Hi. We have a relative staying in a caravan in our garden over the winter. What type of heater would be best? Needs to be on for long periods and fairly safe. Thanks.
if the caravan has a gas heater installed then probably that would be cheaper to run than heating from your mains electric if 2kw setting was needed all the time & you might need more than one rad to keep whole caravan warm. You could use a 19kg propane cylinder standing beside caravan. Flogas would be cheaper than Calor & they deliver to your door.
If caravan is old then might not be such a good idea to use gas heater unless you got it checked & serviced. Also older caravans often have flue vent underneath which needs to kept clear. If it snowed it might become unsafe if underneath got blocked.
What type of caravan is it make/model/year/size is it. An old one could be poorly insulated & cost a lot to heat because of that.
You might find it easier to use an oil filled rad. It depends how high setting needs to be to keep caravan warm though. If running on 2kw all the time then your electric bill will be high.
If it's going to be left on overnight I would definitely go for electric. I know I would be uneasy with gas left on while I'm asleep. How expensive it would be depends on how big the caravan is and how well insulated. Won't be particularly cheap anyway, even on gas.
I used a small convector heater in my caravan. I left it ticking over on low all the time and just turned it up a bit when necessary. I prefer convector to oil as they’re lighter. I used to be away in minus degrees, once -8, and I was never cold.
As pointed out. Quite dependant on type of caravan. Older UK built 'vans are poorly insulated made worse by possibly a bit of damp in the structure so in cold weather heater will probably need to be going the whole time. An oil filled rad or convector on low setting at all times with a fan heater to provide a bit of quick heat as required might be easiest way of keeping caravan warm.
2 heaters would be ok for 16amp caravan electrics provided rad was on 1kw setting with a separate fan heater used on up to 2kw setting as required. Worth investigating cost of using gas though if gas heater is ok. gas heater instructions will indicate hourly gas usage to allow a calculation of cost.
I would have thought that (calor) gas would be a fairly expensive option. I use an electric convector heater with optional (almost silent) fan. It has 3 heat settings, a timer and a thermostat.
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Hi Auto,long time no hear. We have a static, with no central heating, and we do use it right up to mid December. It also only has a 10amp supply so keeping it warm has been a challenge in the colder months. Heres what we do. Like most vans it has a gas fire in the living area, these things eat gas I can tell you, so as much as possible we use electric. We have panel heaters in the bathroom, hall and 2 bedrooms, using a maximum of 400watts each. These alone keep the hallway, bathroom and small bedroom warm. In the larger bedroom it just about takes the chill off. So a bit of juggling with the 2 heat setting convector we have in the living area is req due to the 10amp restriction. So, while we are in lounge in the evening we have heater on 900watt setting and one of the small panel heaters turned off (small bedroom one if we are not using it). If it is cold then we put the gas fire on about medium to back up the convector heater. About half hour before going to bed I turn off heater in lounge and turn on the other convector heater we have in the larger bedroom to warm that up. Along with an electric blanket the bedroom now is warm and cozy. Leave the panel heaters on. A timer on the lounge heater is set to turn that on at 600 watt, an hour or so before we get up. Once we start using heaters we obviously have to Stop using the electric kettle and start using the gas stove one to avoid tripping leccy. If you dont have power limits to your van then the juggling with heaters is not a problem, but it does help you use electric a bit more wisely. With all these power limitations on us, I suppose last year our Electric bill was about £250 for around 125 nights we spent here between Feb and Dec. I think we used about 5 bottles of gas at £32 each for same period. I have cut right down on the gas use this year and found electric cheaper for us, but I think that is down to being restricted to 10amp and having to be careful what we have running at any given time. So perhaps fit trips on your van to stop over use and waste of leccy.
I leave our van heater on for long periods October to March at around 10 degrees, and it costs very little. Once the van is warm, its easier to keep it that way or up the heat very quickly for living in it.
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Topic: Most economical heater for caravan?
We have a static, with no central heating, and we do use it right up to mid December. It also only has a 10amp supply so keeping it warm has been a challenge in the colder months. Heres what we do. Like most vans it has a gas fire in the living area, these things eat gas I can tell you, so as much as possible we use electric. We have panel heaters in the bathroom, hall and 2 bedrooms, using a maximum of 400watts each. These alone keep the hallway, bathroom and small bedroom warm. In the larger bedroom it just about takes the chill off. So a bit of juggling with the 2 heat setting convector we have in the living area is req due to the 10amp restriction. So, while we are in lounge in the evening we have heater on 900watt setting and one of the small panel heaters turned off (small bedroom one if we are not using it). If it is cold then we put the gas fire on about medium to back up the convector heater. About half hour before going to bed I turn off heater in lounge and turn on the other convector heater we have in the larger bedroom to warm that up. Along with an electric blanket the bedroom now is warm and cozy. Leave the panel heaters on. A timer on the lounge heater is set to turn that on at 600 watt, an hour or so before we get up. Once we start using heaters we obviously have to Stop using the electric kettle and start using the gas stove one to avoid tripping leccy. If you dont have power limits to your van then the juggling with heaters is not a problem, but it does help you use electric a bit more wisely. With all these power limitations on us, I suppose last year our Electric bill was about £250 for around 125 nights we spent here between Feb and Dec. I think we used about 5 bottles of gas at £32 each for same period. I have cut right down on the gas use this year and found electric cheaper for us, but I think that is down to being restricted to 10amp and having to be careful what we have running at any given time. So perhaps fit trips on your van to stop over use and waste of leccy.
