Which caravan heater is best?
What’s the most efficient RV heating system – electric, diesel or gas?Not that long ago, air-conditioners were rare in cars, let alone RVs. Now you would be hard pressed to buy a medium to large RV without reverse-cycle air-con fitted.
Dedicated RV heating systems are also becoming cheaper, making camping in chilly weather more appealing to many.
Which heater should I choose?
There are four choices for keeping the van toasty with a permanent heating system: a small portable 240V electric space heater, 240V reverse-cycle air-conditioning, a gas heater and a diesel heater.
A small portable space heater is the cheapest option; a fairly efficient ceramic core thermostat-control electric fan heater shouldn’t set you back more than $40.
The downside is that you have to make space for the heater on a bench or out of the way on the floor, when interior space even in larger vans can be tight. That’s assuming that you have access to 240V power. Even then, don’t expect that the caravan park electrical system can handle running a 2400W heater full blast and whatever other high current-draw items you’re using, such as a hair dryer or toaster, without tripping the safety switch.
If your van doesn’t already have it (as mentioned, most do these days), reverse-cycle air-conditioning is the most versatile of systems, obviously because it cools and dries the air in your RV as well as heating it.
Modern reverse-cycle air-conditioners allow you to set a temperature, and most will reliably keep to it. This type of system is safe to run overnight; the only thing that might irritate is that the air becomes too dry.
As for installation, the best place to fit a new air-con system to a full-size van or motorhome is on the roof. Some RVs have roof reinforcement fitted from the factory for exactly this purpose; most don’t and will require the H-frame support to be fitted during the install.
You have to be a bit more careful with pop-tops; the roof lifting mechanism won’t be designed for the extra weight of the air-con unit, so it will be much harder to lift. An option in this case is to install the unit in a cupboard that faces an outer wall (layout permitting), or under the bed.
Air-con downsides
Another downside of reverse-cycle air-conditioning is that it can take a few minutes for heating to start, it can be noisy and you can only run the system on 240V AC power.
Installing an air-conditioner is also fairly complex and you need a licensed electrician to wire it up legally.
However, if you never intend to bush camp and always book a powered site well ahead at caravan parks, then reverse-cycle air-conditioning makes the most sense.
It isn’t impossible to run an air-con unit away from the power grid. You could in theory run it on a lithium battery bank via an inverter, but that will add to the cost.
Unless you’re already investing in lithium batteries anyway, then this isn’t an attractive option, because a lithium power system is much more expensive than having a gas or diesel heater unit fitted.
The other option is to run a generator, but again the issue is cost – you’ll need at least a 2.4kVa generator to run the air-con unit, and they’re around $2000. You also have to factor in carrying fuel for the genny, the inconvenience and the noise it creates.
Breaking the morning chill in an RV is a major priority for most campers yet one of you will have to go out into the cold to get the genny started. Then you have to wait a minute or two for the reverse-cycle unit to start delivering heat. It’s not ideal.
Gas or diesel?
The two different stand-alone systems that will serve you well free-camping are either gas or diesel heating. Both offer an efficient and relatively compact method of heating the RV’s interior. There are advantages and disadvantages to both: one is clearly not better than the other when it comes to heating.
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Unlike ceiling-type reverse-cycle air-conditioning, both are ducted systems that need to be installed in a cupboard or – more typically – in the under-bed or under-seat space of an RV. They also need space around them to route ducting and appropriate spots for the heated-air outlets.
As well as the fuel (diesel or gas) to create heat, they also need an adequate supply of 12V power to run ancillary functions such as the fan and control unit.
The advantage of a gas heater is that it uses a simple, clean fuel you probably already use for your RV’s cooking, water heating and fridge and, like these appliances, run from a gas bottle.
Gas heaters are fuel-efficient, providing around two weeks of heating from a 9kg bottle. They’re also quick to deliver heat. The system needs electricity to light the gas and power the fan, but the current draw for these is very small.
It’s illegal to fit a gas heater system yourself – you need to pay a licensed gas fitter to install it (or at least connect the gas line and sign-off on the system).
There are regulations that preclude fitting a gas heater to some RVs. The gas heater flue can’t be installed close to an opening window, a door, other gas appliance inlet or outlet or within the area of an enclosed annexe.
The cost of re-filling gas bottles is much higher in remote areas than in main towns or cities.
The only gas heater available in Australia at the moment is the Truma system, until recently the Truma E2400 (now the Truma VarioHeat Eco).
Diesel heater options
Diesel heating is reasonably efficient, a little more compact than gas (for the main heating unit) and can be fitted by DIYers – no licensed fitters are needed in regards to its 12V needs (for the fan) or the fuel required, which is the same diesel used for most tow vehicles.
It’s easy to carry diesel fuel for the heater and top-up with a jerry, especially if your vehicle is a diesel. It’s even easier to fit in (diesel-powered) motorhomes, as you can simply tap into the diesel vehicle fuel supply.
However, diesel is a messy, smelly fuel to work with and easily stains if spilt. Carbon deposits can easily form in the combustion chamber and reduce heating performance.
To minimise this, the heater needs to be run at full heat for an hour, so it can burn off the deposits, and not be run at a low setting for long periods or run for short periods either.
Diesel heaters need periodic maintenance, such as cleaning or replacing the glow pin and removing any carbon deposits from the combustion chamber. The fuel filter should be replaced and fuel and exhaust lines checked at two-year intervals at least.
What’s more, diesel heaters can be noisy, but often it comes down to how well it’s installed (such as if the pump is properly insulated) and if the unit includes an inlet silencer and exhaust muffler.
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