Electric space heaters

[kayco53]

We use out TC for skiing quite a bit.So we use our ceramic as a heat source when we can plug in.Sometimes both.Coldest we have ever been out in was about -40c with both going center of rv was barely 20c.Frost in the corners mattress frozen to the overhead.Luckily only a couple of days before it warmed up to reasonable.What kind of electric heaters do you use when plugged in.Sure glad our heater is old school gravity furnace.

[trail-explorer]

MN Ben wrote:
I like the old fashion milk house heater.

If you don't know what a milk house heater is, LMGTFY

[hbrady]

So, I was reading this thread last week while preparing for my weekend trip and with cold weather in the forecast I'm glad I did. I brought one of my oil filled heaters and ran it on medium during the night. I also left the blower on to keep the air circulated. When I got up Saturday it was 37F outside and a toasty 70F inside. Thanks for the great idea 😉

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I have a DeLonghi thermostatically-controlled electric heater. It has a fan and oscillates; if you set it for 67 degrees, it will stay at that temp, give or take a degree or two. It was able to keep our 28' 5th wheel warm enough that the furnace only ran a few times during a 5-degree F night (I had Reflectix over the windows and foam pillows in the vents for extra insulation) Given the lesser insulation but smaller footprint of the camper (a popup), I suspect it would keep us warm enough in freezing temps?

[pianotuna]

I use electric heated carpets, oil filled heaters and fan based heaters. If I have sufficient power (three 15 amp circuits) I can heat 100% electrically.

I replaced the return air grill for the furnace with a dual window fan. It is thermostatically controlled and pushes a bit of air through the duct work.

[Kayteg1]

I don't use electric heaters in my camper, but having sub-basement bedroom have been using them for years there.
For the house oil-filled heater is the best, but it is big and heavy for RV.
Ceramic heaters are very small, but the fans on them can be annoying and they are the first thing to fail.
You don't want anything in RV, that is showing red-hot elements.
I like baseboard heater if you use it often, but that still might require additional heater not only for better heating power, but also for air movement.
One thing to remember, 1500W means 12.5 amp and you better make sure you have good connection for it. Use contractor-grade extension only and if you have aging power outlets, you might want to upgrade them to 20 amp and hospital-grade.
Our neighbors lost their house couple years ago when wall outlet overheated and ignited wood paneling.

[Photomike]

I have an upright fan operated electric that I take in case I have power. Works great. Has a built in thermostat and tip over safety feature. Is small as it stands up and can really put out the heat when you need it. I usually run the electric and propane when I stop for the night and I have power to warm up the camper, then I turn the propane down low in case the electric goes out during the night.

I also have a cat heater and will use that when I am awake and I do not have power and then turn it off when I sleep and use the propane. I know it is safe but feel better safe than sorry.

[RoyB]

We usually only camp in the milder places in the late season and maybe sometimes it migh get down in the high 20's...

We have a couple of the 1500WATT OIL FILLED portable heatres in our setup... I was worried about the open flame or accessible red hot cores type portable heaters might be a safety issue...

We always run a separate extension cord out to the campground pedestal and plug into their 20AMP service to run our portable heaters... This does not draw from our 30A side of the campground pedestal...

If we need to move some air around the trailer we sit one of those O2-COOL 10-inch 120V/12VDC/D CELL fans behind it. Perfect fit sitting behind the oil-filled heaters and will move some air around the trailer room...

Using the on-board furnace is the back-up heater for us... The 12VDC BLOWER that is on ours is really loud and eats up a bunch of Battery current when we are camping off the power grid...

When camping off the power grid Momabear likes to use one of those 12VDC heated lap blankets while watching HDTV from the local towns... This also makes for heated blanket on the bed as well that doesn't draw alot of DC Current.

Roy Ken

[kerry4951]

I had room to install a 1000 watt Dimplex baseboard heater. Its permanent and its out of the way. I wired it into the A/C breaker since you will never be using both AC and heat at the same time. The higher the wattage the longer they are, so I had enough room for a 1000 watt unit. They also make them I believe in 750 and 1500 watts. If you only had limited area, a 750 watt may still fit since they are shorter in length. Mine even fit under the slide out so it does not interfere with its movement. The only thing I had to do was make a deflector plate so the heat is radiated out and away. Obviously you will need ample area to mount this type of heater, but they are nice and work very well.

[Bumpyroad]

mkirsch wrote:
Electric heat is 100% efficient, and 1500 Watts is 1500 Watts. Anything else is just fancy overpriced packaging. The little $20 ceramic cube heater produces the exact same amount of heat as the $300 Amish hand-crafted wooden heaters, or the $100 things that look like radiators.
.

there is no better heat than an oil filled radiator type. takes longer to warm up but maintains the temperature without on off fan blowing, etc. I use one all winter in my bathrooms. but again, probably not practical in a TC.
bumpy

[Jack_Diane_Free]

20C is pretty warm. Just put on warm clothes and blankets. We keep our house at 20C at night all winter.

[midnightsadie]

X2 ,a fan realy helps just set on low .

[bobndot]

quote wrote:
Frost in the corners mattress frozen to the overhead.

ventilate. crack a roof vent or window, use a battery operated fan to circulate air if boondocking.

[mkirsch]

Electric heat is 100% efficient, and 1500 Watts is 1500 Watts. Anything else is just fancy overpriced packaging. The little $20 ceramic cube heater produces the exact same amount of heat as the $300 Amish hand-crafted wooden heaters, or the $100 things that look like radiators.

Each 1500W heater draws about 14 Amps, so you will be overloading a 30A RV circuit trying to run two of them, along with charging batteries, running the furnace, etc.. Forget plugging them both into the same outlet, you'll blow the camper's internal breaker on that circuit.

20C is 68F! Pretty balmy considering you're in a box with the insulation R-value of a shopping bag, and it's -40C/-40F outside!

All you need is a fan to circulate that bubble of warm air around the camper.

[Bumpyroad]

eHoefler wrote:
We have found the oil filled radiators work the best. Have wintered in our 40' fifth wheel with out using the furnace. .

I've always recommended these radiators but this is for a TC. now there is a small one available but not too powerful.
bumpy