Best Portable Electric Heater?

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What is your real question? Is the electric going to be your main heat source? Do you want to spend the most money you can? Do you want a highly rated, or most efficient unit?
To me, the best portable is the cheapest one that will not break in the next year, is reasonably quiet, and won't burn the rig down. I prefer simple ceramic heaters. Got one at Walgreens for $17 and one at Wal Mart for $21. I think both were made in the same Chinese sweat shop. They work. Warm comes out. Satisfaction.
If you want to pay $300 or up for one of those fancy units, by all means, do so. You can only extract so many BTUs out of 1500 watts which is the max you will get for 110 volts, and other than that, you can enhance some high line company's profit and their advertising budget all you want.
 
my first Lasko tower heater lasted 8 yrs my second lasted 2 months this one is another Lasko because it's what is available locally and it don't work all that great. It has a digital thermostat and set at 63 degrees nver reaches that temp. so it runs constantly according to the wall thermostat it's almost 80 degrees but the heater says 60 degrees and still running so I turn it down to shut it off and it stays off until the temp. drops below 60. My first didn't have to digital thermostat and it worked great keeping the temp consistence.  If I could find another without a digital I would buy it.
 
I've had good luck and even heat with the Honeywell radiator type oil filled heater.  Heats the whole room and not just where it is pointing. 
 
A radiator type or a ceramic element type is your best bet. The oil filled radiators are slower for initial heat, but quiet and even heating once things warm up. The ceramics with their fan can deliver quick heat, at the cost of a bit more noise (some are noisier than others, so check 'em out and return if too much). I would not use the cheaper wire grid heat element types for safety reasons - too much fire danger and RVs are tinderboxes.

If you get a digital control model, make sure the temperature can be adjusted in one degree increments.  Some digitals are switch types, with increments of as much as 5 degrees. That's not enough granularity to properly control the heat in an RV environment.

In the coach we use a Bionaire ceramic we got at Target. Also have a Lasko tower heater in the house that works pretty well and is fairly quiet. Both are digital control models.
 
I recently replaced an 8 year old Pelonis ceramic disc heater with another Pelonis unit. Actually I bought two - a HF 0003 for $20 and a HC 0145 for $70. Oddly enough the cheaper one is quieter than the more expensive one.
 
Get a unit without the digital control. Then when you loose 120vac power and it comes back on so will the electric heater. It's bad enough having to reset the digital clock without getting up in the middle of the night to re-initiate the electric heater.
 
Have an electric oil unit in my daughters room in the house, this thing has been awesome, however pretty big for the trailer.  We bought our first el'cheapo porcelain unit years ago while on spring break in Myrtle Beach, turned out to be one really cold break... anyway, we have two of them now, one for the main cabin in the 5vr and one for the bay.  At like $17.00 how can  you go wrong, they put out heat are quiet and don't have a flame.  I sat on the couch a few years ago with our TT at a Martinsville race, after heating up the TT with the furnace, rest of the time just used the small electric heater on the 1K generator, nice to have options.
 
Watts are Watts are Watts.  Amish built, Sooper Duper,  space age, German Technology, Magic Crystals.... all the same.
As stated above go for quiet and control features you like.

 
We have used BIG HEAT in four different MHs and love it because of its small size and how well it works.

http://www.broan.com/display/router.asp?ProductID=100615

JerryF
 
stephenforeman172 said:
Well look like a long time now but I'm finding a good one. Find some good one on amazon and on this one https://innovatecar.com/best-electric-heater-for-rv/ they pick the Cadet Com-Pak. I think I gonna choose Cadet Com-Pak 2000W, 240V Electric Wall Heater with Thermostat. Let see how it work.

I assume you have 50 amp service in your RV. If not, it won't work. 30 amp service is only 120 volts. Then if you do a 50 service in your RV, you either have to be handy with electrical, or get an electrician install a 240 volt feed along with a double pole breaker to supply power to that heater. You also need to check your service panel to be sure a double pole breaker will even work in it.
 
I disagree they are all the same. I have 2 Polaris units in my camper during the winter. One has lasted two winters running pretty much continuously, and the other I just got this past January. I think they were about 20-25 dollars each with
digital temperature control. I also have a tiny My Heat one for the bathroom which works GREAT it was 10 dollars on amazon.

I thought I would be fancy this year and buy a Vornado brand that had a much sleeker look to it and was way more expensive at 100 bucks. The Vornado was awful and did nothing to warm the space, even though it was "rated" on the box for up to 450 sq feet or something. I brought it back and got the Polaris units back out.

Moral: they are not all the same, and the cheaper ones seem to work better.
 
Over the past few years, I've found this site interesting:

http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-space-heaters/

 
Elsewhere I have a lot of folks who do not like me because I tend to post FACTS. Well researched FACTS in most cases, and sadly FACTS conflict with their political beliefs. But that should not happen here.

Fact: Of all the electronic/electrical products made ONLY the Space heater is 100% efficient.. And, what's more ALL of them are 100% efficient. Does not matter if it's an "oil filled" or Forced air or Radiant  If it's Ceramic or Hot wire  Nothing matters (when it comes to making heat) Save the wattage. Most are 1500 but you can get smaller and I used to have a 2,000.

Now, there are some that are SAFER then others (Ceramic for example) and I'd choose a safe one for RV use,

I have (in the past) explained why all Space heaters are equally efficient but basicaly it is this. ALL losses are expressed as HEAT, and since HEAT is the desired product.. Losses are thus recovered.

IF the thing is "Radiant" and sheds a nice bright light.. Some folks say "But visible light is not heat"

Fact is, it will be.. when it's absorbed by objects it is not completly reflectred off of like you, the wall, the curtains, the ceiling and floor.. only light that goes out the window is lost and I pull the shades.

But what about the fan motor?  Well losses in the motor become heat and as for the energy used moving the air. FRICTION also creates heat and that will happen too.

So other than safety. They are all the same. I like a Ceramic with tip over protection for safety.
 
I agree with Johns facts. But my preference is oil filled. I like the slow convection they set up in the room. And almost silent running.
 
I also like the oil-filled for long term. We have one we used in our last trailer, but the cord and plug get a lot warmer than what I like. It's an older DeLonghi that belonged to my in-laws years ago. We use a Pelonis ceramic most of the time, and it gives a decent amount of heat and takes off the chill fairly quickly. When we replace them, I will probably go with the ones picked by the folks on the link I posted earlier. In our old trailer, I added a separate outlet that was fed independently from the pedestal's 20 amp outlet. On the C that we have now, we use a flat air conditioner cord run through the driver's door to run the space heater, also fed from the 20 amp pedestal outlet. The flat cord shows no signs of pinching when I close the driver's door.
 
First: one of the unique things about electric space heaters. ALL of them.  Yes ALL of them are 100% efficient.  WHY? Because all losses experess as heat so since heat is the desired product loss is 100% recovered.  Fan forced or radient. High tech or low all are 100% efficent when it comes to converting watts to heat. Power factor however (The difference between Amp-Hours and Watts) may vary but considering the percentage of power drawn by the fan... NOT MUCH.

SO the web page linked to above seems to like a lot of air movement. This heats the room more evenly and precisely.. I like small and safe..  The Ceramic jobs meet that requirement.

I've never seen the DYSON up close so can't comment.. thogh it is unique.

Some folks will argue with me on that 100% comment above
The light from the glowing element of a radiant heater... IS HEAT it will be absorbed by stuff in the room and turn into heat
The "Wind" from the fan forced is not heat. No but as it rubs up against stuff there is Friction and that generates heat. 

So all losses experss as heat.
 
GKman said:
Watts are Watts are Watts.  Amish built, Sooper Duper,  space age, German Technology, Magic Crystals.... all the same.
As stated above go for quiet and control features you like.

True.......except.  A heater with no fan can use the entire 1500 Watts for heating.  A heater with a fan will have to use some of the 1500 Watts for running the fan.  Granted, it is a small difference, but none the less.........
 
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