Be careful with space heaters

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djw2112

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2018
Posts
1,166
Location
East Texas
I had to move my space heater tonight because it dawned on me that it was blowing hot air directly on my converter vent.  This is not good for the converter and I am sure it had something to do with the last converter going bad.  The heat probably dried out the board components, even though it was 10+ years old which was the bigger reason I am sure the extra heat did not do it any favors.    I am just lucky that it did not fry this one before I moved it.  It was a good 3' away at floor level but still the air was pretty warm at that distance.

The bad part of this is that there are only two other places that I can put my space heater, one is to set a board over the sink and put it there (I do have the water off at night since I just use my pump) or in the narrow walk lane next to my bed and sink.  There is a formica popup shelf there that I can put the back of my heater kinda close to and the heat from the elements wont bother the formica being 2" away from it.  And that gives me alittle room to get it away from the corner of the bed.  But i have to be really careful not to let my blanket drop down on the side of the bed at the foot or it will burn.

I liked having the heater at floor level because it helped keep the floor warm which kept the water lines that are attached to the underside of the bathroom floor (in the storage bay) also warmer than they would be without it.  Heat rises and so having it at sink level takes away from that.

The way I have my heaters set up is that one portable is at the door and the other one is in the bedroom and they are blowing towards each other which keeps the RV at a constant 65-67 deg which is about perfect for me.   

Now I might have to look into getting something to push the air down or at least circulate it.    Even though I drain my water lines every night in cold weather I am sure the heater on the floor helped the water lines, but now I dont have that set up. 

I guess the point of this is that it is not just getting space heaters and using them, you have to think about where the air goes, what it can hurt or help, and deciding the acceptable danger of placement.

 
When I use a space heater in an RV I don't attempt to heat the entire RV. I use it to heat me. I have it sitting right in front of me pointed at me. I don't use a space heater at night when I am in bed, I have an electric blanket.
 
SeilerBird - I wish I could use a electric blanket, but diabetics are not suppose to use them.  :(

Once I get my tank heaters installed and get my drain valves insulated (both on the todo list) then I wont need to worry so much about keeping the whole RV warm. But it is nice to wake up up to a warm RV for the morning news.  From what I have heard it takes more energy to reheat the inside of a house or anything than it does to keep it at a constant temp.

I also wanted to mention that remember folks that depending on where you put your space heater, for me especially the bedroom.  You may be in close proximity to your propane tank.  For me the propane tanks are about 5 ft away from the heater on the lower level and only seperated by plywood and carpet, so just keep that in mind.  I dont have any leaks now but that does not mean I wont in the future.  So since I do not use gas very often at all, then I will probably just turn it off at the valve to be safer and only turn it back on when I need it.
 
You now get long hot water bottles which take about 2litres of hot water and they stay warm for ages.

Just an alternative to an electric blanket.

Be safe!
 
In my case the converter is outside in the basement.
1 1500 (or 750 depending on need and site) in the bedroom
second one in the front
one 1500 on a remote T-Stat in teh middle
and a 750 watt "electric fireplace in the middle

38' class a w/3 slides.

I have 3 spares at the moment (till sealed in the box)
about 350 watts in the wet bay
and a 150 watt I can add if it gets cold.

The bedroom and "Middle" 1500's are plugged into 15/20 amp outlets 12ga wire bent around a screw
The 1500 (Actually it switches on it's own between 750 and 1500) in the front is in a 15 amp outlet. 12ga wire bent around a screw (NOT a Uni-Box outlet) only 750 plugs into a unibox.

The wet bay lights plug into the washer/dryer outlet. DO not know the wiring but at less than 500 watts Unibox is ok.
 
djw2112 said:
You may be in close proximity to your propane tank.  For me the propane tanks are about 5 ft away from the heater on the lower level and only seperated by plywood and carpet, so just keep that in mind.  I dont have any leaks now but that does not mean I wont in the future.  So since I do not use gas very often at all, then I will probably just turn it off at the valve to be safer and only turn it back on when I need it.

If you look closely where your tanks are, you'll probably find the space is sealed real well preventing propane from entering the rig. Also, the bottom of that compartment may be wide open or at least have some holes allowing propane, which is heavier than air, to escape the space.
 
I have (2)- 1500 watt electric space heaters and a 400-800watt electric space heater and I can keep my class C 32 ft RV 60 degrees when its 10-15 degrees outside. I have no issues on where to place the heaters. I also have (4)-200 watt electric space heaters I can fire up in my (4) wet compartments and can keep the compartments 45+ deg plus when in same 10-15 degree temps. I added a dedicated 20amp service to provide power to each wet compartment and a single 20amp GCFI outlet in coach.  I am planning on installing another dedicated 20amp line this summer, more power never a bad thing in my book.
 
Rene T said:
If you look closely where your tanks are, you'll probably find the space is sealed real well preventing propane from entering the rig. Also, the bottom of that compartment may be wide open or at least have some holes allowing propane, which is heavier than air, to escape the space.

Great point Rene, did not think about that one.  :)


I think alot of people use dog house heaters for their bays.
 
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