Quiet electric heat - is it possible?

[whitelight]

Thanks Terry - I've been having issues with Firefox 3.5.9 & Vista.

Anyway, one picture is worth a 1000 words!

[richinny]

would 3.63 help?

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Kevin245

We use a ceramic space heater and have a Cat Wave 8 for backup.

I'm intrigued with this setup http://www.solarhaven.org/HPArticle.htm
and have it on my "Future Experiments List" which in real life means that I'll probably never get to it.

The concept is interesting but there are obstacles I would need to consider before proceeding.

We have a thread on that here somewhere but the short answer is that the water heater doesn't provide enough BTUs.

[RedOne]

If you prefer to use electric instead of your propane heater, the ceramic oil filled heater from Walmart works great. We block off the exhaust ports on the propane heater, turn off the propane to heater, open the access door and turn on the fan to circulate throughout all compartments. This keeps the bathroom warm and prevents the holding tanks from freezing in extra cold weather.

[RichHog]

Put in a NT 30SP in my 72 TW and I was impressed that it is pretty quiet as the unit sits under the sink. It's like you feel the heat coming out of the vents but no blower sound.

[Jammer]

Whitelight, everyone,

I started installing a pic-a-watt heater today. I removed the panel below the mirrored closet door. This was problematic because in addition to the screws there were staples holding the panel to the face frame, and these were difficult to remove without damaging the veneer. Once the panel was out, I was able to cut it in my shop and install the heater. I have not reinstalled the panel yet and only have a test plug on the heater since I have not decided what to do about controls.

While I will be among the first to point out the importance of having a trailer capable of boondocking, I expect that this will provide sufficient heat in the substantial number of situations where it is 40 degrees at night and we have shore power, without the noise of the furnace.

Of note, the heater is installed in the compartment where a furnace outlet dips down into the tank area. With careful installation of a pancake fan, the heat loss from the rear of the heater may be sufficient to keep the tanks from freezing. I may experiment at some time with temperature measurements to see.

I will post photos next week.

[whitelight]

Hey Jammer,

Yes, the Pic-a-watt is great for those stays in RV parks where the electricity is included. We used it almost exclusively on the 34 last winter while traveling in southern CA, where it was dipping down to the high 30's. It's also convenient when the propane runs out!
We purchased the dial thermostat kit & mounted directly on the heater. This worked well for us.
Looking forward to pics.

[Jammer]

I have ordered a 12 volt octal relay and socket which will fit inside the heater can. I haven't quite decided whether to mount an extra thermostat somewhere or just use the one for the furnace with a selector switch. I'll end up powering the heater from the 15 amp circuit that runs most of the outlets in the trailer, since the wires for that go right by. I can power the thermostat from the 12 volt feed for the closet light.

[Jammer]

Photos of the pic-a-watt. The thermostat controlling it is visible in the first photo

[whitelight]

Jammer - looks great! Nice install - did you paint the heater grille as we only found that they carries white, almond, or stainless steel (at a premium price.)

We were quite happy with the Pic-a-Watt heater.

[Jammer]

I started with a white grill and painted it sand.

I like the "ultra" grill they sell but they are more expensive, and with the sand paint, it blends in and you just don't see it.

[KYAirstream]

Just stumbled across this thread. In terms of noise, how does the pic a watt compare to a ceramic heater?

[KYAirstream]

Also, in terms of heat circulation, how well do you think this heater would perform if mounted about halfway up a wall? I'm considering one for the rear bedroom, but would like to keep it away from the floor in case bed covers fell in front of it during the night.