12 volt basement heater

I have tank pads and wraps around my valves however because of the water filter being close to the door I bought little personal 120v heaters from wal mart for 10 bucks and have 1 in each of my bays, just run a extension cord and plug into the pedestal. Keeps my bays at 55 degrees when temps are in the teens. I believe they are 450 watts.

Hi,

If I were the OP, I'd put a TC-3 in the wet bay and run it back to a 120 volt window fan which replaces the cold air return. I'd run it on a 50 watt inverter.

This is similar to the fan I use. Mine draws 15 watts.

pianotuna wrote:
If you don't exceed 15 amps, it would be possible to use a 120 volt baseboard heater thermostat on 12 volts.

This actually might not work as well as it would initially seem because AC and DC switch design tends to have different constraints. Internal arcing in the switch while switching is more of a difficulty for DC switching, since the waveform doesn't cross zero volts (and the arc break down) many times each second. It's very common for switches to have much higher AC current than DC current ratings.

One could fairly easily wire up a 12V relay with a 120V thermostat. Any extra power draw from the relay will only serve to heat the compartment more.

Why not an actual tank heater?

UltraHeat

Hi,

You could replace the cold air return grill with a 12 volt fan which may push air through the duct work.

I use 120 volt window fans to do that. I have mine thermostatically controlled. It draw a scant 15 watts so it can be run on a relatively tiny inverter.

If you don't exceed 15 amps, it would be possible to use a 120 volt baseboard heater thermostat on 12 volts.

Entirelynutz wrote:
I do have a furnace vent but I don't always use it. I'd like to have an alternative heat source.

..

Thanks all. Fred, I do have a furnace vent but I don't always use it. I'd like to have an alternative heat source.

Corkey05 and Passin Thru, I've seen that heater online but it doesn't look like it has a thermostat. I'd prefer to not have it run continuously.

JC Whitney used to have a "back seat heater" that was 12 volt and adjustable, you could also hook a thermostat in line with it. Our Ambassador had one installed from the factory in the wet bay, it worked pretty well. Hope this may help, Happy trails Bert

I bought a 12 volt 8 amp "Hair Dryer" from JcWhitney many years ago. I used it to warm my truck windshield when it was in the 50's when I was driving a diesel truck that did not warm up until I had driven about 3 miles on the freeway. So if it was foggy, it would take a while to warm up.

12 volt X 8 amps = about 100 watts. You would be better off running a 100 watt light bulb, it will put out just as much heat.

However if you really want a 12 volt DC heater, they are out there. Might run well over $100 because they are not a popular option.

Most RV's use a furnace vent to warm the freshwater tank and other basement storage areas.

Good luck!

Fred.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EKHZ5U/ref=asc_df_B004EKHZ5U3400010?smid=AWPBFTW0ZXVPR&tag=shopz0d-20&ascsubtag=shopzilla_mp_1074-20;14158438104405772215210060301008005&linkCode=df0&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B004EKHZ5U
Nice, low amperage pull and adequate for basement.