From:
Which heater is best: Forced air, ceramic or catalytic? - RV Travel (https://rvtravel.com/heater-wars-and-lessons-learned/)
FORCED-AIR
Standard on virtually all RVs, thermostatically controlled
Big, heavy, expensive (but built-in and well-hidden)
Heats the cabin very quickly, much faster than portables
Noisy
Battery hog (8-10A) – can drain batteries overnight
Propane hog – 70% efficiency at best, much heat is exhausted outside RV
CERAMIC or BLUE-FLAME
Inexpensive substitute for forced-air heater
Available with thermostat
Uses NO battery current
Nearly 100% efficient
Generally long-lasting and trouble-free
Available in portable and wall-mount
Intermittent or non-op at >4,500-feet elevation
Can produce carbon monoxide
CATALYTIC
Much more expensive substitute for forced-air heater
Thermostat not available
Uses NO battery current
Nearly 100% efficient
Operational to 12,000 feet elevation
Cannot produce carbon monoxide
Must be covered when not in use, susceptible to dust/dirt/spills
Configurable to free-standing or wall-mount
Fuel contamination (western states) requires periodic replacement
We have two of these, fore & aft. Under $100.00, quiet as can be, use very little juice. A little bulky, but we've been down to the low twenties outside and been very comfy! ^.^d Amazon has them.
"Intermittent or non-op at >4,500-feet elevation"
Have used ours at elevations higher then 5000ft with no intermittency.
Roland
You can also purchase them at Home Depot or Lowes. We use these also in our park model. We use 2 in 400 sq/ft and they work well and quiet.
John M.
Have to agree with Mike those Dimplex heaters are the way to go if you're on the power pole. We had them in England and then on the ranch in Wyoming and S.Dakota. When do the last roundup at Golden Gate SP in Colorado it's usually November @ 8500 ft the heater on low will keep out coach "just right"
No flames no emissions shuts off if tipped over !
Mick
Bed Bath and Beyond has an oil filled heater like the one Mike posted and it has a lower profile and good reviews
John M.
NewAir Portable Oil-Filled Space Heater - Bed Bath & Beyond (https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/m/product/newair-portable-oil-filled-space-heater/1044054526?skuId=44054526&mrkgcl=609&mrkgadid=3265787970&rkg_id=h-e76e265898adc3170f8f2bfe58444c42_t-1531600956&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_outdoorutility_online&product_id=44054526&adtype=pla&product_channel=online&adpos=1o15&creative=223595886206&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvqbaBRCOARIsAD9s1XCnRHOa9_S9DrY23P9YDcIBgkm9IH4BPdhOBA5SCu3I38EulUsArCAaAnybEALw_wcB)
John, your saying 2 of thes 400 watt heaters keep your coach warm if it's 30 outside?
They say for 40 sqft
The secret to the liquid-filled jobs is to fire them up a hour or so before you need them. They are not a replacement for our fire burning propane furnaces, but we sleep in warm quietness with the radiators. ^.^d
John,
I have a 400 sq.ft. park model and I use 2 like the ones Mike posted to keep the place warm. They are 1500 watt and are good for 350 sq.ft. each. In my motorhome I use the aqua hot. Mike uses 2 in his motorhome. The other one I posted is a smaller alternative. less power.
John M.
I think most people will realize that a 1500 watt electric resistance heater, the biggest you can put on a normal 110 receptacle, will only put out 5100 Btu's of heat no matter what type it is, oil filled, ceramic, old type glowing wire, high or low dollar. In many cases this will keep coach warm depending your coach insulation and construction. Your propane heater or heaters will produce 35000 btu's or more and your aqua-hot 50000 btu's. If you have a heat pump ac unit, it will produce 12000 btu's for the same power that the electric resistance heater uses. [down to 45 f. or so]
Electric resistance heating – "efficient" but costly! (http://my.ilstu.edu/~gjin/p2/Energy_Efficiency_in_Heating_and_Cooling/Energy_Efficiency_in_Heating_and_Cooling10.html)
Mr. Heater® Portable Buddy® Indoor Safe Propane Heater Box - Walmart.com (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mr-Heater-Portable-Buddy-Indoor-Safe-Propane-Heater-Box/16622306?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227017563053&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=45287493392&wl4=pla-88658183072&wl5=9033136&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=16622306&wl13=&veh=sem)
When we were unexpectedly marooned in our driveway this winter, I used the larger Mr. Heater. It worked very well during non sleeping hours. However, we turned it off at night while we slept. At that time we used a small electric and set the onboard at its lowest setting to help keep the bays warm ( we also had the 200w personal on farm thermos in utility bays per a post from Barry). After closely monitoring bays, it wasn't necessary to have the onboard running at all.
For me, the greatest comfort came from the electric mattress topper. Turn on the preheat before heading back and oh my instant sleep.
I also plugged in a second CO2 alarm so we had one at both ends. I did note the Mr. Heater left a light oily residue on the windows. Not sure how healthy inhaling that would be.
Just replaced the original Atwood Boeing Jet impersonator with a quiet two-stage Suburban forced air heater, model SHD-2542Q furnace. It is much quieter and only weighs 44 pounds. On the low, 25,000BTU stage, the fan motor runs slower and the flame noise is almost imperceptible. See http://www.bdub.net/manuals/Suburban_Service_Manual.pdf
My issue was with the non-existent access panel insulation, so I put 2 inches of aircraft self-stick foam insulation on the door and surrounding areas. Rock wool was used around the high-temperature exhaust port.
Love the efficiency of the catalytic heater, but the "ten warnings" rules about ventilation, oxygen deprivation and carbon monoxide issue are too cautionary for me. They will produce carbon monoxide if the element gets fouled. That's why Coleman stopped producing them, probably due to a lawsuit.
Our rig is non-winterized, so when storing the rig in my driveway, I use basement electric heater tapes (400Watts total) and an electric quartz heater and a fan in the main cabin to keep the water from freezing (1400 watts). This works down to about 25 degrees F. After that, the propane furnace is used. There is no substitute for 40,000 BTUs.
one of the things i liked the very least about my gran Vill and my U270 was the propane heater impersonating a Boeing jet - great to know there is an option. I am aching for a 2 stroke detroit 106" wide Unihome with good bones 36" long to restore/remod for something to keep me occupied - after I take my U-320 to AK next year, and someplace warm the following winter - I am buying a pretty good sized trawler here on the Puget Sound and will be selling my U-320 -
was considering what I wanted RV raise a that point, but a rehabbed Foretravel 36' coach is in the team picture of what to have post U-320
Tim Fiedler
Sure Start Soft Start (http://www.gen-pro.biz) - home of SureStart soft starters TCER Direct (http://www.tcerdirect.com) - home of Generac Approved Aluminum and Copper TCER Composite cable generator-gas-prod (http://www.generatorgasproducts.com) - home of X-Riser Gas Risers for PE installation Call me at 630 240-9139
Gen-Pro
Pictures? Was it a difficult installation? Did you have to alter the size of outside fiberglass wall cutout?
Things might have improved with Atwoods: our rear furnace was jet- noisy and finally gave up the ghost. The new one has more BTUs than the old, and, YOU CAN ALMOST SLEEP WITH IT ON! ^.^d
No modification of the existing cutout was necessary. At a minimum, the following modifications are necessary to replace an Atwood Excalibur III 8900 blast furnace with a quiet Suburban SHD-2542Q (which is no longer made but supported):
- Kept existing access door, but was required to:
— Make an adapter plate out of airrcaft aluminum. I bent a three inch overhang to prevent water intrusion.
— Cut sxisting access door slightly to fit new exhaust and fresh air supply
- Re-gasket access flange, door, adapter plate and Suburban exterior exhaust plate using 1/4 inch half round EPDM self-adhesive gasket from Home Depot.
- New thermostat to control the two stages with associated new wire. I used an Ecobee4: long story I wrote in another post.
- Insulation. The old Atwood furnace was not insulated, so I added self-adhesive foam insulation and rock wool around the exhaust port.