Caravan heaters

Duncan29 · Member

Caravan heaters

Mamil · Senior Member

Electric heaters consume a large amount of power. Your 1500W heater drawing through an inverter will pull about 130Amps from your batteries, assuming 12V and 10% inverter losses.

There's nothing wrong with that per se, but you need to ask yourself the following questions...

Are your batteries, wiring, and fuses big enough to supply this amount of instantaneous current?

How long are you proposing to use the heater for - just a quick five minute warm up, or running for a few hours?

How long will your batteries last when being discharged at this rate? Number of hours your batteries will last = Useable capacity of batteries in Ah / (130 Amps x number of hours you'll run heater)

How are you going to charge the batteries back up if you're off grid? If solar, how big a solar system will it need to do this?

The answers to those questions will tell you whether it's viable or not in your situation.

If not then have a look at an alternative source for heating - such as a diesel or gas hot air heater.

-- Edited by Mamil on Sunday 26th of May 2019 06:42:18 PM

Duncan29 · Member

Thanks for your reply. Seems good advice . Can you tell me more about the gas hot air heaters ?

Appreciated,

Duncan

elliemike · Guru

Diesel Heater https://youtu.be/ewr7btulJ-w

Gas Heater https://youtu.be/HI6YPY8aA84

I have an Eberspacher D2 Diesel heater in the Avan works very well. They are easily fitted. Mine is a few years old now and was about $1200.0 then. My friend just bought a Chinese exact copy of mine for $200+ which I helped install. It is just the same as mine. But better control unt on the wall.

-- Edited by elliemike on Sunday 26th of May 2019 06:33:52 PM

-- Edited by elliemike on Sunday 26th of May 2019 06:37:59 PM

Mamil · Senior Member

Duncan29 wrote:
Thanks for your reply. Seems good advice . Can you tell me more about the gas hot air heaters ?
Appreciated,
Duncan

I don't have one in my van, but did look at installing a Truma gas heater a couple of months ago but was put off by the price - about $2000 fitted, as being a permanently installed gas appliance they need to be fitted by a licenced gas fitter. Diesel heaters are much cheaper, especially if you buy one of the currently popular China imports and fit it yourself. That's my sum total of knowledge on the subject I'm afraid, so hopefully someone with more experience with gas and diesel heaters will be along soon to advise you...

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Hi Duncan, I have a Truma Gas Heater fitted to my aluminium tent and have so for nearly 5 years now. It has been faultless until a few weeks ago. Turns out it was still faultless and was the gas regulator. A small adjustment to let more gas through and all good again.

Edit... Thought I might add. If you go that way get the control fitted next to the bed. You will find out why on those cold mornings biggrin

-- Edited by Dougwe on Sunday 26th of May 2019 06:36:57 PM

elliemike · Guru

Dougwe wrote:
Hi Duncan, I have a Truma Gas Heater fitted to my aluminium tent and have so for nearly 5 years now. It has been faultless until a few weeks ago. Turns out it was still faultless and was the gas regulator. A small adjustment to let more gas through and all good again.

Edit... Thought I might add. If you go that way get the control fitted next to the bed. You will find out why on those cold mornings

-- Edited by Dougwe on Sunday 26th of May 2019 06:36:57 PM

Good advice re the control. We can both reach it on the wall. My mates new Chinese one, also comes with a KEYRING remote on and off.

sandsmere · Guru

Dougwe wrote:
Hi Duncan, I have a Truma Gas Heater fitted to my aluminium tent and have so for nearly 5 years now. It has been faultless until a few weeks ago. Turns out it was still faultless and was the gas regulator. A small adjustment to let more gas through and all good again.

X 2. A brilliant heater.

-- Edited by Dougwe on Sunday 26th of May 2019 06:36:57 PM

The Travelling Dillberries · Guru

sandsmere wrote:
Dougwe wrote:
Hi Duncan, I have a Truma Gas Heater fitted to my aluminium tent and have so for nearly 5 years now. It has been faultless until a few weeks ago. Turns out it was still faultless and was the gas regulator. A small adjustment to let more gas through and all good again.

X 2. A brilliant heater.

-- Edited by Dougwe on Sunday 26th of May 2019 06:36:57 PM
x 3......
We returned last week from our first trip ( 3 months) since installing the Truma Gas Vario, used it many times all night set on about 16deg, worked quietly and odourless every time. We have a 240V ceramic fan heater to use in CParks but chose to use the quieter and more efficient Truma instead on most occasions.
Chris.

Sarge9 · Senior Member

lotsa people will tell you good things about Diesel heaters starting at the price, then there is always a but.... but it smell, but its noisy but you need a fuel yank on the caravan. then there is gas.... yes it is dearer to buy, works on the same principle as the diesel (or diesel works on the gas principle) only but is that you use gas. No noise for you or your neighbours, no smell, no fuel tanks to fill.

My BIL has diesel, new heater, new van, heard it running... lovely and warm, didnt want the buts.

Yes, I went gas... installed it myself and had a plumber certify all the joins and exhaust etc. You dont need a plumber to put the unit in place and run the duct and power leads etc. all of which take as much time as skill. Just get it certified.

And we carry a $18 fan heater for caravan park use.

Ron-D · Guru

Gas is a very good system ,but your eating into your gas supply out of your bottles ,its a lot more expensive to buy and fit,deisil tanks are easily filled at the servo ,diesil heaters are cheap to buy and you can fit it yourself,I personally like gas but my back pocket would prefer diesil.

mus429 · Member

I put a cheap diesel unit my motorhome 3 years ago and its been faultless. I fitted it myself along with the thin narrow plastic fuel tank. simple led control on the wall and away it goes. Uses a miniscule amount of diesel. Any noise is the fan blowing but to get warm that minor inconvenience is well worth it. I can see my fuel/diesel level in the tank and I'm positive it would be cheaper to run that LPG. I'd prefer to have a fuel supply separate from my needy supplies.

Long Weekend · Guru

Found this video on installing a diesel heater:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dY3upkY_aO3E&view=detail&mid=16B86F962A4C3BC5FDFC16B86F962A4C3BC5FDFC&FORM=VIRE

What is interesting about this particular video is that rather than showing the installation into an actual caravan the heater was installed into a box for clarity. It does show all the different steps.

It opens up a completely new take on installing one of these heaters, being to fit a heater into a separate box that only requires a couple of holes in the side of the van to accept the hot air input, controller and power connection.

I wonder if anyone has ever done it? The box would only have to be as large as a small fridge/freezer.

Right now here in Canberra having a heater in our van is looking good. In a week's time we are heading down to Victoria where it will be a little bit warmer but still cold.

Murray

StewG · Senior Member

It all depends on what you already have or plan to have in your caravan. I chose to have a Truma gas heater fitted when my caravan was being built. An extra $1600+ was charged - priced the same as fitting a diesel heater. The main reasons, after some research were:
1. I have gas for the stove and hot water already plumbed.
2. The fridge is all electric compressor type, so does not use gas.
3. The gas heater is (allegedly) quieter than diesel. Since I don't have both, I can't compare.
4. Diesel heaters are (allegedly) a less pleasant smell for neighbours if not for yourself.
5. Diesel heaters need a tank to be replenished periodically.

In practice, my gas bottles last for months even with extensive use of cooking, hot water and heating. And the heater is very effective.

My tug is diesel so getting heater fuel would be no inconvenience.

There are other factors for and against both, but choose what suits you. I would avoid electric heating unless you have huge battery capacity available and a means of effectively charging the batteries.