Does anyone use electric heaters sometimes ?

[Robbie]

Just curious, who uses smaller electric heaters as a source of heat sometimes when your not quite ready for wood ?

If so, what brand of heater do you use ?

I use only two brands, pelonis and markel heaters.

These are used in early fall and spring to knock the chill off right before and after we start and finish burning wood.

The two brands mentioned above have been the best I have ever found, though we don't leave them running at night, I would trust them to be safe to do so.

One other note, the older pelonis heaters seem to be some of the best, and all markel heaters are great.

Oh, the key to your heaters working safely and effective is simple, vaccum the air intake or filters at least once a season and lubricate the fan shaft "if" you can get to it.





Robbie

 

[Todd]

My daughter is always complaining that her bedroom is cold as soon as it dips below 70, so I put one of those electric oil filled radiator space heaters in her room. Other than that I try to heat as much with wood as possible.

 

[bcnu]

I'm going to need a space heater or two in the basement this winter. It only gets heat from the oil furnace and I don't plan to use it much - if at all. We may rent out the basement area so I would need something. I'll look into the two brands you mention. I can't remember the one Paul Harvey has advertised - EdenPure?? I read a bunch on the web and it sounded too good to be true. And, a few people said just that. On the other hand I've heard they may be good...but at $400 I don't think I want to find out.

 

[littlesmokey]

I'm going to need a space heater or two in the basement this winter. It only gets heat from the oil furnace and I don't plan to use it much - if at all. We may rent out the basement area so I would need something. I'll look into the two brands you mention. I can't remember the one Paul Harvey has advertised - EdenPure?? I read a bunch on the web and it sounded too good to be true. And, a few people said just that. On the other hand I've heard they may be good...but at $400 I don't think I want to find out.

Just a thought, look into a company called Intertherm. They make a baseboard heating system that is liquid filled and electric heated. It is the same system as a hotwater base board heater, but self contained. Very efficient and reasonably priced. Haven't used them for years, but I heated an 1860's farm house 1/2 forced air, half Intertherm. Think they or the ceramic heaters are the only way to go with space supplements. I use a couple sometimes at home.

 

[wg_bent]

correct me if I'm wrong here, but aren't all electric heaters nearly 100% efficient? If that's the case, then wouldn't the cheapest walmart special do the same job as an expensive one from sharper image?

 

[Highbeam]

correct me if I'm wrong here, but aren't all electric heaters nearly 100% efficient? If that's the case, then wouldn't the cheapest walmart special do the same job as an expensive one from sharper image?

Yes, dollars per btu is the same. Quality differences may result is quieter running or longer life before failure but I have found the smallest walmart cube type ceramic heaters are perfect in a small package and they all seem to suck 1500 watts on high which is about 15 amps which is about what a typical household circuit can provide.

If you have an area that needs this type of heat regularly then I would seriously consider the plain cheapy cadet style wall heaters. Also electric but thermostatic, off the floor, and hardwired to minimize the risk of fires. Lots of folks die from portable space heaters every year. My house was built to be heated with 100% wall heaters so they are 220 volt and in every room, each room with its own thermostat to control its heater. Slick deal and allows maximum temperature control in regards to zoning. They are not silent but pretty dang quiet and last decades.

In regards to the original post... even with the wood stove cranking the stove room up to 75, the back rooms are too cool to expect my 1 and 4 year old daughters to sleep so those rooms are supplemented by the wall heaters.

 

[smirnov3]

Yeah, all electric heaters are close to 100% efficient, but how they distribute the heat can make a differance: ie fans make noise. Also, if the heating elements get very hot in that model, they will burn any dust / hair that falls in, which smells bad (and, in extreme cases, can be a fire hazard)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We use the pelonis heater in the bathroom before showering when it is cool but not quite cool enough to start the stove.

One winter, in January, one of the power sub stations near us blew out something. It took 3 days to get it fixed so many were without power, including us. Fortunately this happened during a brief January thaw but it still got pretty cold at night. The last day also ended the thaw but fortunately they got it going before dark. To heat our house, we used two pelonis heaters and got along just fine. The coolest it got inside was around 60 degrees. Worked like a charm.

 

[fbelec]

all electric heaters are 100 % eff. doesn't mean the fuel you feed it is cheap.
but if they run fans that take more. anton got it right how they distribute the heat is the key. i install baseboard electric heat in homes and it seems watt per watt baseboard seems to do the job better. quieter. more expensive to install but highly reliable. and i've seen (not that i tell people it's ok to do so) beds and sofa's moved up against a baseboard heater and no fire. try that with a ceramic or quartz or cube heater and you'll be calling the insurance people with a claim. but in my opinion the best electric heater out there are those oil filled radiators. i got one in my basement office for when it gets abit to chilly. they have 600, 900, 1500 watt setting and a thermostat.
and if you you are to close to something there is no worry. and to boot no sound other than the click of the thermostat. my 12 by 14 office here in the basement takes 600 watt setting with ease. it cost me cheaper to use the oil radiator than the ceramic cube heater.

just how it is for me
frank

 

[BrotherBart]

all electric heaters are 100 % eff. doesn't mean the fuel you feed it is cheap.
but if they run fans that take more. anton got it right how they distribute the heat is the key. i install baseboard electric heat in homes and it seems watt per watt baseboard seems to do the job better. quieter. more expensive to install but highly reliable. and i've seen (not that i tell people it's ok to do so) beds and sofa's moved up against a baseboard heater and no fire. try that with a ceramic or quartz or cube heater and you'll be calling the insurance people with a claim. but in my opinion the best electric heater out there are those oil filled radiators. i got one in my basement office for when it gets abit to chilly. they have 600, 900, 1500 watt setting and a thermostat.
and if you you are to close to something there is no worry. and to boot no sound other than the click of the thermostat. my 12 by 14 office here in the basement takes 600 watt setting with ease. it cost me cheaper to use the oil radiator than the ceramic cube heater.

just how it is for me
frank

I agree. That is why when Lowes put the DeLonghi oil filleds on for $17.50 apiece to clear them out last spring I bought one for every room in the house for back up heat. And a few extra for spares since I can't send one back for warranty work for $17.50.

Essentially I got a whole house heating setup for $175. I just don't have the guts to try heating the place exclusively with them for a few days to see what the electric bill would be.

 

[fbelec]

i bought mine at the same time at home depot for 14.95 got the last one they had.
you could have a heater for every room but you would have to be careful on how the house was wired. if some of the rooms share the same circuit. if so that's where the 3 heat settings are good for.

 

[bcnu]

Lived in an older house years ago with baseboard heaters. They were filled with water or something and did a great job. Just sold our recent home which had zone heating with the cadet in wall heaters. They were ok for smaller rooms but we could never get the living room/kitchen area warmed up. Had an exsisting chase and went with a pellet stove. Made good sense and gave good heat. Our current home has a new Hearthstone Homestead waiting to be fired up and lots of wood available.

But for the basement - - - two bedrooms and radiator type will do fine. However, the main living area is about 900 sq ft. of open space with low ceilings. There is insulation between ceiling and main floor. Sounds like an oil filled baseboard might be good. We won't use this space unless we rent it out - so someone else would pay the bill.

I've looked into the oil burning units ie Monitor brand, that take a separate outside tank. They would seem to do well in a smaller area but again, at $ 1200-1400 it seems too expensive.

 

[BrotherBart]

i bought mine at the same time at home depot for 14.95 got the last one they had.
you could have a heater for every room but you would have to be careful on how the house was wired. if some of the rooms share the same circuit. if so that's where the 3 heat settings are good for.

Yep picked up two of those Pelonis oil filled $14.95 units at HD a couple of days later. Those are the backups. I hear ya on the wiring. Tis a concern but I don't see them cranking all at once anyway. That be what the nine cords out back and two stoves in the house are for. The key reason for the heaters is in case I can't get back to the house at stove feeding time or if something happened to me. The little brown haired girl would have heat.

The DeLongis have an "anti-freeze" setting where they automatically come on at thirty-four degrees and I leave them set on "anti-freeze" at 600 watts and forget about'em.

 

[Sandor]

I really wonder how people made it before electricity was universally available.

Maybe they wore more clothes.

When the kids are bitchin about a cold room, I tell them to put sweatpants on over the shorts, and a sweatshirt over the Tshirt. The other option is to go out and split/stack wood, so they wear more clothes and clam up.

Other than that, I replaced the through-the-wall A/C unit with an Energy Star Heat Pump. Tested it out this past spring, and it worked like a champ to take the chill off.

 

[BrotherBart]

I really wonder how people made it before electricity was universally available.

Well I know how one guy did it in Carbon, Texas back then. Before he went to bed grandpa would fill a bucket with coals from the fireplace and put it in the bedroom with the five boys for heat for the night. Then fill another one for the bedroom with the three girls.

And yes, he raised a big family because he needed the field hands. He quit farming when tractors made it where he couldn't make a living with the mules. Refused to buy a tractor.

And people wonder where my hard-headedness comes from. Hmmm...

 

[begreen]

I have an older Braun heater in my office and often use it instead of heating up the whole house. It has a fan, but is virtually silent. I also like it because it has a 500w setting which is all I use. I found it through the boating community. They are virtually tip-proof and great for keeping boat interiors dry. Ours is very well made and rugged, yet still stylish after 15 years.

The problem is they are now hard to find, but it looks just like the older Caframo heater and I suspect they took over this line of products from Braun. The new 9206 model is a bit higher wattage on low (600w) but still looks similar.

(broken link removed to http://www.caframo.com/heaters.htm)

 

[Robbie]

Great replies and great info.

I am a heater nut I guess. I've been "piddling" with heaters for a long time and have found that most will run almost forever if cleaned occasionally.

Below are some links of my favorite heater types and brands.

One of my favorites by far because of size and reliability is the older type pelonis in the link below and it is much harder to find now and generally cost about $75 if you can find one of the brown metal ones left in a store somewhere.

I recently bought "several" on ebay from $30 up to $80 for a few
in the box older models.

(broken link removed to http://tinyurl.com/2mx257) (Tiny by Mo. Tiny yourself at http://TinyURL.com )

Markel heaters or TPI industries in Johson city Tennessee, just so happens to be located fairly close to me, one of the best heaters in the world and really put out the heat..........super safe and dependable. You can find them almost new on ebay for very little sometimes. I just bought 2 NIB for around $30 each sometime back.

One markel will easily heat my home (1850 sq ft. to about 76 degrees) with temps outside in the low 40s.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000GBLXFE/ref=nosim/ablestuff-20

One last note, those who use smaller heaters need to occasionally unplug them for a moment and check the plug prongs for excessive heat and if it is too hot to touch, there is a problem that needs to be looked at soon.

This could mean the motor is clogged with lint or dust and maybe causing heat build up in the plug because it is straining to turn the motor and heat the elements.




Robbie

 

[spot]

I use the small, cheap, ceramic-cube heaters and I swear by them!
They are, first of all - cheap to buy (10 - 20 bucks).
They are quiet, well ... quiet enough.
They are cool to the touch seconds after they shut off.
And most of all, they work! They really keep a (formerly) cold room comfortable.
Now, these little guys wont heat your house, but they take the chill off nicely.

Patiently waiting for the first cold day of fall to dust off the long matches!

 

[Mo Heat]

I use two types of electric heaters for "spot" heating.

The first was described here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewreply/93174/

Here is a similar one I found that is twice the wattage as above. I may try one of these, too, if I need another one and more wattage somewhere. Link: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2422237

The other is a Honeywell portable baseboard (actually just a long-ish heater that sets on the floor) I got at Home Depot or Lowes.
Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-HZ519-Digital-Profile-Comfort/dp/B000BC2GGS

Both have been working for two years now, and are absolutely silent with no fans.

I've tried a Honeywell "Carbon Tube" (like a quartz tube heater) and it only lasted one season.
Previously had ok luck with Marvin (I think) quartz tube heater with a fan and a little water reservoir they called a humidifier that was extremely limited, but functional in a very small apt like I was in at the time.