recommend a good electric heater?

[badmouse]

The heat in my rental apt is whimsical, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The landlord is fixing it but it's an old funky building, will take a while. In the meantime . . .

I don't pay for electricity, so I picked up an inexpensive oil-filled heater. It works fine if I'm sitting next to it, but it doesn't actually give out heat any more than a foot or so.

Obviously I need something with a fan to heat a larger amount of the space. What's good? Keep in mind that the wiring won't support something that uses huge amounts of electricity.

Suggestions?

 

[Heisenberg]

Anything with heating elements is going to pull a lot of current, so all you can do is find the one with the best efficiency. The best option in terms of power is probably a radiant quartz heater, although it will only heat objects, not the air itself.

 

[Ime]

I'd suggest going to walmart and getting a cheap space heater with 2 or 3 different settings. Like low/high or low/med/high heat. Then you can try it on the different settings and see which one works for you.

 

[badmouse]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Anything with heating elements is going to pull a lot of current, so all you can do is find the one with the best efficiency.

How do I find the efficiency?

 

[Linux23]

baseboard heater.

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: badmouse

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Anything with heating elements is going to pull a lot of current, so all you can do is find the one with the best efficiency.

How do I find the efficiency?

That's a good question. I doubt they put it on the box, and I have no idea if anybody actually tests for it. Heating element-based heaters as a whole are not very efficient compared to radiant quartz ones.

 

[Gibson486]

my apt cannot be stressed to alot and i use a heater by holmes. It rotates and does a good job at heating the room, but i cannot turn any other high current device on or i will have to take a trip to the boiler room. when i get home, i'll post the model.

 

[badmouse]

Thanks. Radiant quartz it is. Anything in particular to look for?

 

[IronWing]

Unless an electric heater is making noise, putting out energy in wavelengths that can escape the room, or bouncing around in some fashion it is 100% efficient.

 

[Gibson486]

Sorry for that late reply, but my gf has been sick so i have not had time to jot down the model numbers.

Here is the model I bought a while ago.

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/store...ngId=-1&productId=125460&cmArea=SEARCH

It's a very nice desktop fan. Sorry I got the brand wrong.

I also bought a bigger one at Sam's Club, and it doesn't stress my lines like the one above does. It's very nice and I use it for the living room

http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shop...h=0:-23542:-43701:-43709:-44137:958062

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: badmouse
The heat in my rental apt is whimsical, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The landlord is fixing it but it's an old funky building, will take a while. In the meantime . . .

I don't pay for electricity, so I picked up an inexpensive oil-filled heater. It works fine if I'm sitting next to it, but it doesn't actually give out heat any more than a foot or so.

Obviously I need something with a fan to heat a larger amount of the space. What's good? Keep in mind that the wiring won't support something that uses huge amounts of electricity.

Suggestions?

23000 BTU Kerosene Heater. It will practically heat your entire house.
And theyre only about $120 at Lowes/HomeDepot.

Edit: Uses 2 D batteries... will not affect your home wiring.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: sao123


23000 BTU Kerosene Heater. It will smell up your entire house.
And theyre only about $120 at Lowes/HomeDepot.

Edit: Uses 2 D batteries... will not affect your home wiring.

Fixed.


EDIT:

Yes electric is 100% efficient. Some models feature lower power settings. High setting is always 1500W for portables. Ceramic heaters draw variable power, beware that earlier ones pulled well in excess of 20 amperes when starting cold!

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: C6FT7

Originally posted by: sao123


23000 BTU Kerosene Heater. It will smell up your entire house.
And theyre only about $120 at Lowes/HomeDepot.

Edit: Uses 2 D batteries... will not affect your home wiring.

Fixed.


EDIT:

Yes electric is 100% efficient. Some models feature lower power settings. High setting is always 1500W for portables. Ceramic heaters draw variable power, beware that earlier ones pulled well in excess of 20 amperes when starting cold!

If your kerosene heater smells up your house.... it either needs serviced or replaced.
A properly working kero heater gives off no fumes or smoke.

 

[njmodi]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: C6FT7

Originally posted by: sao123


23000 BTU Kerosene Heater. It will smell up your entire house.
And theyre only about $120 at Lowes/HomeDepot.

Edit: Uses 2 D batteries... will not affect your home wiring.

Fixed.


EDIT:

Yes electric is 100% efficient. Some models feature lower power settings. High setting is always 1500W for portables. Ceramic heaters draw variable power, beware that earlier ones pulled well in excess of 20 amperes when starting cold!

If your kerosene heater smells up your house.... it either needs serviced or replaced.
A properly working kero heater gives off no fumes or smoke.

How safe is a kero heater? I have a small ceramic heater in my son's room but need a larger one in the basement... but those electric heaters drive up the electricity bill $$$$... btw, where do I buy kerosene around here anyway?

 

[JinLien]

It depends on what your breaker fuse and how many appliances/lightings the line have to run. Most house hold 120V * 15amps = max 1800 Watts (6142 BTU/hour) therefore that is the maxium power heater that you can have. However that kind of power is not going to heat a very large room with poor insulation in cold condition. 2400 BTU is required for an average insulated 10x10 room, and extream weather conditions + heat lost due to windows/etc... also are a factors that affect the requirement.

An option is to turn on the stove elements and oven/baking to help heating up your room (generaly are 240v @ about 1500 Watts per stove elements + 1500~2700 Watts oven elements)

 

[Rubycon]

It depends on the user's ability to smell burning petrol. It's unvented non catalyst burner. They most definitely smoke at startup and especially shutdown.

Believe me I can smell the fumes a mile away.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: njmodi

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: C6FT7

Originally posted by: sao123


23000 BTU Kerosene Heater. It will smell up your entire house.
And theyre only about $120 at Lowes/HomeDepot.

Edit: Uses 2 D batteries... will not affect your home wiring.

Fixed.


EDIT:

Yes electric is 100% efficient. Some models feature lower power settings. High setting is always 1500W for portables. Ceramic heaters draw variable power, beware that earlier ones pulled well in excess of 20 amperes when starting cold!

If your kerosene heater smells up your house.... it either needs serviced or replaced.
A properly working kero heater gives off no fumes or smoke.

How safe is a kero heater? I have a small ceramic heater in my son's room but need a larger one in the basement... but those electric heaters drive up the electricity bill $$$$... btw, where do I buy kerosene around here anyway?

Kerosene heaters are as safe as an oil furnace....
U can buy kero heaters at Lowes / Home Depot or some similar store.
It isnt recommended to burn them while u sleep, but i heat my apartment with it daily.