Can I just use a ceramic heater?

[Eaglemate]

Hi ya'll. I have a 24 ft. argosy. I plan to be plugged in most of the time. Can I just use a small ceramic heater instead of lighting a pilot light every time I stop?

Thanks.

[Nuvite-F]

You mean use an electric heater rather than your LP furnace? Sure, if you have the electric hookup. (And if one heater provides enough heat.)
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[Jim & Susan]

That's what we do, however, we don't camp when the weather is much below 40 degrees. Only a few days, actually, and it wasn't too bad.

Jim

[Airtandem]

That is what we do. I have camped in below freezing (25-30)and used the small ceramic heater. Also why use your propane when you can use the electricity you are paying for?

[idroba]

The Argosy most likely has a 15,000 to 20,000 Btuh furnace. A 1500 watt electric heater of the type you mention will produce about 5000 Btuh. It may be enough for coolish weather, but not for truly cold weather.

[10Smiles]

We use a portable electric heater whenever possible. Even if it is not enough to heat the trailer completely, it will provide a great suppliment to the furnace and save propane.

[wheel interested]

It's the furnace that will keep your pipes from freezing. You need to balance the auxillary heat with the furnace to keep the furnace running in very cold weather to heat your tanks enough to keep them warm but not so warm that it consumes so much propane as to blow through your tanks more quickly than absolutely necessary. It depends on the temperatures that you are camping in. I found that in the winter in Kentucky I had to keep it a bit cooler inside than I would have preferred or risk freezing pipes or having to refill the tanks often. If the temperatures were not freezing I could be as toasty as I wanted with the ceramic or oil radiator heater, or even the heat pump which did an excellent job of warming the Airstream as long as it wasn't freezing outside. Besides auxillary heaters you can use heated mattress pads or blankets and snuggle sacks that will not affect your climate control but will also keep you warm.

[Phoenix]

Our 2005 Bambi has an air conditioner instead of a heat pump, and it came standard with a heating element. When "camping" in our Denver relatives' driveway during the holidays, we use the furnace to warm the trailer to 50-55. Then, we leave the furnace on and run the air conditioner heating element overnight, too, which keeps the temperature at 55-60 overnight.

During the day, this combination heats the trailer up to 65-70, which feels too warm, so we turn the air conditioner heating element off. (The heating element doesn't have a thermostat.) This has worked well when the outside temperature is above freezing during the day, and the mid-20s overnight.

This really saves propane, but it probably adds a few dollars to our relatives' electric bill for the few days we are visiting.

[Kosm1o]

I don't like the noise of the furnace or a ceramic electric so we use a radiator type oil filled electric heator. Works great.

[Jammer]

I have installed a built-in 1500w electric heater which I've posted about previously.

It is sufficient for nights down to around 55 degrees or so. I sometimes augment it with a portable 800 watt heater in the bedroom. The combination is good down to around 50 degrees and will still work on 20 or 30 amp service.

That setup will not heat up the trailer quickly though and is no good in really cold weather. You need the furnace in those situations.

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by Eaglemate

Can I just use a small ceramic heater instead of lighting a pilot light every time I stop?

Absolutely! We use one extensively as supplemental, or a short term comfort source. In milder temps they work great but you'll need to be current conscious as the heater is a current hog, that competes with the WH (electric/LPG) and microwave.

We use a ceramic heater extensively during the Spring and Fall camping seasons. Its good for the fifties and upper 40's, but below that the inside temp really drops off. Then the SO starts swapping out Victoria's Secret for flannel.

We started using a small electric blanket which makes a huge difference.

Regards,

Kevin

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by Kosm1o

I don't like the noise of the furnace or a ceramic electric so we use a radiator type oil filled electric heator. Works great.

So do we. One in the bow and another in the stern. We'll fire the furnace in the morning to get up to living heat. In Flagstaff, we've been down to 15 degrees with just the oil-filled radiators.