[VAC] Re: Electric heaters

[Dan Weeks <theprofileco@xxxxxxx>]

To Dr. J, and others who are interested in electric heat for an airstream: I
used, through the entire Iowa winter last winter, a Pelonis Flex Furnace II
ceramic electric heater, with excellent results. It is small, quiet, and
unlike regular wire-resistance heaters, produces much hotter air. If you
direct that stream right at you, you feel warm much faster than with an
old-fashioned heater with the same BTU rating. Also, the thermostat on this
unit is located on the cord, where the cool airflow is, so is quite
accurate. Also, the thermostat infinitely varies both the fan speed AND the
heat output, ramping up or down very slowly, almost imperceptibly, to
maintain a very constant temperature without cycling on or off. These are
available through www.pelonis.com. Not cheap--$130 bucks or so--but IMHO,
worth every penny. Heat strips heat the air at the top of the coach, which
does little good. These little ceramic heaters you can plug into any outlet
and have it follow you around the coach if you like. And perfectly safe to
leave on all night. Although electric heat is typically thought of as
expensive, it's not for the kind of use most of us will give it. First, if
you're plugged in to campground power, it costs you nothing. Second, you put
the heat where you need it, and don't need to heat the whole coach. Third,
at Iowa's 8.5 cents per Kilowatt hour, a 1500 watt heater only costs 12.5
cents an hour to run on high--cheaper than propane, considering the
efficiency of the furnace. Also, if you've got a bum or old and suspect
furnace, $130 bucks for a heat source is pretty damn cheap, and you gain a
lot of room. I'm going to pull my Suburban as soon as I get a chance.
Already pulled the ductwork. I also have a garage sale resistance heater
that I run along with the pelonis for fast warmups in frigid weather. Works
great. At this rate, I think a heat pump is overkill.

Dan Weeks
75 Argosy 26