What's a good space heater that will keep.....

[Mountain View Carpet Care]

My van warm when it's down in the 20's? Seems the small box quarts ones just don't keep up.


TIA Rich

 

[charles]

when I had to park outside, I always found it better to use two small heaters, one in the front and one in the back.

 

[Willy P]

The ones that look like this:

 

[SRI Cleaning]

we used a 1500 watt radiator type last year and all of this year in our 14 foot box truck. They are great and safe but, i fear that on bitter cold nights, they radiate the heat up and out of the roof of the van too fast and stuff near the floor or far corners can get cold. It is really cold here right now so i just put a cheapie 1500 watt one with a fan on it out there and i think the truck is noticably warmer just due to the heat moving all around. Make sure you use a 14 gauge or 12 cable otherwise you are going to lose heat to resistance in the cord itself. hope this helps!

 

[Jimbo]

My V lives outside...so I use this:

http://www.toolsource.com/heater-access ... id=froogle

and I hook it up to a blue fan...it is controlled by an electric thermostat...usually set at 45 degrees.

I like this set up because the blue fan moves about 300 cfm...so this fan/heater combo really moves the heat around- Jim

 

[steve frasier]

that looks like a good set up Jim

I have just a small fan in my Vortex but it is insulated and doing just fine, thermostat is set on low

what every you get it needs to have some type of fan system to circulate the air

I personally wouldn't get the one Willy has pictured

 

[John Watson]

Jimbo that is an excellent set up, Wish I had been using mine for that!!!

I bought my blue blower with heater from the Notorious Gary Heacock for $20.00 plus he threw in a ton of other stuff at a swap meet we had a few years back.

This year I went and bought a new surround heat type of heater instead of the normal 1500 watt job I have used in the past.

Boy was I lucky this morning and for the past couple of weeks with the 20 degree weather we have been having. I found out that I have been just having the fan on without any heat. sure glad my 24x74 garage is insulated cause we had no heat in it except for my 10x8 chemical room.

I thought for sure I would have a frozen pump or even a froze QD, but, nada, all was well, Last time we used the truck was Monday, Helen asked if I had the heater in the truck, I said sure thing Honey, She gave me a dirty look this morning when I told her I had the switch on fan, not heat. New glasses are due in any day. Whew, Sure glad I can clean by Braille!!!

 

[Shane T]

I know its been talked about in the past many times but if you don't have a heated garage you should go to your local discount store or Radio Shack and get a wireless thermometer. I put mine in what I believe to be the coolest spot on the van floor. The last thing I do before going to bed is look at the main base setting in the house. Sure helps me get a good night sleep. You can even get them with an alarm to sound if the temp falls to a given temp.

 

[Mark]

I use a 1500 watt 360 degree honeywell and a wireless thermostat so i can always keep and eye on it from in the house.

 

[XTREME1]

I use 2 ceramic heaters on really cold night

 

[Dolly Llama]

couple years ago I bought a plug-in 4ft base board heater.

far superior to the ceramic heaters I used before

..L.T.A.

 

[KevinL]

Walmart has one made by Black and Decker that has a frost watch that kicks on around 35.

 

[MerCrewser]

I use a boatsafe marine engine heater, Coast Guard approved for the flammable marine engine environment. I have the 750 watt version, my truck is garaged. I would be worried about a fire/explosion with any other ordinary heater, especially with slide in truck mounts. Fuel vapors are heavier than air, and will hover around the floor of the truck.

 

[Steve Toburen]

Good point on safety, James. I had not thought about that.

2 heaters.
2 separate circuits (20 amp)
2 extension cords (at least 12 ga.)
1 wireless thermostat with alarm.
Insulated vehcle
Valves and other sensitive components as high off the floor as possible.
Hope for the best.

Trust me, it is no fun having a frozen up truck. Been there- done that way too many times.

Happy Island Boy

PS If you live in a frigid climate a heated garage is wonderful. When we bought our 6,000 square foot warehouse with the three rollup doors it changed my life. Priceless!

 

[floorguy]

humm that means i need 4 freakin 20 amp circuts...

cuz i have 1 van and 1 trailer(now a boxtruck woot) that i keep warm...

thought the van is fully carpeted from the previous owner, and the truck will soon be insulated..

anyway, the little 1500 watt have worked for me.. but i like that heater add on

 

[bubba]

It's in the teens here in Oklahoma some nights. I've been using one of those $13.00 1500 watt heaters from Wally World. I have not had anything freeze yet... knock on wood.

I'm going to try to clean out the garage tomorrow and actually park the van & one of the other cars in it. So I figure the heater should have no problem then. The garage is heated but I'll still keep a heater in the van just to make sure.

 

[Ron Werner]

these heaters are all great when there is electricity

what would you use if the power went out???

 

[Dolly Llama]

what would you use if the power went out???

if I "knew" about the power lose?
I'd use what I use when it gets REALLY cold
(in the zero F and below range)

an 11,000BTU kero convection/radiant heater like this one

http://www.everythingfurniture.com/wmkt ... WMKT-KW-11

It will keep my uninsulated cargo van nice and warm on the coldest windiest nights.

if i didn't know the power went out
( because i wasn't home, or was in bed)
I'd be SCREWED :shock:

If i knew the power went out and didn't have an alternate source to heat, I run the TM for 20 minutes or so every 4 or 5 hours.
A slide-in will create quite a bit of heat in a cargo van and stay well above freezing for hours


..L.T.A.

 

[MerCrewser]

these heaters are all great when there is electricity

what would you use if the power went out???

antifreeze