Ac heater vs ceramic

[brandon32689]

Hey guys in my cargo trailer build I need a heater. We went to the dunes the other day and it was a lil colder then we liked at night got down to 45 outside not sure what it was in trailer it is insulated and does have a ac but it was not that warm I'll tell you that. Well I have the 13,500 btu Mach 3 coleman I am trying to decide if I should just get the heat element for that or I thought about getting a ceramic isolating heater they work darn good, I've read the units in the roof don't heat to well. Any first hand experience?

[sbshaver]

I don't have experience, but know that a roof heater isn't good unless you want to heat the ceiling.

[PaulS]

I have the same Coleman ac but with the heat and do not wast your money. If your looking for an electric heater I use a Eden Pure style heater. Mine is a ihome brand has a digital read out so I can set it at a desired temp. It also has a fake fire place on the front that can be turned on independently.

[GerryS]

I've been out in sub freezing temps....just keep a window cracked and a my all space heater will do surprisingly well.

It got down to high 40s inside when I decided enough was enough, I flipped on a 400 watt ceramic and the temp started to come up, but I needed the 1200 watt unit to catch up.

Since then, I have used the 400 from lights out and have remained quite comfortable.

I've also used just a heated blanket and that alone kept the whole camper very comfortable.

I see no reason for me to add anything else except maybe if I wanted to heat with propane.....but now you're talking heat exchangers and a lot of lost storage for something that might be needed only a few times a year, not to mention the whole short cycling problem that haunts the AC discussion...

My 2 cents worth? Wy invest hundreds of dollars and a lot of weight and lost space when something smaller than a shoebox will work.

Yes, I'm in a camp-inn teardrop, but I've used ceramics to best a small shed about the same size and it did amazingly well there as well.

[brandon32689]

Thanks guys for all your input and help. I did a lil research before posting and most ppl say the heater unit is a waste so you guys cleared it up.

[len19070]

The heat strip for an AC is very costly and very inefficient. The element in these units, especially the newer ones are installed in the AC's return duct and must first heat up the the AC, which is Outside before any heat gets inside. The older units are at least on the exhaust side.

Whereas a small ceramic heater is direct into the cold area, much cheaper and almost instant.

Another bad point is the AC is in the ceiling. And as we all know heat rises.
Your head is warm and your feet are cold.

A ceramic heater on the floor will heat both hi and low areas.

Just my experience with both.

Happy Trails

Len

[aggie79]

If you camp where there is electrical service, how about in floor electric radiant heating? http://www.thermosoft.com/radiant-floor-heat/

[lrrowe]

I like the electrical floor radiant heat idea. But the cost might be too high (from this site). I will review it some more.
And this is coming from one who heats with hydronic radiant in my home floors now (I designed it, built it and installed it).

[chiefb711]

If you camp where there is electrical service, how about in floor electric radiant heating? http://www.thermosoft.com/radiant-floor-heat/

I had radiant heating in my last apartment, and it felt like I was in a microwave every time we turned it on. It was an overhead-style radiant heat and it seriously felt like I was being cooked from the inside-out. I do like the idea of a heated floor though...especially with a cold linoleum/rubber floor in the fall/winter months.

Ryan

[bdosborn]

Broan-NuTone (6201) Big Heat Heater

Kind of expensive but you only have to buy one. The $20 jobs don't seem to last longer than a season or two...

Bruce

[working on it]

Broan-NuTone (6201) Big Heat Heater

Kind of expensive but you only have to buy one. The $20 jobs don't seem to last longer than a season or two...

Bruce

Granted, the $20 heaters don't last long, and most don't have adjustable thermostats, but the deciding factor in choosing to get a Lasko 200 Watt Ceramic Heater

Lasko My Heat 200 Watt.jpg (14.81 KiB) Viewed 1723 times

was the low amperage draw (2 amps @120vac). I only have an around 80-85 cubic feet space to heat, and the Lasko is advertised to heat 300 c.f. (should be closer to 262, as calculated, so it is quite sufficient), and if the 120vac power fails, my 12vdc battery could power it thru the 410 watt inverter. If used judiciously! I don't see that I'll need to run it for long, as I'm in Texas, and a fair-weather camper (so far), so it is enough. I tested a couple of adjustable thermo types, but even set as low as I could set them, they tripped off the inverter (which is the last resort test). Of course, I wouldn't want to drain my battery that way, unless a short spurt of heat was all-important (ward off hypothermia?); I have multiple comforters and a zero degree sleeping bag for my winter usage, as a rule, from experiences many years ago. That's the plan for my forseeable needs: a larger, cargo conversion would need more heating capacity, but carrying along a low-powered "last resort" heater might not be inadvisable, just in case.

[brandon32689]

I am looking at a few different ceramic heaters my main thing is saftey I want to be safe in there.

I also have a real nice new radiator heater but not sure how that would do in there vs a ceramic heater

[razorback]

My tear is 5 x 10. The cabin is 5 x 7. I bought this:http://www.morelectricheating.com/default.aspx?page=item+detail&itemcode=ECONOHEAT10001&gclid=CPn-0I256MACFUMLMgodXkEAqA. This unit does not get hot enough to combust anything. It is on the wall at the feet of my wife. Just set the thermostat to whatever temp you want.
This is similiar to the thermostat I have:http://www.amazon.com/Lux-Heating-Cooling-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B000E7NYY8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410963923&sr=8-1&keywords=thermostat+plug+in
Heats the whole space without drying out the air. My walls,ceiling, and floor are insulated. We have camped down to 23 degrees. This is the thermostat. My experience with the ceramic heaters is the floor is cold and the ceiling is hot and the air is very dry.

[len19070]

I bought my Ceramic heater at a yard sale.

If your hooked up to a 30 amp service all you can get out of any electric heater, element for an AC is 1500 watts.

That kind of makes the output of all of them the same.

Happy Trails

Len

[abqlloyd]

1500 watts is only 12.5 amps.