Portable electric heater

campfire7

Active Member
I have been shopping for a portable electoric heater for our RV , so far I have looked at the Broan and the " Brown Box" Both are 1500 Watts, but nether had good reviews, If anyone on here can give some advise it would help.


Thanks
 

Silverado23

Iowa Chapter Leaders
I have several lasko heaters that work well. Tall narrow tower style and also the short body type that oscillate depending on what your looking for. All have safety and convenience features. Digital temperature controls, tip over and overheat sensors to shutoff if overheating or blocked airflow all add to the safety.

I also installed a heat strip into one of my air conditioning units to replace my portable unit.
 

svictor

Member
We have run a small metal ceramic heater for years. I would suggest you be cautious running on high. We try to run our on the 750 watt setting, or off the washer & dryer circuit
 

Fox

Well-known member
Consumer Reports recently reviewed portable electric heaters.

Additionally don't overlook your electric fire place heater (if installed); just don't ignore your total electric drawing amperage.
 

sengli

Well-known member
We have two of them in our RV, again the biggest concern is that at 1500W the current draw is 12.5 amps. Make sure you find a suitable outlet for this current draw. Even the OEM fireplace in both our current landmark, and former big horn when used at 1500Watts made the attached cord very warm when used for any length of time.

We quite often use the heaters at the mid power level...750w
 

Gary521

Well-known member
I like the heaters with the thermostat on them rather than low, medium or high settings. That way they do not run all the time. Perhaps the thermostats are not the most accurate but better than nothing. I coordinate with the thermostat setting on the fireplace.
 

NYSUPstater

Well-known member
In our old coach ('06 Cedar Creek Silverback), we used 2 little ceramic heaters and they did a nice job in keeping the coach warm. Course plugged 1 into reg wall outlet and the other into the micro's so we could run at same time. Don't recall their wattage tho at the moment. Now w/ the BC, we use the fireplaces but for some reason we cannot run both at same time, BUT we can run both A/C's at same time......go figure. Haven't fired up the RV's furnace at all since we've had it.
 

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
We use a short tower heater that oscillates and has a digital temperature setting. Works well and we set it on the fire place. We do use the fire place, but not at night. Saved a lot of propane over time.
 

SNOKING

Well-known member
All 1500W heaters will provide the same amount of BTU's of heat. Make sure it has a tip over switch. Having a thermostat controlled unit is good. However most like that will not restart by themselves if power is disrupted. Chris
 

campfire7

Active Member
Living here in Florida we don't have the need for a lot of heat, Not that it doesn't get cold here, because it does, Just not as often as other parts of the country. After doing research on line and reading what you guys said, I feel that the small ceramic heaters are not as safe as I would comfortable with YET. so I think , For now, We will continue to do as we have been and that is, we use one of those portable radiator space heaters, they are a bit larger than the small box heaters and it is slow to warm a room, but once the room is comfortable it will sustain the heat. So we may turn a burner or two on stove on, and after about 10-15 min. we are good and the radiator will keep the heat up. The radiator heater is very quiet and tuning down to the lower setting, I feel comfortable with leaving it on all night while we sleep.

Thank you all for your input and help.
 

Fox

Well-known member
While using the stove top burners (for heating) will work, it's using propane.
 

Todster

Active Member
We picked up an amazon oscillating dual heat level heater. Adjustable thermostat and tip sensor. Works pretty good for $35. Just sayin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
I have several lasko heaters that work well. Tall narrow tower style and also the short body type that oscillate depending on what your looking for. All have safety and convenience features. Digital temperature controls, tip over and overheat sensors to shutoff if overheating or blocked airflow all add to the safety.

I also installed a heat strip into one of my air conditioning units to replace my portable unit.

We use one of those in the rear living room to supplement the furnace on cooler nights at either end of our season. The bedroom and bath are nice and toasty using the furnace, which is directly below.

During the winter, the Lasko tower resides in my den which faces the prevailing winds and is at the far end of a furnace duct run. Takes the chill out after the sun goes down.

Using a stove or oven for supplemental heating is something I would refrain from.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

For20hunter

Pacific Region Directors-Retired
We use this Lasko Elite Ceramic Heater in the upstairs bathroom of our Landmark and it works great! We set it to the auto eco mode and set the temp to 68 degrees and it stays on 24/7 in the winter months. Our electric bill went up an average of $12.00 per month when we started using this last year.

Rod
 

jimcat

Well-known member
I purchased a Honeywell 360 1500 watt heater.. it seems to be to much a load. I am plugged into a 50 amp service.. I have seen all lights flicker a few times.. I believe the built in surge protector is working well. Update.. seems something is killing power.. flickers, comes back on.. last time it stayed off.. I flipped 50 amp circuit breaker inside.. nothing.. I went out to the pole.. not tripped there.. but I turned it off and back on.. so far all is well, but, I really do not want to take a chance with this portable electric heater
 
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Dahillbilly

Well-known member
I purchased a Honeywell 360 1500 watt heater.. it seems to be to much a load. I am plugged into a 50 amp service.. I have seen all lights flicker a few times.. I believe the built in surge protector is working well. Update.. seems something is killing power.. flickers, comes back on.. last time it stayed off.. I flipped 50 amp circuit breaker inside.. nothing.. I went out to the pole.. not tripped there.. but I turned it off and back on.. so far all is well, but, I really do not want to take a chance with this portable electric heater
the heater should only draw 12.5 amps on max setting; wondering if you have a loose connection someplace causing the flicking. Try another outlet (on a different breaker) for the heater & see what happens
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Most of your lights use 12V DC from the Power Converter and Battery. If they flicker when the heater uses 120V AC, it's signaling several possible problems. I'd check first to ensure that the battery power is getting to your fuse box. The easiest way to do this is to go into the main circuit breaker panel, look and turn off the breaker for the Power Converter. On Landmarks, that'll be a 20 amp breaker. If your lights go out when the breaker is off, you need to reset a 12V DC mini-circuit breaker near the batteries. There's a row of them covered by red rubber boots. One has a teeny tiny reset button on one end.
circuit breaker reset.jpg

If the lights flicker or go out altogether, you have a problem with the Power Converter.

If lights stay on, you may have a problem with the 120V AC wiring/components. You could have a loose connection inside the automatic transfer switch that shifts power between generator and shore power. There also may be a problem with the Power Converter.

Turn the breaker for the Power Converter back on. Then use a volt meter to monitor your 12V DC voltage while the heater is running. I'd suggest removing the cover from the fuse box and measuring where the power converter connects to the fuse box. Use the ground bus in the fuse box as the ground connection. Before testing, turn the 2 battery cutoff switches to the OFF position. That way you'll measure Power Converter output only. If the voltage fluctuates when the lights dim, you either don't have sufficient voltage to keep the the Power Converter running, or the Power Converter is starting to fail.

Let us know what you find.
 

jimcat

Well-known member
Most of your lights use 12V DC from the Power Converter and Battery. If they flicker when the heater uses 120V AC, it's signaling several possible problems. I'd check first to ensure that the battery power is getting to your fuse box. The easiest way to do this is to go into the main circuit breaker panel, look and turn off the breaker for the Power Converter. On Landmarks, that'll be a 20 amp breaker. If your lights go out when the breaker is off, you need to reset a 12V DC mini-circuit breaker near the batteries. There's a row of them covered by red rubber boots. One has a teeny tiny reset button on one end.
View attachment 66539

If the lights flicker or go out altogether, you have a problem with the Power Converter.

If lights stay on, you may have a problem with the 120V AC wiring/components. You could have a loose connection inside the automatic transfer switch that shifts power between generator and shore power. There also may be a problem with the Power Converter.

Turn the breaker for the Power Converter back on. Then use a volt meter to monitor your 12V DC voltage while the heater is running. I'd suggest removing the cover from the fuse box and measuring where the power converter connects to the fuse box. Use the ground bus in the fuse box as the ground connection. Before testing, turn the 2 battery cutoff switches to the OFF position. That way you'll measure Power Converter output only. If the voltage fluctuates when the lights dim, you either don't have sufficient voltage to keep the the Power Converter running, or the Power Converter is starting to fail.

Let us know what you find.
Heck I have nothing now.. no AC no Dc.. Generator does not fire up, just clicks. Ill have to find a mobile tech..
 
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