furnace placement

[86Scotty]

Well, thanks guys. I'm still considering.

A furnace in this van is not something we really HAVE to have, I just wanted to build in more conveniences than I've ever had before, and now it's bought, and it's going somewhere.

This furnace won't clear the seatbelts any kind of way, I would actually need to LOWER the vent, which I can't do, it's already sitting on the floor. Plus, in the last couple of days, I've built that cabinet and my inverter and fuse panel/wiring is all where the furnace was going to go now. I'm going to take a firm measurement tomorrow on how far away from the filler it actually is. If it's close, I may go ahead. I really like the floorplan the way I have it layed out now and, as Mike said, I don't want it in the back.
On another note, I'm not generally careless or unsafe, but I still don't see how this could be a big problem. I've had lots of campers, and seen lots of stuff I would consider MUCH more unsafe than this, like putting a big fiberglass (read flammable) box on a truck frame, then filling it with appliances which all have open flames, then going to sleep in it after you've rattled it down the road all day long. I generally consider most campers unsafe by definition.
I think our vans are some of the MORE safe ones, since they don't generally alter the engineering of the vehicle too much.
Anyway, still undecided, open to suggestions/comments. I just asked this question on a whim. Earlier today I was completely comfortable with the furnace to fuel distance.

[86Scotty]

OK, got home from work and broke out the book on the Atwood furnace. Nothing at all in it about placement near a fuel tank or fuel filler. I'm not trying to 'beat' this, I just want to read up on it. I want to make good and sure that it's not an older requirement when most appliances had standing pilots, which mine doesn't.
I looked at my van and considered one or 2 other spots for my furnace, but none nearly as ideal as about 1 foot behind that filler hump. The only other decent possibility puts it right up at countertop level in the same (street side) cabinet, just more rearward, but I would just clear the 3 foot requirement there. I wonder also about the sealed fuel door idea. This is a homebuild, so I really have no one to enforce codes, but I don't want to make a stupid mistake either.
Anyone know how I can read up on the RVIA requirements. Just went to their site but haven't found anything yet.

Thanks all

[Scalf77]

On the NFPA 1192 -Standard on Recreation Vehicle 2011 edition.

Section 5.5.5.1 Any portion of a combustion air inlet or flue gas of fuel-burning appliance shall be located at least 3ft from any gasoline filler spout on the vehicle if the inlet or outlet is located or at the same level.

Section 5.5.5.2 If any portion of such inlet or outlet is located below the spout, the distance shall be the sum of the vertical distance below the spout plus 3 ft


I found this on the NFPA site,
http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/product....e=search&icid=

you can purchase the document on their site or preview online. I highly recommend that you do in order for you to have the most complete information in making your decision.

[jage]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

I already have the furnace, it's an Atwood Evereststar

By all means wreck your floorplan, remove seatbelt you need or do something potentially unsafe because you happen to have a particular furnace handy.

My vote is forgetting to turn the furnace off and going for a quick top off at the local Maverik.

[86Scotty]

I'm addressing the issue, and yes it does wreck my floorplan. At present I'm considering putting it in the top of my kitchen counter module (just below countertop level) which will be about 2 ft off the ground. I''m hoping it will work ok in this location, but i KNOW i'm not going to really like it there. Anyone care to comment on whether it will heat as well being up off the floor?
Jage, can't remove the factory seatbelts. I'm not going there. This thing has to remain a 4 seater, and I won't mess with the factory seatbelts.

[Ultrasport12]

Couldn't you put it on top of the wheel hump/inner fender? It would be over three feet from the fuel filler and a little further back but at least not all the way to the rear? Do you have to cut a hole in the side of your van for it? What Model Atwood is it? I looked on their site for ideas and there are too many to guess. The drivers side if you have rear A/C and heat has quite a bit of other things in its way as well so maybe the passenger side would work better?

Hey where is WVvan lately he would mount it the rear corner and build some PWM controlled fan thing to blow heat evenly around the van.

..Jamie

[jage]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Jage, can't remove the factory seatbelts. I'm not going there.

Heh, you missed my point. Is the heater dipped in gold or something? Was it your grand-dads? Why is it so all fired important that you use this heater?

[Scalf77]

It looks like the everstar is capable of being ducted, so you still mount it in the back but duct the warm air up front. Would that help?

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by Ultrasport12

Couldn't you put it on top of the wheel hump/inner fender? It would be over three feet from the fuel filler and a little further back but at least not all the way to the rear? Do you have to cut a hole in the side of your van for it? What Model Atwood is it? I looked on their site for ideas and there are too many to guess. The drivers side if you have rear A/C and heat has quite a bit of other things in its way as well so maybe the passenger side would work better?

Hey where is WVvan lately he would mount it the rear corner and build some PWM controlled fan thing to blow heat evenly around the van.

..Jamie

Jamie, that's what I'm doing, and I do have rear air to work around. I actually might put it in the back and use a fan to blow warm air towards the front when I need to, I haven't ruled that out. It's an Atwood Evereststar 7912 in black, from Panther RV (the only place I've seen the black ones). I am going to put it right on top of the left wheel well, most likely, above the rear air vent, which puts it up almost at counter height.

Originally Posted by jage

Heh, you missed my point. Is the heater dipped in gold or something? Was it your grand-dads? Why is it so all fired important that you use this heater?

Oh, I got it Jage, but it's bought and paid for. I don't have much more budget for this van right now but want to get it rolling so I can use it. There is not a better deal or more compact furnace than this that I have found, I've just got to stuff it somewhere.

[Ultrasport12]

Here is an idea...Mount all the way in the rear behind the rear A/C -Heater unit and use part of the furnace output to heat the very rear and then hook a duct to supply part of the heat to the factory heater unit ducting to heat the center of the van.

...Jamie