How much temperature increase Wave3 heater?

[Gentle on my world]

I've got ~100 sq ft of space within my camper shell. With the temperatures at 40F and after 2.5 hours on the high setting of the Wave3, it raised the temp to 47F. Does this seem like a reasonable gain in temperature for this unit?

I've attached a picture of it operating on the High setting.

 

[rando]

I don't have direct experience with the Wave heaters, but what you are seeing seems to be a little low but generally consistent with other users:
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/heaters-comparative-data.219880/

The Wave 3 is only about 500 - 900W which is marginal to keep an uninsulated camper warm in anything but the mildest conditions. You would do much better with any of the forced air heaters.

 

[Ronin]

I had a Wave 3 in a previous FWC. Maybe you know this but the Wave heats objects, not the air. If I was sitting near it I felt the heat right away but the heat wouldn't make it's way to rest of the camper, especially to the cabover bed. I never felt comfortable running it for more than an hour even though I vented it by opening the roof vent. I have a Propex heater in my current rig and I get gentle warm air throughout the camper. My last trip I woke up to 34* temp and it took around 20 mins for the temp to get up to 43* which is as warm as I care to get. If I sit right in front of the vent I barely feel the heat compared to the Wave3. Just my non scientific experience.

 

[windy]

I’ve got a wave 3 in my van. It’s an inexpensive alternative to a forced air heater but requires many hours to heat up an amount of space. We pretty much have to leave it running all day to maintain warmth at night. (We don’t sleep with it on).

It also helps if your vent is down low instead of higher up (roof vent) in the camper.

 

[Machinebuilder]

I've done better with a 2 mantle coleman propane Lantern. They put out an incredible amount of heat.

Sometimes when you're cold you do anything.

 

[craig333]

Just don't touch the nut on the top until its COLD. That mark lasted a long time!

 

[Ronin]

Just don't touch the nut on the top until its COLD. That mark lasted a long time!

I did that 40 years or so ago and will never forget it! I have a battery Coleman lantern and still think about that time ever time I pick it up!

 

[Lighthawk]

We've used a Wave 3 in our Hawk for almost a decade. We recently replaced it when the output seemed diminished. The pad is sensitive to dust, so our new Wave has a "shower cap" we put on it when it's not in use, especially driving dusty roads.

That said, we have been satisfied with the quiet, steady heat and do sleep with the unit set on low with vents cracked up top and below.
Our rough rule of thumb is that the camper is 20F warmer inside than the outside temp. If it's 30F outside, then inside will be 50F.
If we're sitting up, watching a movie, we'll put it on high, until bedtime. Our dog loves the heat and has her bed on the floor off to the side. I've mounted the Wave below the factory "blower" furnace, which was the only place I could find that had the required clearances.

 

[Outnabout]

I did that 40 years or so ago and will never forget it! I have a battery Coleman lantern and still think about that time ever time I pick it up!

And then when you go outside...don’t lick the frosty door handle.

 

[SunMan]

For me, after 13 years of using the Wave 3 as my sole source of heat, in conjunction with reflectix on the canvas only, I average about a 30 degree difference from outside. On my most recent trip, I saw lows of 12, and inside the camper was 47. If it was 20ish, camper was 50ish. This is on the high setting, with no reflectix on any of the windows.

I’ll echo light hawk re: dust, the cover is important, and a small blast of compressed air from time to time.

 

[dr.tucson]

Return West
I had a small radiant heater I bought at Harbor Freight, it didn't even have a name on it. It worked really well, I used it in my 9x12 kitchen almost 10 years, it finally wore out. I bought the Wave3 hoping it would be as good. It did so little I returned it thinking it was defective, a replacement came the next day, and it was damaged, the thermocouple was way out of place. I almost thought Amazon shipped me one somebody else sent back that they just had hanging around. I readjusted the thermocouple and it worked, but was completely inadequate. One of their larger ones may be fine, but that Wave3 very wimpy. Maybe extremely wimpy is a better description.

 

[Occidental]

My experience is also that we can heat to 20 degrees F above outside temps. Maybe a bit more (5 to 10) with refletix on the pop up area.

 

[lostcreek]

There are many variables in heating a space, any judgement really needs to specify intended volume, hard or soft camper sides, ambient temps, expectations, personal comfort levels. I use a Wave3 in a small insulated-fabric popup (5.5 ft truck bed with overcab), and rarely park in less than 20F, almost always in dry Western US locations. Most of my use is at freezing or 40sF. The heater is located at center floor level, just right when sitting at the table, and between two venting locations.

It works very well for me, raising the camper temp from, say, 40 to 50 in about 15 minutes on high, and to 60 within the hour. The heater itself is robust providing it is maintained correctly: protect from dust (keep cover on when not in use), avoid jarring the thermocouple or other parts, ensure tight gas line connections. The built-in sparker occasionally does not work, but it's very easy to use a match or lighter.

 

[rando]

Is that one of the industrial heaters from McMaster?

If so, I would be very careful using either of those in a camper, I think they specifically say not for use in an house or RV. They are also huge heaters designed for a much larger space, even on low they are around 30,000 btu/h. Also they don't have any sort of oxygen depletion shut off. If you do decide to use it, make sure your CO detector is working, and I certainly would not run one while sleeping.