how to get heat inside our QS10.0 plus other B.Dck'ing ?s

[catmanriff]

Right now our QS10.0 is stock, single 12v battery on the tongue. It's really only used inside for the two 12v lights/fans that plug into a TRS 1/4" headphone looking jack. Those run a long time.

We've recently done a few camp trips where there are no hookups. Generally these are 2-5 days max but that might change. We've survived just fine, but having some heat at night has been an issue. I bought a Little Buddy propane heater. It works quite well but, there are some fumes and it's 1lb propane tank per night. There are some fumes you can smell and I'm comfortable with cracking some cross ventilation but my wife isn't...and there's still propane issue. We don't see ourselves converting the camper to LP. We are fine cooking and lantern'ing outside with the 1 lb bottles as those last for days. If we are stuck inside, I've had great luck setting a butane stove up for soup or coffee inside.

When we have hookups, we'll plug in a small space heater that takes the edge off on cold nights. Works well. I'm guessing those are 400-1000 watt ceramic haters with fans

So, I've read everything in the boon docking area here about two GC batteries in series, along with a solar panel setup. For just the two lights/fans it seems to be overkill.

My questions:
-Would a pure sine wave inverter off of the 12v batteries in combination with a space heater be a good solution? That way we'd have ac outlets for some other things too. Seems so..
-Would a 12v heater be better?
-Will my tongue  handle the extra battery, given that I'll need to fashion some extra support for the dual box? Ford F150 TV
-I saw the Zamp kits at Lowes. Expensive but very slick, nice looking. Seeing that we typically camp in sunny California, will an 80watt kit be sufficient?
-I assume I can add a weatherproof quick release connection on the battery box for a solar panel?
-If an inverter is the solution, I'm slightly confused about what might be needed to go from shore power back to battery...is that automatic in some way?

I do own a 2k inverter generator but solar seems way more elegant.

My rough budget estimate for the battery upgrade, wiring, box, install, inverter and Zamp kit was right around $1200

[MitchB]

 My gut tells me the ceramic heater on an inverter will draw down a single 12 volt battery pretty quickly, some quick math would confirm that.  A 12 volt heater may work but I'm guessing not all night. The standard 12 volt battery only gives you about 40 amp hours of juice if the heater draws 10 amps then you get 4 hours. Solar will charge you're battery but of course it won't help if you use the battery up by midnight. It's a tough question, propane is really the best bet. How do feel about a dog, they're very warm.

[catmanriff]

My gut tells me the ceramic heater on an inverter will draw down a single 12 volt battery pretty quickly, some quick math would confirm that.  A 12 volt heater may work but I'm guessing not all night. The standard 12 volt battery only gives you about 40 amp hours of juice if the heater draws 10 amps then you get 4 hours. Solar will charge you're battery but of course it won't help if you use the battery up by midnight. It's a tough question, propane is really the best bet. How do feel about a dog, they're very warm.

A dog!!

I was planning to do two 6v golf cart batteries but I understand that might be only triple the amp/hours

[MitchB]

I did some quick research, a small 12v heater runs at 250 to 300 watts, that's going to use 20 to 25 amps per hour so even the golf cart battery option is questionable.

[catmanriff]

hmmm,

might be portable buddy heater and learn to refill the alb tanks time.. 

[DavidM]

Trying to heat a camper with batteries is a losing proposition but it can be done for a short while, see below. I recommend sticking with the propane Buddy Heater. I wouldn't leave one on while I sleep, but I think that they are safe enough to keep you warm before bedtime.

For the geeky, here are the calcs about using two GC batteries for heating, assuming that you don't want to run them down below 50% for best life:

12 x 220 AHs x .5  1,300 watt hours. That will run your typical 1,500 watt electric heater for less than an hour. For comparison 1,300 watt hours is about 4,000 btu. A one pound propane cylinder will produce about five times that much heat. And those batteries weigh about 150 lbs!!!!

David

[catmanriff]

my Portable Buddy heater will do 4000 btu for six hours. So, that's a $3.50 per night heater. I have read a zillion reviews from people using in tents and popups as long as there is ventilation. We put ours on the sink, with the fan behind it and unzip about 6 inches of window on each side.

[charliem]

As DavidM says, heating with a battery, even with solar, is a non starter. You can't afford it, and even if you could, you couldn't haul it. Stick with propane. The best option is the available vented propane furnace supplied with larger trailers but the small portable catalytic heaters are an option if proper ventilation is provided. Most can be adapted to an external tank such as a 5 to 20 lb bottle. Lots cheaper than the 1 lb bottles.

[catmanriff]

catalytic, such as:

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-57331-Olympian-Wave-3-Catalytic/dp/B000BUV1RK/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1499979571&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=portable+catalytic+heater

So, could I plumb the quicksilver so that there could be something like a quick disconnect, maybe on the below the bed wall?

[charliem]

Yes but there are others available from Mr. Buddy, Mr. Heater and others. The one you cited needs low pressure gas so an external regulator is required. Most can be plumbed to an external tank either mounted on the tongue or simply set on the ground outside.

[Chappy133]

When we had our 6.0 I heated it with a Little Buddy heater and it worked very well. We did not sleep with it on since we have good winter sleeping bags (four years in Alaska will cause that) and CO scares me. They make an adapter to use with the big bottles too. I was impressed how quickly the little buddy heated up the tent. If you get a Buddy heater you can get a good heater for around $125.00 with no installation.

[DavidM]

If you use an adapter and hook up propane to your Buddy heater from a 20 lb tank, don't just put the tank inside the camper. That does not meet fire codes. Set the tank up outside and run a long hose through a window or underneath the canvas.

But in cold conditions a big 20 lb tank will provide lots of heat for days and is the simplest and cheapest way if you do not have permanent propane hooked up in your trailer.

David

[catmanriff]

how about:

http://www.eheat.com/envi-high-efficiency-whole-room-plug-in-electric-panel-heater-hh1012t/

interesting. 475 watts, slim profile, safe

[MitchB]

That's a pretty good option it appears, good find.

[charliem]

475 watts not going to do much in a tent. If you have shore power available go for the 1500 watt heaters. If not stay with propane.