Club 80-90 Forums

i want to go away in the van in colder weather and want some suggestions for a heater to use from the hook up, i have never used hook up before (needed it though ! ) i was thinking about one of those halogen type things, about £8 from home bargains ! or similar, it has to be cheap though ! any ideas ?

I use a small electric fan heater set on a low setting to keep the van warm. It's turned off at night as the duvet keeps you warm enough

Can't beat £8 though, but I think £15 is cheap

or if you can't stand the noise of a fan all night.. a 750watt oil filled radiator will keep the chill off all night.

we use the oil filled radiator its very good

I use a blow heater with a thermostat. Just set it to what temp I want and leave it on all night when the weather's cold. Toasty warm. About £15 f I remeber correctly.

I wouldn't use a halogen heater because I couldn't do with bright light blaring at me all night.

72BUG wrote:I use a blow heater with a thermostat. Just set it to what temp I want and leave it on all night when the weather's cold. Toasty warm. About £15 f I remeber correctly.

I wouldn't use a halogen heater because I couldn't do with bright light blaring at me all night.

ditto bug, we stand ours between the front seats and like you said, cosy all night and nice and warm if you have to get up in the night.

spooky wrote:i want to go away in the van in colder weather and want some suggestions for a heater to use from the hook up, i have never used hook up before (needed it though ! ) i was thinking about one of those halogen type things, about £8 from home bargains ! or similar, it has to be cheap though ! any ideas ?

JK do a quartz heater for about £15 which I use while I am awake. It has worked well for me, but any electric heater is fine. However, I never keep heat on during the night anyway. I think keeping heat on overnight anywhere you are sleeping, is not healthy and is not necessary if you have a high tog duvet or sleeping bag. Just switch on in the morning and 15 minutes later your van is toastie again.
Patrick

thanks, I`ll have a look at the jk one and consider oil filled

I use my van for accomodation throughout the year and spent the last three winters in it (on Hook-up). I have two heaters- a 1.5Kw fan heater which is thermostatically controlled. I leave this on all night with a bit of ventilation. When temperatures fall below zero I use a quartz as well but they are so bright that I would be unable to sleep with it on (they sure give a cozy warm feel though when its snowing... ) I hate the cold and keeping my van warm is essential if I'm going to live in it. Good small Fan heaters are pretty cheap these days and, apart from size, I chose low profile heaters that cannot be knocked over, are easy to stow away, etc. Most quartz heaters have safety devices that switch them off when they are tilted or knocked over. -18 was the coldest night so far and needed around 2.5 KW to keep the temp suitable for me - including window thermo Mats.

I used a small electric fan heater and it tipped over an burnt my floor

Flibbertigibbet wrote:I used a small electric fan heater and it tipped over an burnt my floor

Good point. I should have added that mine has a little button on the bottom and the heater will only work with it pushed in. If the heater tips or is knocked over it immediately cuts off.

If anyone is getting an electric heater for their van, get one of this type for safety.