electric heater

Hi everyone, my wife and I are thinking about taking our  14 plate Kemerton to a winter resort for a snowboarding trip, its fitted with the winter pack, we are planning to stay on a site in the Bourg St Maurice valley or on an Aire in La Plagne higher up the mountain.
Has anyone done this sort of trip and has anyone used an electric heater while on hook up oil filled rad or similar heater (if so how many watts) to leave on as background heat night and during the day while on the mountain, any advice gratefully received Thanks.

saw this is in the "Travel & Camping Forum :: European Trips & Travel Forum" section of the forum
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Hi Don,
Just read the info in the link you put up really interesting and informative thanks very much for that, cheers Arry.

I have a 500 watt oil heater in mine, it is on even when on the drive on low.

Also used it winter of 2018 when away at the coast, had it on over night, worked great.

Like Daisy, we use a 500W oil heater - B&Q I think. It’s on a timer and left on all winter while our van is in the driveway. Keeps the chill off.

I would definitely not use a hot air blower type heater!

We have a 700w oil filled radiator in our Symbol.  It stays on overnight if it's very cold outside (below about 2C).  Never had any problems with it and it seems to keep the chill off.

StewPotch wrote:
I would definitely not use a hot air blower type heater!

I notice the oil filled rads are popular. Is that for efficiency or is there another reason?

More to do with a fire risk.

Arry,
I too use a 500W oiled filled rad for 2 reasons-
1. Can't stand the noise of the on board blown air job, (Heatsource 2000 which replaced the original Carver unit.)
2. The blown air one blows micro dust particles around aggravating my asthma.
I found it a bit underpowered for the snow conditions last year.
Terry

Safer than a fan heater, especially if leaving on overnight.

I have a Truma 6E in my Warwick Duo and that is the only heater I use. Why pay £1000's for a 'van and then buy a little heater to keep yourself warm?

It's like buying a nice car and then fitting a small lawnmower-engine in the boot to power it. The fitted heater is there to do a job and as far as I am concerned it works just fine.

If you want something to leave on 24/7 whilst parked at home, then OK, but when on the move, why bother?

I didn`t say when it was on the move,

 Because if the vans heater goes wrong or has to be replaced it is very expensive, oil heater is a lot cheaper,

I do use  my van heater on site , when on the move as you put it, through the night,  use oil heater if needed, in very cold weather, like last winter, camped in Dec, Jan and Feb.sited in the cab it keeps off the cold air from there.


Oil heaters are cheaper to run than van heaters. especially when at home, not so much when away as electric is charged for regardless.

daisy mae wrote:


Oil heaters are cheaper to run than van heaters. especially when at home, not so much when away as electric is charged for regardless.

Not sure that your oil filled heater is cheaper to run. If the Truma Is set to the same target temperature as the oil filled radiator then the Truma will warm up more quickly but won't necessarily use more electricity in total. I

We wish to find a means to heat the van on cold nights, had considered a fan heater but now accept potential fire risk. Oil filled seems plausible, wonder if they have a frost setting for leaving on whilst on the driveway. Any suggestions of make, model etc

I used mine in the snow last winter and it was OK. 
At least it uses electricity already paid for in the site fee.

Steve&Veronique wrote:We wish to find a means to heat the van on cold nights, had considered a fan heater but now accept potential fire risk. Oil filled seems plausible, wonder if they have a frost setting for leaving on whilst on the driveway. Any suggestions of make, model etc

B&Q, less than £25 for a 500W oil heater. It has a thermostat that you can turn down to a ‘frost protection‘ level and a tilt switch that turns the unit off it knocked over.

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It doesn’t get a good write up but I think this is due to the customers expecting it to heat a large room.

With this and 3 insulation mats on the skylights (thermal sleeping mat cut to size) our van never freezes in the winter although our car parked next to it on the driveway can be frozen solid.
However, we don’t usually take the oil rad away with us if heading off for a few nights in the winter.

As for cost, it might be dearer to run than the Truma, but it might not. Having spent a load of money on the van in the first place, I’m not going to worry about a few bob on my electricity bill over the winter.
Also, Daisy Mae makes a good point about the longevity of the van’s built in heater.

Mine is the  Bambi De`longi  sp does have a frost setting, which is on all the time in winter, I turn it up if I am going in there, I do spend some time in my vans even when at home.

daisy mae wrote:I turn it up if I am going in there, I do spend some time in my vans even when at home.

This is intriguing. Do you mean for like 15 minutes to do a clean?

I've just come back from Aldi where I bought an 800w oil radiator for £14.99 . Thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks for the suggestions, i'd only looked at Argos and a few camer suppliers. I'll be taking a wee trip to B&Q via Aldi next week.

No, it is cleaned out after trip, I sometimes go in to read, or rearrange things, they are an extension of home.

Sometimes take in a cup of coffee, why not?

Agree with Daisy Mae - I also go in the van with a coffee and a book to enjoy some peace and quiet! If it’s a nice sunny day, I have been known to have a little doze. 

Hi Dasie Mae,
I thought that I was alone in going to the van, we park on the road outside our home but it is like being away for a while.
Pete