Space Heater Recommendation for 17 foot Casita - Fiberglass RV
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Old 01-10-2025, 04:28 PM   #1
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Name: Stuart
Trailer: Casita
Florida
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Space Heater Recommendation for 17 foot Casita

We would like to hear some recommendations of small space heaters that we can use while plugged in to shore power. We will be cold weather camping later this year and since we are in Florida, need some advice. Air conditioner on roof does not have heat strip.
Thanks,
Stuart
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Old 01-10-2025, 04:42 PM   #2
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Name: bob
Trailer: 1996 Casita 17 Spirit Deluxe; 1946 Modernistic teardrop
New York
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We have two different sizes of Vornado heaters. The small one is just on or off with a couple different heat settings. The larger one has a thermostat type control and 3 heat settings. They are pretty quiet. We use them (not at the same time) in our Casita SD17. They were display models at Bed, Bath, And Beyond so got a good deal on them.
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Old 01-11-2025, 11:29 AM   #3
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My experience (6 years full-time in my Casita) is that just about any 1500 watt space heater will keep interior comfortably warm into low 20s F. I'm currently using a Pelonis 1500 watt heater (less than $20 from Walmart) and it maintained upper 60s couple nights ago with outside temps in the upper teens. Read and heed the safety precautions that come with whatever heater you use, of course.
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Old 01-12-2025, 05:37 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Delker View Post
My experience (6 years full-time in my Casita) is that just about any 1500 watt space heater will keep interior comfortably warm into low 20s F. I'm currently using a Pelonis 1500 watt heater (less than $20 from Walmart) and it maintained upper 60s couple nights ago with outside temps in the upper teens. Read and heed the safety precautions that come with whatever heater you use, of course.
I have a small ceramic heater with a 900 watt and a 1,500 watt setting. At 900 watts (I never use the 1,500 watt setting) it will keep my Escape 5th wheel comfortable down to freezing temperatures, i.e., 32° F/0°C. Below freezing I supplement it with a smaller 500 watt ceramic heater, on another circuit. The reason I do not use the first heater higher than 900 watts is that drawing 1,500 watts because that equates to a 12.5 amp draw. That is somewhat close to the maximum that should be supplied by an outlet rated for 15 amps. I have seen “burn” (black marks) on outlets constantly exposed to high amperage use, and at 12.5 amps, it wouldn’t take much more of a draw to trip the breaker protecting the circuit. I am not implying that using the 1,500 watt setting is dangerous, but it will make the electrical cables, likely AWG 14 (e.g., Romex) warm to the touch. For my own peace of mind, I just don’t use the higher setting.
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Old 01-12-2025, 09:31 PM   #5
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RV outlets are not well made and like C&G in FL I have an electric space heater with 700 and 1500 watt settings, and found the lower setting is enough for my Bigfoot in cooler temps. I will probably get rid of it. It has a plastic housing (ceramic heater) and the plastic keeps oozing oil and I keep cleaning it with alcohol and it keeps coming back. Now that I have a Houghton 9500 heat pump, I am less inclined to need a space heater.

I did install a standard electric box and a receptacle in the side of my dinette, and it is wired first in the circuit, and I used a heavy duty GFCI receptacle due to its proximity to the sink. The remaining circuit is NOT protected by the GFCI however as the circuit is tapped off the input side of it and not the feed thru terminals. Its sole purpose is to supply a space heater.

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Old 01-13-2025, 10:08 AM   #6
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I am very happy with my Dreo space heater (Amazon link). It is by far the quietest electric heater I've ever encountered. The digital thermostat is not as accurate as a home 'stat, but it does turn on and off nicely as needed. I have a couple of Pelonis heaters and one or two others that I've accumulated over the years, and the Dreo is about 1/3 as noisy to my ears as any of the others.
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Old 01-15-2025, 11:34 AM   #7
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Name: Mark
Trailer: Casita
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Although we have a heat strip in our AC and a furnace we use a small ceramic box heater, usually on the low setting. There are plenty of brands out there and I am not sure what our is. In addition to the controls on top ours has a switch on the bottom that automatically shuts off the heater if it tips over. What ever model you wind up purchasing, look for that feature before you buy.
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Old 01-15-2025, 11:47 AM   #8
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Name: Ray
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smilinggator View Post
We would like to hear some recommendations of small space heaters that we can use while plugged in to shore power. We will be cold weather camping later this year and since we are in Florida, need some advice. Air conditioner on roof does not have heat strip.
Thanks,
Stuart
I take it you don't have a furnace either. My scamp furnace does a great job
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Old 01-15-2025, 01:14 PM   #9
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Name: Craig
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Recommend digital thermostat so you can set it at a temp that suits your needs.
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Old 01-15-2025, 02:08 PM   #10
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Name: Stuart
Trailer: Casita
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Thank you all for suggestions and recommendations. we will probably decide to go with the DREO unit due to its lower volume level
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Old 01-15-2025, 04:25 PM   #11
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Name: Keith
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If quiet is important then you may want to try an oil filled heater. They are a bit bigger, shaped like a small radiator, but nearly silent and don’t have any parts that are dangerously hot. They don’t heat the trailer quickly, but they will keep it warm in pretty cool weather.

Although we often just use our heat strip because we want the background noise to block out sounds of the campground.
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Old 01-15-2025, 06:00 PM   #12
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I've had decent results from a number of different small fan heaters... none of them seem to last more than maybe 5 years of being banged around and used a lot. I definitely prefer the ones that have a low heat setting, maybe 600-800 watts vs high heat of 1500 watts, and a quiet fan that can be set to a relatively slow speed.
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Old 01-15-2025, 06:06 PM   #13
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the outlets in my Escape all seem to be the same sort of Leviton outlets you might have at home. Or, LeGrand, which is a French multinational, popular in Canada.
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Old 01-15-2025, 11:17 PM   #14
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Name: Jann
Trailer: Casita
Colorado
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smilinggator View Post
We would like to hear some recommendations of small space heaters that we can use while plugged in to shore power. We will be cold weather camping later this year and since we are in Florida, need some advice. Air conditioner on roof does not have heat strip.
Thanks,
Stuart
We have one that is round, has a tip over shut off but it is very hard to tip over. We have a cat and don't want her to get hurt. At the top of the heater it has little holes for the heat to come out all around it and you can't put things into it. It also has a 3 speed fan for the heat plus just a fan setting. You set the heat at any setting you want and the fan shuts off and on. It keeps our 17Ft Casita very nice. I usually have to shut it off or turn it down a lot after the trailer warms up. We bought it at Walmart years ago. Not sure of the brand but we have 2 of them since we also have a Class C RV. It is very quiet so we use it instead of the heat strip in the A/C unit.
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