Radiant heaters......from Wal-Mart !!

[fordy]

................Since Im residing in a 5'ver my furnace is burning a considerable amount of propane . The trailer I purchased came with (2) ten gallon tanks but they only hold eight gallons . I've been having to refill a tank every 4 or 5 days which gets to be a hassle .
................So , I decided to look into those radiant heaters at W\Mt. I spent an hour this AM(01-04) , today reading the info on the sides of all the boxes . So , After an hour I purchased one of the Oil filled , No fan , NO pivoting , etc . I've had it it on now for an hour and it really works well considering it doesn't have a fan to move the air around . The more I ooked at all those "Pivoting" models , the more it became obvious that they would be lucky to last one whole winter without the pivot mechanism malfunctioning in some respect . I have my heater in the middle of the living area sitting on the floor and set on low , which is 600 watts . Medium is 900 watts and high is 1500 watts . There are no moving parts on this model so I'm hoping it'll last for several winters . fordy...

[Trixie]

I think we have one of those. Ours looks like an old radiator. We also use it in our RV. I don't like central or furnace heat. It really clogs my sinuses and dries me out. We do use the furnace to heat up the trailer, since we use no heat at night unless it is going to be really, really cold. We then turn the furnace off and use the heater.

Yes, I agree, they are great. We bought ours at an estate sale. They don't have fans, but somehow they do a really great job. Ours is quite large and space is always a concern in a travel trailer.

I can't say how long they will last, as I don't know how much it had been used before we got it. We have used it for 3 winters now.

We don't use ours because our furnace uses much butane. It is just that furnace heat clogs my sinuses and is so drying.

[DenverGirlie]

we bought one last year.... as soon as I got the next electric bill it was unplugged and put in the basement for our yard sale..... not worth it at all.

Hope your expereince is better than ours was.

[mightybooboo]

Esp. nice when the park rate includes electric.Should have no problem on 600 watts heating the rv.We have one,nice heaters those oil filled ones are.

Consider also a catalytic that can run on your propane system,they are super efficient heat makers.Little 15 oz bottles,forget it,waaaaay too expensive to run those.But they do make adapters for em.

Get a CO alarm if you dont have one (for sure!) ,and a gas alarm too (though I never did get around to that.)

I have one of these....

http://cgi.ebay.com/PRIMUS-DUO-FLO-1...QQcmdZViewItem

Used to use a coleman of similar style,it was I think 3000-5000 adjustable BTU.I could run it about 10 hours/day for 13 days on a five gallon bottle with an adapter hose,and had the bottle INDOORS (i know,I know) but did this several years,kept the Bus bedroom toasty warm.Also,you can put a piece of paper on the heat surface,and it wont ignite.

Oh,that fan on that furnace will flatten your battery overnight BTW if you arent plugged in.

This brand is nice but a little pricey,but made to be installed in an RV.Comes in 3000,6000,and 8000 btu models.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Olymp...67375681QQrdZ1

BooBoo

[e.alleg]

Originally Posted by DenverGirlie

we bought one last year.... as soon as I got the next electric bill it was unplugged and put in the basement for our yard sale..... not worth it at all.

Hope your expereince is better than ours was.

same experience here, unless your electric is cheap or free it is too expensive.

[Mountaineer]

Also in a rv trailer here. It's an older model 38 footer. Has two 30 pounder propane tanks which run out every 2 weeks. Pain in the butt to say the least.
I now run 2 of those oil radiant heaters, one each end basically. It is a little cheaper than propane heat.
My electricity is almost nil over summer. I find it balances out over winter, plus it's a nice dry heat.

[fordy]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer

Also in a rv trailer here. It's an older model 38 footer. Has two 30 pounder propane tanks which run out every 2 weeks. Pain in the butt to say the least.
I now run 2 of those oil radiant heaters, one each end basically. It is a little cheaper than propane heat.
My electricity is almost nil over summer. I find it balances out over winter, plus it's a nice dry heat.

...........Same here ! My propane tanks are 10 gallons but can only get them filled to 80% . I've been paying around 21 for a full tank and with the cool nights we've been having I've been having to refill every four days or so . This radiant heater is already "better" cause that infernal blower motor isn't running . No fan , no pivot , just very quiet heat being produced which i like very much . fordy...

[Bluecreekrog]

I use 3 to heat my 3 bed mobile home, much cheaper and cleaner than the kero I used last year.

[tamsam]

We have an older one that we have no idea how old it is. It works really well but we also have several cermic heaters the are super. They are easy on the electric and last a long time. I lived a year in our 38 ft winnie and I used 2 of the cermic heaters and stayed nice and warm. Only time I ran the furnace was when temps were down to like the single didgets. Good luck with the heater. Sam

[Mountaineer]

This is where a link to www.missouritrailertrash.com needs to be added. Hope it's still there, you can get some good laughs from it.
I submitted a pic of my place but doubt it was added (not from Missouri).

[farminghandyman]

why not get a set of 100 pound bottles (20 to 25 gallons each) or have a 100 to 250 gallon tank set besides the RV, for the time being, and have it truck filled, (would probably cut your cost on propane in halve over the small bottles, the fee to fill them is usually higher than the cost of the propane that is put in them), (in our area I think it is $16 for the small bottles to be filled, and so a 20 pound about $5 worth of propane in it, so the fill fee is $10+)

and skirt in the bottom of the RV,

[Aintlifegrand]

I have two like that I bought at Lowe's last winter for the two finished bedrooms we had. They worked great all winter and we are using them again this year. We turn them on when we get home in the evening and by Bedtime the rooms are warm. The temps here were in the 20's a couple of weeks back and only part of the house is insulated and drywalled and they kept us warm.

[fordy]

Originally Posted by farminghandyman

why not get a set of 100 pound bottles (20 to 25 gallons each) or have a 100 to 250 gallon tank set besides the RV, for the time being, and have it truck filled, (would probably cut your cost on propane in halve over the small bottles, the fee to fill them is usually higher than the cost of the propane that is put in them), (in our area I think it is $16 for the small bottles to be filled, and so a 20 pound about $5 worth of propane in it, so the fill fee is $10+)

and skirt in the bottom of the RV,

..................Excellent idea(s) , but , I don't know IF I will be staying here for an extended period of time . depends on job possibilities , and I'm thinking of moving too a different part of the state . Or , If I find some kind of caretaker situation I would be moving along which means the trailer will be along for the ride . Everything is definitely , Very unsettled right now so I'm not making any kind of permanent improvements too this trailer space . thanks , fordy...

[Janis Sauncy]

I have one of those "oscillating" heaters, that swivel, that I bought at a yard sale. It worked real well until, after the cold weather hit and it was put into use daily, the moving parts started "clicking" noises when it moves. It is in my son's bedroom and I can hear it all the way down the hall in the livingroom. I told my son I think it would be cheaper for him to use an electric blanket since he likes his room so hot and he said he doesn't like having blankets on him and that's why he has to have the room so hot! I suspect that pretty soon it won't oscillate at all.

I have a woodstove and that keeps the house (including my bedroom, even with the door closed) plenty warm for me. My older son has a water bed and he stays warm enough, too, without a heater of any kind in his room.

I have one of those radiator-looking ones, too, but there seems to be something wrong with it (bought it at a garage sale, too). It puts out some heat but not enough to satisfy my son. I would think, though, that they would use less electricity than anything that moves and/or blows.

Electric heat is great.

Until the first power failure comes along.

My home is all-electric, but I've got a bunch of 20lb LP tanks in the workshop and a couple of LP heaters for backup.

.....Alan.

[insanity]

Glad to hear your staying warm.

How you liking the mobile/camping lifestyl so far?

[fordy]

Originally Posted by insanity

Glad to hear your staying warm.

How you liking the mobile/camping lifestyl so far?

............Well , I'm learning to adjust too my new living arrangments . Not exactly like living in a stick hose . Unless , you purchase one of the really expensive trailers which will run 90k and UP you just aren't even going to come close to maintaining temperature stability like is possible in a well insulated home . But , it's not UNcomfortable because our winters here in north central texas are not that cold . I'm thinking the hot summer months are going to be more of a challenge(staying cool) than winter , actually . thanks for asking , fordy...

[mightybooboo]

Originally Posted by fordy

I'm thinking the hot summer months are going to be more of a challenge(staying cool) than winter , actually . thanks for asking , fordy...

Good point.If you have a big awning,face it south and keep that direct light off the wall,will help a ton with cooling.

BooBoo

[ldc]

Consumer Reports has rated the oil filled electric radiant heaters. Bought one 10 years ago, still works great and now is cheaper to run than my natural gas heater. it was expensive when I bought it, but it's lasted a long time now; it's a DeLonghi. ldc