HEATER IN MB July 13, 2009, 02:21:50 am Yahoo Message Number: 103865Either it's too hot or too cold...does anyone use an electric heater to solve this? if yes, what brand? other ideas for dry camping? thanks!
Re: Heater in Midbath Reply #1 – July 13, 2009, 09:53:58 am Yahoo Message Number: 103867"Either it's too hot or too cold...does anyone use an electric heater to solve this?" I can't honestly say I've had the "too hot/too cold" problem in my midbath; the thermostat seems to do a pretty good job, and the furnace ducts distribute heat surprisingly well throughout the coach. But the furnace is noisy, and it uses propane and battery power, so on those occasions when I'm camping with hookups, I use electric heaters instead. I have a Lasko (Walmart's house brand) oscillating "tower" heater that sits in the couch/wardrobe corner opposite my bathroom door and doers a pretty good job of heating the forward part of the coach I've found that several small electric heaters work better than a single more powerful one. I have a compact Holmes "InstaFurnace" cube heater under my desk (which replaced the streetside couch in the rear of the coach), where it keeps my feet and legs nice and warm while I'm answering emails first thing in the morning. And I have a Lasko (Walmart's house brand) oscillating "tower" heater amidships, opposite my bathroom door, where it does a good job of warming the bathroom and the front of the coach. I installed an electrical outlet there , so I wouldn't have to trip over its cord. These are both 1,500W heaters, but I run them on low power (750W). That way they do a good job of warming my 27-foot coach, while letting the two heaters share the same 15A circuit. Both my heaters are $25 cheapies, but you may be tempted by fancy ceramic-disc heaters with digital thermostats and wireless remotes. Being able to turn on the heater before you get out of bed does have its attractions! But having tried that type, I went back to inexpensive heaters. Why? All the fancy digitally controlled heaters I've seen have one major flaw: when power is interrupted, they forget all their settings. That means you have to laboriously click back to the power, fan and thermostat settings you prefer, which can take as many as ten clicks. That routine gets old pretty fast. What makes it worse is that all these heaters have safety tip-over switches in their bases, so that if you pick up the heater and move it--or even just bump it, in some cases--power is interrupted, and all your settings are lost. That was happening to me several times a day with a deluxe $80 remote-controlled heater I bought. Each time I walked past and bumped it, the heater would revert to 75° F. and full 1,500W power, and I'd have to reset everything. Finally I gave it away. Since then, I've bought heaters with mechanical thermostats. They're cheap, reliable... and they never forget where I set the temperature knob!Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: HEATER IN MB Reply #2 – July 13, 2009, 10:02:35 am Yahoo Message Number: 103869"bgypsylady" wrote: does anyone use an electric heater to solve this? if yes, what brand? other ideas for dry camping? --- There are several brands of small electric "cube" heaters available; I use a Pelonis HC-451 (it's the second listing on this page): http://pelonis.com/discfurn.htmThe Pelonis is small, but mighty; I stow it in a corner in the bottom of the closet, and it can warm the interior of my 23.5' pretty quickly. If you do a search in the archives (the "searchable archives" link is in the introductory paragrah on the message board's home page), you'll find other choices of small electric heaters and information on propane heating options, too.Joan
Re: HEATER IN MB Reply #3 – July 13, 2009, 10:03:21 am Yahoo Message Number: 103870"Either it's too hot or too cold...does anyone use an electric heater to solve this? if yes, what brand? other ideas for dry camping? thanks!" Yes, I'd guess just about everyone uses an electric heater at some point in traveling. Pelonis is a good brand: http://www.pelonis.com/discfurn.htm There are many others. Try to find one that has at least two levels of heating, 750w and 1500w, then you can keep it at lower wattage if the power is skimpy. Nice to have thermostatically controlled temp control so you don't have to keep turning it off and on. I have a little cheapy Holmes - $20 - that has served me well for 7 years. Most hardware stores will start stocking them late August, early Sept. For non-shore power times, I have an Olympian Wave catalytic heater that I run off my propane tank. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/olympian-wave-catalytic-heater/1630Chris
Re: HEATER IN MB Reply #4 – July 13, 2009, 12:19:27 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103871For me, the big advantage of the Pelonis (HC-461?) that others have recommended, is that it has a "soft" thermostat. When on, the fan and heat ramps up and down slowly to maintain the digitally set temperature. This is especially important if you're a light sleeper 'cause there's no abrupt noise change to wake you up as when a regular thermostatically controlled heater cycles on and off. In terms of heat effeciency, electric heaters are pretty much all the same, you can only get so much heat, measured in btu's, for a given amount in watts of electical power in.bumper[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: HEATER IN MB Reply #5 – July 13, 2009, 02:16:56 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103872QuoteOn Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:21:40 -0000, "bgypsylady" wrote: Either it's too hot or too cold...does anyone use an electric heater to solve this? if yes, what brand? other ideas for dry camping? Dear Barbara? Have you considered changing your elevation and/or latitude?While I am sure you did mean to imply using a heater while dry camping, should find an electric heater that will work from batteries, please let us all know. [My definition of dry camping does include using the genset for heating] Otherwise, I would go with a small 10x10 heater with manual controls. Big box stores will have ample selection in about two months. Currently parked at 9,050 feet overlooking Cathedral Valley, UT. The air temp is 72. Should be about 56 just before dawn.Don & Dorothy An MB named Koko & a Jeep named Pelli Our Travel Blog: http://travelingdorothy.blogspot.com/ Our Mods Blog http://kokoandpelli.blogspot.com/
Re: HEATER IN MB Reply #6 – July 13, 2009, 05:43:56 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103875Quote Either it's too hot or too cold...does anyone use an electric heater to solve this? if yes, what brand? other ideas for dry camping? thanks! A catalytic heater is the almost universal choice for off-grid camping. Olympian is the best-known quality brand for this product. Venting with open vents/windows is required, and to some degree, temperature equilibrium can be had with adjusting the vents. These heaters are silent, radiant, and have very low emissions.Steve
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