Portable Ceramic Heater Suggestions
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Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
Forum Discription: Ask maintenance questions, share your podmods (modifications) and helpful tips
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3200
Printed Date: 25 May 2025 at 5:13pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Portable Ceramic Heater Suggestions
Posted By: Maltster
Subject: Portable Ceramic Heater Suggestions
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2013 at 10:11pm
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Hello We are lucky to be currently living in Az where winter dosen't get below 30 most days. Last time we camped I pulled the fuse from the AC unit so that we just used the heater. We are interested in trying a ceramic heater. Any suggestions? I see that they cost from $20-$200 dollars. I would love to see what others have found helpful. bill and heather ------------- 2013 RPOD 177 HRE Howdy Podner 2009 Nissan XTERRA |
Replies:
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2013 at 11:25pm
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Welcome. Any cheap electric heater will work fine. I have a cheap heater which is keeping my pod at 70 F even though last night it went down to 9 F.
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: coopercdrkey
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2013 at 6:21am
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We bought ours at WalMart. The price was right around $17.00, and it was rated for "small rooms". It keeps our 'Pod very comfortable in North Florida, where out temps must be very similar to yours. ------------- Bob and Joyce Jennifer and Baxter, the Campin' Cocker Spaniels RP 177 "Key Pod" Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT / Z71 |
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2013 at 8:54am
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No need to pull the fuse from the AC to just use the heater. You can set your thermostat to just run the heater if you want.
------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: Butterfly_Lee
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2013 at 10:20am
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Small 5x5 will heat the an R-Pod fine. Mine has a heat setting and fan setting, so I can adjust both, if you get something bigger and have animals I would get one that turns off if it's turned over. I put mine on the stove and point it at the bunks. The floor is a little cool, but the dogs seem to be happy, and I'm not worried about it getting knocked over in the night. Lee  P.S. Realize this is coming from a person who RARELY camps when it's cold enough to need a heater, our definitions of cold may be a little different. LOL ------------- Still a work in progress, lots of pictures. http://podterfly.blogspot.com/ |
Posted By: tsunami123
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2013 at 12:36pm
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I use a metal pan beneath my heater that I set on the floor (to prevent a fire if the heater were to tip over). It allows warmed air to circulate from floor to ceiling; placing the heater on the stove creates two temperature layers in the Pod. My heater does have a 'tip over shut off'...but it is still pretty hot when it shuts off. My heater has 600&1500 watt settings. At 1500 watts it keeps the Pod quite warm even at below freezing temps. 1500 watts is close to 5000 BTUs. I open the shower ceiling vent slightly to allow some of the water vapor out. When it gets below freezing...I have mylar-reflecting foil-bubble sheets cut to fit in the window frames. The sheets insulate the single pane windows from frosting up and also reflect unwanted sun light in the summer. |
Posted By: Goose
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2013 at 1:13pm
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We just use a small inexpensive fan forced heater that has 2 heat settings to it. The only time that we have used it in the trailer is coming home from AZ. in Oct., it is generally cool over night in Tucumcari, NM. were we stop and need a little heat in the morning. Right now it is next to me on the floor to warm the back bedroom. The cheaper the better, if you only use it in the R-POD it will last a lifetime. This one we have had for over 10 years. Goose ------------- Mother Goose's Caboose..2011 RP171..07 Grand Cherokee 
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Posted By: danthoman
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2013 at 3:31pm
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We bought a Delonghi at Lowes for about $25. It has a digital thermostat and oscillates which is nice. It also has a freeze mode which sets it to 45 degrees. We leave it plugged in and running all the time. When we used it in the North Carolina mountains it kept the pod nice and toasty even though it got into the 20's at night.
------------- Linda and Dan Calley the golden retriever R-pod 177 and a Tundra 8 cyl |
Posted By: Seanl
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2013 at 10:44am
I have this same heater. I have it on in my pod now and the temperature is 45 degrees and it is 2 degrees outside right now. It will heat the pod up to 70 in about an hour. If I want faster I just run the furnace to bring it up to temp and use the electric to keep it there. ------------- Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition 
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Posted By: P&M
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2013 at 3:58pm
Oh man ... looks like I'm headed to Lowes for one of these! ------------- P & M ... and Comet too! 2012 171 -- The Monkey Pod 2018 Ram 2500 |
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2013 at 10:41pm
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I agree with the ideas that just about any cheap 1500 watt heater will heat a pod just fine. At 30 degrees we had to leave the bathroom vent wide open to avoid condensation and we were toasty. I'd choose a heater that had a good thermostat and two heat settings. Other than that, maybe one with a remote control cause I'm too lazy to get out of bed to turn it down. The tip-over switch is probably essential, but I'll bet you'd have to look pretty hard to find one without that feature. TT |
Posted By: dsmiths
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2013 at 8:41pm
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We purchased an inexpensive one from either Target or Walmart, cant remember. It is a 1500 watt unit. it has blower only no heat, then 1, 2, or 3 blower and a variable thermostat, it also has a oscillate feature. I normally turn the oscilliation off, put the blower on 2 and set the temp to 1/3 or 1/2 or so. We have camped in the fall when the temps dropped down into the hi 20's and there was a hard frost (good white 1/4 inch coating on everything outside) The temps were 72 or 73 inside, and the heater would only run about every 20 minutes or so. We stayed as warm as two bugs in a rug. I think the unit was about $20.00 or so and has tip over protection. very quiet also. The factory pod heater does a good job, but that purge blower will wake you up every time, I guess you would get used to it over time. I like the electric heater better. ------------- Dane and Donna Smith 2011 RP-172 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer 4X4 lift kit prodigy wireless brake controller |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2013 at 11:22pm
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Welcome, Tars Tarkas.
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: danthoman
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2013 at 8:53am
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Welcome to the forum Tars.
------------- Linda and Dan Calley the golden retriever R-pod 177 and a Tundra 8 cyl |
Posted By: Our-pod
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2013 at 11:00am
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As most have said, just about any heater will work. A few things to consider: Type: Don't get hung up on "ceramic" or anything else. 1500w is 1500w. The differences in fans can make a small difference, but the Rpod is so small that you're unlikely to notice it. Noise: Smaller heaters use small fans operating at higher speeds. This translates to more noise. Thermostat: Many heaters have thermostats that aren't very good. One major problem is that the thermostat is too close to the heat source. I personally have yet to find one that is repeatable. I'm considering buying this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7NYY8/ref=s9_simh_gw_p60_d7_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=1THRZAJ4S7CD5AAXSED9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846 You can plug any old heater into it and have a good thermostat that is farther away from the heat source. I haven't used it yet, but it seems ideal for the need. |