Silent space heaters?

[TridenT]

Anyone know of a good space heater that is silent? I mean too that there should be no clicking of it turning on either. I would prefer one that is fanless.

I'm talking about ones that you plug into the wall, of course.

 

[Crono]

 

[TennesseeTony]

Lol Crono.

TridentT, an almost silent space heater is the oil filled radiators you can usually get for around $40 US. At first there is the barely audible sound of boiling water (oil in this case), but once up to temp that goes away. When shut down (or cycling off) there is the occasional pop/crack/creak as the metal contracts. Then the most common and loudest part is the very mild clicking of the relay when cycling on and off. Depending on the quality, this can be rather noticeable.

One way around all these sources of noise, is to run it on the low or medium setting and turn up the thermostat so it never cycles off. High setting gets warm enough to trigger a maxed out thermostat.

Apart from that my friend and we are talking heat lamps/radiant heaters, using the same low/medium/max temp settings. The oil filled is much safer though, you can actually touch it without risk of injury, especially on medium or low. Keeps your TV dinner warm too.

 

[TridenT]

Lol Crono.

TridentT, an almost silent space heater is the oil filled radiators you can usually get for around $40 US. At first there is the barely audible sound of boiling water (oil in this case), but once up to temp that goes away. When shut down (or cycling off) there is the occasional pop/crack/creak as the metal contracts. Then the most common and loudest part is the very mild clicking of the relay when cycling on and off. Depending on the quality, this can be rather noticeable.

One way around all these sources of noise, is to run it on the low or medium setting and turn up the thermostat so it never cycles off. High setting gets warm enough to trigger a maxed out thermostat.

Apart from that my friend and we are talking heat lamps/radiant heaters, using the same low/medium/max temp settings. The oil filled is much safer though, you can actually touch it without risk of injury, especially on medium or low. Keeps your TV dinner warm too.

Right but I want one where the relay is silent or they use something else that is silent.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The sun is actually super noisy, it's just that noise does not travel very well in vacuum.

I second those oil filled ones. Keep in mind they take longer to actually start generating heat given how they work, but they are rather silent other then the odd relay click and pop as mentioned.

They are relatively safe too, technically even if there was something on top I don't think it would get hot enough to burn... but it does say to not put anything on it. But that's fairly common sense.

I have one under my computer desk as I'll sometimes run it if I'm feeling a bit cold but don't want to run the furnace and heat the whole house up. One of these days I need to figure out if it's even cheaper to do that though, prices of hydro here keep going up at an insane rate.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Right but I want one where the relay is silent or they use something else that is silent.

If you want to mod one, you could replace the relay with a solid state relay or an array of IGBTs. This will of course void the warranty and it's UL rating though.

 

[Gibsons]

Are there cheap fanless PCs? Would still cost more than an oil heater, probably not work as well, but you could run some sort of DC project.

 

[Crono]

Are there cheap fanless PCs? Would still cost more than an oil heater, probably not work as well, but you could run some sort of DC project.

A multi GPU, open air mining rig would get a room nice and toasty.

 

[Red Squirrel]

A multi GPU, open air mining rig would get a room nice and toasty.

It would be FAR from quiet though if you want decent cooling. Suppose you could water cool the whole thing and have the radiator (like one that would be used in a Mack truck) in another room.

If BTC mining was still viable I'd totally get into it, basically a space heater that also makes you money.

 

[Crono]

It would be FAR from quiet though if you want decent cooling. Suppose you could water cool the whole thing and have the radiator (like one that would be used in a Mack truck) in another room.

If BTC mining was still viable I'd totally get into it, basically a space heater that also makes you money.

No, it can be pretty quiet and cool. My open air ethereum mining setup (now dismantled for parts) was just about silent. PSU fan didn't spin up (zero RPM), and the R9 390s (and a few other cards at different points) ran at low RPM or didn't spin up at all. GPU temps topped out at low 70s. Very little cooling is actually needed for an open rig unless ambient temp is high (which it wouldn't be, if the idea is to run this during winter).

 

[Herr Kutz]

https://www.amazon.com/Bionaire-Sil...8351&sr=1-3&keywords=silent+convection+heater

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HE81E9W?psc=1

Edit: Nvm these click on

If you don't mind light can you try heat lamp bulbs.

 

[Red Squirrel]

No, it can be pretty quiet and cool. My open air ethereum mining setup (now dismantled for parts) was just about silent. PSU fan didn't spin up (zero RPM), and the R9 390s (and a few other cards at different points) ran at low RPM or didn't spin up at all. GPU temps topped out at low 70s. Very little cooling is actually needed for an open rig unless ambient temp is high (which it wouldn't be, if the idea is to run this during winter).

Even the GPU fans? I would figure those would be screaming when the cards are running at full tilt. Also how is Ethereum profit wise, is it something where difficulty keeps going up by design or is it stable? Toying with getting into it while it's still new.

 

[deustroop]

I use Honeywell Oil Filled 1500 Watt Heaters. No noise, lots of heat and safe. I leave them on 24/7 beginning about now. The only issue is that they are made in China. I have had 1/4 fail --just would not turn on. But there is a reasonable warranty and if you purchase at a Brand store--Home Hardware here -you get a replacement .

The quiet and safe qualities easily outweigh where they are made.Perhaps there are models from other brands made in USA ? DeLonghi ?

 

[Mike64]

I'll second (or third?) the oil-filled radiator-type heaters. It's been a very long time since I used one on a regular basis but the basic "type" works great, and they're pretty much as safe as you can get. (As with any electrical appliance, I guess one could start a fire if something actually shorts out, but it's hard to even burn yourself on them when they're on "high" much less ignite anything flammable even with an inch or two of the fins, so they're safe around pets or even little kids, as long as they're old enough to pull away from something uncofmortably (though not "dangerously") hot...)

As for being made in China, I wouldn't worry much about a recognized brand-name heater made there, though I would the avoid no-(real)-name ones...

Right but I want one where the relay is silent or they use something else that is silent.

I'm not being snarky, but good luck with that... And if it's not too personal a question, why do you need one that doesn't even quietly click every once in a while?

 

[MixMasterTang]

I would imagine the infrared heaters are pretty quiet but I have never used one so I can't say for sure.

 

[dullard]

While the oil-filled radiator style space heaters are mostly quiet, they are nearly useless. Yes, they do technically heat a portion of the room up, but in general, unless you have a strong draft they only heat the air directly above them and the air along the ceiling.

I don't know about you, but I don't float in mid-air. I certainly don't float in mid-air very long directly above a radiator style space heater. I used a radiator style heater for years and it really didn't help at all. My legs were still frozen even though that radiator space heater was inches away from them. You basically have to constantly play footsie with the radiator to get any warmth from them.

I greatly prefer the space heaters with a fan. Point it at you, turn it on, and you are instantly hotter exactly where you want to be hotter. There is no better option. But, these are loud and don't work with your request.

Have you tried looking into infrared space heaters? I haven't used one but they look like they would be quiet. While they don't put all the heat where you want it like the fan models, at least they aren't heating just the useless air above themselves.

 

[nakedfrog]

I'm not being snarky, but good luck with that... And if it's not too personal a question, why do you need one that doesn't even quietly click every once in a while?

That is very nice of you, but I assure you that he deserves all the snark you can bring to bear.

 

[brianmanahan]

I'm not being snarky, but good luck with that... And if it's not too personal a question, why do you need one that doesn't even quietly click every once in a while?

because why would trident spend 100$ on a decent one when he could spend 2$k on the BEST ONE EVER MADE?

 

[Ns1]

one of these works great. put as much charcoal in it as possible before going to bed.

 

[TridenT]

I run a fan at night for noise. So, I'm not worried about air flow. It'll circulate air fast.

The problem is that I have a space heater now and it wakes me up sometimes with its clicking on and off.

 

[Wuzup101]

Why are you using a space heater? Don't you live in SF and make 100k a year? Is that so far below the poverty line there that you have to run a space heater through a relatively warm winter?

Get a blanket?

 

[Rubycon]

Oil filled, radiator style heaters are based on convection. The warm air rises and the cooler air replaces it and gets heated. This will cause a convection current and will heat the entire room. The problem is this can take time, hours even.

Radiant heaters heat objects directly (including people) and appear to work faster because one can feel the radiant heat instantly. If you want instant heat you want a radiant heater or a disc furnace (ceramic) type with its discharge aimed at you. Space heaters are limited by the wall socket of 15A typical so 1,500W. Efficiency is the same regardless of type.

Nichrome type radiant heaters will make noises from expanding and contracting element wires, the bi-metal strip type thermostat, and often they can produce a 60Hz humming noise. Quartz types can hum extremely loud when cold as well.

A variable air volume (VAV) ceramic type heater can be helpful for those having a hard time sleeping. The noise level rises and falls but should not start and stop suddenly like other heaters.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Maybe this calls for a DIY system. Get a pipe that is made of a non conductive non combustible material, like ceramic or something, stand it up right, then run nichrome wire along the inside, on their own mosfets. Have them turn on/off base on a microcontroller's temperature reading of the room, and the inside. (to avoid overheating). The pipe should sit on a surface that will let the air in from the bottom.

The smoke detector might wake you up if something goes wrong though.

 

[lefenzy]

one of these works great. put as much charcoal in it as possible before going to bed.

Instructions unclear. Died in my sleep.

 

[Squisher]

Dyson AM09, incredibly expensive.
http://www.dyson.com/air-treatment/heaters/am09/am09-fan-heater-white-silver.aspx