using electric blanket

[bevis]

has anyone used an electric blanket at night while at anchor running off the inverter

 

[BradOwens]

We have the diesel furnace on our boat, so haven't tried an electric blanket, but I think it would be too big a draw on the batteries. Our general rule is to never use the inverter unless the engine is running to keep the batteries charged. If you have a generator on the other hand, that would work too.

What I have done on camping trips where I don't have a heat source is heat up a frying pan on the fire (or stove), then rub that across the sheets to warm them up. Crawl into bed with a good blanket to hold in the heat and you should be good all night.

 

[baz]

We use hot water bottles to keep extra toasty as necessary. 😱

 

[Romakeme IV]

I have used them - not too big a draw on low - you can use a kil o watt meter to check draw. The cheap ones (Sunbeam) cannot be used with a modified sine wave invertor. The invertor will damage the controller. I destroyed 2 blankets before I figured out why. You have to either use a true sine wave invertor or buy a blanket called Soft Heat. They apparently will operate on a modified sine wave without damage to the control unit. You can google information on this. You can also buy blankets that operate on 12 volts - used by truck drivers.

Regards, Rob

 

[NorthernFocus]

The first mate and I got a kick out of this thread. We both grew up in South Carolina but have acclimated to high latitudes so much that when we're anchored in 45 degree waters and with air temps in the 40s we don't even run the heater at night. Typically we even have the forward hatch cracked a bit.

Afraid I can't offer any advice on the blanket... :lol: