Ceramic heater suggestions

[steve0321]

Have a Coleman Santa Fe with no furnace, and no heat strips in the a/c unit. I'm looking to purchase a ceramic heater. I've looked at them at Walmart, Lowes, etc. There's dozens of different models, too many. Some small, some tower style, some oscillating, etc.  
Can I get some recommendations on models that folks have used and know to work well in a PUP?

Thanks,
Steve.

[flyfisherman]

Steve ~ I don't have a furnance in my little Starcraft either. Usually my camping season ends when temps get down to the freezing mark, although have been caught out when they dipped down to 24/25 degrees. When camping where they have electrical hook-up, I've been using a Pelonis ceramic heater that I bought at Home Depot four or five years ago ... seems like it was something like $18.95. The little heater has done a respectable job for me and it's still going strong. When dry camping, use the Mr.Buddy heater and that's been in service since the fall of '00 - again, does the job and no problems. Since the vast majority of my camp outings have been in the boon docks, the Mr. Buddy heater has had the most used,  by far. But, again, both heaters have performed well, with no problems.



Fly

[tlhdoc]

There are many of them on the market.  I would look at the features and go based on that.  I have on that shuts off if tipped over.  A very good feature to have with children or pets in the trailer.  I also have another one that osculates and helps spread the heat around.

[mike4947]

For years the Pleonus cube ceramic heater was the one to buy. But there are so many clones, copies, new technology on the market it can get confusing.

Basically they all have about the same BTU rating of between 5000 and 5500 and around 12 amps power draw.
At the local Loews and Home Depot we must have seen at least a dozen different models with so many "features" it was just about impossible to figure out the "best" one. Low/high BTU settings, fans, oscilation, thermostatic control, you name it.
FYI: any for sale now come with "tip over protection" to get their UL label.
 
Want to know how I chose? I dumped a few in a cart and went over to the lighting section and plugged them in and tested them.
My dining room is a converted garage without a heat run and limited air circulation from the rest of the house so I use them at home during the winter as well as in the camper during the season.
My favorite oscilator model bit the dust last month after about 12 years of faithful service and my second unit is a no name (litterally no name tag left on it...LOL) high/low model wth a fan that's about 8 years old and I just pulled it apart this fall to clean the dog hair off and out of it and clean off the fan blades covered with crud that had them going real slow. It works like new.
So basically what i'm saying get the features you want and then shop by price.

[tlhdoc]

FYI: any for sale now come with "tip over protection" to get their UL label.

I don't think so.  They have to have an over heating shut off, but I don't think a tip over shut off is required.  I have seen several models that don't shut off when tipped over for sale at the local Wal-Mart.  

[tlhdoc]

FYI: any for sale now come with "tip over protection" to get their UL label.

I think they have to have an overheat shut off, but I don't think a tip over feature is required.

[Old Goat]

We got a small Holmes ceramic heater from Wal Mart for under twenty bucks about five years ago. It has an adjustable thermostat and a turn over shut off. It still works perfectly...I also have a Buddy that we use during the day....

[AustinBoston]

I think they have to have an overheat shut off, but I don't think a tip over feature is required.

You can say that again...You can say that again!  Have a little trouble with the "post" button?

Austin

[mikewilley]

We love our small ceramic heaters, but the best buy I ever made was a pair of electric blankets, we put them between our bedding and the mattress (we sleep on top of it).  It does a great job of keeping us snug all night.  You still want the ceramic heater by the way, but they don't do a great job of heating the bunk ends.

Happy Camping

Have a Coleman Santa Fe with no furnace, and no heat strips in the a/c unit. I'm looking to purchase a ceramic heater. I've looked at them at Walmart, Lowes, etc. There's dozens of different models, too many. Some small, some tower style, some oscillating, etc.  
Can I get some recommendations on models that folks have used and know to work well in a PUP?

Thanks,
Steve.

[Beerlifter]

Noise level is something else to look at. Most heaters will be ran at night and some of the heaters I looked at before I bought mine were abit loud. To some it might not be that big a deal but I would rather hear the crickets and bullfrogs that a loud electic heater.

[shellcjt]

I have two "holmes" ceramic heaters - one is 7 years old, other is 3 years old.  I use them mainly in early April and late October (I'm a wuss in cold weather).
I think those heaters are fine. One shuts off when tipped, but the newer one does not so I agree with Tracy that they all don't have emergency shut-off.
Now, after hearing about the electric blankets I'm gonna look into that too! and hold off on using the heaters...then maybe I'll get to hear those crickets, bullfrogs, and other night creatures I love to listen to while I'm camped by the lake...

[mike4947]

Actually you have a bad one. IIRC it's been since the mid 1990's that they had to have a "tip over" shutoff to get a UL label.

[popster]

I just purchased a ceramic heater at Wal-Mart and used it last weekend in my Pop-up! It's a GE 10001500 watt digital. It got down to about 30 degrees and the hearter ran all night. When I got up in the morning the temp in the PUP was about 60, not bad! The best part was that the heat was cool to the touch, I'm not sure you can say that about all ceramic heaters! Good Luck!

[tlhdoc]

Actually you have a bad one. IIRC it's been since the mid 1990's that they had to have a "tip over" shutoff to get a UL label.

They have to have an over heat shut off to get the UL label, not a tip over shut off.  Go to a store and look at the UL tags on the heaters that do not have the tip over shut off.

[mike4947]

All the Wally World, Lowes, HD, and Target and other Marts around here only carry ones with both, so I assumed the tip over was a UL requirement. You learn something new every day.
Maybe it's a state thing or a base area to height thing as the oil radiators I saw which don't really have anything open that reaches any dangerous temps had tip over shutoffs.