Electrical house heaters

[LeverBob]

Anyone have any experience with these types of heaters. Wood cost is going through the roof out hear in Nev. The Sportsman's Guide has a couple of quartz infrared types...are they any good? One for $180 & one for $280.

I need a plug in type, so please give your recommendations & potential cost. My house measures 1300 sq. ft.

Thanks much,

LB

[L_Kilkenny]

Go back and look over the last couple months and you'll find a thread I started about wood stoves and heat for a man cave. In it we have a pretty good discussion about the high dollar heaters vs. el'cheapo electric heaters. I said it there, I'll say it here. 1500 watts of heat is 1500 watts of heat is 1500 watts of heat. A $15 Walmart heater puts off the same amount of heat per $$. The only advantage the more expensive heaters have is a easier to use thermstat control vs. an old style, unlabled dial.

Also beware, many people have thought "I'll just turn the furnace down a notch and use electric space heaters" only to find it would of been cheaper to stick with what they've had. Around here going strictly with electric heat will cost you about $8/day per 1000 sq. ft. if your heaters are sized right.

LK

[Ray Newman]

Potential cost will depend upon:
-- R insulation values of the house walls, celings, floors insulation.
-- Type of windows: single, double, or triple pane glass.
-- Cost of electricity in your service area per Kw hour.
-- Amount of Kw used by the heater.
-- Winter average/temperature extremes in your location.
-- Temperature the heater is set at and amount time it runs.

[flashpan]

Not all house wiring will stand up to "continuous" use of one of these types of heaters. The receptacle that the heater is plugged into can become overheated and the result can be a fire. Some of the causes of overheating can be undersized wire, loose connections, or loose receptacles themselves.
Not trying to scare anyone or discourage them from using these......in fact I use a couple in my own house, just trying to educate and keep everyone safe.
I use an oil filled radiator type and a quartz infrared type, but not continuously nor do I leave them on when I sleep or go away.
Also, I don't think they are cheaper to operate than my LP gas furnace, but will make a room warmer in short time.

[AkRay]

Maybe a Toyo 56 or 73 Laserstove would be a better bet. They vent straight out of the house through an outside wall and run on heating oil. They put out plenty of heat, and are very efficient. I'm pretty sure they're powered by a 110 electrical socket too.

[mack]

LeverBob,
We use a "Hydrosil" electric in the bathroom. Does a real good job and doesn't raise heck with the power bill. However that is in a small space that lacks good heat circulation from the rest of the house.The rest of the house is heated on 3 cord of wood and 100 gals. of K1 per year, we are very well insulated with good passive solar and have 2 Monitor heaters and a Toyotomi water heater. I swear by them, it is 4 degrees out right now, and 76 at my desk. Unless you just want to keep your feet warm. We have about 1600 sqft ranch house. I think money is best spent on insulation, (or heavy socks). I don't think any electric works well if you are not wired for it, separate circuits and 220v etc. We have pretty high kvh costs here so I shy away from anything that will spin the meter.
If you were closer, I offer you a pickup load of firewood and some hay to bank the house with.

[LeverBob]

I can't thank you Pards enough for the definition. If it would cost $8.00 per day, that equates to $240. per mo. A cord of wood from the Indians here costs me $250.00 & it is about 1 1/4 cord (full cord). That lasts me about 2 1/2 mo.s They are very generous as we have been an old faithful customer. Regular customers pay $350.00 per cord, so I've made some good friends.

The no.s come out to be about $100.00 in wood per month. The electric bill averages $80.00, so I guess I'll just stay as I am.

I'm sure glad I'm a family member here....

LB

[horsesoldier03]

Its not electric, but my grandparents never had a furnace in their house. They heated it with a deere born heater that ran off of natural gas. There are several companies now that make ventless heaters that run off of natural gas. The only issue IMO is that it is a very dry heat.

[williamranks]

Radiant heaters heat objects. The warmed objects heat the air. Picture bright sun on a winter day, step into the shade and you're not being heated any more. Here in the west you'll see people skiing in T-shirts as long as they're in the sun.
Electric heaters with fans heat the air and the air heats the objects.
Many years ago I wired some homes with radiant heating cables in the ceiling. If there were no objects in the room, packing boxes, work benches, anything, the air never warmed up. When the heat came on it felt like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. One complaint we used to get was, when you put your feet under the table (in the shade) they got cold.

[olyinaz]

These kerosene heaters really put out the heat too:

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/building-m ... 59784.html

I heat my garage with one and when I was a kid we used to use one to heat rooms in the house that were poorly served by our wood heater. I've never seen a cost breakdown but I suspect that they are cheaper to run than electric, but that's just a suspicion (if someone knows I'd love to see the data). They stink a bit when started so fueling and starting them outside is highly recommended. Once they're running though they are odor free and, as I said, they heat like a house on fire. No pun.

Oly

[cas]

Check on the price of kero before you buy. We have kerosene heat up north in the old family hunting cabin, the price up there is usually a good deal more than the gas prices. Down here where I am forget about it, the local gas station that carries it wants $4.99 a gallon.

Of course you can buy the clear stuff in small quantities in a store, but that's even more money.