Kampa Cuboid - great little heater

MattBW · Dec 12, 2018

At the club meet at the shop I picked up one of these for the camper with the plan to test it out and maybe do a little video.

We do have a parking heater but when we have hookup we certainly don't want to use up our diesel when there is no need.

This little beauty is a real winner and I am really wishing I had heeded others recommendations of these long ago. In fact its so effective I've even used it to heat a room at home that was a bit chilly something my small oil filled radiator can't do. It has a fan function, a 750w setting and a 1500w setting. Instantly hot too.

It also has an anti tip function so that if it gets knocked over it shuts off, very good feature.

I am going to make a little timelapse video about it for the club channel my plan is to put a little temp gauge in the van and a clock to show how quickly it warms up the space. Is there anything else folks would find useful in a review of the cuboid? Looks like its getting colder this weekend so the plan is to do it then.

calikev · Dec 12, 2018

maybe a review of the best place to stand it

MattBW · Dec 12, 2018

Ok, will only be able to do that for a beach unless we have a local ocean person will to give it a little go. Another great thing I've noticed is the only part that gets hot is behind the grill meaning it can stand most places as long as the front isn't blocked. Cool to touch and safe.

calikev · Dec 12, 2018

yes i had mine on the front seat

MattBW · Jan 30, 2019

Any Ocean or SE owners out there who have one of these willing to share any photos of the little Cuboid in their camper for a club video?

Planning to release a video this sunday for the Cuboid and a windscreen cover and could do with a photo of it in an Ocean for completeness.

MattBW · Feb 7, 2019

calikev · Feb 7, 2019

i have one of these in my beach it sits happily on the passenger seat as matt says the case doesn't get hot. great little addition to my winter camping

MarkVw2017 · Feb 7, 2019

Great matt, my next thread was going to be about how to heat a beach on hook up because i havent a parking heater. Great review. Thanks @MattBW and will now defo get one of these. look forward to your next review on the pop top cover. Mark

kp64zl · Feb 7, 2019

How does this compare in utility to the little oil filled radiator? (which would be quieter )

MattBW · Feb 7, 2019

An oil filled is indeed much quieter than a fan based heater but will take longer to have effect. I have always found my little 500w oil filled radiator would take the edge off any cold, raising temp by 10 or 12c (the coldest Ive used it in was about -5c) but not really heat the van up so you feel very warm. I think without a topper much of the heat can escape through the poptop, which supports the ISOTOP or external topper. I'll know more once I install that this weekend.

This and a 500w rad are similar sizes. My personal view based is you would need a bigger 1000w or higher in an oil filled to be really effective at getting the van warm but even then it will be a lot slower.

For me if you want instant heat and don't mind a fan then the cuboid is better, if you want silence then oil filled. I've not used a bigger radiator so would welcome others thoughts on them.

acer · Apr 14, 2019

I'm really tempted by this.

Do you know how long the lead is? I'd like to be flexible about where it is placed depending on how we happen to be camping.

It would be good the hear exactly how loud the fan noise is. Is it comparable to the noise from the diesel heater for example?

And, is the fan as noisy when there is no heating selected i.e when using to cool the van? We have used a fan all night long when sleeping on the lower level in the summer. This gadget might therefore earn its place in the van year round!

CannonDale · Apr 14, 2019

Anyone know which makes less noise, Kampa Diddy or Cuboid. I am also looking at the ecomat 2000 but don't really want to spend £350 on an electric fan heater unless it is almost silent.

Nolan · Apr 14, 2019

We've got the cuboid and you can hear it but I don't find it particularly loud.

We camped in the Peaks last weekend and it kept the van really warm at night. We put it between the front seats facing the rear of the van. On the low heat setting it ran for a while at night, on the high heat setting it hit the required setting faster and stopped.

For the money it's great, compact, easy to carry, I can't imagine a better heater to use on hookup.

acer · Apr 15, 2019

CannonDale said:
Anyone know which makes less noise, Kampa Diddy or Cuboid. I am also looking at the ecomat 2000 but don't really want to spend £350 on an electric fan heater unless it is almost silent.

Agree.
The quietest, safe, tiny fan heater under £50 is top of my current shopping list.

MattBW · Apr 15, 2019

Cable is 58inches or 1.52m

Fan noise is the same speed in all settings, and quieter than my webasto but it may depend how sensitive to noise you are.

I’ve not tried a diddy sorry.

acer · Apr 15, 2019

MattBW said:
Cable is 58inches or 1.52m

Fan noise is the same speed in all settings, and quieter than my webasto but it may depend how sensitive to noise you are.

I’ve not tried a diddy sorry.

Many thanks. I guess you could get used to a constant fan noise - it might just be the stop and start that would wake me.

MattBW · Apr 15, 2019

It will only stop and start if you use the thermostat.

acer · Apr 15, 2019

MattBW said:
It will only stop and start if you use the thermostat.

Yes, many thanks Matt. And actually, I guess if it is to be the stop and start that wakes you up, then set it to stay on and remove duvet / sleeping bag etc. Now, to find the quietest one without ordering 3

MattBW · Apr 15, 2019

I did measure the dB of the cuboid but didn't include it in the video just because I wasnt sure how valuable it would be. Close up it was about 54-58dB dropped to about 50dB at a few feet away. That is the same noise level as your average home apparently.