I am retired Navy and living in a 39' Fiflth Wheel (Coachmen Somerset) at Solomons Navy Rec Center where the eletricity is free. I have a 50AMP service and I am looking for some good Low Amp heaters so I can utilize the free electricity and not need to use so much propane. We have two heaters that we purchased at Walmart but they do not put out a lot of heat and we pop breakers if we turn on the coffee pot. Can anyone give an idea of what would be best low amp electric heaterto use.
There is no such thing as a low amp electric heater. They ALL put out the same amount of heat (BTU's) for the same amount of electricity used. All 1500W heaters put out about 5K BTU's. Some offer a lower setting at about 750W but then only put out half the BTU's.
You are limited by the bacis electrical formule
Watts = Volts x amps.
Amps = Watts/Amps
SO if you have a 1500 watt heater on 120 volts,
1500/120 = 12.5 amps
1500 watts = 5118.2 BTUH.
So the only way to lower the amps on a heater is to lower the wattage or BTUH output. Less amps = less heat.
Ken
KE5DFR
Vintage 1979 Silver Streak Supreme Rocket toted by a 2002 F350, crewcab dually, 7.3L,4.10 axle,SCMT. Travel with one miniature Schnauzers, one standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot. Practicing for retirement!
Maybe you should consider a more efficient use of your propane. Many of us use Mr. Heaters and the like. I personally use the Mr. Heater Big Buddy. It has a port for a low pressure quick connect (so you can tap into your existing propane line) and it has a fan that you can get an AC adaptor for (or the fan can run on 4 D batteries).
I know you asked about electric heaters, but I thought I would throw that out.
Also, you may want to look into the oil-filled electric heaters.
Thank you for your service to the Navy!
My much better half
DS-10,DD-8,DS-7,DS-7
Our Fuzzbutt Golden Retriever-12
The greatest thing you ever can do now,
Is trade a smile with someone who's blue now,
It's very easy just...
Eco-heater. 400 watts 3.3amps. A couple years ago someone on here was talking about them so I went to the local Ace hardware and ordered one-I believe about $70. It screws to the wall. Looks like a piece of ceramic tile about a half inch thick and 1.5ft square. Put it in the bedroom. Does a great job! Doesn't heat the whole trailer, but on cold nights really takes the chill off. We were in NC this year and had a couple nights go down into the low 40s, turned it on and woke up and turned it off, I was too hot. It is radiant heat, the surface gets hot but not so hot that you will get burned on it. They say it is safe for children to be around, it will get their attention but not burn them. I was concerned about it being too hot to mount it on the wall, but I kept checking the wall and the outside of the trailer where it is mounted, it gets warm but not hot. Thinking about getting another one to mount in another place. I would link to it but I don't know how. Someone else on here will-"Eco-heater" is the trade name.
An oil filled radiator type heater is probly your best bet.
They take awhile to heat the oil but can really kick out some heat once hot.
Just leave it plugged in all the time.
Map out your breakers and outlets. Put the heaters on different circuits. And keep them off the coffee pot circuit or turn it off temporarily while coffee brews. You can also add a separate circuit for the electric heaters.
As said watts and BTU (heat) is directly proportional. All are 100% efficient so there is no electric heater that provides more heat with less power.
Agree with above - you would have to change the fuel source to change the ratio of heat yield to consumption.
I typically get by with a couple of 1,500 watt heaters to slow down the furnace, but I have to let the furnace run overnight to keep the belly tanks and plumbing warm in the winter. The electric heaters will not circulate down there on mine.
We are just vacationers, so I don't worry too much about LP use, but if I were to buy a rig for full time today, I would seriously consider the heat pumps in lieu of standard AC units to help offset the LP consumption, but it's way too expensive to change out now.
Others have made some really good suggestions. Portable heaters are limited to 1500W max, which is about 5000 btus, oil filled is a good choice (well that is what I use). Use multiple outlets/circuits and add more if necessary.
With 50 amp service, you really have 100 amps at 120V, so you could have up to eight 1500W heaters if each was on a dedicated 15 amp breaker. Of course that is with nothing else on, but that is way more than you really need. So the solution is more dedicated outlets, you should easily be able to use 3 or 4 heaters if necessary. I have 50 amp service and with free electric, I will use two 1500W heaters + electric HW heater + microwave + everything else and have never blown a breaker.
Larry Day
Texas Baptist Men-Retiree Builders since '01
'03 GMC 2500HD D/A EC SB, Jordan controller, custom RKI bed/hitch, Putco boards, TF 45gal tank, grey Speedliner
'04 CrossRoads Cruiser CF29RK, Mor/ryde IS, Carefree Eclipse 12V awning Rig Photos
Look for radiant type heaters that do not have fans. Those tend to warm what they are "pointed" at (i.e. you) rather than warming the air.
lamagoh wrote: I am retired Navy and living in a 39' Fiflth Wheel (Coachmen Somerset) at Solomons Navy Rec Center where the eletricity is free. I have a 50AMP service and I am looking for some good Low Amp heaters so I can utilize the free electricity and not need to use so much propane. We have two heaters that we purchased at Walmart but they do not put out a lot of heat and we pop breakers if we turn on the coffee pot. Can anyone give an idea of what would be best low amp electric heaterto use.
Thanks,
Lorne
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts solar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries 2500 watt inverter.
Offline
