Replacing Fireplace with Better Elec Heater

[Briarglenn]

Has anyone come up with a more efficient electrical fireplace than the OEM. We enjoy ours, but think there must be a better system outh there. Thank you

[NCFischers]

Ours is pretty efficient. It does a good job of taking the chill out of the rig.

[TLightning]

Don't have a FP and glad we did not order one. Also, the max wattage of any portable electric heater is 1,500 watts, same as the FP. However, IMHO, the portability is a great advantage over the FP.

[DQDick]

We use a portable and the fireplace.

[RKassl]

The fireplace in our new 2015 is a welcomed addition. It takes the chill out of the area and is very nice to watch. We appreciate it.

[DarMar]

On a cool morning/evening we use our fireplace and on a cold morning we a portable as well, it works.

[richfaa]

Ours does the job can't get one higher than 1500 watts.

[BB_TX]

I added a fireplace to ours and really like it better than the portable we had to set out in the middle of the floor before. Nothing to kick or trip over. We typically do not camp in really cold weather so do not need an extra portable (although we do still have it tucked away in the closet).

[jcurtis934]

1500 watts or roughly 5000 btu equates to 12 amps of current draw...the max you should be pulling out of a 15 amp circuit. All portables fall into this as already stated, all thin fireplace inserts do as well. John

[ranch560]

quote:Has anyone come up with a more efficient electrical fireplace than the OEM. We enjoy ours, but think there must be a better system outh there. Thank you

John, if you remove your fireplace, how are you going to toast the marshmallows for the s'mores on those chilly evenings when you want a sweet after dinner snack?

[Mark N.]

I love the FP, and it draws the max current allowed, so there would be nothing better to replace it with anyway. I use a1500W portable up in the bedroom at night. Between the 2, there is plenty of heat to keep the chill away without burning any propane.

[tomd]

Our FP warms up the bedroom area better than the living room area.
I assume it's because the heat rises to the higher elevation.

[mlh]

You can calculate how many BTUs any electric heater puts out by multiplying amps of power used by voltage, in this case 120 by 3.41. A electric heater using 12 amps will put out 4910 BTUs of heat per hour.
Lynwood

[Jimmer]

We use our Fireplace all of the time. We find when it is really cold that we will leave it on overnight and when we get up the living room is nice and warm. We have been up in Oregon in the late fall and gets pretty cold. The fireplace keeps it pretty toasty and we don't have to use the regular heater and we save our propane.

[Ozz]

quote:Originally posted by Briarglenn

Has anyone come up with a more efficient electrical fireplace than the OEM. We enjoy ours, but think there must be a better system outh there. Thank you

Briarglenn,
Everyone has given great input to your question, the output for the heater is up 3' or so, not ideal for heat, as the heated air rises as soon as it comes out of the vents. Electric heat should come from the floor level. The fireplace does heat the space, but heat rises, colder air falls and you get hot at the ceiling, medium at chest area and cold at the floor. As a Heating and air contractor for all my working years (retired now) I would like to offer a supplemental heating idea.
I bought a built-in 120Volt electric heater with an axial fan (quiet, efficient) from Graingers supply and cut it into the wall in my Island (3400RL) Wired it to the un-usued circuit from the Dryer circuit. (I have a 220 Dryer)
Here are some pictures, might generate an idea or two.

http://s112.photobucket.com/user/Jim...r%20built%20in

[Carole]

I used to think a fireplace was a foolish item to have in an Rv but after having one, I wouldn't do without it. It puts out much more heat than a portable and it's not in the way. Never thought I wanted the big frig or king sized bed either but I love them also.

[DQDick]

Reversing the fan and running it on slow can help with the heat rising to the ceiling issue. By reversing the fan it draws air up and bounces it off the ceiling so no one is cold and by moving the air around it keeps the heat from "pooling" on the ceiling. I used this in our stick house with a real fireplace and it works with our rig and this fireplace.

[onekla]

x2 with DQDick. Also, we learned a tip from David, the Keystone rep, when we took the factory tour last year - once the living area is at the temp you want, run just the fan only on your AC unit in the living area. This helps circulate the warmer air up at the ceiling. We have found that running the AC fan in the bedroom works for us. We run it on low speed. This also recirculates the warm air from the bedroom to the living room.

[Avofarmer66]

Our 2 coon hounds love the fire place. It keep the trailer warm at 64 degrees with outside temp at 30-40 degrees. In the bedroom we use an electric blanket.
COZY is the word the DW uses.