Is possible to heat a CV with an electric heater?
- Thread starter billg27
- Start date
That's what I'm running off of my Onan and it is working great so far. It will only cost about $20 to find out. My van is insulated fairly well.
It would seem to me that a 1500W heater would be working a 2000W generator pretty hard. My heater on my APU is 1500W but the generator is 6000W. You can still hear it affect the generator when in kicks in. I could be wrong but I think 2K is too small for running a 1500W heater for long periods.
I did the heater gig in my sprinter.....It won't keep up at 0 degrees...well not to a level where I was comfortable...the 2000 generator Honda handled it well....as it is recommended at 80% of maximum...which would be 1800W....so 1500 is fine....BUT you won't get a full nights sleep...running close to all out....you are only good for about 5 hrs run time...you'd need an auxillary fuel tank setup...
mxzane933
Seasoned Expediter
I am not to familiar with the pros and cons and safety probs with heating your vehicle with that style of heater but one of the best cost efficient ways to heat a van to a toasty temp even pushing sweaty warm is the Buddy heater There are several different sizes and this subject of the buddy heater has been adressed many times before but I have the Standard size buddy with the one heater square and hook it up to a 2 pound propane bottle you can purchase at any camping store and all walmarts have them in stock so you really never have to worry about not being able to find the bottles and they are fairly cheap ranging from 3 to 4 dollars for 2 of them and a 2 pound bottle last for me about eh a few nights using it at a low level and off and on But the way to go is to buy a 20 pound tank and purchase the correct fittings and hoses and that cost under 20 dollars to fill and from what ive read it last at minimum a week. But when its real cold I will crank my buddy heater up to full power and in about 30 minutes I am out side of my blankets and down to just my pjs. Obviosly the espar heating unit is the way to go if you have the money to shell out for one but if not the buddy heater in my exp is as good as anything and my favorite thing about it is when every thing in the van is off and its pitch black the heat rock lights up bright orange and out of the corner of your eye when you are laying there doazing off it is if you have your own personal fire place in your van lololol or its just me but remember if you go this route to purchase a co2 detecter and when you go to sleep crack the front windows about 3 inches or so to allow fresh air to circulate.. hope this helps brotha
Those are one lb bottles and walmart they are about 5.50 for two. One bottle will run that buddy heater on low for about 5 hours. I have owned two and went through to many bottles of the stuff the small bottles are the expensive route for sure.
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Depends on where I am. But I've got those metal Airvent window inserts, so I can crack the windows about 6 inches, but they're not really down. Crack the window, put the inserts, and then roll the window back up into the insert. Very secure, at least as secure as the window is, anyway.
I won't ever sleep with one or both all the way down, regardless. I rarely sit there with them all the way down. Something about that causes wasps to want to come in. Or mosquitoes. I may crack them 2-3 inches, but I've also got those Rain Deflector guards, the dark smoke ones that are almost black, that block the view so that from the outside you can't tell they're cracked.
I won't ever sleep with one or both all the way down, regardless. I rarely sit there with them all the way down. Something about that causes wasps to want to come in. Or mosquitoes. I may crack them 2-3 inches, but I've also got those Rain Deflector guards, the dark smoke ones that are almost black, that block the view so that from the outside you can't tell they're cracked.
Been running a eu2000i for 4 years...never was a fan of running electric heat with it because it just ramps it up..and it has to run super hard even with a small heater...it might be fine...just was never very comfortable with it running full tilt for hours on end...with my ac it just a tad over idle...i just heat with the big buddy heater...
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mxzane933
Seasoned Expediter
i have my privacy curtain set up with a bungie cord hooked to my clip board and i set it on this little shelf on the roof of my van so if someone were to try to get in and pull the curtain my metal clip board would fall from the roof to the floor and tho its never happened im sure id pop up real fast . a "ghetto" alarm lol
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You have problems with wasps and mosquitoes when the weather is cold enough to require heat?
I've wondered a bit about heating Sprinters with portable heaters--- electric or the Buddy heaters. Can any of those portable heaters keep up with heating that giant space when it gets really cold.
Last year, I got into Expediting in late April, and at the end of July the Sprinter crapped out and I had to replace it with the Chevy I drive now. That long, tall box must be a challenge to heat even with the best insulation though, so-- I'm curious about that.
Last year, I got into Expediting in late April, and at the end of July the Sprinter crapped out and I had to replace it with the Chevy I drive now. That long, tall box must be a challenge to heat even with the best insulation though, so-- I'm curious about that.
The large Big Buddy does a fine job of heating a sprinter....electric heat...not too good...
At 1500 Watts, your heat value is approximately 5100 BTUs.
I thought that might be the case. I have a suspicion most electrics won't even heat a standard CV when it gets really cold. I decided to get the Big Buddy just recently, now I'll have to see how well it works when it gets really cold.
The real inconvience is with propane heat you'll be scrapping the inside of your windows everyday...you'll have the cleanest windows in town...
With the Big Buddys....you should use a filter....or the lines will become clogged with oil from the propane...
DST001
Expert Expediter
I have tried to heat my sprinter with a 1500 w heater powered by a generator Total wast of time and had to fill up the genny every 3-4 hrs in the freezing cold and in the middle of the night . I hate getting out of my van at night time you never know where danger lurks I just bought a webesto heater I just turned the knob on and 15- 20 mins later toasty warm inside thats with out a wall from the freight area to the sleeper area not installed yet . A friend of mine has a webesto allso and loves it he has used it in fargo in the winter and in alberta in the middle of winter it gets freekin cold there .
After trying a 1000/1500 Watt heater on my Honda EU2000i I found the same as others, the heater just seems to run my gen to hard. And my van is well insulated.
My Big Buddy works really well, but I just did not like fooling around with the 1 pound bottles or refilling and hauling around a big 20 lb tank.
After 3 years on the road I found that my favorite solution was my double wide Grizzly -30 sleeping bag and a press of my remote start button 20 minutes before getting out of bed in the morning.
Simple solution, and may not be for everyone, but i love it and sleep snug as a bug in a rug.
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My Big Buddy works really well, but I just did not like fooling around with the 1 pound bottles or refilling and hauling around a big 20 lb tank.
After 3 years on the road I found that my favorite solution was my double wide Grizzly -30 sleeping bag and a press of my remote start button 20 minutes before getting out of bed in the morning.
Simple solution, and may not be for everyone, but i love it and sleep snug as a bug in a rug.
Sent from my MB612 using Tapatalk 2
I'm using the Big Buddy. After some thought and a bit of experimentation, plus no little concern about the possibility, however remote, of waking up dead, I decided to add a small fan to the festivities. The fan is a clip-on type, I have it mounted to the ceiling just to the left and slightly to the rear of the Shotgun Seat. It blows toward the rear of the van. The heater is on the floor under it and about six inches to the rear of the fan. Using this, I was able to keep warm without worrying at the lowest heater setting. The fan pulls air from the area in front of the seats (the windows are open about an inch and a half or so) so that gets a good mix, plus it circulates the heated air about as well as you can hope for. I have high hopes for this set-up, the fan shouldn't pull much power even from a marginal house-battery so this should work.