Winter Heater While on the Drive

[AndyDakota]

I am looking to buy a low wattage thermostatic electric heater that I can set up and leave connected in the motorhome during the winter period while it's stored on the drive.

I've been looking at a Dimplex 80 watt tube heater in Screwfix for £26.99 as shown here:-

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dimplex-ecot2ft-wall-mounted-tubular-heater-80w/1796f

As a review states, it's 28" long, very easy to fit, has a long lead and plug attached, the heater gets hot enough so you can't touch it. As I can plug the motorhome into the mains on the drive I was just thinking of setting the thermostat to 10 degrees and leaving it on so that when the temperature drops to 10 degrees it will come on and just take away the chill inside the motorhome. My question is am I wasting my time as it won't do anything or has anybody got a better idea. Please don't say go the Greece for the winter and the problem will sort itself out. :-D

[Mickt]

I have a 500 watt oil filled radiator with a thermostat. Purchased from B&Q some time ago, these rads are safer i my opinion.

[Keithl]

In my opinion 80 Watts will do absolutely nothing!

 

As an example I tried a small 500 Watt oil filled radiator in our 6.5 m coachbuilt and it achieved nothing.

 

I now use a 2 kW oil filled radiator controlled by a domestic frost thermostat wired into an extension lead and left on the floor near the heater. This gives just about adequate heat to keep the temp above circa 5 deg C.

 

Don't waste your money on 80 Watts!

 

Keith.

 

Edit to add: I found the lowest setting on the heaters own thermostat kept the temperature at over 8 C which I felt was too high and wasting electricity. Hence the frost stat.

[Rayjsj]

At the moment Aldi have a small 600watt oil filled radiator for 19.99.

[Keith T]

when we keep to motorhome on the driveway (mostly it sin store locally) we have a 1.9kw thermostatic controlled oil filled radiator, which I have set on a timer overnight. It seems to work well, and usually I have it on 1 out of two heat settings, and about 3/4 of thermostatic set.

Its o the drive at present in preparation for a few days away shortly, and having filled the water tank today, have set it a little higher, but its currently outdoor temp of about 3C and I expect a bot colder overnight, and think the internal temp will go down to around 6c which is adequate

The advantage of our present van - not replicated in the one on order unfortunately - is that there is a rear heater off the engine so at least when driving and then when we reach destination, whatever the outside temp, its lovely and warm inside!.

[Keithl]

Keith,

 

I used to have my oil filled radiator on a timer for a few hours every night until one very cold spell a couple of years ago when I went out during the day and the heater was off and the inside temp was below freezing.

 

I now use a frost stat so the heater only comes on when the temperature falls and stays on as long as necessary. If the temp doesn't fall then the heater doesn't come on, simple.

 

Keith.

[AndyDakota]

Thanks for the reply. Looks like this is the way to go.

[Keith T]

Keithl - 2017-01-19 7:55 PM

 

Keith,

 

I used to have my oil filled radiator on a timer for a few hours every night until one very cold spell a couple of years ago when I went out during the day and the heater was off and the inside temp was below freezing.

 

I now use a frost stat so the heater only comes on when the temperature falls and stays on as long as necessary. If the temp doesn't fall then the heater doesn't come on, simple.

 

Keith.

 

 

I haven't come across these before, always working on a timer basis and guessing what sort of temp to expect. Have just found one on Amazon, though not sure if that's the sort of plug in unit you refer to - can this be set to keep temperature in van at say 10C for example? Does it override the thermostat on the oil rad itself?

 

[Keithl]

Keith T - 2017-01-20 12:24 AM

 

Keithl - 2017-01-19 7:55 PM

 

Keith,

 

I used to have my oil filled radiator on a timer for a few hours every night until one very cold spell a couple of years ago when I went out during the day and the heater was off and the inside temp was below freezing.

 

I now use a frost stat so the heater only comes on when the temperature falls and stays on as long as necessary. If the temp doesn't fall then the heater doesn't come on, simple.

 

Keith.

 

 

I haven't come across these before, always working on a timer basis and guessing what sort of temp to expect. Have just found one on Amazon, though not sure if that's the sort of plug in unit you refer to - can this be set to keep temperature in van at say 10C for example? Does it override the thermostat on the oil rad itself?

 

Hi Keith,

 

I bought a Frost stat from Screwfix similar to this...

 

http://www.screwfix.com/p/drayton-rts3-24003sx-frost-thermostat/9578r

 

and then made up an extension lead using a surface mount 13A socket and the Frost stat side by side on a piece of plywood and wiring the positive feed to the socket through the stat. I turned the stat on the heater up to full so only the Frost stat had control.

 

But thinking about it you may find the thermostat built into your heater is suitable.

I only added the Frost stat as I wanted to maintain the temperature at 3 to 4 deg C, and not as high as 10 deg C.

Try setting the thermostat mid way and turning on both heater switches and see what temperature this maintains. A tip, I use a greenhouse 'Min Max' thermometer to record low and high temps to help set the thermostat.

 

Keith.

[StuartO]

Why heat your unoccupied MH unless you want to keep water in the system, eg the night before departure?

 

I've always taken the view than it's best to drain down and leave the MH cold; that way it's less inviting to rodents.

 

 

 

[Muswell]

Quite. I've never done this and never had a problem.

[AndyDakota]

Hi StuartO. I hadn't thought about a possible rodent problem to be honest. The water is all drained off at the end of the season, so not wanting to keep it warm to avoid freezing or bursting any water pipes, or just off freezing is what I really wanted to do. By some of the replies it looks like I'm not on my own and I thought that just keeping it above freezing would mean I would avoid damp or mildew getting in.

[AndyDakota]

Hi Muswell, Maybe I'm being too cautious and hopefully I'll be as lucky as you. I suppose only time will tell.

[PJay]

StuartO - 2017-01-20 9:28 AMWhy heat your unoccupied MH unless you want to keep water in the system, eg the night before departure?

 

I've always taken the view than it's best to drain down and leave the MH cold; that way it's less inviting to rodents.

 

 

Have to agree. we have no access to electric , where we keep our van. , so not an option . Went to van the other day and temp inside was 5 deg, What is the point of heating an empty van? Just make sure no water in it and use the cheap moisture traps . £ 1.25 in cheap shops !! Ours is perfectly dry inside, soon warms up when running.Do you heat your car , when standing idle??PJay

[AndyDakota]

Hi All, Thanks for all your experience, time and suggestions. I've found this on a well known auction site and maybe this covers the frost stat and heater all in one neat little package for £15.00 and only 500W which shouldn't be too expensive to run.

Link

That's one heck of a web page link 8-)

Thanks again. Now all I have to decide is do I leave it alone and freezing during the winter (as long as all the water is drained out) or do I buy a low cost heater which hopefully won't cost me a fortune to run during the winter.

Maybe it is easier to go to Greece for six months :-D

 

Edit to shorten link (Keithl)

[AndyDakota]

PJay - 2017-01-20 10:22 AM

StuartO - 2017-01-20 9:28 AMWhy heat your unoccupied MH unless you want to keep water in the system, eg the night before departure?

 

I've always taken the view than it's best to drain down and leave the MH cold; that way it's less inviting to rodents.

 

 

Have to agree. we have no access to electric , where we keep our van. , so not an option . Went to van the other day and temp inside was 5 deg, What is the point of heating an empty van? Just make sure no water in it and use the cheap moisture traps . £ 1.25 in cheap shops !! Ours is perfectly dry inside, soon warms up when running.Do you heat your car , when standing idle??I take your point. But my car is moved almost every day so the heater is on and it doesn't have a fixed bed and the amount of upholstery in it that the MH has. Maybe I'll put some of the moisture traps in it in future (although there's no damp at present but best to be safe than sorry) and for the sake of £15 buy that heater as stated earlier. Thanks again.PJay

[colin]

Like some we have never heated the inside of an unused van, the coldest our van has been subject to in these conditions has been -16c, I was a bit worried about possible damage from any trapped water left after drain down freezing, but no it was fine.

Most heaters have a thermostat which will maintain 10c and it will make no difference to running cost using a smaller heater, as long as it's up to job.

p.s. I am running a 80w heater in 'outside' toilet, it's boxed in with insulation to just heat the cistern/bowl with the present cold snap it's using around 1 to 1.5 kwh per day.

[Steve Drew]

I have used a 2kw greenhouse in a caravans and the motorhome on a frost setting as it comes on and heats up quickly then goes off after a couple of minuets, oil filled radiators take to long to warm up.

[Colin Leake]

We use a old dehumidifier in the motorhome running four days in the warmest part of the day which has built in frost protection. Keep meaning to buy a more modern one but can't bring myself to spend the money. We have an outside toilet used when gardening. In the winter we have a small 700W oil filled rad pluged into a digital stat. The stat on the heater is useless. Toilet is megger insulated so heater is never on for long. We have a saniflow unit out there so would hate to let that freeze.

[Guest pelmetman]

AndyDakota - 2017-01-19 5:50 PM

 

I am looking to buy a low wattage thermostatic electric heater that I can set up and leave connected in the motorhome during the winter period while it's stored on the drive.

I've been looking at a Dimplex 80 watt tube heater in Screwfix for £26.99 as shown here:-

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dimplex-ecot2ft-wall-mounted-tubular-heater-80w/1796f

As a review states, it's 28" long, very easy to fit, has a long lead and plug attached, the heater gets hot enough so you can't touch it. As I can plug the motorhome into the mains on the drive I was just thinking of setting the thermostat to 10 degrees and leaving it on so that when the temperature drops to 10 degrees it will come on and just take away the chill inside the motorhome. My question is am I wasting my time as it won't do anything or has anybody got a better idea. Please don't say go the Greece for the winter and the problem will sort itself out. :-D

 

We have a 80 watt heater tube in the toilet compartment of our Travelhome ;-) .........Its proved to be excellent considering the small outlay........

 

Sue has commented that it makes a useful airing cupboard, and I now spend too long in there with a good book :D ........

 

Whether it will keep a small or large camper above freezing is doubtful in my opinion

 

:-| ........

 

 

[0194geep]

As has been said. I cannot possibly imagine why anyone would want to heat their motorhome in winter. Have never done this in 40 years and never had a problem.

[Derek Uzzell]

Rayjsj - 2017-01-19 6:26 PM

 

At the moment Aldi have a small 600watt oil filled radiator for 19.99.

 

This link is to the 800W oil-filled radiator currently advertised by Aldi

 

https://www.aldi.co.uk/mini-oil-filled-radiator/p/074458099104500

 

I’ve never heated the interior of my motorhomes when they’ve been standing idle during the winter, but I’ve always removed all the habitation seat cushions and the mattress from the vehicle and I drain down very carefully.

 

I thought about buying the Aldi radiator because it was cheap (and there’s an Aldi store locally) and might offer a compact quiet alternative to the elderly 1kW fan heater I use in cold weather when the motorhome is on 230V hook-up.

 

This radiator is widely available under a variety of brand-names (and with different wattage outputs) but there are planty of negative reviews relating to technical problems (eg. oil leakage) and/or poor heat output.

 

I suspect that, to match my fan-heater’s performance, I’d need to opt for a higher output radiator (say this one)

 

http://ukstore.top/store/B01LWNBOU7.html

 

but this would be bulkier than I really want.

[colin]

Derek, we carry a 800w(? ) oil filled rad in winter for when we might be on EHU, as our combi has no electric element. It takes quite a while to heat the van up unaided and on a couple of occasions when the temp has been very low has struggled, so we switch on the combi to get up to temp, and then leave it set to kick in if the oil filled can't cope.

Last winter we decided to carry a 2kw convector, this worked very well easily keeping van up to temp, BUT, we suffered from a lot of condensation in the garage area as no heat was getting there. We have now gone back to the 800w oil filled. If we where to spend more time on EHU I might consider a 'tube' heater (probably 80w) fixed in the garage and a bigger oil filled. A combiE would probably be a better option but Globecar wanted an additional £400 for the E option.

[Brian Kirby]

AndyDakota - 2017-01-19 5:50 PM

 

I am looking to buy a low wattage thermostatic electric heater that I can set up and leave connected in the motorhome during the winter period while it's stored on the drive.

I've been looking at a Dimplex 80 watt tube heater in Screwfix for £26.99 as shown here:-

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dimplex-ecot2ft-wall-mounted-tubular-heater-80w/1796f

As a review states, it's 28" long, very easy to fit, has a long lead and plug attached, the heater gets hot enough so you can't touch it. As I can plug the motorhome into the mains on the drive I was just thinking of setting the thermostat to 10 degrees and leaving it on so that when the temperature drops to 10 degrees it will come on and just take away the chill inside the motorhome. My question is am I wasting my time as it won't do anything or has anybody got a better idea. Please don't say go the Greece for the winter and the problem will sort itself out. :-D

I agree with others that 80W will do little more than consume electricity 24/7. I think you need to aim for somewhere around 500W with a built-in thermostat. But, it depends what you want to achieve. As others have said, letting the van get cold should not cause any problems - so long as all water has been drained.

 

I have a 400W greenhouse heater (not oil filled, just a shielded electric element), with a 'stat, in our van. It only raises the air temperature in the van by a degree or so relative to ambient. Once ambient rises above the set point, it does nothing. However, our soft furnishings are left in the van, and not removed. My idea, which seems to have worked OK so far, is that this will more or less eliminate condensation.

 

To explain. The UK is a island, and much of our weather comes across the Atlantic, from the SW. Humidity is, therefore, generally fairly high. However, as the present cold spell shows, wind directions swing around (to N, or NE), and we then tend to get colder, dryer, air from the near continent and, with this, sharply lower temperatures. Cold air is dryer than warm air (in terms of the amount of moisture it contains, not its relative humidity) so presents little problem for the van. However, once the wind shifts back to its more normal SW, it will become warmer and moister. Motorhomes have permanent ventilation so, whatever humidity levels prevail outside will permeate the van - which, following a cold spell, will still be relatively cold. This is where the condensation risk arises. That warmer, moister, air, will meet the still chilled internal surfaces in the van, and its humidity will be liable to condense onto those surfaces leaving a thin, barely noticeable, film of moisture to be absorbed by any material capable of doing so. Timber will expand, fabrics merely become slightly damp. If there are mould spores in the van (almost inevitable) they will multiply in the presence of that moist warmth, leading to mildew or whatever. The risk is greatest in spring, when this warming (moist) chilling (dry) cycle is gradually raising temperatures, but it happens throughout the year and, whenever the surfaces in the van fall below the dew point of the ambient air, condensation will form. All my little heater does, apparently successfully, is raise temperatures in the van by a few degrees, so reducing the condensation risk.

 

So, my final comment is that I think 10C is way too high to aim. You'll use a lot of electricity with no greater gain than if you adjust the 'stat by trial and error to a setting that brings the heater on when the temperature in the van falls to around, say, 2 - 3 C, and just edges the internal temperature up by a few more degrees before cutting off. You can find this point by going into the van on a cold morning, checking the temperature, and adjusting the 'stat until it just clicks on, and then raising the setting a little until it clicks off again. This will give you some idea of how wide a range the 'stat has between "on" and "off". Then, adjust back to bring the heater on, and leave. Next cold morning go in again, and see what the heater is doing, and how warm the van feels, and adjust the stat as necessary. Once you find the setting that seems right to you, just leave it to get on with its work.

 

Just check the 'stat range when buying, as most heaters destined for domestic use don't have ranges that extend that low. That is why the greenhouse heaters, most aimed purely at frost protection, are liable to be a better bet. Try garden centres etc.

[PJay]

AndyDakota - 2017-01-20 11:06 AM

PJay - 2017-01-20 10:22 AM

StuartO - 2017-01-20 9:28 AMWhy heat your unoccupied MH unless you want to keep water in the system, eg the night before departure?

 

I've always taken the view than it's best to drain down and leave the MH cold; that way it's less inviting to rodents.

 

 

Have to agree. we have no access to electric , where we keep our van. , so not an option . Went to van the other day and temp inside was 5 deg, What is the point of heating an empty van? Just make sure no water in it and use the cheap moisture traps . £ 1.25 in cheap shops !! Ours is perfectly dry inside, soon warms up when running.Do you heat your car , when standing idle??I take your point. But my car is moved almost every day so the heater is on and it doesn't have a fixed bed and the amount of upholstery in it that the MH has. Maybe I'll put some of the moisture traps in it in future (although there's no damp at present but best to be safe than sorry) and for the sake of £15 buy that heater as stated earlier. Thanks again.PJay

Re moisture traps. Our van is dry, but the 4 traps all had some moisture in themPJay