# Oil filled v electric fan heaters



## 119405 (Jan 11, 2009)

Hi all,- its me again with another ?

Which is the best additional heater to have inside the motorhome. We are going to France/Spain in a month's time and it has been suggested that we should have a small heater to supplememt the Wentworth's heating.
I assume that electric fan heater is quicker than an oil-filled radiator but accept the problem of having a low current maximum.
Any thoughts?

Lemon


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## ActiveCampers (Jun 17, 2005)

We have a 750w small oil filled; and a 1kw/2kw fan heater (quiet).
The fan heater on low is better as it moves the air around, whereas the radiator does not - and in a van you can get cold spots. 
If we could only take 1 we'd take the electric heater. The radiator was only bought for snowboard trip as we felt it safter to leave on in our absence.


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## smithies (Jul 1, 2007)

Im with Activecampers on this one....we carry both with us, and the fan heater is best for a quick burst of heat. We tend not to leave it on at night (if needed , that is ) cos it tends to dry the air somewhat !

Jenny


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## sirhandel (Mar 5, 2008)

smithies said:


> Im with Activecampers on this one....we carry both with us, and the fan heater is best for a quick burst of heat. We tend not to leave it on at night (if needed , that is ) cos it tends to dry the air somewhat !
> 
> Jenny


...and it's noisy. The radiator is better for leaving on overnight - on a low setting.


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## adgy (Sep 22, 2005)

Lemon

For the colder months I carry a small 800 Watt oil radiator.

It does the trick nicely keeping the chill from the cab area.

It also keeps the chill off the van when I park it up outside the house.

Cheers


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## teensvan (May 9, 2005)

Hi.

We would say that the oil filled rad is the best if left on while you are out or left on low all night when very cold. We use the fan heater in the safari room.

steve & ann. --------------- teensvan


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## DiscoDave (Aug 25, 2008)

What type of heater have you got in the van to star with? we've got a traumatic gas thing, i managed to get a spares or repairs version of the same heater that had a blower on it

this then gave us blown air heating, but also it had an electric element in it so i put that it too. it's got three settings, 500w, 1000W and 2000W so it's great if you can't use to much electric and it means i don't have to cary another heater! :lol:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

In our last 2 vans we abandoned the fan heater fairly quickly as it tended to stir up the dust and made us sneeze. Of course....not everyone lets the dust settle in their van so perhaps this will not be a problem. 

We used a small oil filled radiator and found that fine though you needed something else on winter nights. We also had a halogen heater which, as well as giving comforting radiant heat also gave a cheerful glow.

The halogen was the most successful BUT, there are only 2 of us, we arranged it in a place where there was no woodwork in its path and it had a very effective anti-tip switch. We never left it on overnight or when we were not in the van.

With this van we find we don't need any supplementary heaters as the blown air one is very effective even in bitter weather.

G


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## Broom (Oct 8, 2007)

Hi All

Oil filled every time I use 750W.

Stays warm for a while when the electricity trips, 

You can turn it off and it remains warm for a while if you wish to use the power for something else, 

Safer to leave on when out or asleep,

Don't have to keep checking the airway is clear.

There's more.

Best Regards
Broom


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

I seem to remember our little oil filled radiator had the instruction that it should be kept upright for at least an hour before use - ie check you have a place to store it upright and ready to use.

G


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## EuropeanCampers (Mar 28, 2008)

Im looking for an oil filled rad at the moment, up to 1000w.

Searching online, cant seem to find anything that looks as good value as some have suggested in other discussions.

Anyone know of a good deal at the moment?


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## oxford-wanderer (May 20, 2008)

Hi GEH007

I bought the 700watt one.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Heating_Index/Oil_Filled_Radiators/index.html

Hope it helps. 

Paul


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

wicks had some on special offer £10.also Dunelm mill had them for same price.

cabby


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## waspes (Feb 11, 2008)

Hi Argos has a 800w for £24.49.

Peter.


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## 119405 (Jan 11, 2009)

Many thanks everyone.
I think I'll go for the oil filled as it is really for background heating on a cold night. We have the Wentworth gas and electric heating for the initial boost if needed
Lemon


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

Oil filled is quieter. Fan heaters are noisy and dry the air.

I am going to buy one of then ceramin heaters. A good compromise between the 2 and smaller.

Phill


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## cravenoxav (Nov 12, 2008)

*just bought*

a 1.5 kw oil filled rad from wilkinsons. not tried it in the cab area yet but it gave out loads of heat in my house 
just now need to fit a curtain in the cab area as it has got built in blinds...


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

*Re: just bought*



cravenoxav said:


> a 1.5 kw oil filled rad from wilkinsons.


Take care if you are using it on the continent. Many campsites offer 6 amps or less and you will blow fuses with this if you put it on maximum setting with anything else on in the van.

G


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## groucho (Apr 6, 2008)

Hi Lemon
Glad the travel insurance tip helped.
We have both a small oil filled radiator (700w) and a small fan heater.
Whilst the van is on the drive the o/f radiator is on thermostatically controlled. 
Although the van is winterised and all water drained we like it to keep the chill off and find it a necessity to stop the small mains de humidifier that is also running (to prevent damp) from stopping due to ice build up on the element. 
It's a bit " belt and braces" but we can drive off in a nice warm dry van at any time. 
Whilst on tour we take just the fan heater to supplement the installed lpg/ electric heating and also to use as a cold fan at floor level to keep the dog cool when necessary, a radiator cannot do that. 
If this seems ott the total cost of the above 3 items was about £ 110.
Regards
Groucho


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Heater*

Hi

I have a small fan heater that lives under the drivers seat. It blows warm air to the cab (not on the move, only when on hook up) as my logic is that the cab is the coldest part of the van.

Russell


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## greenasthegrass (Oct 27, 2007)

Have just bought a halogen heater as it moves around and will try it out see if we like it! hope it doesn't cook the dogs! They'll be hot dogs then! lol


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

We are just back from a couple of days at Edinburgh CC. We used an 1000w oil fired radiator thing on full belt all the time. However we did not use the gas blown air heating for more than about 5 minutes last night. Even I have to say it got too hot!

We also have a halagon 800w heater for the cheerful effect but did not need it despite the frost and snow outside. 

When we go away to France in April/May we take the halagon heater for early mornings sometimes. The radiator stays at home.

I'm never sure about fan heaters. When you are very close to them they are great, but I find the further away you get, the air they blow/move seems to be cold.

Roll on the warm weather.

Sue


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

Lemon

Have a look at the 'Botanico' fan heaters. They are sold as greenhouse heaters and most garden centres stock them. They have 1kw and 2kw settings, cool air and frost settings, full thermostatic control and are very stable. Best of all they are near silent in use. Approx £30.00.

Ron


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## oldun (Nov 10, 2005)

Surely the question should have been

Oil filled, panel heater or fan heater?

Why ignore the simple panel heater?

This type of heater has all the advantages of an oil filled heater but it is usually smaller, much lighter, can be wall mounted and responds much faster than an oil heater, though nowhere near as fast as a fan heater. The type of heat output is similar to the oil heater and is more gentle and more evenly distributed than a fan heater. Often the air flow from the fan is too fierce for the small space withing the MH.

I have had caravans and motorhomes since 1966 and nothing beats a good panel heater for general use, especially at night. I do also carry a small fan heater which I use to raise the temperature quickly on cold days

Please note many panel heater have a heating coil a bit like an electric bulb but these are not very robust.

The element in the heaters I use are more like that in an immersion heater or an old fashioned electric kettle. These are very robust and I have never had one fail.


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## 90725 (May 1, 2005)

We have a small oil filled radiator - we found a fan heater too noisy. Also, as long as you are careful to avoid covering the thermostat, you can use the radiator to dry towels in bad weather.


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## 119405 (Jan 11, 2009)

Dear all,

We made the decision of an oil filled radiator from B & Q at about £24. max is 800w which proved to be ideal.
We have gas and electric on board as well but I wanted something that I could leave on in the drive at home to keep the van warm and ready for action as well as keep on overnight in the cab area to keep the van warm at night.
It has proved the belt and braces approach has worked for us but I would like to thank everyone for their comments and advice.

Lee (lemon)


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## loughrigg (Nov 10, 2008)

Lemon said:


> Dear all,
> 
> We made the decision of an oil filled radiator from B & Q at about £24. max is 800w which proved to be ideal.
> We have gas and electric on board as well but I wanted something that I could leave on in the drive at home to keep the van warm and ready for action as well as keep on overnight in the cab area to keep the van warm at night.
> ...


Hi Lee

That's the one I went for a few weeks back. When I had the MH on hook up on the drive during the recent chilly weather, I left the oil rad on for a couple of days on the 800w setting (blinds down & curtains drawn). The thermometer recorded a decent temperature inside (50-ish I think) when it was below freezing outside.

Mike


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