Forum Discussion

bkenobi's avatar
bkenobi
Explorer
May 14, 2021

Space heater recommendations?

I recently took a trip to the midwest and was intending to use the propane heat in my NL TC for the sole means to keep the comfort in check and prevent potential freezing issues. The temperatures were in the high 20's a few times at night but up to the 50's in the day. As it turns out, we ended up staying at a location that had full hookups, so I stopped by Walmart and found a relatively compact space heater which saved me many trips to the fill station.

Although this was overall a great solution, the unit I bought had no thermostat but had high/low. The unit was 1500W/750W but on the low setting it produced too much heat for comfortable sleeping. I was thinking it might be nice to have a compact unit that had a thermostat and was safe to leave unattended (meaning no hot surfaces). Does anyone have a recommendation? I use an oil heater at home that includes a thermostat, but it's too big to travel with. A fan isn't critical but probably would be a plus.

TL;DR: I need a portable, compact space heater that is safe to leave unattended and has a thermostat.
  • bkenobi wrote:
    All of this is inline with what I've done to date. The main thing is, can any of these be left unattended? I have no worries leaving the oil heater for a month in the winter. Can any of the coil or IR heaters be left on even overnight without first checking that nothing is close to them?


    just don't kick the bed covers onto the face of your ceramic heater as it will singe the cover.
    bumpy
  • Flute Man wrote:
    I have bought a number of them from Walmart and they all have had thermostats.

    x2
    I found 2 or 3 small heaters the best for TC. They hung on the outlet, so don't take valuable floor space and putting low-wattage heater at each corner you have even temperature, without blowing circuit breakers.
    Obviously they come with thermostat and have build-in timer, who will shut it down after about 8 hr. I am not trilled with 2nd features, but that is how engineers design it.
    And yes, Amish can build electric systems.... with hand and pneumatic tools as their religion is not allowing electricity USE.

  • All of this is inline with what I've done to date. The main thing is, can any of these be left unattended? I have no worries leaving the oil heater for a month in the winter. Can any of the coil or IR heaters be left on even overnight without first checking that nothing is close to them?
  • I would recommend the least expensive 1500 watt heater, with a built in thermostat, you can buy. The only thing the expensive ones do that the inexpensive ones don't do is lighten your wallet. Every 1500 watt heating element has the same heating potential.

    We carry two that were $12.99 each.

    I get a real kick out of the "Amish made" electric heaters. None of the Amish around us have electricity.
  • I have bought a number of them from Walmart and they all have had thermostats.
  • I've been satisfied with this Crane Mini Tower 1500W Heater

    It's fairly small and quiet, has a fan and thermostat (not calibrated in degrees though, turn to the right to make it warmer, to the left, cooler and the heater will cycle on and off). It has a tip-over shutoff (just a switch on the bottom, if the heater tips (or isn't on a solid/level surface), the heater turns off). The plastic parts stay cool to the touch, the front grill would probably hurt if you touched it while in operation, but it's not hot enough to, say, catch a piece of paper on fire.
  • Maybe a Pelonis ceramic heater. Also, Amazon Basics brand.