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Old 09-22-2011, 10:22 AM   #1
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Anyone add a heat strip?

The camper is a 2003, it has a Coleman Mach 15K a/c with ducted vents. My local shop is checking with Coleman to see if I can add a heat strip but I figured I'd check with the experts on here.
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Old 09-22-2011, 08:32 PM   #2
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I'm a little confused what the purpose of the heat strip would be..., are you having an issue with the A/C that brought the heat strip in as a possible resolution?

Bob
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Old 09-22-2011, 10:17 PM   #3
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I've had them in the past and they don't really seem to put out much heat at all. Seems way more effective to to save some $$ and buy a couple 1500w space heaters and place them where you want them. At least that's what I've done.
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Old 09-22-2011, 10:21 PM   #4
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Rustic Eagle,

Heat strips are addons that go inside the AC housing and produce heat. I believe most are rated around 1500w which is standard for a space heater but I think the problem is the incoming fresh air blows across them too heavily for them to be very effective. Any I have had do ok if the outside temp is no colder than 55* or so. When it gets much colder than that they seem to blow mostly cool air.
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Old 09-22-2011, 10:44 PM   #5
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Bryan, as far as I know , if your trailer has ducted vents then the heat strip is not available for the air conditioner. As you probably know they are only made to take the chill off a room and not made to be used in place of a heater or furnace. I have the 15,ooo btu Mach. Our trailer is ducted and the heat strip is not available . I plan on using a ceramic heater when I need it. It's amazing how much propane I go thru in heating our trailer.
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Old 09-22-2011, 10:54 PM   #6
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Last year I ran a separate electric cord inside so the main breaker wouldn't flip when I would run our two forced air heaters. I would run the roof air fan on low to circulate. Worked well for us.
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Old 09-23-2011, 09:18 AM   #7
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Rustic Eagle, Heat strips are addons that go inside the AC housing and produce heat.....snip
Learn something new every day, never knew they existed for RV A/C's.

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Old 09-23-2011, 09:24 AM   #8
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I was a doubter as well. Until I slept in a camper with one. They put out way more heat than you would think. I know tlhdoc uses one and she camps all winter in PA. I had one added to my a.c. when I ordered my camper. They can be added on later. There was a post on one of the sites. I can't remember which one. If no luck here, try rv.net. Well worth the money.
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Old 09-23-2011, 10:52 AM   #9
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Not positive but my old rv with a Dometic AC had the heat strip option. I did not see it as a option on the Coleman AC.

I prefer a floor one that can be put where needed. We like to keep the camper on the crisp side.
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Old 09-23-2011, 04:39 PM   #10
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I've had them in the past and they don't really seem to put out much heat at all. Seems way more effective to to save some $$ and buy a couple 1500w space heaters and place them where you want them. At least that's what I've done.
That is what we do. Just make sure that the space heaters have a thermostat so you can adjust the temp. We also have a Kozy World catalytic heater for when electricity is to expensive.
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Old 09-23-2011, 06:14 PM   #11
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Much cheaper, easier, and probably warmer to buy a portable ceramic heater. Just one heater makes our camper toasty warm.
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Old 09-24-2011, 08:02 AM   #12
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CampingGirl,

I'm a little jealous. This spring (March/April in Missouri) we ran oil filled heaters in both the front and back bedrooms and a ceramic one in our main living area and still had the furnace cycle off and on quit a bit. Course I'm heating 36+ feet of camper with high ceilings. I personally don't think my 2011 holds the heat in nearly as well as our 98 Jayco Eagle did.
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Old 09-24-2011, 11:02 AM   #13
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CampingGirl,

I'm a little jealous. This spring (March/April in Missouri) we ran oil filled heaters in both the front and back bedrooms and a ceramic one in our main living area and still had the furnace cycle off and on quit a bit. Course I'm heating 36+ feet of camper with high ceilings. I personally don't think my 2011 holds the heat in nearly as well as our 98 Jayco Eagle did.

Wow. That's a lot of heaters ! I have a 26 foot and one heater does great, so I could only assume if i had an extra ten foot one more heater of similar size on the other end would do it. Mine must be very well insulated! Even in the 100 degree smeltering heat, and being parked in the sun, my AC kept it a cool 68 to 69 degrees inside, and all the while I was reading posts on forums where others couldn't get theirs below 80.
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Old 09-24-2011, 11:26 AM   #14
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We have the fireplace option and use a Vornado digital as a supplement in the bathroom. We have not camped in really cold weather yet so we will see how it does.
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Old 09-25-2011, 07:46 AM   #15
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Well we've camped when it was cold, at least as cold as it gets here in GA. The furnace is more than capable of keeping us warm but it can be too much sometimes and we don't use it that often. We have space heaters that we kept form our pop-up that had no furncae, I would just like a safer option for those mornings when we don't need a lot of heat, just enough to make getting out of the bed easier.

Why would the ducted a/c prevent the use of a heat strip? The ducts not capable of dealing with the heat? or because it loses too much of the heat by traveling through the ducts? I know it's no substitute for the propane furnace.
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Old 09-25-2011, 12:08 PM   #16
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We don't use the furnace very often because a lot of the heat goes into the belly of the trailer. We don't camp in really cold weather so we either use electric heaters or our catalytic heater. The fireplace does generate some heat but the space heaters are more efficient.
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Old 09-25-2011, 12:37 PM   #17
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I don't think the Coleman has an option to add the duct heater. Other than that, I see no reason why it could not be added.
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Old 09-25-2011, 08:13 PM   #18
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Nope...you are all correct - they are not an option for the ducted system.

I have heat strips in another vehicle that does not have ducted vents. It is actually kind of nice to take the nippiness out of the air. It has a pair of little mini diesel fired furnaces and they get really too hot, so sometimes it is nice just to circulate the stale air and add just a touch of heat.



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Old 09-28-2011, 05:31 AM   #19
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Well, I had the interior cover open last night to clean the filter. The interior of the unit has labels and wiring diagrams for a heat strip and shows which switches to use to run it. This of course makes me think it can be done. The build sheet for the TT also lists the unit as a "air conditioner / heat pump". What about the ducted system makes you not able to use a heat strip???
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Old 09-28-2011, 07:51 AM   #20
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Well, I had the interior cover open last night to clean the filter. The interior of the unit has labels and wiring diagrams for a heat strip and shows which switches to use to run it. This of course makes me think it can be done. The build sheet for the TT also lists the unit as a "air conditioner / heat pump". What about the ducted system makes you not able to use a heat strip???
Well I stand corrected! Every ducted system I have ever seen has said specifically they do not support heat strips; although I would verify with the manufacture that they do support heat strips in that configuration. I like them - if I had the option - I would add them as well!



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