using electric heat

elle8 wrote:
so thank you all who have helped me out so far ,,,, now i need to know does the heat when plugged in electrically use propane also ....

Electric heat will not use propane, but, electric heat may not be enough to keep up with ouside temps. If you do not want your furnace to kick on, turn the thermostat to "off".

I winterize in the fall and then leave it alone. Probably worse to run it occasionally than just storing properly and leaving it sit. I do leave them plugged in to keep the batteries charged.

Question for those in the know:

I'm assuming the OP is wanting to heat his TT 24/7 while it is UNoccupied, correct?

If so, what is more safe, a fan-driven, ceramic heater (750/1500 watt) or a passive, space heater (watts??)?

Thanks!

elle8 wrote:
so thank you all who have helped me out so far ,,,, now i need to know does the heat when plugged in electrically use propane also ....

it would help if you told us what kind of RV you have.
motorhome, 5th wheel, TT?:h
year/brand/model is also helpful.

RV's don't come with electric heat, just the propane furnace, which uses 12v power for the electronics. though some a/c's have a heat pump, which runs off of electric hookups. it can take the chill off but aren't sufficient to heat the whole RV.

most of us, when we have electric hookups, use something like a ceramic heater, to provide heat without using propane.

My 02.

Many RV units are notorious for having stretchy wiring/outlets - you might be better off keeping your electric heaters set on low rather than high - the idea is too minimize the load on any particular circuit. In my rig I use two electric heaters set on low - one in rear and one in the front.

so thank you all who have helped me out so far ,,,, now i need to know does the heat when plugged in electrically use propane also ....

Moved from Forum Technical Support

We have snow and freezing weather..we have a space heater plugged in to our rig....runs all the time...only problem is the cost!!! It doesn't affect anything in the house because it's plugged into a seldom used circuit line. When it was plugged into the house on the other side of the house, I'd trip the circuit every time I used The blowdryer. This IS assuming you;re spending most of your time in your house and only heating the RV.

You can run any appliance in your camper as you would in your house. However, the overall electric usage in your camper is limited.

More than likely, you have a 30 amp limit on your camper. If you plug into a 20 amp or a 15 amp circuit (plug) in your house, you can only use the 20 or 15 amps and then the breaker in your house will pop and you'll to reset it and turn something off in your camper.

Your lights are powered by your battery, which is 12 volts (DC). Your furnace is powered by your battery, which is 12 volts (DC current, not AC household). There's a converter in your camper that will convert your 120 volt AC power from the house to 12 volt DC for your camper that runs the DC electric items. That converter also uses power also. So if the ONLY thing you had on in your camper is the electric heater, you will be under the total 120 volt - 20 or 15 amp provided by your house. But remember, everything else you plug is is taking some of that 20 or 15 amp. Once the overall usage exceeds your circuit breaker in the house .... POP! Turn something off in the camper.

Running an electric heater should be no problems, perhaps a television also, a your cell phone charger plugged in ... you'll be fine. If you start running your microwave, or turn on the electric in your water heater, or start using a hair blower, you'll go "POP"!