Electric Blanket

whitey2 · Veteran Member

Electric Blanket

hako · Guru

You could run it off an inverter as they don't draw much power if 240Vac. You can now get 12 volt ones and then you wouldn't need the inverter. We used an electric 'throwover' which is like a mini electric blanket but only to warm the bed before hopping in. Hot water bottles are pretty good too.

Kooroorinya Kelpie · Senior Member

Hi whitey2 and all. Yeah mate you can but it will eat your power real quick. An electric blanket is just an element wrapped up and like your toaster, electric kettle, etc. is a power glutton. Extra aircell blanket and or a doona is much cheaper to run. When we were camping out in sub alpine regions everyone in the hunting party used to have 6 or so fist sized rocks which were placed around the evening cooking/camp fire and when it came swag time each bloke would juggle his near red hot rocks and put them each side of the swag. Kept you warm long enough to go to sleep. Never tried them in an Rv mainly because The Boss would probably disown me. Cheers.

valiant81 · Guru

Hi;

Re the electric blanket idear, sounds good and the average electric blanket draws about 60 Watts, on high. With both sides on would be 120 Watts, not a problem IF you are connected to the mains power , but if running from a inverter and batterys, well i don'nt think your batterys would last the night . As it has been posted before, why not use a hot water bottle.

XTV · Member

This is a bit like how long is a piece of string. However, possibly:

· Two electric blankets require approx 120 watts from 230 volts.

· A 12 volt DC to 230 volt AC inverter at best would be 80% efficient, so would consume about 144 watts, or 12 amps from a 12 volt battery.

· A fully charged 100 Ah battery can possibly provide about 70 Ah before going flat. 12 amps may therefore be available for only about 6 hours maximum.

· So, if you have a fully charged 100 Ah battery (whether from solar cells or a generator) at best you would probably only manage about 6 hours before they were flat. If you have two fully charged batteries, you could possibly get 12 hours.

· The next day, the battery would be flat and need to be completely charged to allow you to repeat the process.

I agree with the suggestion to use hot water bottles!

Colin

KFT · Guru

we have a 12v/LPG heater installed in the van so we don't need the electric blanket.

it works very well is quieter than a diesel heater and draws hardly any power at all.

we love it

frank

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

We have a double electric blanket in the OKA that runs via the inverter.
About 60W per side on high, but 30 minutes is plenty to warm the bed, then it can go off or to low for the rest of the night.
If it is really cold it is great to switch it on again in the early hours.
Total power usage is quite moderate.

Cheers,
Peter

whitey2 · Veteran Member

Thanks for the replies, firstly yes we do have hot water bottles, woollen underlay and probably no need for the electric blanket but ...... To warm the bed would be nice.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Depends on the person your with ??

Kooroorinya Kelpie · Senior Member

I Reckon a medium size dog is a fair sort of a bed warmer, the hardest part is getting them to move when you want to get in. Dual purpose too, as they are our 46 tooth security system.

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

we use a hot water bottle (sometimes) most of the time we do the usual and then the covers have to come off cos we are too hot. biggrin biggrin

PeterD · Guru

I reckon that if it is cold enough for an electric blanket to be a necessity then you probably need other heating as well. I'm with Frank install a diesel or LPG heater, that will warm you twice

KFT wrote:
we have a 12v/LPG heater installed in the van so we don't need the electric blanket.

jules47 · The Happy Helper

I have a very cuddly hot water bottle called Billeeeeeee!!!!!!!

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

jules47 wrote:
I have a very cuddly hot water bottle called Billeeeeeee!!!!!!!

i've seen him biggrin

jules47 · The Happy Helper

All I need to stay warm!!!!

03_troopy · Guru

All we ever used in the camper trailer was a good quality sleeping bag under the sheets, on the mattress. A couple of blankets then another sleeping bag over the top as a doona. Kept us warm and comfy even in cold weather in northern SA and southern NT in June. How cold was it.. well we used to get ice forming from the condensation on the roof of the tent above our heads. And if you ventured out for a pee, in the middle of the night, you'd have to snap it off when you were finished ;)

brian · Guru

03_troopy wrote:
And if you ventured out for a pee, in the middle of the night, you'd have to snap it off when you were finished ;)

I hope you meant the pee and not the old fella. biggrin

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

You need to be qualified for that ! It's not the old fella its the two nuts hanging out with him ...lol

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

Aus-Kiwi wrote:
You need to be qualified for that ! It's not the old fella its the two nuts hanging out with him ...lol

the two nuts are not happy cos there is no thread to screw onto. biggrin biggrin

whitey2 · Veteran Member

hahaha thanks for all the feed back and laughs, will just be sticking to woollen doona and in emergency a hot water bottle to warm the bed. Cheers whitey2