Club 80-90 Forums

hey folks- i've got a tintop panel van with a r'n'r in the back etc, but it got COOOOOLD! are there any decent chargeable/safe storage heaters available

Thanks!

Interesting question....storage heaters are 'charged' then give off heat when needed but as far as I am aware this would be only the once and would require recharging again for another nights heat.
Oil filled radiators are popular and safe but only with electric hookup available. you would need one with an output between 1200 - 1600watts to heat the interior.
Propex (blown gas heating) would be the outright best option but this would set you back £450 plus fitting for a new setup although second hand units do appear from time to time on this forum.

Martin

I quite liked the electric blanket idea someone had (when on hook up) wonder how many amps one would draw at 12V?

Not too many I'd think. We run electric fan heaters, not only do they heat, but they move the air around and prevent a buildup of condensation. 2kw draws about 8.3 amps on 240V (I amps = P watts / V volts).

You can't heat anything off your battery

would a traction battery at 243 A/H have any joy?
might last a bit longer than a normal leisure?

1664 wrote:You can't heat anything off your battery

you aint seen my wiring!!!!!!

kevtherev wrote:would a traction battery at 243 A/H have any joy?
might last a bit longer than a normal leisure?

I looked into the electric Blanket thing last year. We have one at home, which makes the bed toasty after being on for 1/2 an hour. It's around a 120w.

I can't remember the calculations but with an 85A/H battery I would be able to have it on for an hour or so and still have enough in reserve to run the Eberspacher all nIght. With your battery you could probably run both all night!!

somehow read 12V as 240V...

What you have to remember is that heating anything from 12v presents several problems.

The first and most obvious is the battery capacity. Yes, you can install very large batteries or 'double up' batteries together to increase the overall capacity, but whatever you do they do not behave like buckets of water; you cannot simply keep scooping 20amp sized cups of electricity out of them until they are totally empty. As they discharge they struggle more and more to supply a heavy load and beyond a certain point the voltage will totally collapse as soon as a load is connected. I'm not that up on traction batteries but no matter what their characteristics the 'bucket 'principle still applies.

Secondly, every 120W of power consumes 10amps at 12v. Under normal circumstance (one standard battery used as a leisure battery) this is an appreciable amount to continually drain and unless an electric blanket type senario wouldn't produce any heat worth talking about in a van. To noticeably heat a van would require a kilowatt at least - Propex heater sizes are 1600W and 2000W (not sure about ebers). 1kW at 12v is over 83amps which would be required on a continuous basis....

Thirdly is the sheer cable size needed to be able to carry amps of these magnitudes even if you did convert a battery powered milk float into a camper. Granted, tri-rated cables can reduce the size somewhat but you're still going to have to install very hefty stuff. And lets not forget what's going to happen to the split charge system when you restart your van.....
Campervans are fitted with gas appliances for good reason

I've never heard of 'portable' storage heaters. Storage heaters are full of bricks and are therefore not exactly portable unless you're Arnold Schwarzenegger. Frankly you'd be better off heating your van by starting the engine and putting the cab heater blower on full.

beewren wrote:hey folks- i've got a tintop panel van with a r'n'r in the back etc, but it got COOOOOLD! are there any decent chargeable/safe storage heaters available

Thanks!

Thats a no then for 12v
... And a no for 240 too as they are very heavy and not designed for campers.

Back to good old PROPEX (or similar) ........they are the only sensible way of 'independantly' heating the van 'without' hookup.
Or
The anti-social way (and I have one myself) is a generator but this presents it's own issues ie: size/weight/noise/and useable output (needs to be at least 2KW to be of any use to power a heater) 1200 - 1600 watt oil filled radiator (with blower is good if you can find one at this wattage).

Martin

I'm bamboozled with figures! How about thermals?

They are ok but I like to relax in my van without simulating a bandage or dressed in tubigrip.

kevtherev wrote:They are ok but I like to relax in my van without simulating a bandage or dressed in tubigrip.

And now I have a vision in my head that I'm sure will keep me awake at nights