Can I trust leaving a space heater on while I am gone?

[sprayman]

Originally Posted by scottandanna

Yup. She is why I asked this question in the first place. I want to keep the place from freezing, but don't want it to catch fire in the process.

We are having abnormally cool weather right now, and haven't come up above freezing for several days now.

I guess I will listen to my anxiety and keep the space heater off when I am gone. Still going to run it at night, while the temps are down in the 20s. Otherwise the propane furnace runs full blast all night and I am swapping propane tanks 3 times a week.

is there a propane supplier near you that will deliver a 100 gallon tank

and connect it and fill when necessary.

Jim

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by scottandanna

Yup. She is why I asked this question in the first place. I want to keep the place from freezing, but don't want it to catch fire in the process.

We are having abnormally cool weather right now, and haven't come up above freezing for several days now.

I guess I will listen to my anxiety and keep the space heater off when I am gone. Still going to run it at night, while the temps are down in the 20s. Otherwise the propane furnace runs full blast all night and I am swapping propane tanks 3 times a week.

So let me understand the logic here, You will use them while you sleep - the option being you can then die in the coach if something goes wrong, BUT, you will not leave them on when you leave, for fear the coach will burn up while you are gone?



Not to go against the grain - but I have used electric heaters for 20 years and have never had an issue. They are either Safe or NOT. When they stop working I throw them out, but for the most part they have heated the Coach well for years - leave them on all the time, but that's just me.

JMHO,

[tmw188]

I have used them too in boats and what I like to do is make sure they are in an area where they can cycle on and off with their own built in thermostat. If they are in too large a space I'll have two and I will feel the cords once in awhile. When I have faith in them I'll use one in the bedroom with confidence. I really like the oil filled radiator style or the stand up rotating electric models with fans. Never had any issues use common sense.


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[TwelveVolt]

Several people have mentioned installing a circuit dedicated to the heater. Today we are on a 30 amp circuit, which means the A/C and the clothes dryer are on the same leg. I walked into the bedroom to the acrid smell of burning insulation. The screw holding the main neutral wire in the bus bar in the breaker panel had worked slightly loose from engine/road vibration and the poor connection was generating heat and melting/burning the white insulation.

The point is that it's not just the heater, but the whole infrastructure leading up to it that must perform perfectly. You can leave your heater on, or go for a drive, or cross the street thousands of times and nothing will go wrong. Experience and probability say that something bad will happen one of those thousands of times. The catch is we don't know which time. If we did, everybody would be lined up at the casino on the same day.

[WILDEBILL308]

One thing I have done when living in a 30amp coach was to use a heavy duty contractors extension to run the electric heater. That way you could run a second heater if it got to cold without overloading your 30 amp servise.
Bill

[lynnmor]

Originally Posted by TwelveVolt

Several people have mentioned installing a circuit dedicated to the heater. Today we are on a 30 amp circuit, which means the A/C and the clothes dryer are on the same leg. I walked into the bedroom to the acrid smell of burning insulation. The screw holding the main neutral wire in the bus bar in the breaker panel had worked slightly loose from engine/road vibration and the poor connection was generating heat and melting/burning the white insulation.

When I eliminated the ridiculous twist lock 30 amp connector on the side of the trailer, I found that the screws were not tightened at all. It actually fell to the ground when I loosened the cable clamp. I would bet that nearly all are never checked by the owners. A loose and hot connection right in the wall is far more dangerous than an electric heater properly wired and used. It is a good idea to tighten all connections yearly.

[jbikes1]

While I can put a meter on the space heater to see what Amp draw there is, I am uncertain what the wiring in the coach can handle. I am new to motor coaches and my experience with my 5th wheel was I thought the wiring was on the lite side.

[lynnmor]

Originally Posted by jbikes1

While I can put a meter on the space heater to see what Amp draw there is, I am uncertain what the wiring in the coach can handle. I am new to motor coaches and my experience with my 5th wheel was I thought the wiring was on the lite side.

The wiring and components will be correct by code, but the cheap parts and sloppy workmanship is what I don't trust.

[KSagal]

Originally Posted by lynnmor

The wiring and components will be correct by code, but the cheap parts and sloppy workmanship is what I don't trust.

My question is, "is the code for campers and motor homes as robust as the code for houses?"

My guess is that it is not.

[tmw188]

There is probably a special code I'm guessing maybe not special necessarily but a standard. Boats especially your larger boats with big mechanical systems are built by a standard set forth by the ABYC ( American Boat and Yacht Council ). Maybe MH coaches have something similar and as I write this it seems I've commented on this before. On boats they use silver tinned copper wiring and then there are other safety things like materials certain things are made of and where they are not allowed to be used. When it comes to wiring the relationship to amps and gauge stay consistent.


iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

[no3putt]

Tmw188; the RVIA is an guide for how RVs are made, is it strict, not at all and they have very little or no inforcement authority over the manfactures except not to allow their RVIA sticker to be put on a RV.

[RPr]

We use an electric heater at night also. It has a tip over switch and does a nice job of keeping the place warm.

We turn everything off when we leave but we do not have to worry about anything freezing. If we did I would leave it on.

[Engineer Guy]

.
I'm a big Fan of 'Reflectix' or 'Astrofoil'. I used it under the Drywall in this Super-Insulated House. I also used a scrap under the Mattress in a lil Trailer not so well insulated as our current Nash 23D. I've also used it directly under the Bed Bottom Sheet.

Get a scrap of it, and put it under a Blanket for your Pooch to lay on. It reflects Body Heat just like a 'Space Blanket'. This will provide comfort, and will save Energy by you having to heat up the RV from some 'Setback' Temperature only after you return.

[Sagamore]

I don't leave anything on while I am gone. I guess maybe am to cautious but I come home home to my rv without worry!