari. That means
single-glazed windows, a single 600
watt radiant heater, the original 22,000 BTU Suburban furnace for two winters, and a
32,000 BTU Atwood replacement
for the third.
During these three winters I have experimented quite a bit to see just how much I
would have modify this setup in order
to remain comfortable -- and let it be said from the beginning that I am not into
martyrdom or "tough". This is how it has
turned out for me:
Particularly with the Atwood replacement, there has been no trouble keeping the
interior of the coach at temperatures
above 70 for any external temperature down to zero, even with no modifications.
However, that is not the same as "comfortable". In the first place, the unmodified
coach has a lot of infiltration, through
holes in the floor, around the wheelwells, around the refrigerator, around the
battery, etc. Secondly, vents covered with
a single layer of aluminum and windows glazed with a single pane get very cold and
transfer a lot of heat fast.
Therefore, even when the thermometer says the temperature is fine, one can feel
chilled due to drafts and radiation of
body heat to the cold surfaces -- particularly near the large wraparound front window.
To this point I have experimented with only a couple of minimalist modifications. The
most helpful was to Scotch tape a
single layer of Saranwrap over the air conditioner, two of the three vents, and one of
the side windows. The other has
been to make liberal use of pillows and a comforter between someone sitting on one of
the beds and the wall. With
these, I have managed to remain quite comfortable throughout all three winters, as has
my wife (who actually prefers
cooler temperatures than I). I have kept a supply of heavy-gauge clear plastic film
oon hand for more aggressive
glazing, and a suppy of caulk to seal off the the cracks around refrigerator, etc.,
but have not been motivated to use
either as yet.
While I'm sure this would not suffice at -20, the only real downside to this
arrangement so far has been the rate of
propane consumption. I go through about thirty pounds a week at freezing
temperatures, and in just a few days at the
single digits. I do plan to caulk the cracks and to recarpet the coach up to the
beltline (similar to the current production)
sometime this year. Were I then to put plastic film over all the windows and vents,
I'm sure my propane consumption
would drop back drastically. I probably am too lazy to expend the energy Dan has
unless I decide to do January in
North Dakota -- a highly unlikely proposition.
Hope this is of some use to you. This is a fascinating topic for me, and I would like
to see more on it.
-- Lew #4239
'72 Safari
bicycle
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