New Electric inside Heater

[hotrodbobhd]

Tried the new 1500W heater inside the trailer today. Not real cold but it did a good job. It was around 45 degrees. I am pleased. Going to do it when it gets colder.

[mrgrayaz]

We just replaced our entertainment center with a "fireplace" model which came with heat.

Its not super cold in Austin, TX right now, but I've just set it at 70F and let it run. I dont think I've heard the heatpump turn on once since we got it.

Love it.

Mike

[Bedlam]

I know our electric fireplace in our home is too small to do anything but take the chill out of the room. We do have one optioned in our truck camper which should work better due to the reduced cubic feet it has to heat. We used an oil-filled radiator style heater in our toy hauler when on hookups, but it takes up too much space in a truck camper.

[wa8yxm]

Just be careful using Electric heaters in RV.. I found, as have others, that the design of the QUICK BOX outlets used in man RV's.. Really does not like sustained high current loads.

I now have special dedicated outlets that are up to the task, but installing those is not always easy.

[Capt. Bill]

Why would you risk using an electric heater (high fire hazard) rather than a) your furnace, or b) your heat pumps in your roof units? I
've been RVing for 42 years & seen 3 units burnt up by people using Electric heaters. They are no more efficient than your heat pumps & not as efficient as your furnace. I have heated floors which are super for taking the chill out of the coach.

Just be sure keep everything away from those fire starter electric heaters!!!!

[VanDiemen23]

because a propane furnace is noisy and not all the roff units have heat pumps or booster coils.

[vsheetz]

Lots of us using electric space heaters. Saves propane, reduces costs, less noise, ability to better control what areas are heated, etc. We have a portable fireplace in the main living area and a countertop unit for the bedroom.

The best thing we have is a good down comforter in the bed.

[Fiesta48]

Been using electric space heaters for decades. $10-30 versus hundreds for furnaces and heat pumps. Electric is cheaper at .15 per kilowatt than propane at 2.50 per gallon. I don't have to pay for delivery or go get electric either.
Just keep all flamables away from them.

[D Lindy]

When we had our TT I'd run a dedicated 30AMP extension cord out thru the slide out at the bottom, there was a place the cord could run without getting pinched, to the post and use this for the electric heater thus not putting the load on the cheap TT wiring system/outlets.

[Matfam1]

Originally Posted by Fiesta48

Been using electric space heaters for decades. $10-30 versus hundreds for furnaces and heat pumps. Electric is cheaper at .15 per kilowatt than propane at 2.50 per gallon. I don't have to pay for delivery or go get electric either.

Just keep all flamables away from them.

Actually, using propane is cheaper....91,600 btus in a gallon of propane, 3412.14 btus per kw

(91,600/3412.14)*.15=$4.02, for the same amount of heat, I think if I did the math right.

[MtnTrek]

Originally Posted by Matfam1

Actually, using propane is cheaper....91,600 btus in a gallon of propane, 3412.14 btus per kw

(91,600/3412.14)*.15=$4.02, for the same amount of heat, I think if I did the math right.

Welcome to the forum.

Very good point can be made for the break even point of various fuels and the amount of usable BTU's provided.
One thing to keep in mind is that LPG appliances for RV are still very inefficient. Perhaps 70% at best possibly less. They have not evolved to near the level of efficiency of residential appliances.
The BTU ratings that you use in the calc. may be the raw fuel input ratings. Perhaps rework the numbers minus what goes up the stack (35%).
Electric resistance heat although tending to be pricey is 100% efficient.
I'd estimate that the break even point of $.15 KWH electricity to be closer to about $3.85+ per gal of LPG.
This formula still does not take into effect the PIA factor (pain in A$$) of wrestling cylinders, transport, etc.. Hard to put a price on.
We see a direct correlation here in mild AZ with $.18 KWH and LPG @ $1.95 Gal. the PIA factor can weigh heavy every few weeks.

Be well.

[Murf2u]

It's probably easier to just reduce it to a price per BTU.

$3.00 / gallon for propane yields 59,540 BTU (91,600 BTU x 0.65 efficient). $3.00 / 59,540 = $0.00005039 per BTU.

$0.15 / KWH for electric yields 3,412.12 BTU. $0.15 / 3,412.14 = $0.00004396 per BTU.

So then electricity, based on the above, would only cost 87.24% of the cost of propane.

[mrgrayaz]

I suppose all this makes sense if your paying for power......we still typically pay weekly rates and move often...so we don't pay for power.

Propane - Not free.
Electricity - "free"

Love my fireplace/heater.

[parkerbill]

Originally Posted by mrgrayaz

I suppose all this makes sense if your paying for power......we still typically pay weekly rates and move often...so we don't pay for power.

Propane - Not free.
Electricity - "free"

Love my fireplace/heater.

X1 on this.