Community Forums

gary85 · 10-24-2006, 03:47 AM

I bought a Lasco ceramic tower heater from W/Mart. 1500 watts on hi, 900 on low. The cord is getting very warm near the outlet when on hi. I feel the cord is undersized (16 guage) for the heater and plan to return it. Who is using what to take the chill off this time of year, before switching to the furnace that is?

gary85 · 10-24-2006, 03:47 AM

I bought a Lasco ceramic tower heater from W/Mart. 1500 watts on hi, 900 on low. The cord is getting very warm near the outlet when on hi. I feel the cord is undersized (16 guage) for the heater and plan to return it. Who is using what to take the chill off this time of year, before switching to the furnace that is?

Hitchhiker · 10-24-2006, 04:04 AM

I use a 1500 watt heater similar to the one you described, does a great job of keeping the coach warm. If it gets below freezing I'll switch to the propane furnace to keep plumbing and tanks heated.

Mine will draw about 13.6 amps if the line voltage is 110 volts but will draw more if voltage is low. The cord will get warm but shouldn't get excessively hot.

A 14awg cord should be OK, 12awg would be better.

I also have a factory installed heat strip in my AC and use that too. With the two together the heat gets evenly distributed throughout the coach.

bill carle · 10-24-2006, 04:26 AM

Hey Gary: I picked up a Patton 1 Tourch 1500 Watt heater. It has 5 settings for specific temps (i.e. 60,65,70,75,80); has both a low and high power buttons and also has an Oscillate button. It seems to work well and I haven't had any problems with the cord getting hot. For the moment I don't remember where we picked it up but I'll ask the bride when she comes back home. In the meantime safe traveling...bill

Road Pilot · 10-24-2006, 10:43 AM

Gary,

The National Electrical Code says the max. current for 16 guage wire is 10 amps. For a 1500 watt heater, you should look for a minimum of 14 guage wire. Was it UL approved? Are you sure it's 1500 watts max?

The fact it's getting hotter near the outlet could mean the prongs in the outlet aren't grabbing very well and the heat from that bad connection is radiating back up the wire a bit. You may want to check that also.

earljan34 · 10-24-2006, 01:29 PM

We use two pelonis ceramic disc furnaces when its above freezing they have a thermostat plug never gets hot even when on high.

Earl

gary85 · 10-24-2006, 02:57 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Road Pilot:
Gary,

The National Electrical Code says the max. current for 16 guage wire is 10 amps. For a 1500 watt heater, you should look for a minimum of 14 guage wire. Was it UL approved? Are you sure it's 1500 watts max?

First of all the brand is Lasko - my mistake. Yes, high is 1500 watts, low is 900 watts. I'll try to edit the original post. The cord says "(UL) 16AWGX2C VW-1 Heater Cord". Tried the heater in the house, in a known good outlet. It was the same temp. as in the coach. In the 900 watt setting, the cord does not heat up.