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Posted: 11/10/2013 7:49:14 PM EDT
I am looking for a silent electric heater to supplement heat in a single room. I found one at Walmart for $80 that is a liquid oil filled radiant heater (the old school kind) except this one has a digital thermostat and can be set on a timer to turn on between 1-12 hours.
I see there are other silent heaters. Those square looking ones with the orange tubes are also available for $80 for a model at Walmart. (Yes, I'm looking at Walmart, because I want to buy one tomorrow and they seem to have some type of every kind). There is also a Home Depot, Target, and Lowe's at my disposal should I want to travel further. The radiant ones take 20 minutes to heat up, and then radiate heat for some time. Would that be the best kind to use? The computers are in my bedroom and that is the room I'm going to be heating as I am going to work from home while being on the phone. That is why I want silence. Should I be looking at something different? Why are the kind with the orange tubes usually so expensive? ETA - How far away does the radiant ones need to be from a wall? I need to save space so being able to be next to a wall would be helpful. |
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Oil radiant suck ass. Get a ceramic element heater with a fan. Otherwise you'll just get brief hot and cold flashes as the air shifts.
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They take alittle while to warm up. We enjoy ours its a honeywell has a time and digital thermostat We keep it about a foot from the wall. It puts out.plenty of heat and is fairly quiet abiut it
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We've had this discussion on ARFCOM in several previous threads when winter approaches, and many people who appear to know more about this subject than I do have stated there is no difference whatsoever in the "efficiency" of these units in terms of the heat they produce as measured in BTUs (I think?) per killowatt hour.
I still don't know if I believe that, but I presume these people know what they are talking about. Maybe some of them will chime in here. |
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I want to heat the air and space in my room, but not the wall. I have one wall that is solid, and 3 that are soft and made out of some type of insulation like material.
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Quoted: We've had this discussion on ARFCOM in several previous threads when winter approaches, and many people who appear to know more about this subject than I do have stated there is no difference whatsoever in the "efficiency" of these units in terms of the heat they produce as measured in BTUs (I think?) per killowatt hour. I still don't know if I believe that, but I presume these people know what they are talking about. Maybe some of them will chime in here. View Quote In the act of generating heat, all types of electric heaters are of the same efficiency. Distributing that heat is another matter.
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All electric space heaters are equally efficient. They all consume X watts of electricity to produce Y BTUs of heat.
Oil-filled "radiator" space heaters are nice, because they don't use a fan - Which makes them completely silent. Also, they spread the heat over a large surface area, which means that no part of the heater gets particularly hot. It also means that locating the heater right next to a wall shouldn't be a problem. |
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I have a different space heater next to my tv. It looks like a small fire place, but it's just an electric ceramic heater with a bulb that makes it look like a fireplace. Out of the 1500 watts doesn't the bulb, fan, and spinning thing to make it look like a fireplace use energy to turn?
With that logic, I was thinking a radiant is the most efficient. My logic could be flawed with newer and more efficient heat sources such as quartz, and I see youtube has reviews of some Dr Heaters that have 6 or 7 heat tubes which produce far hotter air... I'm a bit confused by it all, which is possibly sad. |
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ALL electric heaters are 100% efficient.
We bought one of those oil filled ones a few years ago as a backup when our central was out a few days. Leaving it on a high setting in the middle of the room and ceiling fan on low heated the room air comfortably. |
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Quoted: I want to heat the air and space in my room, but not the wall. I have one wall that is solid, and 3 that are soft and made out of some type of insulation like material. View Quote If you heat the air, some of that heat will transfer into the wall. There's no getting around that. Or are you saying you want the heater placed near a wall, and you want the majority of its heat to be directed out into the room and not blasted onto the wall? |
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I have a gas filled radiant heater, bought it probably 6-7 yrs ago and it still runs fine, don't use it much anymore as it's not very energy efficient. I think if I remember correctly it puts out something like 1,200 watts when measured. My gas furnace peaks at 600 watts and the blower settles at 400 watts. When thinking about using one or the other with a generator it's no contest, furnace wins.
Anyway, when I did use it, it was very effective. Stick it in a room, close the door and choose a setting. Can make the air a bit dry though. |
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Quoted: I much prefer oil filled radiant. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Oil radiant suck ass. Get a ceramic element heater with a fan. I much prefer oil filled radiant. Me too. They take a while to heat up, but when they do it's like your own personal coal boiler. They can warm up a cold end of a house in less than 30 minutes. |
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If you heat the air, some of that heat will transfer into the wall. There's no getting around that. Or are you saying you want the heater placed near a wall, and you want the majority of its heat to be directed out into the room and not blasted onto the wall? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I want to heat the air and space in my room, but not the wall. I have one wall that is solid, and 3 that are soft and made out of some type of insulation like material. If you heat the air, some of that heat will transfer into the wall. There's no getting around that. Or are you saying you want the heater placed near a wall, and you want the majority of its heat to be directed out into the room and not blasted onto the wall? I want the heater placed near a wall, but the wall is made out of a type of insulation and not a solid wall with drywall behind it. I think it will just absorb an infinant amount of heat or something as the wall on 3 sides is made from this stuff? Am I over thinking this? My last space heater is almost 5 years old and it no longer works. I just want one that works well. |
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Quoted: I have a different space heater next to my tv. It looks like a small fire place, but it's just an electric ceramic heater with a bulb that makes it look like a fireplace. Out of the 1500 watts doesn't the bulb, fan, and spinning thing to make it look like a fireplace use energy to turn? With that logic, I was thinking a radiant is the most efficient. My logic could be flawed with newer and more efficient heat sources such as quartz, and I see youtube has reviews of some Dr Heaters that have 6 or 7 heat tubes which produce far hotter air... I'm a bit confused by it all, which is possibly sad. View Quote The heating element itself is 1500w. The fan and bulb are over and above that. As I said, any electric heater is as efficient as any other IN GENERATING THE HEAT. distributing it is another matter. Yours might be using 1600w total, but the rated heat output is how they are measured, expressed in electricity used to make the heat. In an electric heater, electric is directly converted into heat. The heating elements are 100% efficient because no electricity goes in to the element that doesn't get converted to heat. This is not true for a "fired" heat source (oil furnace, etc) because if you put 100,000 btus worth of fuel into it, you only get a percentage of that out in heat, and different designs will have different efficiencies. Does that clear it up? Comparing EFFICIENCIES of various heaters of various fuels is really not valid. It's apples to oranges. and even though one method may be more efficient, another may be cheaper per btu. |
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The difference in the efficiency isn't form how it reaches the heat. Oil holds heat longer than the ceramic or anything else. Think about driving your car and taking then changing the oil. You have to wait a bit for the oil to cool back down.
That's what happens here. It takes the same amount of electricity to heat the oil to the temps you want, but the power consuming part of the heater stops when it reaches the desired temp, and the oil stays hot for a while, andcontinues to heat the room. Once the oil cools, then the electric heater turns back on. On a pure electric, even ceramic, the heater element stays on much, much longer, consuming more power of the same period of time, since they lose their heat faster. In terms of efficiency it is much better. We sold all kinds of heaters from our furniture stores, and the oil heaters were the best of the electrically generated ones. I have a Honeywell I just bought and I like it, but only bought it because I was already in walmart. Personally, I would go to Lowes or Home Depot and get the Delonghi brand. It is by far the best of the type. |
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I have a Delonghi and love it. Have used them for the last 15 years. Oil radiant for the win.
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I want the heater placed near a wall, but the wall is made out of a type of insulation and not a solid wall with drywall behind it. I think it will just absorb an infinant amount of heat or something as the wall on 3 sides is made from this stuff? Am I over thinking this? My last space heater is almost 5 years old and it no longer works. I just want one that works well. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I want to heat the air and space in my room, but not the wall. I have one wall that is solid, and 3 that are soft and made out of some type of insulation like material. If you heat the air, some of that heat will transfer into the wall. There's no getting around that. Or are you saying you want the heater placed near a wall, and you want the majority of its heat to be directed out into the room and not blasted onto the wall? I want the heater placed near a wall, but the wall is made out of a type of insulation and not a solid wall with drywall behind it. I think it will just absorb an infinant amount of heat or something as the wall on 3 sides is made from this stuff? Am I over thinking this? My last space heater is almost 5 years old and it no longer works. I just want one that works well. So...Your bedroom doesn't have solid walls? I don't quite understand what kind of space you're trying to heat. Is it in the basement with unfinished walls? |
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Depends on application, but a small to medium room I just want to raise the ambient temperature of preferably silently... as far as electric heaters go the oil space heaters can't be beat. They're safe (no one spot gets extremely hot), quiet, and they heat the room quite well.
For large rooms when you're going to be in a single location the dish parabolic heaters work great without wasting too much energy heating parts of the room you're not in. I.e open living/dining/kitchen area you can point it at the couch/chair and stay happy keeping it on low/medium with just a light blanket. If the cat can lay on you and be someone in the line of heat, he will be happy as can be :P. Ceramic fan based heaters are fine too, my girlfriend likes to keep one by her desk where she works to keep her legs and such warm during the winter months and the cats again love to lay in front of it. Whatever works for you... |
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The difference in the efficiency isn't form how it reaches the heat. Oil holds heat longer than the ceramic or anything else. Think about driving your car and taking then changing the oil. You have to wait a bit for the oil to cool back down. That's what happens here. It takes the same amount of electricity to heat the oil to the temps you want, but the power consuming part of the heater stops when it reaches the desired temp, and the oil stays hot for a while, andcontinues to heat the room. Once the oil cools, then the electric heater turns back on. On a pure electric, even ceramic, the heater element stays on much, much longer, consuming more power of the same period of time, since they lose their heat faster. In terms of efficiency it is much better. We sold all kinds of heaters from our furniture stores, and the oil heaters were the best of the electrically generated ones. I have a Honeywell I just bought and I like it, but only bought it because I was already in walmart. Personally, I would go to Lowes or Home Depot and get the Delonghi brand. It is by far the best of the type. View Quote I take it that you're not a fan of Newton.z |
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I take it that you're not a fan of Newton.z View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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The difference in the efficiency isn't form how it reaches the heat. Oil holds heat longer than the ceramic or anything else. Think about driving your car and taking then changing the oil. You have to wait a bit for the oil to cool back down. That's what happens here. It takes the same amount of electricity to heat the oil to the temps you want, but the power consuming part of the heater stops when it reaches the desired temp, and the oil stays hot for a while, andcontinues to heat the room. Once the oil cools, then the electric heater turns back on. On a pure electric, even ceramic, the heater element stays on much, much longer, consuming more power of the same period of time, since they lose their heat faster. In terms of efficiency it is much better. We sold all kinds of heaters from our furniture stores, and the oil heaters were the best of the electrically generated ones. I have a Honeywell I just bought and I like it, but only bought it because I was already in walmart. Personally, I would go to Lowes or Home Depot and get the Delonghi brand. It is by far the best of the type. I take it that you're not a fan of Newton.z Yes, but the true dissipation rate is different for different materials. The fact remains that any standard electric heater that does not heat the oil first, cools almost immediately when it is turned off, and no longer transfers heat into the room, because there is no heat to be transferred. The oil in the heaters stay hot/warm for 15-30 minutes after the electricity is turned off in a room of the same temp and size, and continue to transfer the heat that is stored in it. The oil stores heat longer. It is similar to the how the difference in wall construction can retain heat and continue to warm or keep a room warm. The electric only heaters only transfer heat while they are using electricity. I have both, in the same room, and there is a major difference. Newton is cool, but he's not heating my room. Different materials react differently. |
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Oil radiant suck ass. Get a ceramic element heater with a fan. Otherwise you'll just get brief hot and cold flashes as the air shifts. View Quote Do you actually have one? Because if you did you would not say such things. I have the non digital version but even on low setting 600w set to about setting 3-4 out of 10 it keeps a 18x20' room very comfortable this room has no other source of heat. If you set it to full power it will roast you out of the room. It's also silent except for a minute or two when it starts you may here the oil heating up. |
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Quoted: Yes, but the true dissipation rate is different for different materials. The fact remains that any standard electric heater that does not heat the oil first, cools almost immediately when it is turned off, and no longer transfers heat into the room, because there is no heat to be transferred. The oil in the heaters stay hot/warm for 15-30 minutes after the electricity is turned off in a room of the same temp and size, and continue to transfer the heat that is stored in it. The oil stores heat longer. It is similar to the how the difference in wall construction can retain heat and continue to warm or keep a room warm. The electric only heaters only transfer heat while they are using electricity. I have both, in the same room, and there is a major difference. Newton is cool, but he's not heating my room. Different materials react differently. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The difference in the efficiency isn't form how it reaches the heat. Oil holds heat longer than the ceramic or anything else. Think about driving your car and taking then changing the oil. You have to wait a bit for the oil to cool back down. That's what happens here. It takes the same amount of electricity to heat the oil to the temps you want, but the power consuming part of the heater stops when it reaches the desired temp, and the oil stays hot for a while, andcontinues to heat the room. Once the oil cools, then the electric heater turns back on. On a pure electric, even ceramic, the heater element stays on much, much longer, consuming more power of the same period of time, since they lose their heat faster. In terms of efficiency it is much better. We sold all kinds of heaters from our furniture stores, and the oil heaters were the best of the electrically generated ones. I have a Honeywell I just bought and I like it, but only bought it because I was already in walmart. Personally, I would go to Lowes or Home Depot and get the Delonghi brand. It is by far the best of the type. I take it that you're not a fan of Newton.z Yes, but the true dissipation rate is different for different materials. The fact remains that any standard electric heater that does not heat the oil first, cools almost immediately when it is turned off, and no longer transfers heat into the room, because there is no heat to be transferred. The oil in the heaters stay hot/warm for 15-30 minutes after the electricity is turned off in a room of the same temp and size, and continue to transfer the heat that is stored in it. The oil stores heat longer. It is similar to the how the difference in wall construction can retain heat and continue to warm or keep a room warm. The electric only heaters only transfer heat while they are using electricity. I have both, in the same room, and there is a major difference. Newton is cool, but he's not heating my room. Different materials react differently. It also takes 15-30 minutes longer to heat up. Specific heat of a material works both ways. As with everything there are trade offs. If you looking to keep the room an even temperature 24/7, something with a higher specific heat and longer duty cycle is probably the way to in theory.
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Oil radiant suck ass. Get a ceramic element heater with a fan. I much prefer oil filled radiant. Same here, we have two. One in the daughters room as she sleeps cold and one in ours. We can't crank it up as it'll burn us out of the room. Safer than a lot of the other styles too. |
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Oil filled is excellent for constant room heating. It will take a day or two to find your preferred temperature setting, but once you do, it will be very steady. Plus, oil filled is silent. Electric element heaters (with fans) are better at quickly heating an occasional use room but you will notice more of a fluctuation in temperature. Also, you will have noise when it is on.
For heating a bedroom where you will be using the room every night, I would suggest oil filled. Finally, while you hear that electric heaters are 100% efficient, don't take that to mean that it is a cheap heat source. Using electricity for heat is generally expensive (unless you are doing zoned heating and keeping the majority of the rooms cold). The reason why people say that electric heat is 100% efficient is to debunk advertising claims of certain electric heaters being almost magical with how they produce heat. |
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I didn't read the thread...
I'm heating a fifth wheel in NoDak with electric heaters. It isn't 75, but at an outdoor temp of +1° now, my heaters say 60°, set at 64°. 2 heaters in the main, 1 in the front bedroom. Lasko ceramic w/fan heaters are the bomb. I also have a micathermic panel that will roast you out above 25° outside. Granted, I still wear houseshoes, but I'm in no danger of seeing my breath. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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We used to use the fan heaters, noisy, and the filters always plug up with dust, and no way i would leave them on with nobody home.
Then we bought an oil filled heater, quiet, no fan, no dust, takes about 5 minutes to warm up, but you feel safe leaving this one on even if you are not home, no red hot wires like on the fan units, lots of fires are caused by fan heaters up in these parts. |
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Is it worth it to spend an extra 30 dollars for a thermostat on a space heater or is it just as reliable to get one with an "thermostat adjuster" (It only has a knob and doesn't work with degrees).
Also.. I got my first avatar |
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All electric space heaters are equally efficient. They all consume X watts of electricity to produce Y BTUs of heat. Oil-filled "radiator" space heaters are nice, because they don't use a fan - Which makes them completely silent. Also, they spread the heat over a large surface area, which means that no part of the heater gets particularly hot. It also means that locating the heater right next to a wall shouldn't be a problem. View Quote They don't waste part of the wattage on a fan. They put all of the Watts into heat. |
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A 1500 watt electric heater will produce 5120 BTU's, no matter the brand, type or any other way you slice it.
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1500W would have to eat up the energy somewhere if it's wasted on a fan, blower, lights, etc?
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Quoted: They don't waste part of the wattage on a fan. They put all of the Watts into heat. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: All electric space heaters are equally efficient. They all consume X watts of electricity to produce Y BTUs of heat. Oil-filled "radiator" space heaters are nice, because they don't use a fan - Which makes them completely silent. Also, they spread the heat over a large surface area, which means that no part of the heater gets particularly hot. It also means that locating the heater right next to a wall shouldn't be a problem. They don't waste part of the wattage on a fan. They put all of the Watts into heat. That Newton dude was pretty smart at designing stuff. It always works. |
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Baseboard convectors are more efficient at raising the ambient air temperature in the entire room than are radiator type units.
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EdenPure 1000 or 1500 for the win. Wife and I love it along with my Blue Front parrot. Keeps him nice and toasty
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Baseboard convectors are more efficient at raising the ambient air temperature in the entire room than are radiator type units. View Quote I did a lot of research and came to the same conclusion. However, for me the operating cost still didn't pencil out for me instead of just using my central heating. |
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We have a couple oil radiant heaters that we like a lot.
Takes them a while to get the room warmed, but it's a very smooth comfortable heat, and is quite safe compared to open combustion or open glowing element units. |
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Biggest problem with the ceramic type is the thermostat...They don't seem to maintain a comfortable heat level....You have to play with the settings to find the right one that works.....These are the below $50 range of ceramic heaters.
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Quoted: There are differences in how those 5120BTUs are stored and released that makes a difference in total power consumption over time. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: A 1500 watt electric heater will produce 5120 BTU's, no matter the brand, type or any other way you slice it. There are differences in how those 5120BTUs are stored and released that makes a difference in total power consumption over time. science! |
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1500w is 1500w, period. there are a few things that physics still isnt sure about, but this aint one of them.
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Quoted: We've had this discussion on ARFCOM in several previous threads when winter approaches, and many people who appear to know more about this subject than I do have stated there is no difference whatsoever in the "efficiency" of these units in terms of the heat they produce as measured in BTUs (I think?) per killowatt hour. I still don't know if I believe that, but I presume these people know what they are talking about. Maybe some of them will chime in here. View Quote heater. They all are going to put out the same heat other than what current the blower Draws and even that puts out heat while it is running.
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There are no materials that are more efficient then others?
I guess it's settled. The safest form of electric heater must be the kind that have the least amount of really hot parts to start on fire and such. radiant oil heater it is. Thermostat and timer is all that is really important then. |
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Quoted: This is true to a point. A 1500 watt heater is a 1500 watt heater. They all are going to put out the same heat other than what current the blower View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: We've had this discussion on ARFCOM in several previous threads when winter approaches, and many people who appear to know more about this subject than I do have stated there is no difference whatsoever in the "efficiency" of these units in terms of the heat they produce as measured in BTUs (I think?) per killowatt hour. I still don't know if I believe that, but I presume these people know what they are talking about. Maybe some of them will chime in here. heater. They all are going to put out the same heat other than what current the blower Draws and even that puts out heat while it is running. the 1500w is the rating of the heating element itself. blowers, lights, etc are over and above that. |
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I thought 1500W was the most an outlet was capable of or something. If they are capable of more, then why don't the heaters that don't require extra stuff such as moving things run higher wattage?
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