Electrical Help pls

[maria_bettina]

Hi! I bought a 250 Watt Electric Heater to stave off the chill at night (the tag says it uses 2.1A). We have solar panels to charge our 200A battery (I don't think that matters, but just in case).

Before the trip, I plugged the 250 Watt Heater into the 300 Watt inverter, and the inverter is plugged into the cigarette lighter in the camper. (The wire that runs from the cigarette lighter to the battery sized for 10A.) It worked fine. But now that my son and husband are on their trip, when they plug in the heater, the 10A fuse blows that is at the cigarette lighter. Twice.

They are able to play a DVD and TV by plugging it into the inverter. So everything works for the DVD and TV.

Nothing else is being charged or used on that inverter, nor at the cigarette lighter.

Note: There is an electric fridge/cooler, and it's being powered by the same auxiliary battery, but it's not on the same fuse (if that makes sense; I know I am not using the correct terminology).

My hubby just got to a campsite that has a power supply, and the heater works fine. So at least he is able to use it now without blowing fuses.

Any suggestions as to where we can start looking for the issue(s)?

TIA.

[jimh406]

Grit dog wrote:
Absolutely talking tiny stoves. A large stove or even a small household stove would just be too big and throw out too much heat.

None of your reasons are absolute. Most stoves have controls that both limit the amount of heat output also limit the amount of wood burned which would both control how hot it gets and also how long the wood will burn. Also, different species of wood have dramatically different burning characteristics and BTUs per cord.

Diesel fuel heaters are only practical if you have diesel available for some other reason, and you still need to vent it and put it somewhere.

[Grit_dog]

jimh406 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
It doesn't sound like installing a RV furnace or wood stove (woodstove, really? in a popup full of people? lol love the idea in theory. Not even remotely practical in the OP's scenario/type of camper...)

Please explain why you think it isn't practical? Keep in mind we are talking tiny stoves.

This company marks their cub, a 11” W x 12” H x 10.5” D wood stove that weighs 25 lbs. https://fireandsaw.com/best-camper-rv-wood-stove/

Btw, there are also backpack wood stoves for tents. Theirs are all of the way down to 6 x 6 x 9 and 18 oz. https://seekoutside.com/titanium-wood-stoves/

Absolutely talking tiny stoves. A large stove or even a small household stove would just be too big and throw out too much heat.
Practically speaking, a few of the reasons off the top of my head...
1. You ever camp with one of those tiny stoves and know how long it will burn? I guess if you're ok with getting up every 2 hours max, before the fire goes completely out, especially with whatever softwood branches you can find at 10kft in Cali.
2. Space, maintaining clear distance in a little pop top camper with a minimum of 3 people (heard the words hubby and kid, maybe there's kids plural even). Where would you put it.
3. Roof vent and pop up camper? Sure anything is "possible" but I said practical. I guess you set up the stove pipe (single wall?) every time you pop the top and then clean it out to remove and store every time you put it down?
4. 3x as much cost as a little diesel heater and more "work".

Cool? Yes.
Practical in this application? Nope.

[jimh406]

Grit dog wrote:
It doesn't sound like installing a RV furnace or wood stove (woodstove, really? in a popup full of people? lol love the idea in theory. Not even remotely practical in the OP's scenario/type of camper...)

Please explain why you think it isn't practical? Keep in mind we are talking tiny stoves.

This company marks their cub, a 11” W x 12” H x 10.5” D wood stove that weighs 25 lbs. https://fireandsaw.com/best-camper-rv-wood-stove/

Btw, there are also backpack wood stoves for tents. Theirs are all of the way down to 6 x 6 x 9 and 18 oz. https://seekoutside.com/titanium-wood-stoves/

[maria_bettina]

joerg68 wrote:
You may well be near or over your payload rating, but not necessarily over the axle ratings.
The next time you are ready to go camping, take your rig to a scale and get the actual axle weights of both axles.
Compare with the axle ratings on your door sticker.
That will tell you if you have any weight reserves left.

:B We did that before, but it's been a while. Made mods and keep adding this and that. Your reply is a good reminder we need to do that again... Good idea about the axle ratings! Hoping that will buy us a few pounds. Thank you!

[Grit_dog]

maria_bettina wrote:
Thank you for all the follow-up posts. This thread has been very informative (to me). I feel like I got a quickie electrical lesson and info on other ways to heat my TC. You guys are the best!!! I can always count on the members of RV.net to help me out.

Yea, we had the $1500 option of an LP furnace which we declined. Believe me, I am kicking myself for that now. I didn't realize how often we'd find ourselves camping in the cold! We have found ourselves at 10k feet elevation and the Little Buddy not working. D'oh. (I guess the cold didn't bother me when we had the travel trailer - haha - oh, how I appreciate all the amenities we had now.)

Thanks again !

Nope, Buddy Heaters run out of air at around 8kft, which you didn't mention that you know...so you've effectively verified that they're safe to use and shut off as designed with low O2 (if you understood why it didn't work at 10kft).

It doesn't sound like installing a RV furnace or wood stove (woodstove, really? in a popup full of people? lol love the idea in theory. Not even remotely practical in the OP's scenario/type of camper...) is within your abilities and obviously budget is a huge concern if you bought a new camper with no heater.
A small 5kw-8kw diesel heater would be the most economical and easiest setup for your needs. Would still need to know how to wire it up to your 12V system and install a thru wall exhaust, and have enough battery capacity to run it (just like anything but a woodstove, basically). But the heater will heat the little camper really well it would seem, as a 8kw version is rated to put out about 600% the btus of a Little Buddy. For less than $150 purchase price.
Disclaimer, I have yet to buy or use one of these, but they're pretty popular and widely accepted as being viable sources of heat that use very little fuel and self contained with minimal install requirements.

[joerg68]

You may well be near or over your payload rating, but not necessarily over the axle ratings.
The next time you are ready to go camping, take your rig to a scale and get the actual axle weights of both axles.
Compare with the axle ratings on your door sticker.
That will tell you if you have any weight reserves left.

[maria_bettina]

jimh406 wrote:
I believe it's likely you can retrofit a LP furnace. They are essentially a box with knockouts and available in many different sizes.

There are also mini wood furnaces that you can vent to the outside.

Really, there are a lot of options.

I am going to look into that again. We don't have a permanent LP on board (just the little canisters), and weight is an issue (hence the bare bones camping) as we are driving a Tundra. I literally made a spreadsheet with weights of all the items we bring. Dang Tundras with their lame max payload. I think ours is 1500#.

[Grit_dog]

pianotuna wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Reflectix is for heat infiltration and isn't intended for cold. Details are on its packaging. So maybe find a better insulation material to put in its place and it could make a big difference!

Aerogel may be a solution.

http://www.aerogel.org/

ROFLMAO
Do you just sit on the internet and look for weird impractical solutions to problems that don't exist.

[jimh406]

I believe it's likely you can retrofit a LP furnace. They are essentially a box with knockouts and available in many different sizes.

There are also mini wood furnaces that you can vent to the outside.

Really, there are a lot of options.

[maria_bettina]

Thank you for all the follow-up posts. This thread has been very informative (to me). I feel like I got a quickie electrical lesson and info on other ways to heat my TC. You guys are the best!!! I can always count on the members of RV.net to help me out.

Yea, we had the $1500 option of an LP furnace which we declined. Believe me, I am kicking myself for that now. I didn't realize how often we'd find ourselves camping in the cold! We have found ourselves at 10k feet elevation and the Little Buddy not working. D'oh. (I guess the cold didn't bother me when we had the travel trailer - haha - oh, how I appreciate all the amenities we had now.)

Thanks again !

[jimh406]

ScottG wrote:
It has minimal effect (again, read the manufacturers info: for temps over 70 degrees).

Pretty much anything, even a blanket draped will work better.

So, I guess you use blankets in your windows, skylights, under your bed, and cabinets. We found a roll of Reflectix to be easy to install, and we don't have to launder it.

Seriously though, I'm not sure what minimal means, but we can feel a difference. Apparently, we aren't the only one.

A testimonial of using with an RV on their site. https://www.reflectixinc.com/with-reflectix-i-can-camp-in-the-winter/. Of course, Reflectix could be just spreading misinformation about their product on their site.

Also, there is an entire list of what a DIY might use it for. https://www.reflectixinc.com/applications/diy/

[ScottG]

jimh406 wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Reflectix is for heat infiltration and isn't intended for cold. Details are on its packaging. So maybe find a better insulation material to put in its place and it could make a big difference!

Reflectix actually works for heat and cold. Preventing heat from going out still means the inside is warmer. Many of us have tried it. It works.

It has minimal effect (again, read the manufacturers info: for temps over 70 degrees).
Pretty much anything, even a blanket draped will work better.

[jimh406]

ScottG wrote:
Reflectix is for heat infiltration and isn't intended for cold. Details are on its packaging. So maybe find a better insulation material to put in its place and it could make a big difference!

Reflectix actually works for heat and cold. Preventing heat from going out still means the inside is warmer. Many of us have tried it. It works.

[ticki2]

maria_bettina wrote:

stevenal wrote:
Once the fuse blowing issue is solved, I expect you'll be dealing with battery capacity. Heating appliances will draw your battery down very quickly.

Yes, I am bummed. I don't know how to heat ourselves at night. Below 40-degrees and it's downright uncomfortable. We have a Little Buddy heater, but not for sleeping. We have Reflectix around the vinyl (we have a pop-up TC), but that's not enough.


Back to the drawing board.

For camping without electric hookup in cool/cold weather it’s pretty difficult to heat the camper without a gas or diesel vented heater . It was as an option on your camper , apparently not taken . It might be time to reconsider .