Oil filled Electric Radiator

I'm thinking of getting oil filled electric radiators for my apartment. Has anyone experience of using these - I've heard that they're heavy on electricity. I've no gas in the apt so I probably don't have many options.

They make "clicking" noises when heating up - air bubbles I suppose. So I found that when I had one set by timer to come on in the morning the clicking woke me up before my alarm so I had to get rid of it.

Maybe they're not all like that.

They're actually not that bad. Just get your thermostat setting correct, so it is switching off at a temperature setting that you are happy with.

Some people are under the impression that turning the thermostat up full, heats the area quicker, not true. It only designates at what temperature the heater will switch off at.

I recommend one without a timer. Get your own timer on a plug.

Find them very handy but not sure about running costs. We leave one on low in babys room all night.

Oil Filled Radiators

Just some suggestions
Argos have some nice small Oil Filled radiators that you might find suitable for bedrooms etc, large oil heaters are a bit of a nuisance in the summer when you don’t need them and these units at 500 & 800 Watt are gently on your wiring.

Dimplex had and I think still have in their range a wall mounting oil filled panel that is wall mounting this might be suitable for the main room.

I would not buy them all together, but one at a time and try them in each room you want to use them .

The cracking noise is air in the oil if the heater has been on its side ( transporting and fitting wheels) you should leave it to stand for a few minutes for the air to rise out of the oil , then turn it on at a low heat setting till the cracking stops ( this is explained in the instructions)

There is a fierce amount of packaging to get rid of and you also have to fit four wheels supplied so allow yourself some time. for this.

Used carefuly they won't cost more to run than your present heating.


Roger

Re: Oil Filled Radiators

There is a fierce amount of packaging to get rid of a

Leave all that crap in the store where you purchase it if possible.

Leave all that crap in the store where you purchase it if possible.

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If the store is a member of Repak, they are not obliged to accept your waste.

We leave one on low in babys room all night.

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Make sure the room doesn't get too warm - From

Keep your baby at the right temperature - not too hot or too cold.

Try to keep room temperature between 16 and 20°C - the ideal temperature is 18°C.

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My one cracked for about a year before I got rid of it and it wasn't stored on it's side. Had it on a plug in timer at a low setting but as soon as it started to heat up the cracking drove me mad. Maybe it would be ok if you're a heavy sleeper but I'm not.

I have a model (I won't mention names, lets just say its owners are two extremely well know Irish businessmen!) which has served well for a year.

I have it on a timer (the security ones you plug in and then plug the appliance into the timer).

6.30am this morning, I go to turn the timer off as the room was too hot (set to come on at 6).

I literally just touched the timer, and sparks flew out, followed by flames, which burnt almost right through the flex of the heater, just at the point it enters the plug. Thank god I woke up when I did. Got the fright of my life.

Anyway, just a warning to a)be very careful of these heaters when unattended or asleep, and b)don't buy cheapo timers!!

Perhaps any sparkies out there would advise that I was mad to put a high wattage appliance into one of those timer things? Also, the trip switch tripped, which I reset - should I replace the fuse? Is a v. modern apt. only 2 yrs old.

I reckon that some of those timer plugs are not for heavy loads. Did you read the instructions with it and check that it's suitable for heavy loads or the appropriate Wattage/Amperage rating of the heater?

Also, the trip switch tripped, which I reset - should I replace the fuse?

What fuse?

I thought you could pull out those trip switch things and replace them if they tripped? Excuse my ignorance if am incorrect!!

Should be no need - if the trip switch will go back up then it's done its job and is OK. If it won't go back up then you may need to investigate further.

Grand so Clubman, thanks for that. The switch went back up fine, so it must be okay. I'm sure it was a problem with having a high wattage appliance using one of those timers - I won't be doing that again anyway!

timer/el. radiator

Check the wattage of both items.If the el.radiator has a higher power consumption than the timer is made for you are in serious danger.The numbers would be shown on the things.Cheap timers don't allow for more than 2000 or 2500 watt.The stronger ones are considerably more expensive.

The running costs of any electrical appliance can be calculated by the wattage it needs to power it.
1KW=1000 watts=1 unit of lecky=15cents approx per hour.
Generally most of the oil heaters are in around the 2KW mark so it'll cost about 30cent an hour to run.
Until the ESB increase it again that is.

Re: timer/el. radiator

Any device on a thermostat will not be using it's full wattage all the time so the calculations above may be absolute worst case.

oil filled radiators

Plugging in a heater to a power point is really testing it to its limits.
For example a perfect good quality socket and plugtop is rated at 13Amps for 4 hours, and will seriously overheat during this time or certainly after this time.

The plugtop is designed to connect and disconnect with a bit resistance so that the connection is made and broken quickly to avoid pitting and damaging the brass connections.

If you use an adapter or time switch type device this cause too much leverage on the connections and will damage them .

This damage or wear causes the units to overheat and the brass connections of the socket and the fuse holder in the plugtop lose some of their spring and qualities that made them suitable for their job.

The plastic flex will start to soften and the copper wires will move together and hopefully blow the fuse or some protective device before doing more damage.

It has happened that the plugtop and flex has softened but held it’s shape and would be like soft chocolate when the unsuspecting householder went to unplug the heater.

So a electric heaters should be used with caution using the high switch or two switch setting to initially heat the room and turned to single switch after about ½ to 1 hour .

Power adaptors , multiway extension flexes and plugin time switches should not be used for any heating load or appliance that has a heater element in it ( Heater, Iron, Kettle, Washing machine etc,)
( If you must use it then do not leave it unattended)

They are OK for other loads ( TV, Audio, Lamps etc)
A good example of the time switch in use would be if you wanted to have a light switching on and off when you are not at home,
Although you might want to put the light in the fireplace in case it fell over .

In Shermans case it would be correct to unplug the damaged timer if the power is off and reset the circuit breaker.
I you are uncomfortable doing this then switch it back on a Saturday morning when you are about all day and use the socket with the vacuum for example, then you can sleep soundly that night knowing it is working .
The damaged part of the flex and the plugtop will have to be replaced on the heater.

You should take care not to be tempted to use too many heaters in your home if the Central Heating is out of order as the wiring system is not designed to cope with more than a moderate use of electric heating.

I like Oil Filled Radiators and would sleep soundly with one switched on
The new smaller units I think are very user friendly even if your wiring is a bit dated.

Roger

Re: timer/el. radiator

Interesting Roger, what is a "power adapter" as we have our kettle on an adapter which can take 3 plugs at once and also has toaster and stereo on it. Thanks.

oil filled radiator

That's one of the adaptors I had in mind. But at least now you know what to check when it starts to wear.
Roger

HershelKrus,

Getting back to your original question this previous thread is quite old but may still be relevant