What brand/type electric heater to use for full timing?

Again, thanks for all the info.

I purchased disk furnace from Camping World which provides plenty of heat in our RV, safe, and can't be knocked over:

http://www.campingworld.com/search/index.cfm?Ntt=ceramic+disk+heater&N=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=primary&Nty=1&Ntpc=1&Ns=p_sort_default

We also found we had a lot of moisture in the RV so we also purchased a dehumidifier at Home Depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-30-Pint-Dehumidifier-ADEL30LR/203661853#.UokiqeIs3fM

I have found that it removes from 1 to 2 gallons of water a day from the air. That makes the coach much more comfortable, and seems to reduce the amount of heat needed to make the air warm, stopped all the condition on and around the windows, and stopped the moisture that was building up under our cab headliner. I highly suggest anyone full timing to invest in one.

Another thing we did was to purchase an "Extend-a-Stay Kit", and a 40lb propane tank to run our furnace.

And to top it all off, we have moved to southern Oregon coast, and so far the coldest night we have had has been 41 degs (F). From what I see, I think it has gone down to 27 degs (F) where we were in Ohio, a big differenc in an RV. We have family and friends here and we really like it here. When my DW totaled our car, got discussed at work and quit her job, it was a no brain-er to move here and enjoy life. We can see the ocean from our RV, and we are in a really nice park.

Cheers  8)

I see I'm too late for you, but for others who might be considering...
We used the small cube ceramic heaters the first winter but went through propane nearly as fast as without them so I began looking for an alternative. My research led me to the Vornado line of heaters out of Kansas. They have all the safety features, and they work far superior to anything else I have ever owned. The furnace rarely if ever kicks on so hardly any propane use. They are a bit pricey but when they have a problem, call Vornado and they give you a UPS label to ship it back to them for repair and ship it to wherever you are, all free of charge/hassle. We use 3 of them in a 40'. Your mileage may vary...

Check out the latest issue of Trailer Life, it has an article about adding an electric heating element into your propane furnace so you can run it on electricity or LP. Reduces clutter and the need to secure more "stuff" before switching to travel mode. If we find ourselves spending more time in cold climates, its something I will probably do to one of my furnaces.

ImagesByHawkeye said:

Check out the latest issue of Trailer Life, it has an article about adding an electric heating element into your propane furnace so you can run it on electricity or LP. Reduces clutter and the need to secure more "stuff" before switching to travel mode. If we find ourselves spending more time in cold climates, its something I will probably do to one of my furnaces.

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The issue I have with this is that we use a cube electric heater because of the noise of the furnace. The furnace noise comes from the motor which would still have to run to provide circulation.

Jeff said:

The issue I have with this is that we use a cube electric heater because of the noise of the furnace. The furnace noise comes from the motor which would still have to run to provide circulation.

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Understand the furnace noise vs cube quiet.  However, this does make me wonder (something to tinker with) if the furnace will run with the propane turned off.  The reason is... If the furnace will continue to run (cycle air), placing a ceramic heater in front of the furnace air intake should allow draw of warm air from the electric heater and distribute warm air past the tanks just like normal operation.  Anyway, I'll give this a try for the heck of it.

I forgot to mention that about the Vornado's. They are virtually silent. Much quieter than even the cubes. Do not have to adjust the tv volume at all like when the cubes were on and even worse with the furnace. Something else I forgot, if you put your hand right in front of them, you can hardly tell they are making heat, yet they warm a room like gangbusters. Some kind of weird technology, but pets and people are safe if they are right next to or touching the front of the heater.

jje1960 said:

Understand the furnace noise vs cube quiet.  However, this does make me wonder (something to tinker with) if the furnace will run with the propane turned off.  The reason is... If the furnace will continue to run (cycle air), placing a ceramic heater in front of the furnace air intake should allow draw of warm air from the electric heater and distribute warm air past the tanks just like normal operation.  Anyway, I'll give this a try for the heck of it.

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I think lot of the space heater energy will be wasted keeping the heat exchanger and the firebox warm. Wouldn't cold air from the furnace side of the blower just cool the heat exchanger and blow it out the flue?

Bill

driftless shifter said:

I think lot of the space heater energy will be wasted keeping the heat exchanger and the firebox warm. Wouldn't cold air from the furnace side of the blower just cool the heat exchanger and blow it out the flue?

Bill

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Not sure.. Will let you know when I give it a try!  I'm not even sure the blower will stay on without the actual furnace operation.

jje1960 said:

Not sure.. Will let you know when I give it a try!  I'm not even sure the blower will stay on without the actual furnace operation.

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Our thermostsat has a "Fan" function of "On"  or "Auto" .

I put an electric fireplace in the cupboard in my bedroom that is supposed to hold a TV and has a slide out tray.  I don't watch TV but now I can watch the fire.  The fireplace really takes the chill out of the air back there. ( I am currently parked in upstate NY. ). I bought a Duraflame brand on sale at Lowes for $59. - 1500 watt 4600 BTU heats up to 400SF. 
But I will upgrade to a quieter model when funds allow.  Either that or drive south  8)

I know some have said that the heat strips you add to the A/C heat pumps don't work well- and they are called chill chaser, but I added them to my 2 heat pump units, and stayed comfortable. We have been in the Newport Oregon area for 4 weeks and then in Couer D Alene Idaho for 2 weeks. They will not bring the temperature up in a cold motor very fast. They are rated at 1600 watts 5600 Btus each. The air coming out is 8- 10 degrees warmer than the going into the vent. I wish it was possible to run the fan on low when running electric heat but with my set up its not, so the 8-10 degrees differential is with the fan in high. It is noisy ,same as running the AC but it does move the air around in the motorhome, so the temperature in the motorhome is more evenly distributed. Once the temperature dropped into the mid teens then I had a portable 1500 watt Broan electric heater I plugged in. We kept the temperature at 68 degrees. So you can get some pretty useful heat from them and still be able to use your inside receptacle for more heaters if you need them. The only propane I used was for cooking.
The two real negatives are I couldnt run the fans on low.
And you have to wait for the heat pump control to switch from heat pump to heat strips. It would be better if you could choose heat strips rather than wait.

Pelonis Cube  for me.  Worth the $ because it  is not on/off.  It is always running adjusting its own heat and volume to the temp. you set.  Seems more efficient than the cheapos I have had.  Keeps my main room at a constant temp w/o highs and lows. 28' class A

I use an assortment of CUBE heaters starting with The world's smallest space heater (That is what it says on the box) Which I just put in ye-old wet bay because.. Well it's supposed to get cold so I added it to the strings of lights already living there.  And I'll replace a few BOB's tomorrow (Burned out Bulbs).

I just got a 20 dollar ceramic at Wally World (Bit less actually)

What I really wanted but.. Alas, takes more gas than I hav e to get it, is a small 1500 watt electric "Fireplace" that Camping world has on sale just now.. (Or I could get it at ACE perhaps but they are closed today).  About 50 or 60 bucks, it is about the size of the screen on this firepl..er, computer (Yes there is a fireplace app for Win-8.x Nice Cracleling fire, no heat though).

I'm running FOUR 1500 watt heaters this week, Normally that's 3 + a spare but this week all 4 will be needed.. And I may add propane to the mix too.