Have not used electric hook up before but am thinking of using it for a winter break. Any one know what sort of heater would be a good idea to use, to leave on in a campervan overnight. I'm thinking maybe an electric oil filled radiator, but not sure on what wattage to go for, that would be acceptable on most canp site hookups. Anybody any ideas on what would be best.
We use a small 800ish watt oil rad' for overnight use and a smal fan heater for when we want a bit of a boost !(..both nothing more than cheapie Argos/B&Q types)
..although I suppose it depends on what room you've got..both for lugging and for when in use.
We've never had them trip any site electrics,although on sites with lower rated "trips", you may need to turn the fan heater off,if you want to use an electric kettle...
After trying them all we found a small thermostatic convector heater,silent,turn down low at night,but quickly warms things on high.
We did also find that in a largish van and very cold weather -9 it was best to have 1kw at each end of the van,
------------- they said it couldnt be done so i left it and went camping
a bad days camping is better than a good day at work
Thanks for all your help everyone. Was thinking more on the lines of either the oil filled radiator or a convector maybe. Wouldn't these be the quietest for over night use? Just a bit unsure of hook up wattage limits on site.
yes the oil filled rad or convector would be the quietest as for ehu you only get 6amp (not that much now)10 amp(still common)and 16amp (getting more common).
you can run upto 1380watts on 6amp 2300 on 10amp and 3680 0n 16amp.most convector heaters have a 1000watt setting and the same goes for the bigger oil filled rads.if it was me i would go convector with built in fan,so if you want a boost of heat you can run the fan.
Fan heaters are great, but if you're a light sleeper then they will annoy you, as they will cut in & out during the night. Also, when buying the smaller, cheaper fan heaters, you can never be sure weather you'll get a relatively quiet, or a damned noisy one.
My parents used to leave a single convector heater on their 55foot boat in the winter, to take the chill off for the cat & stop any pipes freezing, whilst they were away. It's surprising how much heat they will convect, especially if you leave them "ticking over" 24hrs a day. As you build up a heat store over time & the heater just clicks on & off as it's needed.
I've got a small convector heater in my Trafic, it just stands in the front over the transmission shaft so it's out of the way. I leave it on all the time, just ticking over very low, and turn it up a bit if it needs a boost. It's light to carry and silent. B&Q about £19.
If you go for a small fan heater, (which we have) it's worth getting one which will also run on cold in the summer ie just the fan working to help cool the van down at night when it's hot. It does happen!!
I prefer a convector - but they take up a lot of space in a campervan or small caravan, so I use a Dunelm oil filled radiator on all the while and carry a fan heater for an extra boost in really cold weather, or to put on cold if it's too warm in summer.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
I also have the Bambino - it's made by delonghi! LOL. Excellent, really fast to heat up and never tripped any site I've been on. Nice and small, can fit in a little space. I put it on top of the cooker lid at night, up out of the way so it doesn't get tripped over.
I always remember to turn it off just while I boil the kettle though, just to be on the safe side!
Had a vw trooper we used a small fan heater set to a temp and either side of winter & put onto frost in winter so that it kicked on/off as oh does not like it too hot at night ANYTIME so the frost setting kicking in a 5c was brilliant to just get for a loo and get back under again without being too cold yet not taking out all the air to start his snoring off.Still use it for the FC only it stays on longer because of canvas sides& roof. But still keeps reasonable temps.
Quote: Originally posted by Jax365 on 07/12/2011I also have the Bambino - it's made by delonghi! LOL. Excellent, really fast to heat up and never tripped any site I've been on. Nice and small, can fit in a little space. I put it on top of the cooker lid at night, up out of the way so it doesn't get tripped over.
I always remember to turn it off just while I boil the kettle though, just to be on the safe side!
doh, you are right, it is delonghi...
not had a problem with turning it off though, its only 800W, my kettle is only a 2Kw, so gives me some headroom.