Electric Radiant Floor heat? Pros and Cons

[gbowman]

I wanted some feed back on using radiant floor heat to heat my trailer. 7x7x16. i have to leave it at times for a few days and i need something that is safe to leave on so that pipes don’t freeze.
Has anyone done this?
Will it be enough to heat the whole trailer to a comfortable temp or just to keep things from freezing?
could it be installed underneath the trailer against the 3/4 plywood?

one thing i like about this Cargo Trailer conversion is being able to think outside the box. try things and see how they work.

[John61CT]

Not suitable away from shore power.

There are 12V pipe wraps, but only if your winter solar power is greater than what they consume.

A passive solar tgermal setup would work fine if stationary, too heavy to cart around.

Diesel, gasoline or propane parking heaters, both air blower and water circulating, can be very efficient, but expensive.

[Rainier70]

If you just want a safe heater to leave on, look at the oil filled electric radiators. I think Walmart carries them.

[John61CT]

OP needs to state if we're talking shore power available or not.

[McDave]

If you just want a safe heater to leave on, look at the oil filled electric radiators. I think Walmart carries them.

+1
I had completely forgot about those till I read Hanks post, but they work very well and no moving parts or permanent install. Quick and easy way to have heat if on shore power.

McDave

[McDave]

Radiant floor heat coils for bathrooms are typically 300 watts and 2-3 ft wide x 10 ft long. 300 watts is not a ton of heat but floor heat relies on mass to do a lot of work with little heat. They are slow to heat up but once warm they heat everything in the room, all the fixtures and furniture etc. above floor level are heated, and the heat isn't all at ceiling.
The coil would have to be inside with a moisture barrier between plywood and coil, then some sort flooring like a floating "wood" floor or tile. You would probably want to thinset the top of the coils to have a flat floor before flooring, also to add mass and spread the heat out. Also waterproofing the underside would be best, Rhinoliner etc. and insulating and skirting would be a huge help. But the heat is really nice, warm feet and the heat comes up past you as it rises, it is usually warmer at floor (where you are) than at ceiling (where you are not). If your pipes are all inside and you keep it around 50f then all should be ok. I can't tell you if it would work because there are a lot of variables I don't know, r-value of insulation, how much loss, location and expected lowest temps etc.
I have hot water radiant floor heat in my house and I love it, very efficient and silent but it does react slowly. You need to anticipate demand by OAT (outside air temp) and loss rate. But lets just say you have 1500 lbs of payload warmed up to 72f, it will take quite a while to cool off if OAT is 30f but not a lot to maintain 72f. When OAT starts to rise you need to anticipate and cut back heat so as not to overheat. Remember, you are heating mass not air. Mass reacts slowly.

McDave

[John61CT]

It's a waste keeping the whole van warm if all you want is to keep waterpipes from freezing.

I would go with the 12V pipe wrap / heating tape.

If on shore power, just keep a good charger on the bank.

[gbowman]

I went to Lowes and got a nice flat wall mount. After 3hr of trying different locations, I decided it wouldn't work because of proximity to other items, bed, electrical outlets, ceiling.
I ended up purchasing a Duraflame 5200 BTU infrared quartz electric heater. First night I used it, I LOVED IT!!! Made the trailer so comfortable and I felt safe because it only gets house where the heat is blowing out. Sides, back, and top all touchable. I'm thinking I can enclose it as long as the back and front remain open to airflow.

I would like to try the radiate floor heating at some point. Maybe!! just for the installation experience. For me one of the reasons for doing this conversion is to learn and try new things.

PEX tubing is what I am using for my plumbing inside. So putting heat tape is the other option. Like was mentioned it would be the easiest and least expensive of all the options for when temps drop.

[flboy]

Why not just put a low point valve and drain the pipes before you leave? I put an air valve on plumbing in the old camp to blow out the water to the low point valve. It literally only takes a few minutes. Not that much to drain in a ctc. Would only take a minute to drain them.. then pour antifreeze in the drain for the sink trap. Then no worries if you are gone and power goes out or etc..

Aside from that, the radiant oil electric heater works great.

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