Many RV manufacturers have been installing fake fireplaces in their RV floor plans. These are really nice for atmosphere and they actually give off heat.
They also take up space that could be used for storage and most folks don't use them much. Another drawback is they use a lot of propane gas but so does your furnace. (If they are the electric models they also draw a lot of electricity - hat tip to the folks contributing in the comments section).
When you're buying an RV the manufacturers are selling you a dream. They're promoting an idea of home and hearth, warmth and romance, luxury and leisure. The fake fireplace helps to sell these units otherwise they wouldn't include them. If you want the fun of the fake fireplace, then by all means, pick one of these units.
If you want efficient cost effective heat then have a catalytic heater installed instead.
These units will warm your RV much more efficiently and be more cost effective though less romantic. We had these fake fireplaces in our last two stick houses and only used them three or four times. Those of you who have these units in your RV's please tell us if you think they are worth having. Tell us what you think by clicking on the light blue "comments" section below. Helping you get the right options in your next RV - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing
Many RV manufacturers have been installing fake fireplaces in their RV floor plans. These are really nice for atmosphere and they actually give off heat.
They also take up space that could be used for storage and most folks don't use them much. Another drawback is they use a lot of propane gas but so does your furnace. (If they are the electric models they also draw a lot of electricity - hat tip to the folks contributing in the comments section).
When you're buying an RV the manufacturers are selling you a dream. They're promoting an idea of home and hearth, warmth and romance, luxury and leisure. The fake fireplace helps to sell these units otherwise they wouldn't include them. If you want the fun of the fake fireplace, then by all means, pick one of these units. 
If you want efficient cost effective heat then have a catalytic heater installed instead. 
These units will warm your RV much more efficiently and be more cost effective though less romantic. We had these fake fireplaces in our last two stick houses and only used them three or four times. Those of you who have these units in your RV's please tell us if you think they are worth having. Tell us what you think by clicking on the light blue "comments" section below. Helping you get the right options in your next RV - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing
23 comments:
A friend has a small residential propane fireplace in his RV. He retrofitted it. It works well and he uses it instead of the furnace. Ambiance and effective heat at the same time.
This is NOT the typical RV fireplace. It is vented directly to the outside, so it is fairly efficient. Nice touch, if you like that sort of thing and have the space....
Jack Mayer
We love our fireplace....it's electric.
We have an Allegro Bus with a small fireplace, but ours is Electric and it throws a lot of heat. My better half would much rather use this as an instant heater in the morning than to fire up either the furnace or the heat pump - We love it.
Our fireplace is electric. We use it often in the spring and fall, sometimes in conujunction with a small ceramic heater. I have never seen a fireplace in a camper that is propane powered. Our electric one works great. Worth the extra cost?...probably not, but still an awfully nice touch to sit and watch and gain some benefits from while confined to the inside.
We plan to get a 5th wheel for full timing after I retire in a few years. In our home of 25+ years we had a real wood burning fireplace which we enjoyed more in the past than we do now. We havn't had a fire for several years, just no desire either for heat or for atmosphere. In my dream 5th wheel there will be no electric or propane fireplace, even if it were offered for free. The extra space is more important for us. If we want a fire it will be a real fire, outside, made of wood.
We had an electric one in our fiver and enjoyed it very much. It was very authentic and had a thermostat. It could be used with or without the heater function. We used it to take the chill off in the mornings when necessary. We were not full timers at the time and when be moved to our motor home to be full timers we did not put one in as we felt the need for storage space out weighted the benefits of the fireplace.
While staying at RV parks, we use our electric fireplace heater to level off the inside temperature during cool, mild outside weather.
We save having to re-fill our gas bottles as often by using it instead of the gas furnace.
We have an electric fireplace and use it every day. Even if we don't need the heat, we turn the lights on. I would not buy another rv without one. It warms the living area and lets us keep the bedroom area cool which is how we like it. We keep the gas furnace set at 65 to 67 and with the fireplace on, the furnace rarely turns on.
A great feature!!
With the CCC of most RVs being very slim, one more compartment just means more chance of being overloaded. My Fiver is loaded right up to the max weight for our 4 months as Winter Texans and my compartments are nowhere close to being full. We love our electric fireplace and use it on a regular basis on cool mornings or evenings. We would recommend one of these units to anyone. Sure save a lot of $3.00 per gallon propane also.
We love our electric fireplace by Dimplex. It's thermostatically controlled and gives off sufficient heat to keep the rig comfortable in conjunction with a cube heater in the bedroom on all but the coldest nights. The "ambiance" added by the flames is a wonderful touch while watching TV in the evening.
Apparently we don't miss the storage space, since we've added over 4,000# to our Carriage Cameo. :-)
Fred Wishnie
2006 Carriage Cameo 35KS3 - 2006 Ford F350 diesel dually
Blog- http://www.mytripjournal.com/WanderingWishnies
We have an electric fireplace and use it regularly to trim the use of the propane furnace. We are full time and need to keep the expenses down, electricity is included with the site, propane is not!
We have an electric fireplace in our 5er that we enjoy very much especially on those cold rainy days/nights. Gives you a sense of well being.Saves on the propane too.
We have an electric fireplace in our 5th Wheel and we love it. It takes the chill off on many mornings and evenings without having to fire up the propane heater.
Robert & Natalia Terrill
We have two electric fireplaces in our 5er, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. They cannot be operated simultaneously. We absolutely love them! They do a very good job of warming up the rooms and definitely save on the propane.
We love ours. Takes the chill off in the morning and evening. In the evening it radiats the heat up to the bedroom so it is toasty when its time to go to bed.Cheaper than propane when we are hooked up to 59A.
We bought a portable electric fireplace that heats &/or displays flames and has a thermostat. We love it & use it regularly - either for heat or atmosphere or both. It doesn't take up much space as it travels under our dining room table & can be placed just about anywhere depending on our furniture layout at the time.
Can anyone tell me what rv the 3rd picture down is? I know I've seen that layout before and I can't for the life of me remember what it is?
Thanks in advance
We have one in the living room of our 5er, debated if we should order it in our new unit. Sure glad we did, it's electric, thermostatic controlled, can be used with or without heat. Not only is it very relaxing to sit by, on our trip out west early this spring, sure was comforting.
If you get up in the middle of the night as I sometimes do to watch tv or do crosswords, you don't have to heat the whole rig.
See...not everyone measures things by how much they cost. Talk about a one side article. Come on just tell us about whater it is that you are writing about and don't interject your own "feelings" about it. Why not tell how the difference between electric and propane in heating therms or size of unit and which one works better (from a professionals point of view).
"C" --The unit in Pix #5 was in an issue (RVtravel), about heaters or something, about 5 issues ago. Don't remember which one. sat Buzz
I have 2 different heaters in 2 different trailers. The Olympia Wave 6 which is a catalytic unit in a 30' TT and a Comfort Soft (I think that's the name) ceramic unit in a 24' TT. I crack the overhead vent about 1/4" for both units for an air supply. They are both approximately the same size but the ceramic unit is by far the better unit putting out enough heat that I only use one burner. In 2 years the catalytic unit has such reduced efficiency and only partial burn that we quit using it because of the odor. I would not waste money on a catalytic unit again and plan on replacing it with a ceramic type.
We bought a 2006 Cedar Creek last year and really liked the electric fireplace. We got it home and found the fireplace didn't work. While we were uninstalling it, we found that it had chard and burnt the oak cabinet it was installed in. There was no heat shield around the unit and it had gotten too Hot! We will not install another fireplace. I would like to warn other RV'rs about this problem. Beware and check your unit. If it looks a little dark on the cabinet it is in, it is probably burned on the inside. We don't want anyone hurt! Friends
I installed a Vented Cat Heater in a 1969 20 foot Shasta after the orginal heater went south on me. It was Ok for mild Western Washington. But was no good during 1990 - 1993 Winters in Eastern Washington. Was so cold that frost was forming on the walls. -13 degrees for one week. It really needed a forced air furnace installed.
Eric
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