Heating Your MH

This is a common discussion, Some folks swear by/at one or another type of heater but this is fact:

ALL 1500 watt heaters put out the exact same mount of heat, does not matter if it's a 20 dollar Big lots Special or an 800 dollar quarts tube job, they all put out the same amount of heat,, Some may blow harder (or not blow at all) some may make you feel warmer on the side facing them (While the other side freezes) but all put out exactly the same amount of heat.

So for a small "House" (RV) a small heater is my choice, ceramic cube.

Blaster Man wrote:
Oil heaters are heavy, slow to heat and slow to cool down.

that is precisely why I like them. a constant and even heat supply. no cycling.
bumpy

Posted: 01/31/15 11:39am Link | Quote | Print | Notify Moderator

Check your RV heaters. Certainly not something you want to happen to a heater in an RV.

""We're voluntarily recalling Vornado VH110 heaters built in 2013 and sold from June 2013 to May 2014 due to a safety issue. Vornado has received 29 reports of units overheating and melting, including seven reports of heaters catching fire, resulting in one report of smoke inhalation and one report of property damage caused by soot and smoke.""
http://www.vornado.com/recall

After reading those reasons for the recall I don't think I'd buy one of these irregardless if the recall was only a specific year made!! As seen in General RV Issue's today.

We have two Lasko towers (the shorter of the group) from Wal Mart. The max watts any of these can put out is 1,500. Oil heaters are heavy, slow to heat and slow to cool down.

Ceramic heaters. IMHO the safest and put out a lot of heat. Yet for safety cool to the touch. IMHO a must for a MH.

Read the labels and try and find one that still offers a "tip over switch".

After 10 years of using the cube ceramic heater I broke down and bought one of those new tower ceramic heaters which I just threw out after one month because of it's instability and the need to place in on the floor in the middle of the room and lack of good heat output.:(

Ya I know they are all 1,500 watts but they DO differ on heat output.

I bought one of these this year. It's the bomb. Good footprint for stability on the floor and you can put it up against the wall, kitchen cabinets or couch etc. So you can walk thru your MH. And a digital thermostat that actually works.

Finally a ceramic heater that you can put on the floor and not have to go around it and safe for the pets. And you only need one unlike the cubes you usually have to use two of them. This one puts out a 'ton of heat' and has louvers to direct the heat.
(right now I am using it to totally heat a small winter home I just bought in Florida!)

Walmart carries them.

Lasko
Cyclonic Digital Ceramic Heater

Electric heater that use the 1500 watts to heat an element will produce about 5200 btu's of heat, MAX. Obviously on a medium or low setting, the heat output will be less.
If you want to spend more money for the best, you can more than double the btu output of any electric resistance heater with a portable heat pump that operates off of 120 volts. These can put out 10,000-12,000 btu's of heat and still use less than 1500 watts.
I use a portable heat pump/AC unit when we travel and have no problems even in the coldest near zero temps. Mine vents to the outside through a single hose and it produces 12,000 btu's of heat using less than 11 amps or 1300 watts of power. It also has the advantage of removing moisture from the coach, which is great in the Winter months. These are not the cheapest but if you travel a lot in very cold temps or very warm temps, they can help keep you comfortable. Since there is NO heating element, they are also safer around pets and people. Portable heat pump

I have two small electric heaters with fans. One was fairly expensive (maybe $120?) only because I bought it at West Marine and it was designed for use in boats as it has an Anti-Freeze setting. Basically you leave it plugged in in your stored boat or motorhome (if you're hooked to power) and the heater kicks on if the temperature drops below 40 degrees. Keeps things from freezing while at the same time not costing you a fortune running all the time.

Anyway, the thing I was going to say is efficiency is really relevant most of the time as generally when you are using an electric heater in a motorhome you have already paid a flat rate that includes power. So when I'm in a full hook up site I use only the electric heaters. When I'm footing the bill I use my propane heaters. I like the electric heat better as the propane heat seems to cause too much of a stuffy type feeling.

Hi,

I heat 100% electrically at temperatures down to -36 C (-34 f).

My personal favorite is the radiant type. The safest is probably the oil filled type. Plan to upgrade the poor quality "stab" type outlets in the RV, or else avoid using the high setting.

I found some lovely 1/2 size oil filled that draw about 464 watts and tucked them into out of the way corners.

I use electric heated carpets, too.

Tank and pipe freeze up may be an issue. To solve that problem I replaced the return air grill for the furnace with a dual window fan.

I use a 1500 watt oil filled radiator-type heater to fill in where the furnace doesn't reach at the front of my MH. It would never be able to replace the furnaces but it does complement them nicely.

don't pay extra for the same wattage heater, electric heaters are 100% efficient, 1500w out put is just that as long as its working correctly and free of lint. Some one commented here not long ago about this. If you want a fancy looking wood box and lots of digital displays, then it will cost you, they still put out the same btu's. I bought a Lasko 5805 along with a cheapy force air 1500w from HD (19.95) and they work fine for me sitting here in my driveway at 26F.