Hi, I’m Jack; welcome to another “All About RVs.” Today, I want to share some comparisons and information about the best RV heaters and the situations in which each heater shines. We’re going to talk about furnaces, diesel heaters, and electric heaters, and we’re going to cover the electric fireplace in the RV. We’ll also be talking about extreme heaters, catalytic heaters, and all the big ones that RVers love to use to keep their RV warm in the winter. Plus, we will dispel repeated myths that aren’t necessarily correct when using heat inside an RV. Let’s jump right into the list because we have a ton of information that I want to be able to pass along to you.
Let’s start with the RV furnace because most RVs out there already come with a stove unless you have a Class A with an Aqua-Hot system. We’re not, but you need your furnace installed for most RVs. The RV furnace is the heavy hitter when heating an RV. It’s usually a 28,000 BTU unit, so it raises the temperature inside the RV the fastest out of any of the heaters we talk about today. But it also does two things: number one, it makes the inside of the RV comfortable, so you can set the thermostat where you want it. It also delivers heat to the wet areas of the RV, such as the damp bay and underbelly—places where you have plumbing—so that in subfreezing temperatures, your pipes and water won’t freeze inside the RV.
Some drawbacks of the forced air furnace include the noise. It’s the loudest heater that we have in the RV. Also, it runs on electricity and propane and is only 80% efficient. To put some numbers to that, I measured how much propane and electricity we used the other night after we turned off the heat pump inside the RV and switched over to the furnace. Outside, it was 23°F, and the furnace kicked on quite a bit throughout the night. We used 26 amp hours of electricity from the battery bank and 2.59 lbs of propane. I weighed the tank at the beginning of the night and again the following day, and it cost me about $1.57 in propane to heat the RV for that evening. That meant we used about 26 amp hours, a quarter of a 100 amp hour battery, and just under $1.60 for propane.
One common myth I often hear about the RV furnace is that it’s a “wet heat” because moisture is one of the byproducts when burning propane. The misconception is that this moisture makes it into the RV, but that’s not true. All the combustion happens outside the RV—an air intake and an exhaust—so any moisture created as a byproduct is expelled to the outside. None of that moisture makes it into the inside of the RV, so it doesn’t add to the condensation problem. The RV furnace is loud and consumes a fair amount of power, but it’s a reliable option for heating the RV quickly and efficiently.
Now, let’s move on to diesel heaters. These heaters have been gaining popularity, especially in Class B RVs and van life setups. After installing one of these diesel heaters in our project trailer, I can see why they’re so famous for smaller RVs. The setup typically includes a small thermostat and one vent to expel the heat. It’s relatively quiet and doesn’t consume much power. Plus, if you tie it into your vehicle’s fuel system, you don’t need an additional fuel cell, which makes it convenient. You can use the vehicle’s fuel to run the heater, which is excellent for longer trips, and you never need to worry about filling up a separate tank.
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The diesel heater we installed is a larger 27,000 BTU unit, almost as big as our furnace on the RV. It works well to heat this 26-foot uninsulated trailer and holds the temperature well. Like the RV furnace, the diesel heater has air intake and exhaust outside, so there’s no concern about mixing the combusted air with the air inside the RV. It uses minimal power—about 10 to 15 watts on low and 35 to 40 on high. This unit only costs about $150, making it an affordable option for those on a budget. However, prices for diesel heaters can range up to $1,200, depending on the brand and features.
A few things to consider: diesel heaters could be better for high elevations. They need adjustments when you go higher than 8,000 feet; failure to do so can result in more maintenance. Additionally, the fuel pump on the outside can make a ticking sound, which some people find annoying, though there are workarounds for this. Also, one specific issue with this unit is that I have yet to find an easy way to convert the temperature from Celsius to Fahrenheit, but that’s not a big deal. The unit puts out much heat and keeps the trailer warm, but if you want it to shut off completely, you’ll have to turn off the thermostat. It never turns off like the RV’s furnace or heat pump. As for fuel consumption, I used about a gallon to a gallon and a quarter of diesel per day when the temperatures were in the mid-20s at night, trying to keep the trailer warm. So, the larger diesel units tend to use more fuel, especially in uninsulated trailers.
In conclusion, a diesel heater is an excellent option for smaller RVs, especially for van lifers who can tie it into their vehicle’s fuel system. However, there may be better choices for those traveling at higher elevations or bothered by the fuel pump’s noise. It’s an efficient and relatively low-cost solution for keeping an RV warm, but as with any heater, you’ll want to consider your specific situation before making a choice.
Coming with these electric fireplaces in there, they do put off some heat. It’s a space heater built into a fake electric fireplace. Now, we like it for a couple of reasons. We want to be able to heat just that central living part of the RV. It has a low and a high setting. On the low setting, it will be drawing 720 watts; on the high setting, it will be 1,340 watts. It gets rid of some of the problems that you have with space heaters inside of RVs. Some big problems with space heaters could be using them more effectively, such as using them with a power strip or an extension cord or putting the cord underneath a rug. Some fires happen with space heaters inside RVs when they are misused. So, I’m not opposed to using space heaters inside RVs, but you have to pay attention to how you’re using them and use them properly.
We use this in the back bunk room because it gets chilly. We chose this one because it has a thermostat, so we can dial in the temperature that we want it to set at, and it’s not just on all night. I would like to find one where I can adjust the thermostat and have it on the low setting because that would be sufficient for that back room, so it’s only drawing 700 watts, just like that low setting on that electric fireplace. When you set the thermostat, this one goes on high, so it kicks on, and it doesn’t run for as long. But it does supplement the heat and keeps it at the proper temperature in the back.
Regarding electric heat, I prefer the heat pump, and we have been using that a lot this year. It’s come in extremely handy, and the heat pump can be misunderstood when people try to use it in the wrong situations, and it won’t perform when it gets frigid outside. But I have been surprised at how cold our heat pump does work. From my experience, and seeing how much it affects the temperature inside the RV and how much power it’s using, the heat pump when it’s above 40°F outside, gives us more heat than we can get out of the electric fireplace or one of these space heaters put on high. We get more for the watts we’re using for power and the BTUs put inside the RV.
I wanted to find the edge where it wasn’t practical anymore. So, when it was 29°F outside, you wouldn’t even think you could use the heat pump. We were getting close to 100°F, bouncing between 98 and 100°F, coming out of the heat pump. Using it at that temperature on the outside is inefficient because that heat exchange isn’t working that well. The heat pump works off the premise of running your AC backward. Something that I hear repeated about heat pumps is that you can’t use them below 50°F. I’ve even read where you can’t use them below 40°F. We’ve often used ours around 35°F, where we’ve noticed that ours gains traction and works pretty well to produce heat inside the RV. But I know many splits out there can go much colder, and we’ve used it below freezing, and it still produced heat inside the RV. So, something to remember: Try out your heat pump, which might save you from using as much propane for heating your RV. If your RV has a heat pump, and if you don’t have one and need to replace your AC, it might be something to look into getting one with a heat pump.
Now, you don’t always have the luxury of having shore power when using your RV in the winter so that some people will switch to something like this: the portable Heater or the Olympian heater, a catalytic heater. This often gets grouped into catalytic heaters, and that’s one of the misnomers. This isn’t an actual catalytic heater. There are some similarities, but they aren’t the same chemical process. This is burning the propane you’re connecting here when using these small bottles or even connecting it to a larger 20-pound tank. This is burning that propane. If you want to look at a catalytic heater, people often go with the Olympian one, which is much more expensive than these portable heaters. But these work to heat the inside of the RV, with a few side notes.
First off, this is going to be more efficient than your RV furnace, but you’re going to be burning the fuel inside, and it’s going to be using oxygen, so you do need to open a vent or a window to allow more oxygen to come in so that it’s safe to use. It has some other safety features, like a tip-over device that will turn it off. It also has an O2 sensor here, so it should shut off if it uses too much oxygen inside the RV. You do want all your sensors working on the inside—your carbon monoxide detector, smoke detector, propane detector—all those things must function correctly.
The second thing is that this will produce moisture. Remember, when you’re burning that propane, there will be moisture coming from that. So this will put moisture on the inside of the RV. Again, opening the vent will help with some moisture getting out, but you do decrease efficiency when opening up a vent. I’m not saying you’ll lose all your heat out the window or the vent, but it decreases efficiency to a degree. If you were going to ask my recommendation, I would not sleep inside the RV with this burning and running. I would run it in the evening and then run it in the morning, but I wouldn’t use it while sleeping. That’s just my personal preference.
I like this heater. It feels good—the heat coming off it is radiant. I think it’s a great backup. I don’t use it as a sole solution inside the RV, especially at night. This has two settings: 9,000 BTUs on the high setting and 4,000 BTUs on the low setting. I know that some people who use this as more of a primary heat source inside the RV often switch over to the Olympian, which is an actual catalytic heater.
Now, this last heater is the extreme heater. This is coming from the marine industry over into the RV industry. This is used to help in freeze protection situations. This is a little bit different. It’s not to keep the inside of the RV comfortable but to keep your lithium batteries or pipes from freezing. I’m very impressed with it. It is not cheap, but there’s much safety built into this, so I would never recommend using a space heater in a compartment where you’ll leave the RV and still need to protect your lithium batteries or plumbing. But this is one that you could go to because it has an entirely different way of heating.
So, this fits in a space where people were burning their boats down because they were using a standard space heater, and they would have a problem where they weren’t near their ship, and it would burn their boat down, and sometimes the ship next to them in the slip. But this has a PTC heating element and a thermostat in the back to keep it safe and above freezing in those engine compartments. So, this is even meant to go where there might be fuel, and it won’t ignite that fuel. So, you can use these in extreme circumstances.
I wanted to test this out underneath our RV, so one night, we were getting down to around 23°F. We just had the furnace on, and you could see that our temperature down there was nearly freezing. It got to 33°F. We’re living in the RV full-time, so the next night, I wanted to see if this kept it above that point. I put it down in that bay and put a sensor farther.
We use the electric fireplace in our RV for several reasons. It’s essentially a space heater built into a fake electric fireplace. We like it because it allows us to heat just the main living area of the RV. It has a low and high setting: the low setting draws 720 watts, and the high setting draws 1,340 watts. It helps solve some issues commonly associated with space heaters inside RVs. One of the biggest problems with space heaters is misusing them, like plugging them into a power strip or extension cord or placing the cord under a rug. There have been fires caused by improper use of space heaters inside RVs. While I’m not opposed to using space heaters, using them properly is essential. We use this one in the back bunk room because it can get chilly there. We chose this model because it has a thermostat, allowing us to dial in the temperature we want, so it doesn’t stay on all night. However, I wish to find one where the thermostat could be set to the low setting, which would be sufficient for the back room, drawing just 700 watts, similar to the low setting on this electric fireplace. The problem with this one is that it kicks on at high when you set the thermostat, so it uses more power than we need. But it does supplement the heat and maintains a comfortable temperature in the back room.
When it comes to electric heating, I prefer the heat pump. We’ve been using it a lot this year, and it has come in convenient. The heat pump can sometimes be misunderstood if misused and doesn’t perform as well in icy conditions. However, I’ve been surprised by how well our heat pump works even in colder temperatures. From my experience, the heat pump provides more heat than the electric fireplace or a space heater running high when the outside temperature is above 40°F. It’s also more efficient regarding the watts and BTUs it generates for the RV. I wanted to test the limits of its efficiency, so when it was 29°F outside, I didn’t expect much. But we were getting close to 100°F inside, with the temperature bouncing between 98°F and 100°F. The heat pump isn’t efficient outside cold because the heat exchange process isn’t working as effectively. Many people believe heat pumps can’t operate below 50°F, or even 40°F, but we’ve used ours in temperatures as low as 35°F, and it performed well. Some models can go much colder, but ours still produces heat below freezing. If your RV has a heat pump, it might save you from using as much propane to heat your RV. If you don’t have one and need to replace your AC, it might be worth considering one with a heat pump.
However, there are times when you won’t have shore power, like when using your RV in winter, and some people switch to portable heaters like the Portable Heater or the Olympian Heater, a catalytic heater. It’s important to note that the Portable Heater is often mistakenly grouped with accurate catalytic heaters. This heater burns propane using small bottles or connecting to a larger 20-pound tank. The Olympian models are more expensive if you want an actual catalytic heater. The Portable Heater works well for heating the RV, but with a few side notes: It’s more efficient than the RV furnace, but it burns fuel inside and consumes oxygen, so it’s essential to open a vent or a window to allow fresh air. It also produces moisture from burning propane, which adds humidity to the RV. Opening a vent helps somewhat but decreases the heater’s efficiency. I wouldn’t sleep inside the RV with the Heater or the Olympian running, but I use them in the evening and morning. I like the radiant heat they provide but prefer not to rely on them as the sole heating source overnight.
