Electric heater recommendation

[hedge]

Around here a few campgrounds stay open in the winter and we like to get out on occasion. They are usually powered sites so instead of heating with my onboard propane heater I'd like to heat with Electric.

I've used a couple electric heaters but none seem to be quite up to the task.

Ideally I'd like something quiet as I'm a light sleeper. I'm considering oil but a bit concerned about leaks.

I guess an admin may see this and move it but I was hoping to get feedback from other TC'ers as the size of our rigs is quite a bit smaller than a 'standard' rv.

[mkirsch]

Let's take a little different angle on the discussion:

What don't you like about the heaters you've tried?

If they don't keep the camper warm enough, go back to what others have said previously: All electric heaters are 100% efficient. Watts = BTUs. One 1500W heater isn't going to produce more heat than any other 1500W heater.

A single heater just won't produce enough BTUs to keep the camper comfortably warm if it's that cold. Two heaters will overload a single circuit in your camper, and if you do happen to connect them to separate circuits, you're pretty much maxxed out on the 30A shore power, especially if the converter is charging the house battery.

Now there are some creative solutions for this. I personally would take my 50A-to-twin-30A splitter out to the power post, feed the two 30A receptacles into the camper, and run a heater off each leg.

[ggadwa]

I wired in 500 watt baseboard heater in our Eagle Cap 950 camper. It has its own thermostat. I wired it into the Air Conditioner Breaker one or the other is on never both. Thus the Breaker is perfect for the heater. The base board is wall mounted and is silent......If anyone is interested I can supply the make and model. It works great to keep the chill off at night when connected to shore power. The Honda Eu 2000 runs it nicely as well.

GARY

[tmartin000]

ab257 wrote:
We have a Pelonus disk heater. The fan doesn't turn on and off, but slowly speeds up or slows down for more or less heat, so it doesn't wake us up. We also have 12 volt fans that blow heated air from the camper into the basement.

I have that one too. It did NOT move enough air around at all. So that Pelonic went into my aluminum cabin boat.

Any of the vornado units will be fine. I prefer the ones without digital controls if the power goes off on the coach/camper for any reason, the unit will NOT turn back on to previous setting. NOT GOOD.

[ab257]

We have a Pelonus disk heater. The fan doesn't turn on and off, but slowly speeds up or slows down for more or less heat, so it doesn't wake us up. We also have 12 volt fans that blow heated air from the camper into the basement.

[stufarmer]

We also use a small ceramic cube for heat. Its not great but it does help. The heat strip in the A/C is just ok. But again, not great.
But .. we started using Electric Blankets and one again life is good.

[jimh406]

What model Vornado are you guys using?

[tmartin000]

This one for camping due to more WAY MORE circulation






This one for when your not trying to sleep (in storage)

[time2roll]

hedge wrote:
I've used a couple electric heaters but none seem to be quite up to the task.

Every 1500w heater puts out the same heat in BTU. It is just the delivery that is different. Radiant, forced air, or convection. Still the same BTU.

To get more heat per watt you need the heat pump option on your air conditioner. Even this has temperature limits.

When camped in the cold I use a single 1200 watt radiator style heater to reduce the cycling of the furnace. I don't like to max out the flimsy RV electrical system.

[sabconsulting]

We often camp with electric hookup, and when we are paying for hookup I don't want to use propane I have paid for separately. Hence we use an electric heater.

We tried small fan heaters, but they weren't silent. There also seemed to be something of a arms race for increased wattage, which is not ideal when many campgrounds we stay in have quite limited amperage available before the supply trips out. Plus we aren't heating a domestic sized room, so don't need big wattage.

As mentioned above those oil-filled heaters can be quite large. I've also noticed they can make popping noises as they heat up. And because they have a mass of oil to heat the heat supply isn't instant.

I settled on a small cheap heater I attached under the dinette. It simply has a heating element within it and uses convection rather than a fan. I think it was designed for heating greenhouses. Small silent and has a thermostat.

Steve.

[towpro]

we have a small pelonis ceramic heater. Its like 6" on all sides. Yes it has a fan in it.

as for the fan noise, studies have found you actually sleep better with a background noise.

I used to be a "road warrior" where I traveled 4 night per week. I can vouch for this. With no background noise I would lay in bed listening to everything and I would end up hardly sleeping at all. Turn on the room Fan and I would fall right to sleep.

even in the truck camper I prefer to have the fantastic vent turned on low at night (I have the full automatic fan with variable speeds, not the 3 speed that came in camper.

[dewey02]

trail-explorer wrote:


Wal-Mart has a good selection of portable haters this time of year, unless they been bought up in colder climates.

I don't care how good the price or how good the selection, I don't think we need more of these out there. Let them stay on the shelf at Wal-mart! :B

[trail-explorer]

I can't really suggest one brand or style over another, but something small is very benefical to truck camper owners. I can't imagine toting around a giant "oil filled radiator" style heater in a truck camper.

What I can recommend is something with 3 heat settings.

I've been known to run mine on low setting all night, powered by my Honda EU1000.

Wal-Mart has a good selection of portable heaters this time of year, unless they been bought up in colder climates.

[3oaks]

dfm wrote:
x2 on the Vornado . Great quiet heater.

x3 or 4.

[dewey02]

We use the Delonghi micathermic heater in our bedroom. Totally silent and we have it hanging on the wall. About the size of a small TV.
Amazon link here