Space Heater

For those that choose to use a portable electric heater here is a great thermostat control. Use the cheapest clearance aisle heater and get perfect temperature control. I also use one to control a window air conditioner in the stix/brix.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7NYY8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

bob2194 wrote:
Check out this heater a little pricey, but it is super great heater.
check out this heater

It doesn't matter if you spend $500 or $20 for a heater. A usage of 1,500 watts still puts out the exact same amount of heat.

bob2194 wrote:
Check out this heater a little pricey, but it is super great heater.
check out this heater

Want some shares of the new Atlantis? Very in expensive.

The person offers no testing. He has drunk the Koolaide.

Check out this heater a little pricey, but it is super great heater.
check out this heater

“Wow, 5 pages in and only one person has pointed out that not using the furnace just may endanger your water tanks and lines.L

Yup. Surprising”

Huntindog wrote:

cougar28 wrote:
For the most part I don’t think the people doing that with a 30 amp service is stealing. I think what there try to do is keep from tripping there 30 amp breaker at times. I know on my old 5th wheel it was a 30 amp. If the a/c was on and say the coffee pot maybe the water heater then someone used the microwave it would trip the breaker unless one was turned off for the time the microwave was used. I think the majority is just trying to prevent that from happening.

When that happens, they are using more than the 30 amps they are paying for.:S

Lets do the math. So I can use 30 amps 24/7 that's 86.4 kwh per day
Ok now the RV is pulling 20 amps 24/7 (which it will not because things turning on and off) that's 57.6 kwh per day
A 1500 watt heater plug into the 120v pole outlet because that's over amps the RV 30 amp breaker by 2.5 amps. Let say it heating for 30 mins and off 30 mins that's heating for 12 hr. That's 18 kwh per day
Ok by that 57.6 kwh + 18 kwh = 75.6 kwh used. So 86.4 kwh - 75.6 kwh = 10.8 kwh that's not used.So calling them a thief is a little harsh when there not.I bet my figure is pretty dang close if not a little on the high side.

CFerguson wrote:
Wow, 5 pages in and only one person has pointed out that not using the furnace just may endanger your water tanks and lines. Sure on some RVs it wont matter, but on many others it certainly does.
Pennywise and pound foolish?

For starters it generally takes 24 hours of sub freezing temps to cause issues to a heated RV. Temps below freezing for a few hours overnight will not create problems for most RV's with an enclosed underbelly.
Most RV'ers are not in extreme cold, yes it may dip below freezing overnight but the temps warm to above freezing during the day. THose moderately cold conditions are ideal for space heaters.
The idea that your tanks will freeze if you use space heaters is overblown. Yes it may happen in extreme conditions But if the cabin is warm/heated heat will naturally radiate and protect the plumbing.
Leaving a cabinet door open or using a light bulb in the basement also helps.
Your plumbing does not automatically freeze in cold weather if space heaters are used.
Temps must be well below freezing or remain below freezing for 24 hours or longer before there is a high risk of freezing pipes.

Gdetrailer wrote:

Lantley wrote:
Gdetrailer wrote:
5,000 BTU of heat out of one heater is a LONG, LONG stretch for heating an entire RV when considering it is a fraction of the heat a RV furnace can put out
While I generally agree with your point. You have to consider the efficiency of the lp furnace when comparing to a space heater.
Space heaters are 100% efficient. The lp furnace is far from efficient. I believe they are about 70% efficient and maybe as bad as 505 efficient.
If you hold your hand in front of the exterior exhaust discharge you will feel a lot of wasted heat being discharged to the outdoors.
That heat translates to $$$.
Efficiency ratings are a big deal when it comes to residential furnaces. RV furnaces are very inefficient compared to residential models.

:R

18,000 BTU input at 70% efficiency = 12,600 BTU = approx 2.4 1500 W electric heaters or 3600W.

30,000 BTU input at 70% efficiency = 21,000 BTU = approx 4.04 1500W electric heaters or 6060W.

You ARE typically RVing as a HOBBY, spend tons of money on a completely unnecessary RV which also has a absorbtion fridge which is about 30% efficient, a RV water heater which is barely 20% efficient, spend tons of money moving it with hyper expensive over the top tow vehicle then have the gall to worry about efficiency of the RV furnace?

Now, IF you are going to pay for the electric it WILL cost you much more than propane.. Resistance heat is not and never will be 100% efficient when you take in the WHOLE picture of just how that electric is created, transported and delivered to your plug.

Anyone with a all electric resistance heat home or business can attest to the fact that it uses more energy and costs more to do so..

I was involved in a church congregation which had a building that was solely heated with your 100% efficient resistance heat.. Electric cost was $4K (FOUR THOUSAND A MONTH!) and that was the averaging plan for a yr.. $48000 for the year!!!

Building temp was set back to 58F during non use periods and 68 during use periods..

Eventually after 25 yrs the heating system started having issues and parts became non existent it was decided to retrofit with gas heating system.

Electric bill dropped to less than $1K a month and the new gas bill was only $1K a month..

That IS a considerable savings and the new gas fired heating system paid it's self off in only three yrs.

Personally to me, folks attempting to use only electric to heat a RV at a campground are abusing the campground owners good will and there are many places that recognize that abuse and charge more or may have meters..

Don't be so blasted cheap and ruin the goodwill for others by abusing the system.

This is not really a comparison between gas vs. electric heat.
You made the comment that a lp furnace produces a lot more heat than a 1500 watt space heater. However you did not mention efficiency which is all part of the story, since the lp furnace losses 1500 watts or 30% of the heat it produces. An lp furnace losses as much as the space heater produces.
I'm not sure how we got into being cheap and RV'ing is a hobby but let's not deny that electric is generally included in the rates for most hobby level RV'ers. Full timers may encounter metered electric but hobby style RV'ers generally do not.
I consider using my 3 space heaters no different than running my AC in the summer. Unless a CG has specific rules against it (which a few do) space heaters are OK.
I prefer space heaters over lp furnace because they quiet, they do not come on with a loud noise, I do not have to monitor my lp tanks,I do not have to change my LP tanks with space heaters.
Space heaters are not all bad. They are simply another option for heating.

Huntindog wrote:
Not at all.
I think that whatever your 30 amp service can provide is justified.
But some seem the think that running another cord from a seperate outlet is OK.... I do not. Some even have gone to the trouble of adding a seperate way to get the power into their 30 amp unit... That in my eyes is theft. Often the park operator will just overlook it, as they do not want a confrontation. It is kind of like shoplifting. Everyone pays for it in the form of higher prices.
50 amp service generally costs more, as the park understands the electricity use will be higher

Well I have a separate outlet just for a space heater that plugs in to the 15 amp outlet. I have never been to a place that charges different fees for 30 or 50 amp service.

So explain how having that outlet that makes me a thief. I do it to ease the load on the rv wiring.

Broad generalizations really shouldn't be made.

Nope, I run 100% electric heat at -34 f. My peak load is 7700 watts. I distribute the heat through the duct work by replacing the cold air return with twin window fans. I've added 2 auxiliary shore power cables, so my supply is 30 amp OEM, 20 amp, and 15 amp. I keep the propane furnace on but at a low temperature just in case there is a power outage.

I use electric heated carpets, oil filled heaters, a radiant heater as a back up should something need to be thawed, a fan heater, an electric mattress pad, and some "heat bars" (only 50 watts) next to the water pump.

rhagfo wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Cferguson and one person mentioned a solution to running 100% electric heat.

Well I was likely the one using 100% electric, using the RV Comfort Systems Cheap Heat. This an add-on to the gas furnace, so heat is distributed the same way. On a 30 amp service I get 1,800 watts (6,138 btu)of heat, on a 50 amp service I get 5,000 watts of heat (17,050 btu) the 50 amp is running on 220 volts.