Portable heater for decent $$

[Ken & Peggy]

Our 550 has done a good job of keeping us warm so far, which includes one 18 degree night last fall in northern Wisconsin. But WE decided to get a small heater to just kinda take the edge off any chilly temps in early spring, late fall, or cold temps at higher elevations.

I found a small ceramic heater by DeLonghi (DCH1030) that looks like it should do a good job. It's got 2 heat settings - 1500 & 825 watts - plus a thermostat to fine tune the temp. At 6X8X9 inches and about 3 pounds, it should sit on one of the drop down cabinet doors OK. I have a feeling it will be more than enough to keep the trailer toasty, and will probably have me putting it in the side tent and leaving a side door open! But it will sure beat being cold...

I found it at Bed Bath & Beyond for $24.95 less 20%, which seems pretty reasonable.

Ken & Peggy

 

[Ladymc]

Our 550 has done a good job of keeping us warm so far, which includes one 18 degree night last fall in northern Wisconsin. But WE decided to get a small heater to just kinda take the edge off any chilly temps in early spring, late fall, or cold temps at higher elevations.

I found a small ceramic heater by DeLonghi (DCH1030) that looks like it should do a good job. It's got 2 heat settings - 1500 & 825 watts - plus a thermostat to fine tune the temp. At 6X8X9 inches and about 3 pounds, it should sit on one of the drop down cabinet doors OK. I have a feeling it will be more than enough to keep the trailer toasty, and will probably have me putting it in the side tent and leaving a side door open! But it will sure beat being cold...

I found it at Bed Bath & Beyond for $24.95 less 20%, which seems pretty reasonable.

Ken & Peggy

Our thoughts exactly Ken! We have an even smaller ceramic heater and it should do the job if needed. But I haven't heard anyone here talk about an electric blanket - I don't think I'd like one unless we were in Canada in the winter! But I'm curious, does anyone out there use an electric blanket?

 

[Steve & Ellen]

Linda, No electric blanket, but my sister-in-law and her husband stayed the night in ours this past winter. It was just below 15deg F. with a very stiff wind at about 20mph. I had a small Sunbeam heater. It rest on the flip down door and was short enough to fit under the overhead shelf. During the night, there was only one adjustment in the covers to add some extra against the wall on the up wind side. They were very impressed. Camp-Inn discontinued the electric blanket on the web site. They may have some insight. Steve

 

[Ladymc]

Steve,
So you think the electric blanket might have been a safety hazard? Glad to hear about the small electric heater - right where we'd put ours too! Condensation might be a problem, but someone here said they use the larger Sham Wow's on the window to collect the moisture - that's a great tip I won't forget! But for warmth, I'm gonna have my puppy Jack to keep me warm!

 

[Steve & Ellen]

Linda, I don't know about the electric blankets. But, with the side windows and the vent open, and the electric heat on there seems to be very little condensation. When I camped in January w/o heat, condensation was heavy. I like the idea of the sham wows to help with that. I have never been in a Costco, there is one just built near my Mom's house. I will check it out. Steve

 

[Ken & Peggy]

Steve, that is a very good point - there should be minimal condensation with a heater as the windows and vent will be opened to one degree or another.

Ken

 

[Cary Winch]

The 12v mattress warmer was discontinued only because the manufacturer stopped making them due to low sales on them. That was a real bummer because it really was about the only good 12v heat option idea we have seen.

Electric blankets work very well, I don't think there would be a safety concern. Condensation in extreme cold is most likely to form under the mattress.

I myself use a small electric space heater like Ken shows. Generally gets the cabin toasty in about ten minutes.

Cary

 

[wonko]

I myself use a small electric space heater like Ken shows. Generally gets the cabin toasty in about ten minutes.

I assume a space heater of that wattage would pretty much require being hooked to shore power, or do you have a big inverter? I've got a mini-inverter that runs up to 300W that I plan to use in a pinch. I suppose if you ran it only to heat up the cabin initially, it could be used on battery.

I would guess that the electric mattress pad is potentially usable on battery power, though I have my doubts about that.

Of course, I can also imagine the possibility of a radiant heat mattress pad solution combining a small electric fish-tank style pump, the on-demand (propane) hot water heater (and some water), a thermal probe, and a little circuitry to control it. I'd be willing to bet you could get something that could run days off-grid. That appeals to my internal "engineer" as a fun project. I've got some odd ideas of fun.

 

[Cary Winch]

Lyle,

The space heaters are always going to require shore power connection. A 300watt inverter won't power anything that will provide enough usable heat. The only real battery powered option I have seen has been the mattress warmer which is now discontinued. For those who want heat and won't have access to a current bush to plug into the furnace option then becomes about the only solution.

Cary

 

[Ladymc]

Personally we will never go camping where we don't have power. We're not boondockers!

 

[BobB]

Hi Ken,
I've looked for this at local BB&B, but they've all sent them back to their warehouse as the season is changing. So while looking online I've noticed that some have complained that these are too noisy. Have you had a chance to run this yet? Was just wondering what you think of the noise level?
Thanks,

 

[Ken & Peggy]

Bob,
I saw those complaints too, but I don't think the noise is a problem at all. The fan in the CampInn is as loud or louder, even on the lowest speed setting.
It would be nice if you could see one before ordering it, though, to be sure it isn't too loud for you.
Ken

 

[Betsey]

We have a ceramic heater similar to Ken's. I got it at Walmart for $14. It works great. It sits on an open cabinet door. When we do use it (which isn't unless we are camping with temps well below 40), we usually keep the fan on the lowest setting & the noise isn't a problem. The fan doesn't run all the time, as we use the variable setting.

As we do a lot of camping without electricity (the heater is the only thing we have that uses it), we have a 12v mattress warmer & absolutely love it! It is nice to have it to take off the chill. We plug it in about 30 minutes before we stop for the night/go to bed. Usually, that is more than enough to warm the mattress & keep it warm for the rest of the night.

There are several sites on the Internet that show they still have these in stock, so you may still be able to get one. Do a Google search for 12v mattress warmer to see who still carries them. It is called ElectroWarmth® Bed Warmer.

 

[Evan]

http://www.rte-warmers.com/fitted_bedwarmers.htm

They offer a number of different sizes on this site.
Which size works best?

 

[Steve & Ellen]

Looks like the 12v warmers come in one size. 60"x36", I believe.
There is a separate link for the 12v product. Steve

 

[Betsey]

Here are a couple of other places that still have them:

Cozy Winters - They are on sale for $89.95 & have free shipping.

BedderBedding.net - $92.00

EW Outlet - $88.60 + $12 shipping

Amazon - $79.03 + 12.41 shipping

BTW...the queen size is the one that is no longer available but you can still get the twin size (60"x36"). I am assuming that the reason there wasn't as big of a market for queen size is that these are mostly purchased by truck drivers, who would have need of the smaller size.

 

[Kent Kanipe]

Cary, do you recall that on our build we were going to do a custom install a 12 volt(300 watt)direct-wired ROADPRO Ceramic Heater/Fan? I decided to go for the furnace so we scrapped install. We had considered taking out a clothes hook to mount it on the wall. Anyway, I am glad I got the furnace and I still have that heater laying around in the box if anyone wants to make me an offer.........Discuss the notion with Cary first please..

Kent

 

[BobB]

Thanks everyone for the info. I think I'll try the $14 heater first. Though a majority of our camping will be without shore power, so at some point we will need to look at the mattress warmer before the fall.