DeLonghi ceramic space heater........

[J Birder]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

What is the benefit of ceramic vs oil vs just electric? What I look for is low profile so it won't tip over while underway, very quiet, and even air disbursement around the room. Also, although I know there is no way to tell before hand, is the heater a modified sine wave compatible unit? Sometimes I just like to have it set on low and heat the cockpit area a bit while going down the road.

First, all electric heaters are virtually 100% efficient, so that is not a factor. The biggest between types of heaters is in the mass of the heating element (and surrounding media, if any). The lower the mass, the higher the temperature must be in order to put out an equivalent amount of heat.

Heaters with just a tungsten wire element (probably what you are calling just electric) has the lowest mass, so they operate at a very high temperature. Oil filled heaters have the element immersed in oil, so there is a very high mass for the element/oil combination. They operate at a much lower temperature. They are very safe, but some people don't like them because they are heavy, bulky, and slow. Ceramic heaters have the element embedded in a block or slab of ceramic. They fall between the two extremes.

Any heater with any type of digital control or digital display is probably not suitable for use with a MSW inverter. I learned the hard way, that just having it plugged in to a MSW powered outlet can destroy the heater, even when it isn't turned on.

Joel

[hohenwald48]

I would think using any kind of electric heater on any inverter would deplete the battery bank pretty fast. 1500 watts would draw somewhere between 125-175 amps from the battery bank every operational hour depending on efficiency of the inverter.

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by hohenwald48

I would think using any kind of electric heater on any inverter would deplete the battery bank pretty fast. 1500 watts would draw somewhere between 125-175 amps from the battery bank every operational hour depending on efficiency of the inverter.

While I agree that running an electric heater on the inverter would require forethought, Bigd9 said, "Sometimes I just like to have it set on low and heat the cockpit area a bit while going down the road."

[Bigd9]

Originally Posted by J Birder

First, all electric heaters are virtually 100% efficient, so that is not a factor. The biggest between types of heaters is in the mass of the heating element (and surrounding media, if any). The lower the mass, the higher the temperature must be in order to put out an equivalent amount of heat.

Heaters with just a tungsten wire element (probably what you are calling just electric) has the lowest mass, so they operate at a very high temperature. Oil filled heaters have the element immersed in oil, so there is a very high mass for the element/oil combination. They operate at a much lower temperature. They are very safe, but some people don't like them because they are heavy, bulky, and slow. Ceramic heaters have the element embedded in a block or slab of ceramic. They fall between the two extremes.

Any heater with any type of digital control or digital display is probably not suitable for use with a MSW inverter. I learned the hard way, that just having it plugged in to a MSW powered outlet can destroy the heater, even when it isn't turned on.

Joel

Thanks Joel . That actually made sense. I did say "electric heat" because I just couldn't come up with the words tungsten electric element!

One thing I did not like about oil filled or even ceramic heaters are the lag time to produce heat, where my "electric heater" is almost instant in producing heat in response to Sharon's "it's chilly in here can't you warm it up a bit" full well knowing as soon as I bump the heat up a fuzz she will be yelling "I'm hot what did you turn the heater up to 100?" I'm afraid the oil or ceramic will just be too slow to respond to "she who cooks my meals" taste. I also did not like the tallness of the oil filled heaters. I mean when taking the curve a bit to hard I would hate to hear the darn thing crash onto the floor and all of the loud noises that follow. No not the heater noises but Sharon loudly yelling "what on earth was that??? Stop the bus something must be wrong".

The downside to my heater sitting on the floor is my young dog loves to lay in front of it warming his buns thus blocking the heat from reaching the boss! Oh the complications with RVing in the winter.

Anyway thanks for the explanation.

[wa8yxm]

Know the brand but not the specific item

Generally it is a good brand, Never had any complaints.