Recommendation for heater?

[Brettmm92]

Hey,

I'm looking for a recommendation for an electric space heater. I live in my camper . Last year I bought a well reviewed space heater on amazon that kept flipping the circuit breaker switch. I returned it and settled with just the propane furnace. To help with the cost, I'm looking for a space heater that won't flip the switch. I'm assuming a lower wattage or amps one, but am kind of in the dark when it comes to electricity and how it works. If anyone has any input at all that would be appreciated. Especially if it's information about why space heaters are so ready to trip the breaker.

[DutchmenSport]

"You didn’t mention which breaker is flipping. Is it a 15Amp or the 30Amp main breaker? "

Mine flipped in the camper, it was always the main 30 amp breaker, never the individual 15 amp ones. Never tripped at the campground post though in all 3 trailers. I figure the camper breakers were newer and just a bit more sensitive than the ones used at any campground.

[GrandpaKip]

We have one of the small ceramic heaters that has 3 settings. We would use the furnace for a bit to warm things up, then turn it off and use the lowest setting on the electric heater.
As DutchmenSport said, the best solution would be to run a separate 12 gauge extension cord just for the heater if possible.
You didn’t mention which breaker is flipping. Is it a 15Amp or the 30Amp main breaker?

[ksg5000]

As others have said an electric heater should not be tripping a circuit breaker unless there is something else on that circuit which is also being used. You might consider looking for loose wire at both the breaker and the outlet switch - loose wire might contribute to overload. Also - might consider replacing the breaker and/or wall outlet - there not expensive.

[SoundGuy]

DutchmenSport wrote:
It took some trial and error, but here's some tricks I discovered to stay within the 30 amp allocated usage all my travel trailers permitted.

1st. I always ran my water heater on gas, not electric.

2nd. When running the microwave, we always turned the air conditioners off first.

3rd. If we ran a portable electric heater, or an electric skillet, or an electric griddle, we always plugged it into the campground shore power post by running a separate orange 50 foot extension cord into the camper.

This worked.

There's no magic to this, it's simply a matter of practicing power management. Restrict your overall draw to no more than what your rig's main service is rated for & the service you're drawing from AND ensure you don't attempt to draw any more than any given circuit is rated for and there's no reason to ever trip a breaker. Blindly plug in and turn whatever you feel like turning on and it's a virtual guarantee you're going to trip breakers - COMMON SENSE. Start by labeling every breaker so you know exactly what circuit(s) each is protecting and know what each is circuit is rated for, in most cases 15 amps.

[DutchmenSport]

In my previous 3 travel trailers I could not run very much more than the standard equipment that came with the trailer. Maybe a coffee pot and a toaster, or hair blower, but that was about all.

It took some trial and error, but here's some tricks I discovered to stay within the 30 amp allocated usage all my travel trailers permitted.

1st. I always ran my water heater on gas, not electric. Although electric does not run all the time, just when it's actually heating, about the time I plugged in a space heater at 1500 watts and then the water heater turned on, it would blow the breaker. So, running your water heater on Gas, saves some electrical AMPS from that 30 limit.

2nd. When running the microwave, we always turned the air conditioners off first.

3rd. If we ran a portable electric heater, or an electric skillet, or an electric griddle, we always plugged it into the campground shore power post by running a separate orange 50 foot extension cord into the camper. Every camper we had, I was able to find a hole somewhere I could fish the orange extension cord through from the outside. The port where the camper electrical unbilical cord fed through was usually the place. I had to dismantle some paneling, but eventually I made a way to fish the orange cord and bring it inside the camper. I did this with 3 different travel trailers.

When using electric griddles or electric frying pans outside, we always plug them into the campground shore power post, never through the camper itself for this very reason.

These simple changes in the way we used the camper made all the difference in the world.

Our last camper, our Outback 298RE, I could run one 1500 watt space heater through the camper wiring as long as the water heater was on gas. I then ran a second extension cord from the campground post, put it through the umbilical port and could run a second 1500 watt space heater.

But in the Summer, if we ever used an electric skillet or the electric griddle inside, I always ran the extension cord.

This worked.

My current camper is 50 amp, and last week-end I discovered that plugging in my 1500 watt electric griddle through the outside plug on the camper popped the breaker. But I did have both air conditioners running, the water heater on electric, and the microwave running all at the same time. I went ahead and ran the extension cord and will probably continue doing so when cooking outside.

[SoundGuy]

Brettmm92 wrote:
Last year I bought a well reviewed space heater on amazon that kept flipping the circuit breaker switch.

A typical 1500 watt electric heater won't draw any more than 12.5 amps @ 120 vac so if you tripped a breaker then you've got something else running on that same circuit. Buying a different electric heater isn't going to change this, nor would you want one rated at less draw as it will also output less heat. Rather, the solution is to select whatever 1500 watt heater you prefer based on features offered and ensure it's the only device running on that circuit.

[Lwiddis]

My electric heater (much unused) has two settings..700 and 1500 watts. I use only the 700 setting. The basics of RV electric power aren’t difficult but IMO essential. Read and study an online tutorial.

[2oldman]

Brettmm92 wrote:
I'm assuming a lower wattage or amps one, but am kind of in the dark when it comes to electricity and how it works..

Volts x amps = watts. Volts never change, so if you get a bigger wattage heater, amps go up.

Should I go on, or is this over your head? I'm not being smart, I just want to know if you can understand how you have to size the amps to your breaker.