Running electric space heater off generator

[BeenThereB4]

Hello Everyone- Would like to ask the more experienced RVers out there for opinions on operating a relatively small electric space heater (1500 watts max. it also has a setting at 1200 watts) I have an older class A on a Ford F-53 Chassis, the generator is an Onan 5500 watt. If I run the heater for about 6 or 7 hours (like during an overnight sleep stop) would that be too much of a load on (either) my coach electrical system or the generator ? Or both ? I realize that I would be unable to operate any other "high wattage" devices without shutting the heater down first (toaster or convection oven, for example) My fridge is generally in propane mode during any road trip, I believe the only electric load the fridge would draw is on the DC side (12 volt) If the 1500 (or 1200) watt heater is an excessive load, could I get by alright by using a somewhat smaller one heater ? I hope i am posting this in the proper category (general discussion) .. just heating the rear compartments in my RV (bedroom and bathroom would be enough, I believe.. Ambient out door temps probably no colder than high 30s or so.. Any helpful input or comments would be much appreciated, Thanks

[SlowJoe]

It wouldn't be too much of a load. You could run quite a few additional appliances. Do you not have a propane furnace? That would be a lot more efficient.

[znt1186]

Your generator should be fine for that load. It is rated at 5500 watts and your heater will only be 1500 watts. You could run two heaters. As slowjoe noted, you can also run your furnace which operates on 12v dc.

I would be careful running the generator all night without precautions to take care of the carbon monoxide produced by the generator exhaust. I have a Genturi device for ours that will vent the exhaust from the generator out above the roof of the rv.

What are your batteries for the house side of things and what is their condition?

[Bigd9]

Your 5500 watt generator will put out around 45 amps +-
A 1500 watt heater will eat around 13 amps.

You still have over 30 amps to play with! Properly maintained and fueled, your generator will just purr along for ever and ever.

If you do use a heater, make sure it is a relatively new one with auto shut off if falls over, over heat protection etc.

But do pay attention to over heated outlets, smells etc. These RV are not built like brick and stick homes are!

[Bsipe01]

Originally Posted by BeenThereB4

Hello Everyone- Would like to ask the more experienced RVers out there for opinions on operating a relatively small electric space heater (1500 watts max. it also has a setting at 1200 watts) I have an older class A on a Ford F-53 Chassis, the generator is an Onan 5500 watt. If I run the heater for about 6 or 7 hours (like during an overnight sleep stop) would that be too much of a load on (either) my coach electrical system or the generator ? Or both ? I realize that I would be unable to operate any other "high wattage" devices without shutting the heater down first (toaster or convection oven, for example) My fridge is generally in propane mode during any road trip, I believe the only electric load the fridge would draw is on the DC side (12 volt) If the 1500 (or 1200) watt heater is an excessive load, could I get by alright by using a somewhat smaller one heater ? I hope i am posting this in the proper category (general discussion) .. just heating the rear compartments in my RV (bedroom and bathroom would be enough, I believe.. Ambient out door temps probably no colder than high 30s or so.. Any helpful input or comments would be much appreciated, Thanks

Keep in mind that your 12V loads will also convert to 120V via either the battery charger or "converter" as some are called, but those loads are minimal. But if your generator is 5500W, your 1500W heater is less than 30% of the capacity. If it's a diesel generator, it's much better to have the generator loaded than running with a minimal load.

[Solo_RV_Guy]

The considerations are safety, expense, and practicality.

Safety: carbon monoxide from genset exhaust and electrical safety, predominantly the use of insulation displacement termination of AC outlets and switches in RVs. If something smells "electrical", ever, it needs to be seen to immediately. /sermon

Expense: your generator uses 0.3 Gal/hr under no load; 0.6 Gal/hr at half load; 0.9 Gal/hr at full load. A pair of small heaters is roughly half load when operating simultaneously. Figure 4.8 Gal for 8 hours run time (edit ps: with continuous, 2 heater load), multiplied by the price of gasoline... gets expensive, quickly. How many nights do you expect to heat this way?

Practicality: starts with a question - is this a temporary 'help' or a band-aid applied to a chest wound? At 4 or 5 gallons a night, you'll be breaking camp regularly for fuel or paying a premium to have it delivered (same with propane, so there's that). If you're around other campers, running your genset all night make make un-friends :(.

Do you have problems with your propane furnace, 12V battery system, or other issues that prevent the use of your furnace? There are good folks standing by to help...

[Mudfrog]

Don't think this was mentioned. Yes, the genset can handle two 1500 watt heaters, or one 1500 watt heater and say, the microwave, coffee pot, etc,,,. But, they do need to be on separate circuits. You'll end up with a tripped breaker or maybe worse if you try to pull too much current through one circuit.

As mentioned, be sure to keep an eye on things to make sure nothing is overheating. For instance, the electrical outlet where the heater is plugged in.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Bsipe01

Keep in mind that your 12V loads will also convert to 120V via either the battery charger or "converter" as some are called, but those loads are minimal. But if your generator is 5500W, your 1500W heater is less than 30% of the capacity. If it's a diesel generator, it's much better to have the generator loaded than running with a minimal load.

A converter simply converts 120VAC to 12VDC; an inverter does the opposite, it changes 12VDC to 120VAC. The built-in battery charger module is only that, a battery charger.
Please read this website for self-edification: The 12 volt side of Life, part 2.

[BeenThereB4]

Originally Posted by SlowJoe

It wouldn't be too much of a load. You could run quite a few additional appliances. Do you not have a propane furnace? That would be a lot more efficient.

Thanks for the input, Slow Joe, My coach has two rooftop HVAC units on it, but when I call for heat (turn up thermostat) no heat is produced by either one.. Although the A/C has been blowing nice and cool when I used it this past summer (both A/C units producing well)
The "no heat" situation has been going on a couple years, but since the A/C is still working very well, this hasn't been much of an inconvenience.. The few times I needed a bit of heat, I was plugged into shore power so I used the cube type electric heater..
I make my annual autumn trip to FL. about this time of year, and I like to use a Walmart for overnight parking spot whenever I can.. The small electric heater is enough to keep us comfortable with outside temps relatively mild.
One of the things on my "RV to-do List" is to finally troubleshoot why my climate control produces no heat (although it does cool) I suspect perhaps a bad control board ? but that would probably be a new posting I should begin on here.. what ever it is has an effect on both of my rooftop units..

[BeenThereB4]

Originally Posted by znt1186

Your generator should be fine for that load. It is rated at 5500 watts and your heater will only be 1500 watts. You could run two heaters. As slowjoe noted, you can also run your furnace which operates on 12v dc.

I would be careful running the generator all night without precautions to take care of the carbon monoxide produced by the generator exhaust. I have a Genturi device for ours that will vent the exhaust from the generator out above the roof of the rv.

What are your batteries for the house side of things and what is their condition?

Thanks ZNT, very good advice.. my exhaust for the generator exits well away from the sleeping area at the rear, so I think the fumes are safely escaping.. I do wish they would put a little better muffler on the generators some times.. Seems like the Hondas run much less loud than my Onan.. Does your Genturi setup also result in reduced exhaust noise ?
My Coach batteries are the proper deep cycle type, and are fairly new, and I keep them on battery tenders when RV is parked for extended time, so they are in good shape..

[BeenThereB4]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Your 5500 watt generator will put out around 45 amps +-
A 1500 watt heater will eat around 13 amps.

You still have over 30 amps to play with! Properly maintained and fueled, your generator will just purr along for ever and ever.

If you do use a heater, make sure it is a relatively new one with auto shut off if falls over, over heat protection etc.

But do pay attention to over heated outlets, smells etc. These RV are not built like brick and stick homes are!

Thank you BigD9, great advice, much appreciated

[BeenThereB4]

thank you Bsipe, great advice, much appreciated !

[radar]

Although the generator won’t have a problem with that load, I would consider getting your propane furnace fixed or replaced. Much safer and cheaper.

Safe and happy trails.

[96 Wideglide]

Don't know if you know this, but turning up the temp setpoint on your rooftop heatpumps while they are in airconditioning mode won't work.

You have to change the 'mode' on each unit to 'heatpump'. This is done on the thermostat.