Ceramic Heat Emitter

[TribForce]

I was looking around the internet for a low cost, low tech way to keep the lithium batteries or battery bay warm when the camper is winterized and parked for the season. I ran across these ceramic heat emitters on Amazon. https://a.co/d/aimnYit They are primarily used to keep little critters warm such as a lizard in a terrarium. Then I thought, I would not need this running all the time and found these temperature controlled outlets. https://a.co/d/6rqT8oG

I do not use the camper in freezing temps so permanently installed, Victron controlled, battery heating pads may be an overkill.

Does anybody have any experience with these items? Anybody see any problems with this set up? Of course, I don't want to burn the camper down but I would think these Items are safe because they are designed to use in the house with a 100% duty cycle.

[Jlawles2]

I'm using a pair of https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1 and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HNHBC8P...roduct_details right now to keep our water softener / filter house warm in the 27F temps of south of Houston. I think the 2 heaters actually cycle in the 2X6X6 room with 2 payers of 3/4" Pink foam board.

Be careful with the emitters as the surface temperature is well over 200F.

[TribForce]

I'm using a pair of https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1 and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HNHBC8P...roduct_details right now to keep our water softener / filter house warm in the 27F temps of south of Houston. I think the 2 heaters actually cycle in the 2X6X6 room with 2 payers of 3/4" Pink foam board.

Be careful with the emitters as the surface temperature is well over 200F.

Ok, so you had the exact same idea. What did you use for fixtures. I am considering a metal clamp lamp like this one. My space is much smaller. This picture is not of my camper but similar. The batteries are next to the generator. Maybe a 50W emitter would be better.

[Jlawles2]

I am using them on a fixed structure at the house.

I am using fixtures similar to https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-8829-...%2C135&sr=8-15 with 2 extensions cords sacrificed to make the necessary power connection.

You could try https://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Vapor...1zcF9hdGY&th=1 and remove the emitters when traveling. I'd be worried if the clamp on ones fall you get a fire.

[reubenray]

I used this in my previous wetbay and it worked great along with a thermostatically control outlet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Thermostatica...%2C138&sr=8-14

[Cate&Rob]

I use an electric "car warmer" in the underbelly of my Reflection. See post 26 of this thread for more details. https://gdrvowners.com/forum/exterio...derbelly/page2

Rob

[TribForce]

reubenray Thanks for the feedback.

Cate&Rob I did not know those existed. It might be an overkill at 900W for my small space but I'll look around for a lower wattage one. Thanks.

[Jlawles2]

TribForce You might be surprised how much heat gets lost on the front and side walls of the front compartment that are not insulated.

If needed you could always go to wally world and pick up one of the 500W/1000W/1500W heaters and dial the temp you want. Start on the lowest setting and ramp up from there as needed. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pelonis-F...1?from=/search I know for a fact that on high that thing will heat a 23' travel trailer in the high 20's. It will not heat it from 20 to 70 very fast, but it will get it there, then turn off. I even used it to heat the 5er in the sleeping area in 20F weather. I moved it from sleeping to living area, and could heat the living area to a comfortable temp with that plus the fireplace in no time. All of that was on the high setting.

[TribForce]

Jlawles2 I appreciate your help on this. I am leery of leaving a space heater unattended, especially in a small confined space. I estimate this front storage area to be about 12 cubic feet. (The generator area is excluded because it is walled off) I only need to keep it above 32F for the batteries. I am going to try the ceramic heat emitter. I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks to everyone for the feedback.