Using a Ceramic Heater

[rwbradley]

I was recently told that to save propane, bring along one of the mini cube ceramic heaters and run it off shore power. It sounds like a great way to save propane.
The interesting part is that I was told to bring along a standard 120v lawnmower extension cord and instead of pulling 1500w off the trailer power, plug the extension cord into the pole, as my trailer is 30A, there will almost always be a 20/15A standard plug beside it not being used.
This where the dumb question comes in... if I am running an additional cord, how does someone run the extension cord into the trailer without letting the bugs in, and not being able to close/lock the door etc. The whole idea of having the trailer sealed tight is to keep the mice, ants out, which would make it difficult to get a temporary cord in. Does anyone do this and have a brilliant solution to get the cord into the trailer???
Thanks

[gcloss]

RoyB wrote:
We don't use any of the electric heaters that have open flame, red hot cores, etc as they would have to be turned off when we were not around. You have no idea what roams the floors and walls in your trailer at least we don't haha.. You also don't have worry about a curtain catching on fire as well...

I would seriously think about the oil-filled no open flame type heaters. They will warm up as good as any of them. BTU's is BTU's...

Roy Ken

I will only use an oil-filled electric heater in my TT. I feel they are somewhat safer than the red hot glowing heaters. I use one 1500 watt oil-filled and it is more than adequate to heat my TT using the standard 30 amp power cord.

I don't run a separate cord for my A/C, so why would I run a separate cord for an electric heater?

[wa8yxm]

You described, more or less, how I do things.

On a 50 amp site: I use the washer outlet (Since I do not have a washer) and a heavy duty extension cord.. PLUS I have 3 heavy duty outlets here in the motor home.. These are 15/20 amp outlets, each one has a breaker all to itself 12ga wire to the breaker Some are 15 amp some 20 on the breaker.. Save for one special outlet.. that one is shared with the Rear Air Conditioner (Argument I will never need both at one time).

The Rear A/C power runs to an outside compartment, there we have plug and socket, So on a 30 amp site it "Breaks out" and eats independent of the rest of the RV.

There is also an extension cord. originally I just put the slide out half way, fed the cord out and finished the slide, I finally routed it through existing openings down into one bay. This too can eat off the 20 amp outlet on the park side. What configuration I use depends on the site and the need.

[valhalla360]

kvangil wrote:

M GO BLUE wrote:
Don't let ceramic heaters take the place of your RV furnace when the temps get to ~ 35F and below...at 35F and below the RV furnace shoul be your main souce of heat and the cermaic heaters can be used to supplement the RV furnace...

Why is that? Just curious, though we've hardly camped when the evening temps get that low, but you never know...

Most furnace ducts run thru the underbelly and give off a little of thier heat to the water system which helps keep it from freezing.

I would probably lower the critical temp to more like 30F as the heated interior will shed a few degrees worth of warmth by itself.

If it goes below 20F, even the extra heat from the ducts gets questionable and you may want to look at supplemental heat for the water system or winterizing it.

[valhalla360]

Unless you are running 2 heaters or other high wattage devices, there is no need to run a seperate cord in.

I lean towards a ceramic heater with tip over protection (it shuts off if tipped). The oil based units will put out the same heat...once they heat up. The ceramic put out heat almost instantantly. Usually we use it to take the chill off in the morning and quick supply of heat helps.

Side note: I suggest you poke your head under and inside the storage areas of your RV. Unless it's something special, no way is it sealed in such a way that it will keep mice and bugs out.

There should be a duct or open space between the breaker panel and the cord door to get the 30amp cord to the breaker panel. If you really want a seperate cord, you should be able to follow that path without creating a new opening.

[kvangil]

M GO BLUE wrote:
Don't let ceramic heaters take the place of your RV furnace when the temps get to ~ 35F and below...at 35F and below the RV furnace shoul be your main souce of heat and the cermaic heaters can be used to supplement the RV furnace...

Why is that? Just curious, though we've hardly camped when the evening temps get that low, but you never know...

[kvangil]

We also use 2 electric heaters overnight without running any separate cords. As long as we keep them on separate breakers (e.g. one on each end of the camper), we don't have any issues with them tripping the breakers. During the day, we run a single heater.

[M_GO_BLUE1]

Don't let ceramic heaters take the place of your RV furnace when the temps get to ~ 35F and below...at 35F and below the RV furnace shoul be your main souce of heat and the cermaic heaters can be used to supplement the RV furnace...

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

If you are just camping for a couple of nights, it would be a hassle to run the extra power cord, and you really do have 30 amps inside the RV anyway. You can plug in the heater inside. I would not recommend a ceramic heater - unless you already have one. Their up front cost is much more than a standard heater, yet I do not like that they put out very "hot" air, not a comfortable 95- 105F air temp. This can ignight things!

I have a cheap Wal Mart $20 heater that also has a fan to bring in cool air in the summer. It is quiet, check it before buying. I have bought some really noisy fans and heaters in the past. Just look for a outlet at the store, plug it in and turn on the fan part.

While camping, when you would normally run the electric coffee pot or microwave, then shut off the heater for a few minutes. Really is that simple.

That said, while living in my RV in Portland Oregon, and it was in the 30's, I did run a #12 heavy duty extension cord to my power post and ran it through a factory installed hole under my bed into the basement, then out the electrical feed hole to the power panel. This ran my bedroom heater, and I did not need to shut it off when making coffee. I ran two other heaters on low heat output on the 30 amp system, then this one on 1500 watts when I wanted too.

Fred.

[Opie431]

We can use either one or two inside the trailer using the trailer outlets. BUT we have to be careful what else we are using.
The brand has not made a difference.
We turn them off when we leave.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

If you plan on running a 1500 watt heater it may be prudent to replace the "dime store" outlet that the RV maker put into the RV with a "real" 20 amp female outlet from Lowe's (or your favorite supplier).

I've replaced all but three of mine.

[Chock_Full_o__N]

rollexx wrote:
We have been using the mini cube for years. Rarely have to use the furnace other than for a quick heat up in the morning. Unless you are planning on using 2 it isn't a problem just using an inside plug. We do have to turn it off when wife uses her hair dryer but that's it.

We do this too. We just plug our little heater into the wall outlet. The heater in our TT is just about useless, but our little ceramic heater will bring the temps up to nearly balmy in a short period of time. In fact, sometimes it gets so warm in there at night that we have to get up and turn it down.

When the camper is parked next to the house during the winter, it's plugged in to its own 30amp outlet. We keep a little ceramic heater set up inside. If we see the weather is going to get cold, we turn the little heater on low and open all the cabinets. It keeps everything around 40 degrees in there and we've managed to avoid frozen & broken pipes.

[Dakzuki]

If looking for a ceramic cube heater to date the best I have seen (and own) is the Broan 6201. LINK

I also have a Delonghi HMP1500 mica panel heater which is both light weight and silent (no fan). The down side is the size and it requires floor space. We use the mica heater when we know we are going to be running heat plugged in and won't be cramped for space. The Broan stays in the RV full time so we can use it as needed.

[poppin_fresh]

I use a Honeywell oscillating cool touch heater to heat our hybrid when the night temps dip down here in the northeast. It does a great job and keeps our trailer nice and toasty and it's safe even around our small kids.

I have zero need to run this heater off the pedestal by a dedicated cord. The only other really high usage item in my trailer is the A/C and I would never be running it and the heater at the same time.

[fla-gypsy]

I use two without running a separate cord on 30A. Run one on high and one on low. pretty much take care of my heating needs.