heating electrically a "back yard" report

pianotuna wrote:
Hi greenrvgreen,

If you really want to heat people--then move to a true radiant type heater--one of the ones that has an element that glows cherry red. Try it--you will love it. Don't leave them on unattended.

I'll try to give some data on daily kwh use if I can figure out the watt meter.

I tend to use oil filled heaters which are convection in nature.

I have no skirting in place, nor any heat under the RV.

I've done nothing with the floor, yet, but will before next winter I hope.

I agree on the dead cold warm up, but since I now full time, I have no choice. I now have a handle on an extreme case warm up in hours. I'll plug in and wander off to McDonald's for three hours.

greenrvgreen wrote:
Good info, Tuna.

My own experience in milder temps (teens and 20s), is that the electric space heaters have a unique benefit: Position them so that they are blowing directly on humans as they heat the cabin. Humans warm first, cabin warms second.

If the separate bedroom has no plumbing in it I would remove the heater and let the bedroom warm up slowly via conduction. I am betting that your overall warmup time is not much increased, and you might not even need that additional space heater in the cabin.

I'm sure you menmtioned it somewhere, but what are you using underneath? I recently downgraded from a 250w heat bulb to a 100w, but tightened up the skirt. Judging by the reduced power use of the tank heaters, it is all in the skirt. My total power usage underneath, in steady low twenties with a wind, is 100w bulb+50wblack tankk heater+50w grey tank heater.

Tuna, did you go with the foam gym pads? They seem to make a big difference, particularly when the feet first hit the floor in the morning.

IMO, the dead cold warm up is an extreme case. I'd be more interested in the power cost of maintaining a heated cabin. In teens/20s, I can comfortably manage this on a 20A supply.

I was surprised down in Apache Junction, AZ last spring at how old I must look. Took out the US equivalent of a Loonie to pay for my cup of coffee at McDonalds, and the gal handed me a $1 bill and some dimes back in change? Didn't ask my age, but at 54, don't think I really qualified for the Senior Discount. On the other hand, 90% of the license plates in the parking lot were from CAnuckistan... snowbirders, so I must have looked like one, though I don't have an accent like one.


$.79 is a deal fora good cheap 3 hour warm up on their dime, just don't abuse the unlimited refills... your black tank will thank you for it later. On the other hand, we have McDonalds Employees that think it's a full time career flipping burgers, and that the position is worth $15.00 an hour and worth striking over. If unions get in and that happens, plan on the price of coffee doubling, or more, at Mickie D's. If unions get in McDonalds, I will boycott them forever.