Best electric heater options

[Richard6959]

The weather is turning cooler and we need an electric heater for our new unit. Any recommendations?

Considering a tower fan that oscillates that has a heat element.

[pjhansman]

May not be the best but it's certainly seen a lot of use this summer in Upper Michigan.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_81525-33454-...ductId=3262237

Very quiet, oscillates, and the thermostat control works well. And not expensive.

[wbatto]

Hello,
We bought a Pelonis disc heater about 3 years ago. We really like it as it is small and easy to store. we could heat our 35' travel Trailor with it on a 40 deg night. They are more expensive than some of the other heaters but work great. click on the web site below.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...e-heater/75144

[byrdr1]

We use a duraflame quartz wooden box heater(the Amish style heater)http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...FbTm7AodkQIAmg in the living room area for heat when needed. We use the ceramic heater from lowes mentioned above in our bedroom if needed. We used it more last year than previous years. cold down to 26 a couple nights during Thanksgiving 2013 week at Myrtle Beach.
we don't use use the electric heaters anymore that's a whole other story.
Plus we will use the propane heater to back these up or the other way around?
Randy

[BirchyBoy]

Is there a reason you are all using electric instead of the furnace?

[Bob Landry]

Keep in mind that the outlets in the trailer are all 15A. The heaters are usually 1500W which draws 13A at 115VAC. What this means is that unless you have outlets that are on different circuit breakers, you will only be able to run one heater at maximum heat and depending on the supply voltage, you may not even be able o do that.

My solution to this was to install a 20A inlet on the trailer that is fed by the 20A plug at the CG pedestal with a separate cord. Just about every campground has this pedestal setup. That feeds a dedicated outlet installed on one end of the trailer. I installed another outlet and tied it into the circuit breaker for the air conditioner, which is also a 20A breaker. There is no problem doing this because you are not going to run the AC and the heater at the same time. This gives you two dedicated 20A outlets to run space heaters. Be sure to wi them using #12 romex, as the existing 15A wiring is only #14.

[byrdr1]

Originally Posted by BirchyBoy

Is there a reason you are all using electric instead of the furnace?

I pay for my propane and I pay for the use of electric with the site fees. I would much rather use the electric that is included with my site charges. I do use the propane but more of a back up in extreme temps, like last Thanksgiving week. we had to use the propane more to keep the camper at a good temp of 65-70degrees. I usually set the thermostat at 60-62 and then use the electric to keep it warmer.
Just me,
We only camp up until Thanksgiving most years and that week in SC can be warm, cool or cold as last year.
randy

[pjhansman]

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

I installed another outlet and tied it into the circuit breaker for the air conditioner, which is also a 20A breaker. There is no problem doing this because you are not going to run the AC and the heater at the same time.

Just added that to my list of things to do

[Richard6959]

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

Keep in mind that the outlets in the trailer are all 15A. The heaters are usually 1500W which draws 13A at 115VAC. What this means is that unless you have outlets that are on different circuit breakers, you will only be able to run one heater at maximum heat and depending on the supply voltage, you may not even be able o do that.

My solution to this was to install a 20A inlet on the trailer that is fed by the 20A plug at the CG pedestal with a separate cord. Just about every campground has this pedestal setup. That feeds a dedicated outlet installed on one end of the trailer. I installed another outlet and tied it into the circuit breaker for the air conditioner, which is also a 20A breaker. There is no problem doing this because you are not going to run the AC and the heater at the same time. This gives you two dedicated 20A outlets to run space heaters. Be sure to wi them using #12 romex, as the existing 15A wiring is only #14.

Thanks Bob, That is definitely a solution I will look at. I guess I need to do some testing to see which outlets run to which breakers. I have heard others say they ran a separate cord from the pedestal to power heaters, but never anyone that installed an outlet to plug the cord into. I like this better then running it through a window or vent.

[GaryWT]

I am not a fan of portable electric heat for fire safety. Had a couple in the basement at the house and they melted. Back in the pop up days when we did not heat I used an oil filled radiator type which was good. Currently we just use propane.

[chuckster57]

I use the oil filled also. Since we take our cats, I don't want to smell any burnt fur.

[Bob Landry]

Originally Posted by Richard6959

Thanks Bob, That is definitely a solution I will look at. I guess I need to do some testing to see which outlets run to which breakers. I have heard others say they ran a separate cord from the pedestal to power heaters, but never anyone that installed an outlet to plug the cord into. I like this better then running it through a window or vent.

I agree, running a cord through a window looks ghetto. It takes very little time or money to do it the correct way. I used a Marinco inlet shown in the photo, mounted on a piece of King Starboard, although a piece of cutting board from Walmart would work. I just happened to have it in my scrap box. I also went to a circuit breaker, which you really don't have to do since the wire is protected at the pedestal.

You are going to have a difficult time trying to use one of the existing outlets because they are set into the wall insulation. My galley cabinetry allowed me to put an outlet on each end and run the wiring inside the cabinet spaces.

[cjm]

another vote for the Pelonis. We spend each weekend in our trailer and drive up the mountain to ski all winter. We ocassionally wake up to a bit of snow, and the pelonis keeps us warm and cozy without using expensive propane.

the fan speeds up and slows down as required, and is very quiet.

[Steve S]

Get on of these, they're nice and quiet and way better then the oil filled ones

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by Steve S

Get on of these, they're nice and quiet and way better then the oil filled ones

Steve ..... How do you get it to stick to the ceiling like that??? And a tile ceiling no less. "

Just kidding ... I have had a few pics post upside down also.

[chris7913]

check out http://www.rvcomfortsystems.com

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by hankpage

Steve ..... How do you get it to stick to the ceiling like that??? And a tile ceiling no less. "

Just kidding ... I have had a few pics post upside down also.

Yeah it's weird, I checked the post twice and I can't make the pic look normal! lol! I'm just going to blame it on Keystone

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by chris7913

check out http://www.rvcomfortsystems.com

A lot has been said about this concept for heating RV's. The problems stem from available power. In a 30 Amp RV, there's simply not enough power into the RV to support an "add on" electric furnace with a BTU output large enough to "realistically heat" an RV. The maximum power output for the 115 volt system is 5400 BTU. That's the same as almost any free standing electric heater sold in most department stores. The problem being the $495 cost for the "add on" electric furnace vs the $20 for the free standing electric heater with the same BTU output.

When you get into the 50 amp RV electrical system, there are options, but the problem again boils down to the cost vs the practicality. To get 30K BTU from an add on electric heater takes a tremendous amount of electricity. Quite often the RV's electrical system can't support the heater and the "normal demands for power" such as microwave, hot water heater, converter, hair dryer, refrigerator and lighting.

One positive aspect is that with the supplemental electric furnace, some of the heat is ducted into the basement to keep the holding tanks warm (Polar Package). That's something that isn't available with the $20 WalMart heater that sits on the stove or on the kitchen counter.

[mazeppabob]

We have a toy hauler with no heat ducts in the toy area. I drilled two holes in the floor out of the way, holes large enough to poke the male end of a pigtailed threeway splitter down. They are 12-18 inches long (home depot). Then run a 20 amp extension cord to the camp pedistal outlet to one pigtail.
Since most pedistals also have a 30 amp outlet I run a 30 amp rv cord with a 30A to 120v conversion on the end to the other pigtail. Now have two CKTs.
Do not plug more than one heater into each ckt since the pigtail splitters are only rated at 20A and will melt before the 30A breaker blows.

[SkiSmuggs]

Originally Posted by Steve S

Get on of these, they're nice and quiet and way better then the oil filled ones

What heater is that? I can't tell from the picture.