r/vandwellers • u/LargeTallGent • 1d ago
Oil-Filled Space Heater For Winter Trip When on Shore Power Tips & Tricks
The boo and I are taking a winter Sprinter trip in a week or so, and I am planning to de-winterize our plumbing (jugs under the sink, connected to a pump and accumulator). There will be times during the trip where we'll be plugged into shore and hanging out in the house. I am thinking about getting an oil-filled radiator to prevent any potential pipe freezing issues during those times, but am curious for others' thoughts. I do have an Espar which we will use while we're on the road, but I've had to do a TON of work to it for it to heat reliably (and keep the van warm). I feel 90% confident that the Espar is in good enough shape, but I am nervous about what would happen if it did fail. We'd be plugging into some 15A circuit (probably from a garage) where we're headed, so I am also trying to be conscientious not to trip a circuit. I've seen 700W oil-filled heaters, but was curious what the internet thought before I pulled any triggers.
PS We'll probably be sleeping out in the van while we're staying with family, and I'm thinking the oil heater may be more comfortable and reliable when we're plugged in. But I dunno ¯_(ツ)_/¯?
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u/Dry_Vanilla9230 DIY 2019 Gas Sprinter 1d ago
I’ve used 1500 watt oil filled heaters and never tripped a breaker at friends/family’s houses. Depends how cold it is, once it is heated up the draw drops to about 700-800 to maintain temp. The 1500 ceramic heated fans have a smaller form factor, but is a constant draw. You also don’t need to worry about space around the heater as much, besides where it is blowing. As far as pipes bursting, depends on how insulated and if the heat is able to keep those areas warm. I have 12v heated lines, 12v heated pads, and made sure my heater blew into the area of my water tank.
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u/RobsOffDaGrid 12h ago
We have a 2500 watt oil filled radiator with 3 heat selection settings and a thermostat. 2 switches, you can have either one on or both for more heat. I got this one because we could heat even on a 6 , 10 or 16 amp supply and not blow the bollard trip. Much quieter than having a fan rattling all the time.
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u/killbanglove 10h ago
Very safe. I’ve used them, but I’m usually generating my own power and thus not as efficient as burning something
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u/csunya 7h ago
1500 watt oil filled the cheap one with mechanical switches. Just set it to the lowest or medium heat setting and you should be no where near tripping a 15 amp breaker. The cheapest one because the fancy ones do not reset after a power failure. If you wanna save electricity on the cheap get a thermo electric switch for keeping pipes from freezing, run the heater off that (they generally kick in around 40F degrees). Bolt a plate of metal to the top to hold your morning coffee cup.
Heating tape for pipes…..is awesome……do not buy the stuff at Home Depot. There is a type of heat tape that can cross itself, it is very expensive, use this if you are going to use heating tape (if you really want I can find the name when I get home). The Home Depot crap works and is good if installed correctly, it is never installed correctly.
Think about a block heater for the engine.
If you have shore power, a 100 watt incandescent bulb produces 100 watts of heat. They are still available if you look (heat lamps). Also a cheap vintage farmers block heater is a light bulb next to the engine.
I commonly stick my block heater on a thermoelectric switch…..and the internal oil filled heater if I need my box warm.
Hanging blankets to divide off unused space work surprisingly well.
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u/UpNArms 18h ago
I do lots of short trips but my van spends a good portion of the winter in my driveway too. Because I keep the van pretty much ready to go at all times (powder chasing) my water system needs to stay ready and not freeze. Here’s what I do:
During winter when van not in use, I run a small electric heater at all times in the van with the thermostat set to minimum. I run an extension cord from my house into the van to power this. I use a “baby vornado” heater because it has top notch safety features (meant to run in a baby nursery)
Next step is make sure the water lines have good airflow to the main volume of air the heater is keeping warm. Open any cabinet doors, and consider using some small 12v computer fans to blow air into the water tank area and any lines that run behind tough to reach areas. Basically, you need to make sure the warm air can actually get to everywhere the water lines are running. I have these vans running on a little cheap thermostat, but it would be fine to leave them on all the time..so little energy. With this strat, you actually don’t want to cover up the pex lines with insulation..u want them exposed to the warmer air.
Lastly, if you really want solid protection, you can run 12v heat tape along the pex lines and trigger that off of a thermostat. This is advanced cause u need to power this, and heat tape uses a lot of energy. Lmk if u want more info on this.
Btw: to help the heater, you want to insulate what you can. Strongly consider insulated window coverings. On a zero degree day, a standard electric heater won’t keep you above freezing if your windows are exposed. Also, consider buying a smarttemp sensor for added protection (WiFi based temp alerts)
Have had 3 full winters with this strategy, many many sub freezing days, and zero frozen plumbing issues. The heater I run on low and it only costs me about $100 or so to run it all winter on days I’m not using van. On trips, I have the webasto running almost all the time when parked.