Electric heater on shore power

[lenny flank]

If you sit near a radiant space heater glowing orange, it will certainly feel warmer and heat you up 'better' than a radiant oil filled heater that is trying to heat an entire room before you can feel the warmth.

I think this is why so many people believe that candles and flower pots and such are "good" at warming their space: they can sit right next to it and warm their hands on it just like a campfire and feel all nice and toasty. But the brutal reality is that it is barely heating up the volume inside their vehicle at all, because it simply does not have the BTUs to do anything significant. So while it may FEEL all nice and warm from a few inches away, it is not actually heating anything.

 

[John61CT]

Pure radiant heaters don't even try to heat the room's air, in many contexts just a big waste.

In Scandinavia countries big huge walls of ceramics burn a tiny fraction of the fuel, but directly heat the rooms objects and bodies, not actually raising the air temps unless you keep them going all day.

Sitting in front of a Wave-style catalytic heater with your feet on a hot water bottle is very fast, completely different from waiting for a forced air furnace to get the place warmed up.

There's a lot more to comfort than just BTUs.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Pure radiant heaters don't even try to heat the room's air, in many contexts just a big waste.

In Scandinavia countries big huge walls of ceramics burn a tiny fraction of the fuel, but directly heat the rooms objects and bodies,  not actually raising the air temps unless you keep them going all day.

This reminds me of those large 'people heaters' (not people eaters!) at loading docks, and in warehouses in the transportation industry. They are also used in manufacturing plants, truck/trailer repair shops, and certainly other places, but that is where I am familiar with them.

These long gas-fired radiant heaters are usually suspended from the ceiling trusses, and during colder months, they are used to keep dock workers and truck drivers warm, but not trying to heat the air in the building. Sometimes they are even mounted outside, above the dock area, to keep people warm. You can actually, literally feel the heat on your upper body when you get close to one.

Here is a link to one of the manufacturers, along with a video if you care to watch it:


http://www.spaceray.com/industrial_...MImcu3qfPu1wIVz7XACh1OrA79EAAYASAAEgKab_D_BwE

 

[John61CT]

Yes, sleek high-tech white-panel versions widely used in Korean homes, apparently super efficient.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Yes, sleek high-tech white-panel versions widely used in Korean homes,  apparently super efficient.

Was that North or South Korea?

:huh:

 

[GrayWhale]

If you sit near a radiant space heater glowing orange, it will certainly feel warmer and heat you up 'better' than a radiant oil filled heater that is trying to heat an entire room before you can feel the warmth.

Like I said, its what you do with the heat after it is created that makes us feel the warmth differently. 

In the case of the OP's question we are trying to heat up a living space. So in that case, one 1500 watt heater will be about equal to any other, in terms of getting the most heat into the vehicle, assuming all the heaters we compare are the same wattage.

I'm arguing efficiency. Not that 1 watt from heater A is hotter than 1 watt from heater B.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I'm arguing efficiency. Not that 1 watt from heater A is hotter than 1 watt from heater B.

I guess the failing is mine. I'm not arguing, rather, trying to help with the correct information.  

I've attempted to explain that for electric resistance heating, 1500 watts is always 1500 watts, and about 5100 btu.

Or are you talking about the efficiency of moving the heated air around? Or subjective warmth of the occupants?

Or efficiency of cost? A $20 heater vs a $150 heater?

Anyway, on shore power, the existing heater may not do the job for the OP, so we just need to concentrate on that.

I don't think we ever did get the wattage of the little heater the OP is using, it may only be a 500 watt heater, which surely can be replaced with a higher wattage heater.   

Possibly a supplemental propane heater would be usable and help on really cold nights....

 

[jimindenver]

Listen, if you sit next to a oil filled radiator running on high trying to heat a room up, you are going to cook. Once they are heated up you need to be at least a few feet away if not more.

 

[John61CT]

And if you get one of the 1500W blower cubes going, within a few minutes* there is no need to sit in any particular spot, and soon you can start removing layers as you go about your business.

*depends on the size of the space and how tight, insulation etc. And lots faster with an old Pelonis disc furnace than a new anything.

The ideal IMO is both that (first) and a nice quiet oil-filled unit (later, if you don't want to spend much now).

Once the space is warm, turn off the blower cube

https://m.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=pelonis+disc

and let the oil unit maintain in silence.

 

[jimindenver]

I had a Pelonis disc in my bathroom for a long time. Great for on the john or under a desk but other than that the fan did not circulate enough air for it to be felt very far away. It made enough noise trying though and long lasting. Mine was made in 89 and used daily.

 

[John61CT]

They need cleaning, and eventually do wear out.

Out of the ~thirty I've bought over the years, 25 are fine in a drafty up to 1000 sq ft space down below freezing, a few are weaker and I've tossed two in the bin.

Two at a time to start, then one to maintain.

The oil filled ones I only used in smaller kids rooms overnight.

 

[tripper]

I love the oil filled ones because I have no fear of a fire or pets getting hurt by them.  The only drawback is it will take 15 min or so to warm the area.  They also do not seem to give me a sore throat like most of the other style heaters.

 

[stinko]

Hello. Op, here. Just to clarify a few things. The heater I have is 1500 watts and I'm pretty sure it's just not a good heater. It's this one :. https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/8d....jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF

It looks like they are still selling those pelonis disc heaters. Is there something about the older ones that's more desirable?

I'm not entirely sure why so much of the conversation is about speed of heating the room and turning the heater off at bed time. I'm on free shore power and I have a dog. I'm letting it run unless I get too hot! It kind makes sense tho, if the space is losing it's heat it has to be reheated so the slow units ( like oil-filled) are probably out. And honestly fan noise is of low concern to me.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Hello. Op, here.  Just to clarify a few things. The heater I have is 1500 watts and I'm pretty sure it's just not a good heater. 

The conversation tried to cover the aspect of wattage vs heat output. 

The space heater you linked is not really a good heater for heating the bus, although it will warm you up sitting close to it.

Again, the problem with those is that they can catch things on fire, so not a good idea to leave running when a dog is there. 

If you have an un-attended pet in the vehicle, the best option, in my opinion, is an oil filled heater. 

Heavy, expensive, slow, but VERY safe. 

Since electricity is free, you can safely leave it on all day, and with a built-in thermostat, it will keep the temps up, as well as any other 1500 watt heater.

You will still need to insulate as best you can for the cold winter months coming up.

 

[John61CT]

It looks like they are still selling those pelonis disc heaters. Is there something about the older ones that's more desirable?
....
And honestly fan noise is of low concern to me.

Yes as I said the old ones are much stronger. New ones Lasko is better.

But that fan or radiant type only when you're there.

Oil filled better if you're keeping it going 24x7, safer if you're not there, but make sure they really don't care,

Any electric heater would cost a lot doing that, someone gets the bill, what if it's more than your wages?

 

[tx2sturgis]

Any electric heater would cost a lot doing that, someone gets the bill,  what if it's more than your wages?

Let's see, 1500 watts times say, 18 hours a day. Guestimate, average, full power, 3/4 of the day.

27 kwh a day. (1500 watts is 1.5 kwh, and 1.5 kwh times 18 hours is 27 kwh)

Times average residential rates, about 8c per kwh.

$2.16 a day.

About $65 a month. 

I hope the OP makes more than that.

And most setups like this, the facility is paying commercial electric rates which are MUCH cheaper than retail rates. 

Figure 1/4 of that. 

$16 a month.

Not much at all really.

 

[John61CT]

Wow that's a cheap rate!

Figured more than one going, and he did say 24 hrs.

But fine, I was just saying to make sure they're OK with true unlimited, might be like cellphone data plans what they call "abusive usage".

 

[tx2sturgis]

Well I was averaging it and assuming there might be some warm sunny days, who knows. 

And yeah, if they meter every hookup and charge the person then it would add up.

I have no way of knowing for sure, where the OP is hooked up,  but most any facility that is providing free electric is paying a bulk commercial rate...and if it IS an Amazon location with hookups, trust me, they get a huge cut on electric rates per kwh. 

Fractions of a penny per kwh for large facilities.

 

[DuneElliot]

From my experience last night....I have a 1500W ceramic forced air heater. It COULD NOT keep up with keeping the camper warm with temperatures getting into the low 40s. It ran all night and was only 60° inside when I got up. I had it set for 67°

My oil-filled Pelonis radiator could get my RV to 70° in a fw hours even when it was 32° inside and outside. Wish I'd kept one now.

 

[bullfrog]

I haven't read the whole thread but where I live electric is unmetered and provided so in our 28'x8' motorhome we use 3 of the cheap ceramic heaters on low and a small humidifier. It gets well below freezing for a few weeks in winter. Also water is provided unmetered so left dripping water lines do not freeze as we use electric hot rod in the water heater and lines run with the cold water lines except the line to the toilet in the back wall, so we disconnected that line and use water in a cup from the sink. Makes up for the low pay and isolation. We get propane also but condensation is easier to control with electric.