Trying To Keep George Warm...

[mitch5252]

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Oh, good gracious, Li - I'm practically uninsultable...that's a word, I just know it is...

I just re-read my reply - it read kinda harsh and it was certainly not meant that way...

If only you could see the names Vickie calls me in emails...idiot is one of the nicer ones. Just sayin'...

Li, you are a new burst of goofiness here. Love it. Now just shut the hell up and get back to pickin' on Vickie. She needs it to keep her in line.

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[Bethers]

Thinkin' I'm sorry I tried to make this be sensible. I mean, it is Mitch's thread - what was I thinkin? Oh, right, I wasn't? Thinkin' that is.

[Forestgal]

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Ya know, Li, you're makin' me have to come up with a SHUT UP, LI sign...deep & heavy sigh...

Li, just in case you didn't know, my sweetie has/is developing Alzheimer's disease and he has become somewhat particular in his wants and needs. I said the same thing about the furnace...? ? ? His response - it's so noisy. (my unsaid thought - then come into the house and...well, there's no reasoning with someone in this state, eh?)

I, lacking the self-control that the disease requires for caregivers, started an argument. God intervened and told me to shut the F up. I did. So, I'm looking for alternatives that don't, well, push his buttons. (this is the man that can fall asleep in front of a blaring television that I can hear clear across the entire length of the house...) We do what we must.

I'm really grateful for the Tremor Tape or Waffling Wax or whatever the hell it was that I bought...

Mitch, one of the reasons not to run your furnace all night is that it'll suck your propane right out of your tanks in nothing flat. Plus, it's loud (gotta agree with DH on that point). I vote for a Snuggie to wrap him up in, along with a ceramic area heater. You might be able to get away with running that most of the night, but you might end up in an oven anyway. As for venting, I crack the Fantastic Fan -- it's high and because air rises it seems to do the trick for me. But here in the arid Southland we don't have to worry much about condensation big-time.

Good luck!

[VickieP]

Li, believe me, SHUT UP is one of Mitch's favorite sayings, I get a special email at least once a day with just those two words! And believe me when I say I do NOTHING to deserve it! I think her concern was what she would be able to do to keep the Mobile Marlin warm with just a regular house plug, not having a 30A outlet where they will be. Maybe George should start taking cayenne pepper pills.

[BirdbyBird]

I have to say that as long as I don't try to operate the microwave at the same time, I am able to operate a small electric heater off regular house current. That is all I had in Kalamazoo when I drove up for the dog show in Dec. Figure it really isn't much different than running the one back in my office area in the stick house. Besides saving the propane, I like that the electric heater provides a constant "white" noise that I can adjust to rather than the on and off again blasts of the propane furnace. The propane furnace does the best job of warming things up quickly though if the bus has gotten chilled..... Good luck with what ever you find to work with. Do you have family in St. Louis?

[mitch5252]

Do you have family in St. Louis?

Yes, my precious 79 year old sister, who we thought we were going to lose a couple of months back (rapidly accelerating Parkinson's Disease). She was scared and now she wants to get together with me and George, and our brother and his wife (54), whose breast cancer has metastasized to her bones and liver...how in the world could I say no, cold or not? I'm just waiting for a phone call as to "when"...

George may grouse, but he IS going and he WILL live through it!

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[Marslet]

you need to use your heater on propane, I am not sure you could use an electric blanket because I know nothing about them except I hate them. and not sure it wouldn't pull too much juice and blow a circuit. But I believe that as cold as it is gonna be in St. Louis, then George may change his mind about snuggling. He might snuggle, or freeze his little booty off.
Seriously, Mitch, you can set your heater on such a low setting that it will come on only to keep the two of you from freezing to death at night. Another thought is real serious sleeping bags that can be unzipped and spread over the bed for good warmth.
Whatever you choose, have a wonderful visit with your family and please be very careful on the road. Will be keeping you and George in my prayers.

[BarbaraRose]

Mitch, it sounds like you and your family need some serious quality time together. You all have some major health issues going on to deal with and sharing time together will help you all thru that, with each other's support. Hopefully, you and George can keep warm! I don't think electric blankets use that much electricity. I personally prefer electric mattress covers but they can cost more than the blankets. Now if they made an electric Snuggle blanket, that would be perfect for him!

[rvgrammy1953]

The Sultan "Mister Ice Water for Blood" insists on having an electric blanket. duel controls as I don't freeze like he does. No problems with pulling too much "juice' on the electric....we also run 2 small electric heaters on cold nights, un-plugging 1 in the morning to run the coffee pot...but must clarify that 1 heater runs off the camper and the other runs off the 110 from the hookup pedestal....via a surge bar & extension cord.....agree that the propane furnace helps heat things up quickly in the morning, then we turn it way down.....works for us...

[Redetotry]

While looking at electric mattress pads recently I found that they are making options for those and electric blankets. They cost a bit more but sound much better and they don't use much current as they convert from AC to DC for low voltage.

I found the following info on a site called Cozy Winters, I've seen them for sale at several other places.

"How does the NEW low voltage Safe & Warm technology work?
Our new low-voltage blanket includes a power supply box that changes 120 volt AC current (normal household current in North America) into non-hazardous low voltage DC current (similar to a battery) to provide protection and safety. The power supply box is approximately 8.625"L x 2.5"D x 3"H. The most convenient location for the box is normally on the floor close to the head of the bed."

Many people were hesitant to use electric blankets because of exposure to high electromagnetic radiation. I don't understand exactly if RV's are AC or DC or if they are both, but this sounds like it would be a good thing.

[OutandAbout]

Some thermal underwear will also be good to help your sweetie keep warm. I have several tops that I wear around the house in winter and actually keep the heat lower, cause I'm all toasty. There are also socks and hand warmers available. Most of these items are not at all bulky and can be worn under other clothes or by themselves. Just another thought. Linda

[carold]

With all these possibilities, Mitch, you just might have a George that's HOT, HOT, HOT carold (tried to make HOT---red, but I'm computer illiterate)

[mitch5252]

With all these possibilities, Mitch, you just might have a George that's HOT, HOT, HOT carold (tried to make HOT---red, but I'm computer illiterate)

Oh, Carold - PUH-leez - BITE YOUR TONGUE!!!

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[Echo]

Hey Mitch, when Kelly and I lived in the tents in October in TN and then again last winter in Blythe believe me it got down right freaking chilly in both places. In TN it got down to 12 degrees and in Blythe it would get to mid to low 20's.

For me I had fleece material that I was gonna make stuff with. I ended up using one length on top of a comforter that I had on the air mattress and one length over me as a top sheet. You wont have to have the comforter under the f Then I had a fleece blanket and a couple of light wool blankets, a fuzzy throw blanket and a thin sleeping bag all over top of me. Good grief did that keep me warm. The fleece as sheets don't get anywhere near as cold as regular sheets and warm up with body heat super quick!!! Kelly was bound and determined to sleep on her air mattress with just a thin blanket on it. Dummy kid, tried to tell her that with the air mattress there was no insulation between her and the ground. She finally listened and put a fuzzy throw under her and a blanket inside her sleeping bag. She was then toasty warm.

Using an electric heater on 110 is good. We are using two in here but they also have their own heavy duty extension cords and are plugged in to seperate 110 outlets on the electric posts. Doing it that way for us was much easier than plugging one into the camper and maybe popping the breaker on the 30amp hook up. But I was told that the electric power supply here isn't that good so I guess we did the best thing all the way around by plugging them in 'outside' Actually right now I have one heater and the heat tape plugged into the same 110 outlet. A heat tape would have to be about the same as a ele blanket, low draw on the power source.

[Acadianmom]

I don't think electric blankets use much electricity. I have an electric throw that I use in my motorhome. It's a good size for a single bed and to sit with it over your lap. The only bad thing is that they cost almost as much a the blankets unless you can find one on sale.

If you have one of those voltage meters that you can plug in your trailer you will be able to see if you are using too much electricity.

Martha