Using block heater wiring for your 120v power...

[Acheateaux]

Is there a way to use your bumper plug as your shore power plug in or is it better to wire your block heater in to run off some main power plug in that handles everything for your rig?

2000 E350 7.3l

Taking it down to the San Juan's for a ski trip and will be sleeping in it a bit. Was wanting to figure out a way to drive a small elec space heater to take the chill off and since I plug my block heater in anyways, I figured one cord would be better.

 

[Acheateaux]

Or am I better just running a splitter off the block plug in and shutting an extension cord in the door for this trip and figuring out something less ghetto at a later date?

 

[pugslyyy]

Often times those little electric heaters pull a lot of current. I probably wouldn't try to tap into the block power line, it probably was designed to have just the block heater pulling current through it. Better off running a sufficient gauge extension cord to a power strip and plugging both the block heater and the space heater in to the power strip.

I keep an electric heater in my TC set at 45 degrees, just to keep things from freezing up, but I put in a 30A outlet on the side of the house that I plug the rig into (I also like to keep the battery tenders running).

 

[Abitibi]

A better approach might be to have a dedicated shore power plug going to a breaker box then routing your block heater to that breaker box instead of at the bumper. That way you don't need to use two extension cords. That's how I'm building mine anyway. I'm using a Blusea panel with two 30 amps and four 15 amps breakers.

Does it make any sense? What I think and what I write sometimes gets lost in translation!

Cheers
Mr. D

Sent from my iPorn using Tapachat HD

 

[hobietony]

Or am I better just running a splitter off the block plug in and shutting an extension cord in the door for this trip and figuring out something less ghetto at a later date?

Yes

A better approach might be to have a dedicated shore power plug going to a breaker box then routing your block heater to that breaker box instead of at the bumper.

Yes