Best motorhome heater?

[Welsh lady]

Which electric heater is best, and safest to leave in my motorhome to keep it dry over the winter please.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :-) :-)

[Keithl]

I use a 2 kW oil filled radiator set to come on when the inside temperature falls below 3 °C with a frost thermostat wired into an extension lead. This has served me well for the last ten plus years.

 

PS Some people use a time clock but imo this is the wrong type of control as no one has told the weather when it can be cold. A frost thermostat only comes on when the temperature dictates!

 

Keith.

[Derek Uzzell]

Margaret

 

This 2017 forum thread may be of interest

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Winter-Heater-While-on-the-Drive/46111/

 

Did you manage to resolve the light-steering and bed-making issues that you asked about in July?

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Autotrail-Tribune-T620/58608/

 

The 5.0bar/72psi pressure recommended for the 215/70 R15CP tyres I'd expect your Tribute to have as standard on its front wheels will result in the steering being quite light. I certainly found that to be so with my Rapido motorhome and reducing the pressure to 4.5bar/65psi made a worthwhile improvement.

 

A 2018/2019 Tribute T620 (example on this advert)

 

https://www.motorhomedepot.com/vehicle/autotrail-tribute-t620

 

has a significantly large overcab bulge to house the main bed. Couple this with a high front-tyre inflation pressure and it's a recipe for 'twitchiness' in high winds and during overtaking manoeuvres on motorways. You could experiment with the tyre pressure, but the bulge is unalterable. (Adding air-bellows to the rear suspension MIGHT help, but there'd be no guarantee...)

 

The Motorhome Depot advert includes photos of the T620's lounge area. It's quite common for motorhome bed-making using seat cushions as a basis to be a mysterious task and - even when the motorhome manufacturer deigns to provide instructions on how to do it - the result may still be lumpy, gappy and/or uncomfortable. I notice that Auto-trail provides some bed make-up diagrams, but these are for 2020 models and may not be relevant to your motorhome.

 

https://www.auto-trail.co.uk/bed-make-up-diagrams

 

If the bed is uncomfortable even when made up as Auto-Trail intended, using a mattress 'topper' may be the best way forwards

 

https://www.diycampervan.co.uk/campervan-mattress-topper/

[Brian Kirby]

I use used a low wattage (599W) electric greenhouse heater which has a built in thermostat aimed primarily at frost protection. In principle, any low wattage heater that produces dry heat (i.e. does not burn oil or gas) will work, as will a low powered dehumidifier. In reality it is less the low temperatures themselves that are liable to cause trouble, but the frequently mild, relatively humid, weather that often follow cold spells.

 

With the van chilled during the cold, and hence having extensive cold surfaces inside (mainly the furniture items, often finished with photo veneers) the moisture in this milder, damper, air is then liable to condense onto these cold surfaces which can result in mould, and possibly some loosening/delamination of the surface "veneer".

 

All vans have a limited amount of passive ventilation built into them, so some degree of air change is inevitable, so moister air will inevitably enter. Slightly raising the internal air temperature helps maintain internal surfaces above above the dew point of the air, so at least reducing, if not eliminating, the potential for condensation.

[EJB]

Warm air produces condensation.

Have never heated a caravan or motorhome for over 60 years....temperatures down to -30C.

Just open everything inside and ensure it's well ventilated. ;-)

[lancepar]

I've used this set up for years when the Landyacht is not in use over the winter months.

One 0.5litre Mini Dehumidifier which turns off when full and needs emptying. and two Regenative Dehumidifiers. All run for a few hours overnight along with the Moho Batteries charger on a timer.

B-)

[Brian Kirby]

EJB - 2021-11-26 3:31 PM

Warm air produces condensation. .......................................................

Being a pedant, and with respect, no it doesn't.

 

It is the moisture contained in the air that condenses, and that depends also on the temperature of the air. So both are relevant.

 

The amount of moisture that air can sustain at a given temperature varies widely, and is expressed as its % relative humidity (RH) at that temperature. The warmer the air, the more moisture it can sustain. If the air and its surrounding surfaces are all at about the same temperature, the risk of condensation is pretty much zero - whatever the temperature of the air.

 

But, as that air is cooled, the amount of moisture it can hold reduces, causing its RH to rise until it reaches saturation (100% RH, its dew point) at which temperature it will shed its moisture as condensation.

 

So, if air at 20C with 50% RH is cooled to 9C, it will hit its dew point (100% RH). This means condensation will form on any surface that is below 9C. But if instead that same air is raised to 30C, its RH will fall to about 28%. The actual amount of moisture held in the air, however, will not have changed at all.

 

What actually causes condensation is adding humidity to the air, by breathing, washing, or cooking, and that now moisture rich air meeting surfaces that are below it's dew point. Usually the first surfaces to show condensation (usually in the eventing) are the windscreen and cab windows, as they tend to be the first to cool. This is where good ventilation comes in, as it allows the more humid air in the van to escape to be replaced with less humid air from outside, so reducing the risk of condensation occurring.

 

But, over a cold night, with ventilation reduced to conserve warmth, it will be relatively unusual for the windscreen and cab windows not to be covered in condensation by morning, not because of changes in air temperature, but because our moist breath while sleeping has raised the amount of moisture in the air, so increasing its RH.

[colin]

As per a previous poster, we have never heated a unused van, we do 'lift' all mattresses, and open all cupboard doors. I would note that when we have used an electric heater when in use the garage can tend to get condensation as it has less airflow, so make sure the air can freely circulate.

[John52]

Trouble with most dehumidifiers is they don't work when its cold. They depend on moisture condensing on a cold radiator and dripping into a tray beneath. So the surrounding air needs to be significantly warmer than the cold radiator. But the radiator is ineffective below 0degC because the moisture freezes on it. So the surrounding air needs to be well above freezing point.

[rajohno]

I never heat my MH I just put the cheap desiccant moisture collectors around the van and leave all the cupboard and wardrobe doors open, but keep the bathroom closed off with its own desiccant pot as it seems to be the worse for condensation probably due to the excessive high and low level ventilation. they last about 6 weeks before needing replacing.

[Guest pelmetman]

We have a 40/50 year old low voltage electric heater in the saloon and a tube heater in the bog that I fitted a few years ago ;-) .........

 

I had to replace the tube heater last week *-) ..........

 

They are both on at the moment on the South Coast 8-) ...........

[EJB]

Thanks Brian, your many incredible long boring posts are always the highlight of my days! ;-) *-)

[Brian Kirby]

EJB - 2021-11-28 9:15 AM

Thanks Brian, your many incredible long boring posts are always the highlight of my days! ;-) *-)

I know, but science, especially physics, is such an incredibly long and boring teacher, isn't it? :-D

[Hans]

Did you drain all the water out? Mine is stalled in a old green house and it never goes below + 6 Deg C..

[Hans]

No it is not boring At All...As a former marine Engineer . I studied Ship propulsion from the Titanic and her sister ship Till nowadays gas turbines. The titanic is famous Because he was the first To use a Parsons steam turbine on one propeller also called a SCREW.