Portable Heaters

[94fordguy]

I'd like to get a heater for this coming season to use primarily in my enclosed trailer, but am liking the idea of something portable and multi-use. I don't want to spend a ton of money on something fancy so that is one reason why I like the portable idea.

Have any of you ever tried one of these?

http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=41&id=116

My trailer is only a 19 FT' 3-Place (about 135 sq. ft.) so its not as huge as some of yours and the heater claims it works up to 400 sq. ft.

Input is appreciated

Thanks

 

[grassdragger738]

We tried one of those in our trailer at the races last year its was cold and the heater couldn't keep up to the cold from 3 feet away but as long as its not super cold I think you should be ok.

 

[christopher]

I put that in my trailer last year.
It put out heat, but the auto-shutoff would trip.
So I didn't seem to run as long as I would have liked it to.
Wanted to use it to melt out the sleds overnight.

I can only assume that the O2 sensor tripped and it shut itself off.

 

[volcano buster]

That is what I use in mine. I like to pull the sleds out, close the doors and then funnel the wife and kids in the trailer to suit up. With the heater on, it gives them something other than the cold to think about when they are getting dressed. It helps a bit if you can keep the doors closed up. My trailer is not insulated so I don't retain too much heat, but it helps for short periods. I doubt it would really melt/dry the sleds out as it will put out quite a bit of condensation as the propane burns.

 

[skibreeze]

If you are wanting to thaw out sleds in a 4 place, a 20k BTU RV type furnace is the minumum that will work satisfactory. My buddy has a 20k in his and the 30 or 35k in mine definitely works alot better. Especially for just starting it and getting dressed in the trailer. The RV type are definitely a PITA to install VS the portable ones, but well worth it in the end.

 

[AZ800]

Mr Heater is a great heater as long as you're below 7k ft. Much above that and the O2 sensor shuts it down fairly often.
I have one in my 16' enclosed, no insulation and it will warm the trailer up nice down to at least 0F. After that it lacks in heat output, but the trailer is basically just a windbreak.
Now that I've moved to WA I hope it will work better at lower altitude. Even Mr Heater's website says not suitable for high alt use or something like that.
For the money, just get a dual burner radiant propane heater that you can screw on top of a 20-30lb bottle.

 

[lost]

These are some of the things I found out about heaters for the trailer.
Small portable ones are okay for taking the chill out, but will create moisture inside the trailer if left running for a period of time.
Procom heaters for example have more btu's then the small portable ones, can be mounted permenantly, but again will create moisture inside the trailer.
RV style heaters must be mounted permenantly, have more btu's and are vented, so they are not creating moisture inside the trailer.
You can find some good deals on RV style furnaces on Ebay for not much more then what the smaller portable heaters cost. But, you will not have the portable factor with them.
Just what I found when looking into a heater for the trailer.

 

[christopher]

Mr Heater is a great heater as long as you're below 7k ft. Much above that and the O2 sensor shuts it down fairly often.

That would certainly explain my lack of success in the mountains overnight when I have tried to use it.

 

[AndrettiDog]

Good topic fordguy, I'm currently looking for something for my 18' enclosed.

As other said, the Mr. Heater does get warm but in my brothers four place enclosed, it couldn't keep up on the really cold days (who cares when it isn't really cold?). I also kept tripping off so he stopped using that heater.

The problem I have with an RV heater is that it is a lot of work to install. You need an additional battery (unless you already have it), cut exhaust holes, you need to run the heat ducts and they use more propane than other solutions. I think this might be nice for someone who has a four place that is going to use it a lot and doesn't mind spending some coin to set it up.

I'm leaning on a different solution. I think I'm going to buy a Wave 6 heater. You can buy a frame kit to install into the wall of the trailer. They don't require exhaust holes or a battery and they are affordable. I'm thinking of mounting a horizontal LP tank on the bottom of my trailer to keep the tank outside. I don't know if this is the solution yet, but it seems affordable and could work well.

Here are some links:
Wave 6 Heater (6,000 BTU) - These can be found cheaper and are also avail. in 8,000 BTU

Horizontal Tank (on Ebay)

 

[94fordguy]

Good topic fordguy, I'm currently looking for something for my 18' enclosed.

As other said, the Mr. Heater does get warm but in my brothers four place enclosed, it couldn't keep up on the really cold days (who cares when it isn't really cold?). I also kept tripping off so he stopped using that heater.

The problem I have with an RV heater is that it is a lot of work to install. You need an additional battery (unless you already have it), cut exhaust holes, you need to run the heat ducts and they use more propane than other solutions. I think this might be nice for someone who has a four place that is going to use it a lot and doesn't mind spending some coin to set it up.

I'm leaning on a different solution. I think I'm going to buy a Wave 6 heater. You can buy a frame kit to install into the wall of the trailer. They don't require exhaust holes or a battery and they are affordable. I'm thinking of mounting a horizontal LP tank on the bottom of my trailer to keep the tank outside. I don't know if this is the solution yet, but it seems affordable and could work well.

Here are some links:
Wave 6 Heater (6,000 BTU) - These can be found cheaper and are also avail. in 8,000 BTU

Horizontal Tank (on Ebay)

I have seriously considered the Wave 6 or Wave 8 Olympian heaters as well but I thought the lower BTU output would be a disadvantage here (and the portability). A simple tank-top unit isn't out of the question either, but I liked the 'indoor safe' of these other ones.

I don't have the altitude issues that many of you guys have here in the Cascade range... We usually unload between 2800-3500 ft.

My initial thought is to just have it as a short-use heater for warming up after the ride or while changing, but am undecided on what to use for warming the sleds up overnight... It doesn't get terribly cold here, usually around 20* or warmer except for short periods of cold snaps, so that's another lesser issue than some of the extremes you guys deal with... If it's 0* out I'm not going to be out riding... we have a really wet cold that soaks into you a lot deeper than the dry cold other places experience.

Thanks for your input guys, Keep it coming

 

[mountainhorse]

Seth... I know this is probably on a budge... IMO... best to get a single mount Propane bottle for the tongue of the trailer and hard mount a good vented catalytic heater in there... safer for you and wont shut off from low oxygen...

I like the Cat Platinum... very thin units.
had one in my Airstream trailer
http://ventedcatheater.com/6.html

For portable... the "Big Buddy" works ok.... thaw them out with some electric baseboard heaters where you can "plug in" (need drains in the floor and seal the floors as well so they dont rot from all the water.

 

[Bagger]

Seth,
I had great success with a Mr. Heater (two burner model) in my enclosed (16' Charmac, INSULATED). I would use the heater if we were working on a sled in the trailer, or to take the chill off for company to get suited up/down. (Momma's tough!) It did not take long at all for the heater to make a significant differance inside the trailer.
When I got home, I would fire the heater back up and set a 24" fan inside also. About two hours on average and the inside of the trailer was thawed ('Bout the time it took to shower, eat and nurse a glass of pain killer ) then I shut the heater off and let the fan run the rest of the night. (and plugged in the battery tender)
Thawed sleds and dry floors.
Always wanted to put in an rv furnace, but just never felt the need.
I ran a 30 lb (7 gal) propane tank and only had to refil once in a season.
Good Luck!

Bag

 

[AndrettiDog]

Seth... I know this is probably on a budge... IMO... best to get a single mount Propane bottle for the tongue of the trailer and hard mount a good vented catalytic heater in there... safer for you and wont shut off from low oxygen...

I like the Cat Platinum... very thin units.
had one in my Airstream trailer
http://ventedcatheater.com/6.html

For portable... the "Big Buddy" works ok.... thaw them out with some electric baseboard heaters where you can "plug in" (need drains in the floor and seal the floors as well so they dont rot from all the water.

Good info! I read through the website and this sounds similar to the Wave 6/8 heaters. I sent an email to get more info, but here is my concern:

• There is an optional vent kit, so does it actually need to be vented?
• Will the thermostat present an issue with fuel in the trailer?
• What is the price????

 

[TurboMatt]

On a somewhat related note: Do any of you guys ever have problems with the regulators freezing up. We were running a Craftsman portable radiant heater last winter in my buddies trailer, we had one trip where it was really cold & the regulator kept freezing up. We'd have to take it inside to warm up then it'd fire again. We ended up having to set the bottle somewhat in front of the heater to keep things from freezing.

 

[Keith517]

Has anyone looked into running a portable electric heater and using a generator?