best fan convection heater?

dianasnan

Registered User
Jun 18, 2007
11
0
Mums been managing with tower ceramic electric fire in her front room *** bedroom and a gas fire in the lounge. No central heating in house.

Her bedroom downstairs has a gas fire which couldn't be used due to the proximity to her bed so we bought her a tower ceramic electric fire which worked a treat and she seemed to be able to use it for the past 3 years.

Unfortunately we had to cut off the gas a few weeks ago due to her leaving it on unlit several times and moved an old but safe fan convection heater into her bedroom and moved the tower heater into the lounge as it pushed out more heat.. So far so good. we duct taped all the unnecessary buttons so that she couldn't fiddle with them and printed signs to go on the gas fire to say that they had been cut off for safety reasons just in case anyone thought they should put them on for her.

she now seems unable to use the tower heater as she keeps unplugging it and doesn't always work out how to plug it back in and leaves all the doors open to get the heat from the other heater going through the house,plus she says that the noise now upsets her.

anyone know of a quiet fan convection heater that is really easy to use as all the ones i've seen are only convection without a fan. winter is coming and all suggestions are welcome.
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
It's not going to help with the sound issue, but you could get what are sometimes called socket guards to stop her unplugging it. They go right over the plugged in plug, and mean she couldn't actually unplug it.
 

gerrystret

Registered User
Aug 30, 2007
6
0
manchester
heating

We have the same problem with MIL. We had arranged to get central heating put into the house but it was going to be a much bigger job than at first thought so we abandoned that idea as she wouldn't have been able to cope with the upset. She has gas fires downstairs but nothing upstairs so any suggestions would be gratefully received!
 

alfjess

Registered User
Jul 10, 2006
1,213
0
south lanarkshire
Hi

Why can't you get central heating installed with a combi boiler?

If your mother is a home owner or a tenent, of a private landlord then, EAGA administer a govenment scheme where all persons over 60 who doesn't have CH, can have it installed, free.

My parent's had this done, in their own home. It wasn't the tidiest of jobs, but it worked and kept them warm.

If she is a council or housing ass. tenent then the above doesn't apply, it is down to the housing authority

However, EAGA does take a long time. I think you have to be on a waiting list. maybe SS could help out here, or wait until all the tenders and allocation takes place, surveys done and paperwork has been completed.

I think it took maybe, well over 1 year for, Mum and Dad's heating to be installed, unfortunately by that time they couldn't learn how to operate it

On the other hand when they were staying here in the "bungalow" we removed the solid fuel heating system and subsituted a combi boiler in a locked cupboard. At our own cost. Taped the thermostat with greenhouse tape and that worked a treat.

No more turning the thermostat down or turning everything of, so the place was always warm.

Godd luck

Alfjess
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,445
0
Kent
Thanks for endorsing these heaters Norman. They are wonderful aren`t they.

We had them in the bedrooms before the days of central heating and I have one in our bedroom now, for chilly summer evenings, when the whole house doesn`t need heating but some background warmth is needed.

They are so inexpensive to run and very safe.

Love xx
 

dianasnan

Registered User
Jun 18, 2007
11
0
Would the oil filled radiator give off enough heat to keep a 12 x12 room warm? I was thinking that the fan would pump out the heat more but I could be wrong.

she can't have central heating put in as there is nowhere to put a boiler, not even in the kitchen as the kitchen extension is of pre-fab construction over 30 years old so none of the walls could support a boiler. Plus she would fiddle with it and having had the gas cooker disconnected 4 years ago and the gas fires recently, gas and my Mum don't mix.
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,445
0
Kent
If the heater is in a bedroom it would give off enough heat. In a living room of that size, I`d suggest two heaters, one on each opposite wall.

But you should ask the retailer as there might be some more powerful ones, and then one would be sufficient.

But they are so safe, there`s nothing to fiddle with that can go wrong.
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
There are calculators that can be used to work out what size of radiator you would need depending on the room and its construction. However, I will say that my mother had one of those panel electric radiators (not oil filled) in her spare bedroom in her old house that was 1.5KW and if you left it on all the time it (the room) would get impossibly hot. That room was about 12 by 12 but it had a big double-glazed bay window, so your mileage may vary.
 

Skye

Registered User
Aug 29, 2006
17,000
0
SW Scotland
I hesitate to say this, but in fact I haven't found oil filled radiators cheap to run. I bought one for our conservatory, and the next bill was so high I had an advisor out to check it. She immediately spotted the radiator, and said 'There's your answer.

You can work it out yourself. One 1KW radiator, on for 24 hours a day, electricity at 10p per KW, = £72 per month, £216 a quarter. And that's just for one room!

OK, you could probably half that, because it will be thermostatically controlled, but in the really cold spells it would be on much of the time.

I think your best bet would be to get Age Concern to put pressure on the council to put new central heating in.

Alternatively, your mum may qualify for a home heating grant. Check out this website:

http://www.home-energy-savers.net/
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,445
0
Kent
800w heat output
Slim unobtrusive design
Very low running costs (3p per hour approx.)
3 heat settings
Overheat safety cut out
Wall mountable
3 year guarantee.

This is what I copied from one of the sites.
 

Skye

Registered User
Aug 29, 2006
17,000
0
SW Scotland
I imagine the 3p per hour must be on the very lowest setting, which would only provide background heat.

800w at 10p per Kw/hour= 8p per hour, £1.92 per 24 hrs, £57.60 per month, £172.80 per quarter, assuming it's on all the time.
 

Margaret W

Registered User
Apr 28, 2007
3,720
0
North Derbyshire
800w isn't going to heat a living room satisfactorily in winter. Whatever you buy is going to cost you to run if its electric, and if mum is going to fiddle with it, could cost a great deal! Plus, electric heating is very "dry", can make a room rather stifling if your mum has any breathing problems. I appreciate she hasn't got the facility to hang a boiler in the kitchen - what about a free-standing one? Or a back-boiler within a gas fire (with the gas fire disabled) fitted into a chimney breast - they do still make them. Try the website for Gloworm or Potterton, I'm not up to date on this, but I did suss them out a few years ago.

I'm sure there are gas fires that won't let you turn them on without being lit, or they turn themselves off.

Wonder if Help the Aged or Age Concern have any advice?

Margaret
 

dianasnan

Registered User
Jun 18, 2007
11
0
thanks for all your suggestions,

Will look into the safety gas fires but I,m not sure that her neighbours would forgive me if I let her have gas again as we have had several occasions when they came perilously close to losing their homes and this last episode was the final straw.
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
I would strongly suggest you use one of the multitudinous calculators to work out the actual running costs of anything you choose. The difference in cost in running any heating appliance can vary by a factor of 10 or even more depending on the room construction, the amount of glass, its insulation etc., so don't immediately assume that what wouldn't work in one situation might not work for your mother. It's all about heat loss!
 

Forum statistics

Threads
138,142
Messages
1,993,295
Members
89,798
Latest member
JL513