New wheel house takes 2 20# tanks for 3 days?

[Skhots]

Just got a new wheelhouse this year. First 3 day trip I used up 2 20# tanks, it was in the single digits and I believe there was still some propane in the tank but it was too cold to evaporate and get to the furnace -- i didn't weigh them but it was no longer heating so we ran to exchange them and use a backup tank. Should have refilled it to see how much was really left but oh well.

Is this normal to go through 2 tanks over 3 days? Granted, I didn't have hole sleeves and there was little snow for banking...the heater was turning 5 minutes after shutting off.

On a recent trip, we had a plow bank the house really well. It was in the single digits again. I still went through 2 tanks to the point where there wasn't enough propane to overcome the cold and light the furnace. I had to bring in a tank to warm it up, then swap back and forth to get every bit of the propane since I didn't bring the third tank. Couldn't feel much of a draft if any from the holes. The manufacturer said they upped the r-value to r20 and the furnace is a 40k btu unit. Yet...it gets a bit chilly a couple minutes after the furnace is off.

I've read of people using 2 40# tanks in a season. Maybe 10 days is their fishing season? I don't know but I'm disappointed in this ice house or the insulation at least.

Another kicker, one of the holes was cut so close to a frame member that a hole sleeve hits it. The dealer just says theses houses are just "quirky".

[Smellson]

What brand house is it and how big? Either way that sounds like a TON of propane. Ive got a 6x12 ice castle that can usually go 2-3 weekends on 30lbs of propane with temps around 0. Even the ice castle seems to have questionable insulation.

[fishin4sum]

Not sure what kind of wheelhouse you have but my 17' Castle uses about 30#'s on a 2 night 2 1/2 day trip. A little more on colder sub zero days and a little less on the 20 degree days. Castle carries 2 30#er's.

[Skhots]

i thought about not bashing the manufacturer but I guess it'll help other consumers be wary. It's a forest river grey wolf, 8x17 with a 4ft v front and toy hauler door. I was initially concerned about the toy hauler door transferring cold to the inside but there's no draft and the door is just as frosted as the windows if not less.

[fsnrod]

You might want to think about two 40 pounders instead of the 20 pounders they will work better in the cold temps.

[FishWhisper]

Something is not good, 1- 20 pounder should go almost your 3 days?

[Skhots]

Something is not good, 1- 20 pounder should go almost your 3 days?

yeah that's what I keep reading! Bringing it back to them this weekend to fix other things. I'll mention the heat loss as well.

[Skhots]

You might want to think about two 40 pounders instead of the 20 pounders they will work better in the cold temps.

Yeah i've thought about getting a 100lb tank but I dont think I want to wrestle with it when it comes time to refill.

I see some 30# tanks on hsolist. May look into those.

[Smellson]

Is it the newest version (black frame not the plain galvanized frame)? I heard last years version was awful as far as heat retention but that they fixed the issues this year. If it's the newest version, that is very disappointing. Love the layout and looks of the houses and was considering one for next year myself

[Skhots]

yes, newer one with black painted, galvanized frame. I was told the same thing, apparently not. Build quality other than what I listed is good...I just don't see the quality when they put the holes in the floor or the seemingly insulation issue.

[RiverChuckNorris]

Seems like an awful lot of propane. I've got a 8x16 castle, 3' V and it's a toy-hauler. We'll use 1/2-3/4 of a 30# tank on a 3 day trip. I've had my share of headaches but heat retention doesn't seem to be one (thank goodness).

GL, hope you get something figured out

[SwivelDigger]

I agree that it seems like quite a bit. My last trip to Red it was below 0 pretty much the whole time and I used about 2/3 of a 30 pounder for a 3 day trip. It was fairly windy but I had the house banked pretty good and the thermostat was set at 72....

[JSK76]

With 2 full 20 pound tanks your 40k heater is capable of running 21.5 hours straight as long as temps allow you to drain 100%. My 8x16 runs close to 50% of the time (20k btu) about 7 minutes on 7 minutes off when it's colder. After the house is been out and heated for a day or longer it might kick to 6 minutes on 7 off. I set the temp around 73 all though I don't feel like it actually 73 and sometimes my legs will get a bit cold right before the heater turns on just like you.

I think it could come down to a few different things, like you said, not much snow for banking or on the roof for extra insulation. Your house is pretty good sized too. How much cooking did you do? How many hole covers where open? Some guys like to drink beer or smoke and the door is being opened twice every 5 minutes to go out and smoke and pee, 4 guys, that's a lot of cold air coming in.

I went to Red Lake when it was in the 30's and didn't bank my house and had it up on 2x4's with sleeves. The furnace ran just as much as it does in banked with snow in negative temps.

I'm not saying your house does or doesn't have a heating issue but there is so many factors that play in that it's just about impossible to compare.

[centralmnguy]

Did anybody experience any headaches or feel very fatigue after 3 days? I would double check your hose connections and invest in catch cover sleeves to help with wind drafts, insulation blanket around tanks and inslation tape on hose connection will help also.

Hope you figure it out!

[Capt'nMorgan]

I used 20# when I was on Red for 2.5 days and thats when it got down to -23 one night.

[slammer]

For what those houses cost there should be zero issues. Sometimes wonder is there is any thought or engineering put into them before being built. Some cost more than a travel trailer twice their size.

[Skhots]

JSK76 - you're absolutely correct, I calculated as much too and at 40k btu 21.5 hours of full runtime, or 43 hours of 50% duty cycle...about 2 days. We microwaved most of our food, made tacos one night with the stove but that was about 20 mins total.

centralmnguy - No one had headaches from anything other than a high level of alcohol dehydration. At least that's what we think. The non-drinkers didn't have any issues. I brought the house in for service to fix 2 broken plastic pieces and some other things. Mentioned the gas issue and they said they'd check for gas leak . I plan on grabbing a magnetic engine heater and slapping it on the tanks when the propane gets low to get most of the propane out. Just got a killer deal(at least I think so) on 8 hole sleeves from Gander mountain thanks to their 10% off and price matching.

slammer - I agree 100%! that's why I didn't bother fixing the heater door falling off from screws jarring loose. Sure I can run to the hardware store and grab a bolt and locknut...but I paid good money for a brand new ice house. Before I even bought this thing, I designed my own 8x17+4'v ice house in solidworks(3d modeling CAD), priced out all the parts I really wanted and it came out to 12k. Not horrible, but the extra 6k is worth spending to free up my time. I guess I spent an extra 6k to spend time with the little one.

[Skhots]

So I got the house back from the dealer and went to Mille Lacs for a 24 hour trip this weekend. When I got home, I checked the propane and the regulator/switchover mechanism says I still have propane in the primary tank. I think that means I didn't even use one full tank. Granted, it wasn't below zero or anything, it was still windy. We baked some biscuits and cooked breakfast also. Maybe the dealer found a leak that they didnt tell me about, but I am happy with the consumption on the last trip.

[JSK76]

Glad to hear your happier with it. I just bought a spray foamed IC 2 weeks ago, got out last weekend and was looking at the energy stickers on the windows. They give you a U factor instead of R value, if I remember right it was .49 and the lower the number the better. Then I found a online calculator that converts U factor to R value and it comes out as R 2. My last fish house was made by a RV company and the windows aren't as good as IC uses. I'm not say they're junk but compared to a window that is made to go into an actual home it's not as good. The reason I bring this up is look how much glass is on a Grey Wolf! It's great for seeing out of and bringing in natural light, probably the best on the market but the trade off is going to be a little less propane in the tank at the end of the trip. My last fish house was an Ice Cabin and it had 2 windows other then the one in the door. My IC has 7 and 2 are huge and I can say I will take the lower R value for the view and light, hands down. So if you find your using more propane then the next guy think of it as a good trade off for the view. As far as the rest of the house is insulated, the method they use is actually probably the best out there on the 2015 at least, spray foam I would say is second but that's defiantly arguable.

[SapperACE]

Is the floor insulated and are toy banking the house would be my two questions.  I know most of the big manufacturers do not insulate the floors.  Some say it doesn't matter, but an insulated floor makes a lot of difference in my experience.