Electric Heater for winter

wdk450

Well-known member
I use an 1100 watt small electric heater that has a red pilot light. I noticed when using it in certain outlets the pilot light would flicker some. I realized this was a troubleshooting tool to find poor outlet wiring conditions.

The outlets they use in our RV's do not use screws for securing down the stripped wires for the electrical connection. Instead, they use insulation displacement connectors, which are a metal tab with a sharp V shaped slot into which the insulated wire is pushed down. The pushing down into the metal V strips the wire insulation and makes the electrical connection with the conductor. There is a very small contact area compared to the screw-type connection, and very often the wire is not seated in the V deep enough to make a reliable connection, especially for a high current load (like a heater).

I think having a heater with a pilot light is a good idea, and maybe change out the heater outlet to a standard screw type.
 
Top