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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> RV Accessories -> Electric Heaters
Post Info TOPIC: Electric Heaters
Grams


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Electric Heaters
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A long story is below, but does everyone use electric heaters?  Do I need to watch votage or anything?

As most know, we are newbies.  Moved from S&B to our brand new Avaitor on 9/15/13.  The day before Thanksgiving, we woke to no power ... and it was cold!  The converter had gone out. Replaced under warranty and all was good until 12/13/13 when the power went out again, but came back on within a few minutes.

Because of that and the fact we decided it was just a bit small for us to full-time in, we traded it in on a 2014 Columbus RS320 5th wheel on 12/18/13.  I started relaxing feeling secure in our new home.  THEN ... on 12/26/13 the was a loud pop, a puff of smoke from the fuse panel and that electrical smell.  We lost all power to the kitchen slideout including the refrigerator, tv and all outlets.  And of course the dealership was closed for the holiday season and only reopened today.  They said there was a loose wire in the breaker box and all is great again. 

My concern is that I have use the same ceremic heater in both RVs ... could this have caused an issue?

In the Aviator, the only things running at the time would have been the tank heaters, refrigerator, fireplace, furnace and the heater.

In the Columbus, the only things running were the tank heaters, refrigerator, tv, fireplace, furnace, heater and LED lighting.  I have been careful in both to unplug the heater before using my hairdryer/curling iron. :)

 



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Alie and Jims Carrilite


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Is the Columbus a 30 amp or 50 amp RV? If its a 50 amp, make sure that the circuit your plugging into isn't already overloaded. On our Carrilite, our kitchen circuit is only a 15 amp circuit, so in the morning having the coffee maker, a hotplate, microwave, and then say a toaster is a No-No. And we are a 50 amp rv.
If your a 30 amp rv, then you do need to unplug something to run the heat.

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Grams


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50 amp. How do we find out our circuit capacity?

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Lucky Mike


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Keep in mind.....
your fireplace if on high is 15 amps ( 12 to 1500 watts)
Electric heater..................15 amps (650 to 1500 watts)

these 2 items are like and also have the current draw of your microwave /coffee maker/Blow dryer

you need to make sure they are plugged in on separate legs inside your coach...Not Separate outlets



Simple test to see if they are on separate legs is to go outside to the pedestal
inside the pedestal there will be 2 breakers for a 60 amp service

Shut off only 1.........
go back in your coach and you will notice only certain outlets will work and others are dead....
the ones that are operational are on one leg...

almost always the bathroom , outside outlets A/C and converter will be on there own leg protected by gfi

the kitchen , Ref and forward outlets will be on the other leg.

If you are using a 30 amp dogbone you should note be running 2 heaters at once


be careful on overdraws.......it burns wires......destroys shorecords.....and most of all causes fires


Remember the outside pedestal breaker might not trip and is the most abused piece of equipment at the park..........The showers get better care on a bad day!!!!!!



-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Thursday 2nd of January 2014 05:41:01 PM

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bjoyce


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You look at the circuit breaker box, or boxes if you have a separate subpanel for an inverter/charger. Can't figure out what is one the circuit? Turn the breaker off and you will quickly know.

Your heater should not be causing this kind of problem, it is a standard electrical load like a microwave, hair dryer, etc., and if it has a short circuit or other problem the breaker will trip or a GFCI will trip. GFCI's are those "test/reset" outlets, though sometimes they are special circuit breakers.

But if you are in the same campground and/or in the same campsite, with both RVs, then it might be the campsite wiring.  Do you have something like a Progressive EMS to monitor your incoming power and cut it off if it is not right?



-- Edited by bjoyce on Thursday 2nd of January 2014 05:50:22 PM

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Terry and Jo


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Tammy,

In our Mobile Suites, when we get home from work, we turn on the fireplace and a Lasko ceramic electric heater in the living room, as well as a smaller Lasko ceramic electric heater in the bedroom  In addition, the residential refrigerator is operational, the TV is on one light on AC electric and my computer are on.  Also, a few 12V lights are on.

I suggest you check out the circuits as others have mentioned.  If uncertain of what to do, I'd also suggest contacting an electrician.  Something isn't right with your coach, or with the heater, and the best way to find out is be sure that you don't have too much on one circuit..  The only time that we've just tripped a breaker was when the air conditioners were running in extremely high outside temperatures.

Terry



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The Bear II


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Our 5th wheel is 20 years old and our TT before that was 16 years old when we sold it. Both over the years of use experienced electrical problems that I would attribute to road vibration. Loose wires can happen.

On our 5th wheel the slideout in the living room one of the wires for the motor came loose. Wire nut was gone.

For several years every so often the wires for the converter would loosen. I finally changed to a better type of wire nut and haven't had that problem.

Just recently the wires on the control board for the refrigerator needed to be cleaned due to corrosion and I discovered one was loose.

Chances are you are just experiencing new RV bugs.

We use a 1500 watt space heater or our 1500 watt electric fireplace heater without any problems.



-- Edited by The Bear II on Friday 3rd of January 2014 09:25:01 AM

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Grams


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Thanks for the advice! Electrical problems make me nervous since we are experiencing near zero temperatures.

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