Heat Pumps and Electric Heating - portable heaters
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sisenberg
10-25-06, 11:21 AM
Ok, can I use a portable heater 24/7 (one that has a thermostat) (even when not home) to keep sunroom warm.
ibpooks
10-25-06, 01:00 PM
I would not do that in my house as I do not believe it is safe.
Like hair dryers and toasters, portable heaters are for temporary, attended use only in my opinion.
Why keep the room warm when you are not home? That's a waste of energy.
Like hair dryers and toasters, portable heaters are for temporary, attended use only in my opinion.
Why keep the room warm when you are not home? That's a waste of energy.
mattison
10-25-06, 01:11 PM
You should never ever leave a space heater unattended.
ray2047
10-25-06, 02:34 PM
My main heat is a gas space heater that was originally bought by my parents in the early fifties. It is working to this day with no problem or repairs. Yes I would trust it even when I'm not at home though I don't.
On the other hand I have a couple of electric space heaters from the fifties my father and now me that have had to replace the plugs on several times. Heat is generated at the imperfect mating of plug and receptacle and as the heat deteriorates the plug the resistance increases causing even more heat. When I did apartment maintenance you could tell if a tenant had been a heavy user of electric space heaters, Often the receptacle would turn yellow and crumble when you tried to remove it to replace it.
Of course the even bigger problem with an electric space heater is it can start a fire almost anywhere in the house not just where it is plugged in. One rent house I did maintenance on twice the tenants burnt out the wiring in an overhead light fixture that fed the receptacle they were using. No, not aluminum wire, copper wire. (First time they were warned only to use the dedicated 120/v-20a AC receptacle. Second time the owner evicted them.)
I do have a more modern electric heater I now currently use. One of those oil filled ones bought in the eighties but even it burned through a couple of plugs until I replaced the original cord with a heavy duty 12 gage cord set. That has held up. (Odd isn't it that 120v window ACs that usually draw less amps then a 1500 watt heater seem to usually have a heavier cord set.)
On the other hand I have a couple of electric space heaters from the fifties my father and now me that have had to replace the plugs on several times. Heat is generated at the imperfect mating of plug and receptacle and as the heat deteriorates the plug the resistance increases causing even more heat. When I did apartment maintenance you could tell if a tenant had been a heavy user of electric space heaters, Often the receptacle would turn yellow and crumble when you tried to remove it to replace it.
Of course the even bigger problem with an electric space heater is it can start a fire almost anywhere in the house not just where it is plugged in. One rent house I did maintenance on twice the tenants burnt out the wiring in an overhead light fixture that fed the receptacle they were using. No, not aluminum wire, copper wire. (First time they were warned only to use the dedicated 120/v-20a AC receptacle. Second time the owner evicted them.)
I do have a more modern electric heater I now currently use. One of those oil filled ones bought in the eighties but even it burned through a couple of plugs until I replaced the original cord with a heavy duty 12 gage cord set. That has held up. (Odd isn't it that 120v window ACs that usually draw less amps then a 1500 watt heater seem to usually have a heavier cord set.)
ibpooks
10-25-06, 03:17 PM
> Odd isn't it that 120v window ACs that usually draw less
> amps then a 1500 watt heater seem to usually have a
> heavier cord set.
It's not odd at all. An A/C is a fixed-in-place appliance designed for a 100% duty cycle all summer long, and a space heater is designed and tested for temporary use only. Thus the heavy-duty construction of the A/C cord compared to the heater. Same goes for toasters, hair dryers, vacuum cleaners and many other high current appliances.
> amps then a 1500 watt heater seem to usually have a
> heavier cord set.
It's not odd at all. An A/C is a fixed-in-place appliance designed for a 100% duty cycle all summer long, and a space heater is designed and tested for temporary use only. Thus the heavy-duty construction of the A/C cord compared to the heater. Same goes for toasters, hair dryers, vacuum cleaners and many other high current appliances.
ray2047
10-25-06, 03:54 PM
Ben replied: "and a space heater is designed and tested for temporary use only". Don't dissagree that is UL's reasoning but IMHO that shows a blind spot in UL thought process. At least in milder climates some people do in fact use them for extended lengths of time. It also illustrates why the OP should not consider it as a permenent solution.