Forum Discussion

naturist's avatar
naturist
Nomad
Jan 23, 2015

12 volt mattress pad warmers

A couple years ago there was a thread on this forum about 12 volt mattress pad warmers, and as it turned out, nobody was making them anymore in any sizes except very small. Those of us with full-size or larger mattresses were out of luck.

I've just discovered that ElectroWarmth has them available again at http://electrowarmth.com/shop/

We use a 120 volt one at home and love it. The room temperature can drop down in the 50s and we stay toasty under the covers. But that mattress pad warmer will not work on a MSW inverter, so we either have to stick to shore power when camping where we need that heat, or we have to run the generator all night (nope, not gonna happen).

I sprang for the full-size queen pad with dual controls, and while it was spendy at $202 with shipping, I think it'll be worth it. It draws a max of 3 amps, and will save us on propane on those cold nights when we don't need to run the furnace to stay warm in bed.

I dunno why they reintroduced them, or for that matter why they discontinued them earlier, but TODAY they are available again. Get yours while the gettin' is good.
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18 Replies

  • pnichols's avatar
    pnichols
    Explorer II
    Jan 29, 2015
    Try this link. It appears that this supplier and their 12V heating blankets/pads are alive and well. Note that whatever amperage power draw they list may not be a continuous amount ... as they probably cycle ON/OFF all night so their average amperage power consumption could be less than the running-amps value they list:

    http://www.12volt-travel.com/12-volt-electric-blankets-c-90.html
  • naturist's avatar
    naturist
    Nomad
    Jan 27, 2015
    Bummer, guys. Turns out that somebody put up the wrong info, and they are NOT making new 12 volt ones after all. I called them this morning to confirm, and indeed, the page is wrong, they are 120 volt. I suggested that it may be time to make 12 volt ones again, but of course, the gal I talked to is not who makes that decision.
  • camper19709's avatar
    camper19709
    Explorer
    Jan 24, 2015
    Thanks 2oldman. I sorta thought air circulation was the solution but thought I would ask.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Jan 24, 2015
    camper19709 wrote:
    I will add a question here if I may. I have moisture/dampness under my regular mattress. It is between the regular mattress and the plywood platform. My question is: if I put a 12volt mattress pad there will it help keep the area dry?
    No. You should be addressing the cause, like too little air circulation.
  • camper19709's avatar
    camper19709
    Explorer
    Jan 24, 2015
    I will add a question here if I may. I have moisture/dampness under my regular mattress. It is between the regular mattress and the plywood platform. My question is: if I put a 12volt mattress pad there will it help keep the area dry?
  • MrWizard's avatar
    MrWizard
    Moderator
    Jan 24, 2015
    We have a 120v mattress pad
    But switched to a 120v electric blanket
    Simple reason, the pad underneath us meant to much warmth, the memory foam heat sensitive mattress couldn't adjust to us
    the blanket uses a little more power
    But we sleep better (during cold weather) using the blanket
    As the mattress responds better to our bodies, without the extra heat between us and the mattress
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Jan 24, 2015
    naturist wrote:
    e. The 120 volt one in the sticks and bricks is only 60 watts,
    Brand?
  • eb145's avatar
    eb145
    Explorer II
    Jan 24, 2015
    The "soft heat" brand heated mattress pads work fine on MSW inverter. I have a queen sized one with dual controls in my TT. It worked so well we got one for our King size bed at home also.

    The controllers for my "soft heat" brand mattress pads looks like this:


    Each controller has a transformer that has no problems with MSW inverters.

    One soft heat mattress pad on Amazon

    Ed
  • naturist's avatar
    naturist
    Nomad
    Jan 24, 2015
    kaydeejay wrote:
    naturist wrote:
    .....................It draws a max of 3 amps, and will save us on propane on those cold nights when we don't need to run the furnace to stay warm in bed.................
    3 amps at 12V is 36 Watts.
    Not going to keep you toasty I'm afraid.


    I think I disagree. Not with your calculation, with your conclusion. You are right, it is only 36 watts. The thing is, mattress pad heaters do not need to be as powerful as electric blankets, because they aren't out in the open air. They are well insulated on the bottom, as well as above. The 120 volt one in the sticks and bricks is only 60 watts, and I never use it above a 2 (out of 10) setting.

    But I will be sure to let everybody know how well it works after it arrives.
  • naturist's avatar
    naturist
    Nomad
    Jan 24, 2015
    msiminoff wrote:
    I've just discovered that ElectroWarmth has them available again at http://electrowarmth.com/shop/

    Did you actually speak with somebody at ElectroWarmth who confirmed they have the 12V queen size mattress pads again?

    It appears to me that the all of ElectroWarmth "mattress pads" are 110Vac, and only their "bunk warmer" is 12Vdc... I did see the sentence on the queen page that says 12V, but I suspect it's a typo' :(

    -Mark


    I did not speak to anyone. But a year or so ago I went to that web site and saw no 12 volt queen sized pads at all, so this is a "new" page on that site. But if it turns out to NOT be a 12 volt pad when it arrives, it'll go straight back. I'll be sure to let y'all know either way.

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