12 volt basement heater
Does anyone know where to get a reliable thermostat controlled 12volt heater that I can put in my freshwater basement?
Forum Discussion
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.
