New Gadgheat

...well, a tad bigger than the standard gadget...guess my radiant personality was insufficient to heat the big rig. I know one thing---if you folks in Portland are missing your weather, I believe we have found it in Austin. Please come and retrieve it.

While we were in Pennsylvania back in September, our furnace thermostat had a hiccup which prompted the need for a backup plan in the event of a continuous interruption or if we were to unexpectedly be depleted of our propane (like happened to us just the other night as reported by our RV neighbors). Off to Target to purchase us a cubed style, electric heater. For $20, it held up well---for 3 months. However, most recently, we noticed the cord beginning to get super hot after about 40 minutes of continuous interruption. Not wanting to test our fire insurance, it was time to activate my God-given skill--Research!

We doubled the budget to $40, because we are big spenders like that, and began exploring. The Pelonis, 3 speed, oil-filled radiator heater from Home Depot seemed to be the best reviewed in this price range. Off to Home Depot we went where the fun began. The only Pelonis heater in stock was the cubed, fan style like we already had. However, they had one by Cuori that appeared to be identical to the Pelonis model that had been seen on the Home Depot website. Pulled out the wife's Smartphone to review the Cuori----nada---not even a mention of Cuori on Google. Hummm.

We pointed out the discrepancy to the first Home Depot employee and indicated to him the website said the store had 95 units in stock. He checked the SKU# on the display rack and confirmed they had 95 in stock--all Cuoris, not Pelonis. Took another peek at the Smartphone and sure enough--the Pelonis SKU# on line and Cuori's in store were both the same. This pretty much prompted a store emergency as 2 more employees arrived to sort through the confusion. When it was all said and done--"Not sure, but they appear to be the same unit" was the best response we could get. So did Cuori buy out Pelonis and someone missed the memo? Who knows, perhaps CUORI is Chinese for PELONIS.

Got her home and fired up--improvement by about 3-5 degrees! Again, it is oil heat, so it is not instantaneous. It takes about 30 minutes to get the oil in the fins warmed up enough to bring adequate heat to the rig. The benefits:

• Radiant heat---flowing out and up vs. the one direction of the cubed fan.
• When turning it OFF, metal fins stay warm for about 30 minutes vs. immediate loss of heat with fan style.
• Quiet--do not have to grab the TV remote control to raise the volume every time the thermostat kicks it on---it is a quiet "click".
• Energy efficient. Good option if you are in a metered electric site at an RV park.
• 3 settings allow us to keep it on Low--less amp draw.
• At $22 a bottle per 30 lb. propane tank, there will be some savings.
• When your RV laundromat dryer fails you, it can serve as a nice towel dryer backup.
• No noise at night when thermostat engages unlike the Space Shuttle launcher also known as an RV furnace.

Drawbacks:

• Unless you like the smell of burning dog fur or baby flesh, probably not the safest solution as the fins do heat up.
• The "radiator-look" does not bring as much ambiance as a fireplace (although the instruction manual describes it as "beautiful"--it seriously does).
• Does not give instant heat.
• Pretty bulky size which never bodes well for the limited space of an RV.

You have to be realistic when it comes to RV heat. As I have commented several times before, most units are not "four seasons" by design containing single pane windows and almost no insulation. I am guessing Jo-Ann's yarn section is the supplier for RV insulation. Our all aluminum frame is a temperature retainer---when it has been in the 40s-50s as highs for several days with zero heat from direct sun, guess what temperature your walls are at? FRIGID. As a matter of fact, I drank from a can of soda that I retrieved from the cabinet below the sink and hardly noticed any difference from refrigerator temp. On the other hand, we can now buy more refrigerated groceries and can serve as a backup morgue. Yes, optimism is a 2013 goal.

Our 9 month anniRVersary is 3 days away--same number of days it is predicted when we will have 20% chance of snow.....the journey continues...send heat.

UPDATE: Made $22 investment and have solved our heating challenges--finished Reflectix installation--what a difference!