Electric space heaters

theoldwizard1 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
The safest may be the oil filled units. Their surface temperature is lower.

These also put out a nice "comfortable" heat. A bit slow to warm up. If you have a 30A hook up, use two and skip the furnace. These are silent.

Also, heated mattress pads work much better than heated blankets,

pianotuna wrote:
My favorite heat source is electric heated carpets.

Brand ?

I'm sorry I no longer remember the brand. I got the indoor outdoor version so they could be cleaned with a pressure washer--and they are a carbon fiber that can be cut.

On a ceramic type heater, with a fan and screen in front of the heater bars, the surface is not hot enough to burn someone who touches it. Possibly a little uncomfortably warm, but not enough to burn. And like I said, check the tip-over protection. Most use a simple pressure switch on the bottom.

Bert the Welder wrote:
I'm interested in what type of heater you guys are running that has heated/melted your extension cords? Or what gauge cords you're using?

As for the OP. I look at my best bet being on a "bigger" name in the game as being "safer". Though I have little more than faith in that thinking. Howell, Sunbeam, Noma, Panasonic. Dyson if you like paying triple for the Gucci factor.

The overheating is not generally directly due to the heater load, but to poor connections with extension cords and plug strips, and the internal connections in the plug strips. Those connectors create hot points.

I've never found the wiring, plug, or outlet to be hot, during or after using a heater. Like I said, I just use the inexpensive little cube heaters. They are generally 1500 watts, which translates to 13.6 amps at 110V. So your circuit needs to be capable of handling that.

The only time I've ever tripped a breaker in a RV was when a heater kicked on while I was using a hairdryer. No big deal, unplug the heater and reset the breaker.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Gdetrailer, great post showing what a POS the stab n jab type connectors are. Light loads ok.

Temporary INTERMITTENT light loads OK, perhaps a few short term quick heavy loads, OK.. Long term heavy loads like seen from a electric space heater, not so much OK.

First time I encountered those all in one devices, I was rebuilding a 1980 travel trailer, needed to remove the wall board to repair some water damaged rotted studs..

Pulled one of those apart so I could wallboard get past the outlet and exclaimed what a piece of junk! Once you get apart and if you didn't break it from taking it apart putting it back together generally results in breaking the old one and then it doesn't hold together well enough to trust it.

They are designed for high speed assembly on a production line and for shallow walls which would not support standard workboxes..

My second and current TT, didn't have those all in ones, instead they used special shallow workboxes with a "sidecar" bump out on one side..

Like this..



That is a Carlon B117RSW box, Lowes or Home Depot should have them, the downside of these are they are made for 1/2 drywall so you have to make a few mods to work with 1/8" paneling..

Have not been able to find them for thin paneling but with careful rework can be made to work.

Much better and allows you to use higher quality duplex outlets.. Drawback is cost of the work box and slows down production speed on the electrical side of things and time is money..

I always demanded "Spec Grade" receptacles on all my jobs. I did use them in my home also.

Gdetrailer, great post showing what a POS the stab n jab type connectors are. Light loads ok.

rhagfo wrote:
Safest would be RV Comfort Systems “Cheap Heat” electric add on furnace element. We installed before going full time works great. Purchase is not too cheap, but heats basement.

YEP, I got tired of tripping over and buying new space heaters. When we ordered our 16 Mobile Suites I had Rolling Retreats install ours. NOT "CHEAP" but some of the best money I have spent!!!

When hooked to shore power and the Park pays for the power WHY burn your propane???

We full time with it now for 5.5 years. I did have a control board go bad out of warranty and the company owner did me a solid, sold it to me cheap and shipped overnight. Only person I have heard of with that or any other issue.

As you mentioned it does heat the basement where a lot of the plumbing is located.

Toggle switch from propane to electric back and forth as needed.

Having a smaller TT presently, I use only the lower 750 watt setting. Some safer IMO.

2oldman wrote:

Curly2001 wrote:
It even makes me think that electric blankets could cause the same problems with their current draw.

Not even close. From my research, blankets are under 200w.

Correct, electric blankets are low wattage devices.

Portable electric space heaters are intentionally limited to a max of 1500W which at 120V works out to be 12.5A which is compatible with most older home wiring which outlets were on a 15A circuit with 14ga wiring. It is all about preventing the wiring from overheating and anything "portable" for heating is supposed to be a "temporary" use item and current limited and was never designed or intended for 24/7/365 use.

Not sure if you could even find hardwired 120V heaters above 1500W, seems like once you go above 1500W they are 240V only heaters.

But they do make a lot of 1500W 120V WALL mount or even "toe Kick" low profile electric heaters.

HERE is a search for 120V wall mount heater.

HERE is search for 120V Toe Kick heater.

120V really limits you a lot..

Not to send the topic in a different direction but a lot of stick and brick houses have similar connectors, a 14 ga hole in the back of the receptacle. I had a couple go up in smoke.