Electric Space Heaters

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  • Pappy
    The Full Monte
    • Dec 2002
    • 10453
    • San Marcos, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 (x2)

    Electric Space Heaters

    Our weather is fairly mild but it does get cool/cold, especially at night, this time of year. The wife and I are both smokers but don't smoke in the house. We generally use a small heater when we are on the porch, plugging it in when we need it. I need to buy a new heater for this use but want opinions of which kind to get. The gray one is the type I have now and the fan isn't the most enthusiastic. Anybody have experience with the white one? Both are sold by Northern Tools.

    Don, aka Pappy,

    Wise men talk because they have something to say,
    Fools because they have to say something.
    Plato
  • capncarl
    Veteran Member
    • Jan 2007
    • 3564
    • Leesburg Georgia USA
    • SawStop CTS

    #2
    I don't much like the heaters with visible elements. i purchased a couple of these ceramic cube space heaters to heat my houseboat with. It had very little to none insulation plus it being on the water made it extremely cold in the winter. The ceramic heaters were so effective I seldom used both. I think these were the most expensive ceramic heaters, but I though I needed "marine" since it was for a boat. I believe the $25-$30 ceramics would be just fine.
    capncarl
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    • woodturner
      Veteran Member
      • Jun 2008
      • 2047
      • Western Pennsylvania
      • General, Sears 21829, BT3100

      #3
      Originally posted by Pappy
      Our weather is fairly mild but it does get cool/cold, especially at night, this time of year. The wife and I are both smokers but don't smoke in the house. We generally use a small heater when we are on the porch, plugging it in when we need it. I need to buy a new heater for this use but want opinions of which kind to get. The gray one is the type I have now and the fan isn't the most enthusiastic. Anybody have experience with the white one? Both are sold by Northern Tools.
      If you can wait, Walmart will close out heaters at great prices in the early Spring. I got two ceramic heaters last year, IIRC they were marked down from $50 to $5.
      --------------------------------------------------
      Electrical Engineer by day, Woodworker by night

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      • Pappy
        The Full Monte
        • Dec 2002
        • 10453
        • San Marcos, TX, USA.
        • BT3000 (x2)

        #4
        I need at least 1 heater now. Another type I was looking at is quartz. Tractor Supply carries these.



        I'll have to look for ceramic heaters. One required feature is a blower fan since it will be used on a screened in porch.
        Don, aka Pappy,

        Wise men talk because they have something to say,
        Fools because they have to say something.
        Plato

        Comment

        • capncarl
          Veteran Member
          • Jan 2007
          • 3564
          • Leesburg Georgia USA
          • SawStop CTS

          #5
          The blower was what I really liked about the ceramic heater. They are small but boy they put out the heat. We set he heater on the galley counter, pointed it toward the stern and it would heat the whole boat

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          • trungdok
            Established Member
            • Oct 2012
            • 235
            • MA

            #6
            If you are only using the heater while you're out there for a bit, maybe an infrared heater would be a good choice. I'm assuming your porch is not enclosed, traditional heater won't be heating up the space and only heat directly in front of you. Infrared heater will only heat directly in front of you as well, but you could stay a bit further away from it and still feel warm.

            Comment

            • cwsmith
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2005
              • 2737
              • NY Southern Tier, USA.
              • BT3100-1

              #7
              I have my 12 x 20 shed, which is yet to be insulated. Here in the NE I definitely need some serious heat, but don't want to spend a fortune for temporary and presently occasional use.

              I have a ceramic heater (tower) which actually doesn't do too bad, providing you don't mind working in a jacket. A couple of weeks ago, the temperature was down around 28 - 30°. The ceramic heater rotates side-to-side (if you want) and it raised the temperature about 15° over the course of an hour-plus. Seeing that I barely get more than an hour or so at a time to do anything out there, I wasn't happy about the change and so thought perhaps an infrared quartz heater might be better.

              Quartz heaters are supposedly much more efficient, or so most charts display. So my local Big Lots store had a six-element quartz on sale for $99. Three heat settings and a digital thermostat, I figured it might work out better. But on buying it, I didn't see much of a difference between it and the ceramic. They are both rated for a maximum of 1500 watts. Both put out warm air at about the same fan speed. The Quartz is supposed to "warm objects" and not particularly the air. Placing your hand a few inches from the front of the exhaust, the ceramic heater feels hotter than the quartz, but as I understand it, the quartz is heating differently. Both heaters have digital temperature display with a thermostat setting, timer, and remote.

              Looking at the manual however, the quartz heater say it may take up to 24 hours to fully heat an insulated room of average size. Neither heater is designed to act on their own and are for "supplement" purposes. I tried the quartz over a couple of days, but frankly felt the ceramic was doing a better job.

              Frankly for my work shed, I'm going to need someting bigger, in the range of 30,000 btu's if I want to heat the place for even a few hours. I'm presently considering an LP vent free unit. If that doesn't do the trick, then in the summer I'll have a gas line put in and small wall unit installed.

              CWS
              Last edited by cwsmith; 12-05-2016, 11:11 AM.
              Think it Through Before You Do!

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              • leehljp
                Just me
                • Dec 2002
                • 8429
                • Tunica, MS
                • BT3000/3100

                #8
                I have about a 16 x 16 work room, (and two closets/storage) but I'm thinking of making a ceiling to floor curtain around two sides with my work (lathe) in a corner (8 x8). Placing a small heater strategically, not close to the curtain or against a table leg will hopefully warm the work area during the winter. I have seen reference to this on a couple of occasions elsewhere, so I know I am not the first. I know it is not the most efficient, but hopefully it will warm the work area a little quicker and help concentrate the heat to the work area.

                I have a ceramic rotating one that works well, if LOML will let me borrow it.
                Hank Lee

                Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

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                • capncarl
                  Veteran Member
                  • Jan 2007
                  • 3564
                  • Leesburg Georgia USA
                  • SawStop CTS

                  #9
                  Pappy, sounds like most any fan forced heater will serve your needs, rather that the non fan forced heaters.

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