# Which fan heater for van?



## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Hiya all!

We're looking for a half decent fan heater we can keep on low while we go out at evenings to keep the van warm, and also to keep on overnight so we don't have that huge "chill factor" to contend with on rising mornings!

Can someone tell me what the Kw rating is we should be looking for on such a fan? I think it's 1Kw - it goes without saying that that saps about 4 amps of power, and when you're on the continent on a hook-up that just about takes care of your power provision.

What do you clever people recommend?


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

I'd go for a cheap 1kW oil filled radiator. Homebase and B&Q recently had these for as little as £9.99, but I think the time of year has moved on and they may no longer be available. Argos do similar for £20, so that will give you a price point.

Fan heaters are noisier to to sleep near.

Dave


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Hi,

No offence to the above poster but we bought a 1KW oil filled radiator from Argos recently and it really was not that efficient and only really took the chill off - we took it straight back and exchanged it for the following fan heater: We exchanged the radiator for this fan heater from Argos http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/s...atalogId=3151&productId=128683&clickfrom=name

It has 2 heat settings. One low and one high and it is excellent. Very, very quiet and on the low setting it should be ok on most electric hook ups and the high setting is dependant on whether the hook up has a high enough capacity. We have used the high setting on most campsites without a problem You wake up as warm as toast on the low setting by the way. It also has a cool air setting, which will come in useful in hot weather I should imagine. On the high setting it warmed our motorhome up in minutes and obviously saved using our gas. Might as well take advantage of the electricity you have paid extra for!

Just worth mentioning, when we purchased this fan heater it was a different make to the one shown in the catalogue - but Argos assured us it had the exact same output and features etc. I cannot recall the make off the top of my head and as it is in our motorhome I cannot check the name right now but as soon as I can I will update this post.

Hope this helps.

Sonesta


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

Make sure that the heater you buy has switchable heat settings. Some small fan heaters are only switchable from heat to cold or off. You may then be able to reduce your heating without turning it off altogether while using something else.
We have a 700w kettle which helps to reduce the overall load.

There is a small (1000 w) heater on e-bay at the moment.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=93630&item=5956449421&rd=1

In the past we have had to ration our electricity consumption on some sites. You learn to juggle the water heater/electric kettle/space heater and even the fridge to enable you to run one of the higher consumers.

We have an electric BBQ which has blown site trip-switches. As we bought it in France we plead ignorance when it happens. It will happen to you so don't worry too much about it.


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## 91929 (May 1, 2005)

Hi stormyweather
Yeh 4A gives about 1Kw heat and would be useable on most sites, a few GIVE you a 2A whch is about enough to recharge the battery

We have a 1KW/2KW + fan only
Fan is usefull in HOT weather (however with yor monica you only go out in bad weather)

Any DIY or large electrical store will have suitable ones


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

I must be a lighter sleeper than you all. I can't sleep with a single mossie buzzing in the van, let alone a fan heater, possibly cutting in and out with thermostatic control!

If nearby traffic is bad on a site, in with the earplugs and bliss .....

Dave


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## james (May 15, 2005)

Just to add to the list, we use an 800 watt oil filled radiator in our 19ft coachbuilt and have overnighted in Jan and Feb, with snow around in perfect comfort. I think a lot depends on the insulation of your M/H. Ours is a homebuilt and is very well insulated and double glazed. Remember, a 1 Kw fan puts out the same heat as a 1Kw radiator, it is just that the fan stirs it up a bit and produces a noise doing so. I leave the radiator on for an hour in the early hours all through the winter when the M/H is not in use and it successfully keeps the damp away.
James


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## 88962 (May 10, 2005)

Hi stormyweather

We're with the fan heater fraternity (big word eh....). Have a Delonghi heater which can be used on 1 or 2 KW, 6 heat settings including cold, also thermostat. I was worried when buying ours as I'm alight sleeper but no problems. Keep on a low setting all night and it keeps us warm even in Dec, Jan, Feb when icy. Like the fact that it's a fan as warms the truck up quickly when we arrive back after a day out, don't like leaving heaters on when out. Best thing is to buy one form Argos or somewhere and try it to see how noisy it is. When we bought ours there was a low noise model but it was 3 times as much and couldn't be any quieter.

Jean


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## 89268 (May 18, 2005)

I have a £9.95 1-2kw bought from B&Q-not too noisy and kept us warm camping last weekend.


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Thanks everyone for your excellent help - figured it would be ages before I got some suggestions, what with this being the start of the Motorhome Show at the NEC and all!

Have gone for a Challenge Fan Heater with 2.4Kw and 1.2Kw settings for £11.99 from Argos. I'm sure that'll fit the bill. Has a thermostat as well, so no HOT nights for me!

:lol:


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## 93795 (May 1, 2005)

Hi Stormy, be careful with the higher setting if you go abroad it will most likely trip the supply especially if you have anything else on such as fridge, battery charger. 2.4 kw draws around 10 amps and not many continental sites have any thing above that. On quite a few sites you can only run on the lower setting if you switch everything else off.
Phil.


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## 88870 (May 10, 2005)

Hi Stormy, 

We have an oil filled radiator which we keep on overnight (in the garage under the bed) and this does take the chill out of the air - but does not make the van warm (especially when its snowing outside!). However, it does stop the underneath of the bed from developing condensation and is a form of electric blanket!!

Now, 5 mins before I get out of bed, i lean over and switch on the 700w/1kw fan heater which is way too noisy to have on over night. This warms the van up in about 10 mins, in winter or 2.5 mins in autumn! We also have another fan heater that sits just between the drivers/passengers seats (facing the back of the van) and combats the cold air coming up from the vents in the doors that we have not got around to blocking yet. Only tend to have one fan heater on at once though - and not for long as it gets way too warm.

Leigh


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi

Right not all 1 Kw heaters produce the same amount of heat, a 1 kw Fan heater will do a much better Job of heating the interior of a Van than a 1Kw oil filled heater, they will however both consume around 1 KW of electricity when running (and this again due to thermostat and other factors will not be for same amount of time)


Next there is temperature itself most people mistakenly believe that temperature is a measure of the Quanitity or Quality of heat, in reality its a measure of the Intensity of heat. By now you probably think I have lost the plot, but read the next bit it should "demonstrate" the meaning of my poor explaination.

If you have a pan of water boiling (100 deg C) and place your hand in it for a few seconds, you will be scalded, heat up the air in an oven to over 100 deg C and wave your hand around in it what happens you hand will begin to feel hot. 

Both same temperature, but massively different amounts of heat energy.

So if you want to get the van warm get a fan heater, want a pretty useless column of warm air get an oil filled rad.

And never forget this principle 

You can lead a Horse to water................But your pencil must be lead


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## 92622 (May 1, 2005)

GeorgeTelford said:


> Hi
> 
> And never forget this principle
> 
> You can lead a Horse to water................But your pencil must be lead


Hi George

Sod the horse.......How does a 70+ yr old get lead in his pencil :roll:


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## 88726 (May 9, 2005)

hi guys
we use 1kw setting fan heater also and it works a treat and circulates the heat best and the warmer the van gets the hotter the heaters output gets . we got ours at b&q i think about £20 .
cheers
kenny+stella


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

We're still prety new to motorhoming, but we've just got back from a long weekend away in our van at a CC site in the south lakes (between -2 and +4 , brrr!). 
We used a cheap 1 / 2 kw fan heater on it's 1kw setting and were cosy all the time (and I would guess that our old Autosleeper doesn't have anywhere near the insulation of a more modern van). However, we couldn't use it at night as it's a bit noisy, but we just turned it off as we got into bed and were quite warm enough in decent sleeping bags. 
Having read horror stories about tripping site supplies (and not wanting the embarrasment of plunging our neighbours into darkness!), I took the heater apart and temporarily disconnected the 2kw setting so that we can't accidentaly use it. 
best 
Matt


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Most CC sites supply 10 amp if not 16 amp hook-ups so even if the worst came to the worst and you ramped up the 2kw heater to the max, you're still only expending 8.2 amps of power. So as long as you haven't got the kettle, toaster and telly on at the same time (exaggeration) then you should still be ok.


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## 88915 (May 10, 2005)

When hooked up we use an oil filled radiator for background heating in the front end of the van (cab area), with the main gas heating for the rest. Obviously on site having paid the set fee for the elctricity, we whack up the thermostat on the oil filled heater as much as possible! 
We used to use a fan heater, but noise & controllability were the main drawbacks, also I didn't feel safe going out & leaving the fan heater on - I'm not comfortable with semi-exposed elements.


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

GeorgeTelford said:


> If you have a pan of water boiling (100 deg C) and place your hand in it for a few seconds, you will be scalded, heat up the air in an oven to over 100 deg C and wave your hand around in it what happens you hand will begin to feel hot.
> 
> Both same temperature, but massively different amounts of heat energy.


No, not heat energy.

It is heat _conductivity_ that makes the difference. Not only in the pan-oven example (from water in the pan to the water in your body conducts pretty fast) but also regarding the fan heater:

A radiator, as the name says, radiates heat into the van. This heat radiation penetrates the air almost without any loss (means without warming it up) and is absorbed by walls, furniture etc. These parts now warm up and dissipate their heat to the air which is flowing along them. This takes quite some time and also allows for formation of temperature layers (warmth under the ceiling and cold on the floor).

The fan heater directly heats the air and distributes it throughout the whole van. So you will feel the effect within minutes and temperature layer formation will be minimized.

But there is one thing about a fan you should be aware of: Whatever fan you use in your van should be secured against overheating. Just think about what happens when e.g. a towel falls down on the heater, or the motor jams. If not secured it could easily set your van on fire! :x

BTW, a 1 kW radiator does produce exactly the same amount of heat energy per time as a 1 kW fan.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi Gerhard

Both same temperature, but massively different amounts of heat energy transfered. 

Missing word makes a world of difference !

On your BTW about them producing the same heat energy per time, they do and they dont (you do know what I mean), but as the rest of your explaination shows you will feel the warmth of the fan heater but not the same warmth from the oil filled radiator.

I would rather have a 1 kw fan heater than 2kw oil filled radiator, when it comes down to it the warm feeling is more important than the Physics 

George


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Hi all,

Personaly I prefer a fan heater to a radiator as the moving air produces less hot and cold spots, but on a related subject I have been giving serious thought to a heater blanket, a little old fashioned in the days of central heating, but who cares.

Doug...


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