Sharing my latest gizmo for those who might want to indulge a little.
My last sticks and bricks renovation included adding heated floors in all 3 bath spaces. What an amazing difference that makes. Since replacing the carpet in the bath with vinyl tile in the Foretravel, I have constantly regretted not waiting to install floor heat...I got impatient not finding any at the local big box stores and layed the tile down on the plywood. It's a shoes or slipper bath floor for sure.
I know this sounds trivial, but I'm not a fan of cold shower floors either, and less fond of running an inch of hot water to warm it before entering, so I looked into options. One was a mini-heater/blower to direct into the vents in front or behind (in the bedroom on my floor plan) to pre-heat the space below the shower pan with hot air. I tried it, and it worked but I worried about heat damage to the fiberglass shower pan, and of course off-grid battery consumption. The second option was electric blankets, heat mats, like you can get for under carpets at your desk, 12v heat blowers, and even 12v hand grip warmers like Roger used on his batteries. I then stumbled upon reptile heat mats. They have great surface contact heat value, and are low wattage...within reason for modest off grid systems like mine (600Ah batteries and 1200W solar). And apparently safe for high dollar terrariums. Best of all they are CHEAP!
So I ordered this on Amazon...two 8x12 mats rated at 16W each. Amazon.com : Simple Deluxe 2 Pack Reptile Heat Pad with Thermostat Temperatur... $25 how can I go wrong??? Of course they're chinee. Oh, well.
As advertised and seem to be robust enough. Tested them on the Kill-a-watt and surprisingly they are both indeed exactly 16W each at full umph, get up to above body temperature rather quickly, and have adjustable wattage dials including off position.
I unscrewed the front and rear grills and peered under the shower from the bath side and there is just enough space to squeeze my fat arm in about 8-12 inches. After vacuuming out all the dust bunnies, I rolled up the mats and pushed them in from the back of the shower in the BR, and then pulled them out the front opening with a coat hanger. After warming them up a little, I cleaned the mats and applied the adhesive pad, and then carefully stuck them to the plywood under the shower pan about where my feet rest when entering/showering in the front of the shower pan. Kept the plugs out the back into the BR and connected to an extension cord/Kill-a-watt to the outlet under the corner vanity, which is on the same circuit as my fridge (ice maker) and I have on the 800W separate inverter. The adjustment dials both weren't long enough to extend outside the grill, so I cranked them both up to full high and placed them inside the BR grill.
I guess FT put those grates in to keep the air moving under the shower pan and keep the pipes from freezing, but I stuck clear packing tape on the inside of the grate under the shower pan in the bath to keep the floor heat in for this test and can remove it later.
This evening I ran a trial where, after sitting off all day, I turned on the power to the pads about 2 hours (about 5 or 6 Ah) before showering and they warmed the front area of the shower floor from 55 deg or so to about 90. I actually entered the shower before turning on the water! No more wasted water or tap dancing in the shower this winter!!! I do keep my coach cool in the winter and will warm up the bath a little before showering, and might put a timer on them so I don't forget to turn them off after the shower.
There you have it. Hope this makes someone else a happy camper, or gives a those of you smarter than me some ideas for improvement. The newest Foretravels most likely incorporate shower floor heat already, and if they don't, I encourage them to do this in every coach forthwith. AlOhA, Woody.
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Topic: Heated Shower Floor