Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Replacing water with motor oil

Has anyone heard of/know of any heating systems [as in forced hot water/radiator types] the use oil [motor,et al] instead of 'water'?

Never heard of such a thing except those portable oil filled radiators.

Never heard of such a thing except those portable oil filled radiators.

About those oil filled radiators. How efficient would one be in raising the temperature in a room (12'x20') from 60F to 68F?

There are all kinds of units out there on the market today making claims. Some use ceramic, patented special copper tubes inside, oil, etc. They'll make cliams that heat is distributed evenly and rides the moisture in the air, rather than burning it, as other radiators do. That the floor will be heated as effectively as the ceiling. That you can turn your furnace down to a lower temperature and put the heater where you are and save up to 50% on yor heat bill. Etc.

Is this true? All of it? Part of it? I wonder.

I am curious if Consumer Reports has tested the actual effectiveness like in btu output per kwh, etc., on these things. I am a skeptic by nature and am skeptical on claims some of these units make.

Of course it's true. :rolleyes: Just like all those e-mails which say "send this to 10 people in the next 5 minutes & in 3 days you'll get a ton of money, if you don't the sky will fall".

You can't get more heat energy out then electrical energy put in. In essence, all electric heaters are almost 99% efficient (except for the fan's consumption if equipped) with all the electrical energy converted into radiant or convective heat energy. The oil-filled heaters likely take more electricity to heat up since the specific-heat of oil is higher than air. Once turned off, the oil will still be warm, fooling one into thinking they're getting free heat but in reality, you are only harvesting the electrical energy put into warming that oil. I think I explained this correctly.

You can't get more heat energy out then electrical energy put in. .... The oil-filled heaters likely take more electricity to heat up..... Once turned off, the oil will still be warm, fooling one into thinking they're getting free heat but in reality, you are only harvesting the electrical energy put into warming that oil.

Translation: Scam? :)

I have always thought the same thing. But I've still wondered if they really ARE smart in their field and know some law of science that I have overlooked. I really wonder if I took a thermometer and put it down by the floor if it be as warm down there as at the ceiling. What do you think? :coffee:

Radiant heat does not statify like forced air. Because of this, there is a more uniform temperature gradient as you go from floor to ceiling. That being said, I still don't believe these electric radiators will cut your heating bill with everything else being equal, particularly the amount of space heated & the temperature of the space.

You asked about using oil in a closed loop hot water heating system.
Is this because you have one and were wondering if oil would work in your system?

If so there is no oil that will work in a boiler.
You can with some difficulty use inhibited propylene glycol which is used in some commercial heating systems.
This fluid is good because there tends to be less need for water treatment and it will not freeze but there would be no real advantage to using it in a residential boiler.

Feyenoord asked if an oil filled heater would be efficient.

A oil filled heater would be just as efficient at adding heat to a room as any other resistance electric heater would be.
As said, with electric heat you get the same amount of heat for every dollar you spend in power consumption.