Auxilary RV Heat

[Kammy]

I have a 27' Winnebago Sightseerer with two slideouts and am looking for a way to heat the RV while boondocking.

Given that scenario I am looking for a heater that is safe, can be used at altitude (5000 ft. to 7500 ft.) and is thermostatically controlled.

It is my understanding that there is no such thing as a heater that is truly vented as opposed to nonvented. I've checked out Empire Heaters, Platinum Cats, and a variety of others. Although they can be mounted to a wall they really use inside air not outside air. All auxilary heaters have some adverse emissions i.e. CO2, and all auxilary heaters create moisture in the RV.

With that in mind does anyone out there use a vented auxilary heater? If so, what brand, how many BTU's, and what are the pros and cons in your opinion?

I am also interested in any auxilary heater that people are using and the pros and cons of their heater in their opinion.

Thanks.

[B Bob]

Unless it is vented there is no heater that burns anything but electricity that will not use air inside the coach. I had a propane catalytic installed in my GMC a few years back. It put out great heat and used little gas. Problem was you had to leave a way for fresh air to get in, and that kind of defeats the purpose of a heater.

We have aqua hot on our coach, but that is way expensive to install. It came with our coach and runs fine on battery power for a while. It burns diesel which is easier to deal with than having enough propane. There are some marine heaters that burn diesel and not too expensive, but you still have to let air in somehow.

[Downsizer]

We just got this fall a DeLonghi "Oil filled" heater.... looks like a little radiator.... only cost $40 at COSTCO. Excellent heat..... we use it to supplement our big furnace (we run that also to help keep the basement warm)... very safe, thermostat and won't hurt anything... plus really cheap... can run with solar - no problem!

[Good man]

Kammy,
Just remember that any heater which "burns" any combustible fuel CAN deplete oxygen and emit carbon monoxide in your environmental space. A WORKING carbon monoxide detector in addition to your smoke detector is an absolute necessity when sleeping in a coach with any flame-fueled heating system ...and a very good idea for all motorcoaches.
I agree with Downsizer... the oil-filled radiator style electric heaters are the safest and most convenient heaters bar none. I am very pleased to learn that solar power can adequately power one.
Be safe,
Jim