Supplemental Heating

[mistereric]

Love love love my electric blankets as well!   I also have a hot air humidifier in the bedroom, which helps.  My main problem is stratification - I have a slab home with all the ductwork run high in the ceilings.  Works wonderfully for AC, and is miserable for heating. Ceiling fans are a help,  but I don't care for them.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Mistereric, have you tried leaving in the fan switch in the "on" position instead of "auto" when you are in the house? It will help with your stratification problem.

 

[mistereric]

Tom, I have... I wonder how long I can leave the fan on, though.

 

[joe_in_philly]

We have a panel heater in the bathroom plugged into a timer. It was made in south africa and sold by econo-heat. They no longer sell them, but do sell a newly designed model.

The one I have is a smaller model, and I painted it to match the wall. Basically it is mounted a fraction of an inch from the wall, and creates a convection current by heating the air between the panel and the wall. The total amount the heater sticks out from the wall is one inch.

http://www.theheatpumpcentre.co.nz/heat_panels.html

 

[mayguy]

Fan "ON"

You can leave the fan on all the time if you wish. A standard PSC fan is going to use a bit more power than a variable speed blower like I do.

I run my fan 24/7 in the winter, and all the rooms are with in 1˚ from one another.

 

[gadgetgary]

Amish Fireplace

At $399.95, that seems a bit steep. States it is 'heat surge' technology.

 

Doesn't 1500W compute to the same usage no matter what type heater?

 

 

Ray, did you uncle say how much it increased his electric bill? How often does he use it?

 

Mixed reviews on this one:

http://www.hsn.com/infomercial/heat-surge-amish-made-electric-fireplace_p-6147440_xp.aspx?webm_id=6147440&web_id=6147440&ocm=sekw|items_recently_aired&cm_re=merchzone_carousel*page1_spot2_image*merchzones&o=search-RI&cm_sp=Recommended*Search*top

 

[gadgetgary]

Smaller "Heat Surge" Accent Fireplace

States it puts out the same amount of heat as the larger fireplace.

 

$100 Less.

 

 

 

http://www.hsn.com/infomercial/heat-surge-amish-made-accent-fireplace-with-remote_p-6147444_xp.aspx?cmsstr=964412&webm_id=6147444&web_id=6147444&sz=665&sf=HD&dept=HD0060&cat=HD0088&o=&ocm=seis

 

[3beltwesty]

1500 watts is still 1500 watts

Here I paid about 15 bucks for my 500/100/1500 watt Patton heater in 1992 that was made in Indiana.

If you want to pay more for a free Chinese heater surrounded by Amish wood for 400 bucks, more power to you. It still is a 1500 watt heater

 

[mattl]

Yes, most of us know the "Amish' fireplaces are a BIG joke, there's a sucker born every minute.  1500 watts is 1500 watts...  I've also lost what little respect I've had for Bob Villa when he started pushing those overpriced heaters, big time sell out.

 

In bed I much prefer a heated mattress pad over an electric blanket.  The heat radiates up and warms you very nicely, also uses a bit less power, mine is rated at 130 watts vs. my electric blanket at 180 watts.

 

[toggleswitch]

I had a heated mattress pad cover. But princess over here could feel the wires!
LOL.

I had an ex pee the bed whilst drunk (and asleep). No thanks, I think an electric blanket is FAR safer. LOL

 

[rayjay]

Increase in Electric Bill

Gary, I will ask my uncle and let you know. All I know is my aunt puts it on in the bedroom and it keeps it toasty warm till they go to bed.

I will get more information.

 

[hydralique]

I keep an electric oil radiator under the window next to my bed. It has two independently switchable elements, one 600 watt and one 900 watt, and a thermostat -  all pretty standard for an inexpensive heater. I really love it as we don't keep the central heat set very high at night and the radiator mitigates the coldness around the old single-pane window. Outside temps can easily get down to the low 30s here at night, but I rarely ever use more than the 600 watt element. One thing I really like about radiators is that they don't get hot enough to catch books, papers, or curtains on fire, so I don't worry about what's around it.

 

Toggles - now we know why your ex is an ex! I've always heard the phrase "I wouldn't throw him out of bed for cracker crumbs", but peeing in the bed is an entirely different consideration IMO!

 

[peterh770]

I also have one of the Patton heater fans for my bathroom while I shower.  Just picked up a second one at an estate sale.

 

 

[whirlcool]

When our heat went out last night we holed up in the bedroom with our oil filled electric heater and our electric blanket and 4 dogs.

The room (15x18) was nice and toasty all night long. The rest of the house went down to 52 degrees which took some time to recover in the morning.

 

[DADoES]

 

Have a Vornado which is currently at the grandmother, and this Honeywell.  Been using an ancient Sunbeam electric blanket last few nights.

 

 

[michaelman2]

I use a small fan forced ceramic heater that I have on a remote.  I don't roll out of the bed until I reach over and pop that thing on for a few mins....takes the chill off the room.....Is that spoiled or what?

 

[sudsmaster]

The oil filled radiators seem to me to be the best for safe area heating, although all these resistance electric devices will wind up costing $$$ in kilowatts.

 

The reflector type heaters seem to be best for drafty or open environments where they can warm a body without having to raise the temp of the whole room/hovel. I used one at a rustic machine shop (and that is a kind description) that was very drafty. It helped, esp. since I wasn't paying for the juice.

 

 

 

 

 

[DADoES]

 

This is my primary heating source.

 

 

[whirlcool]

When I was a kid we didn't have electric blankets. My parents used to turn the heat in the house down to 60F. What we did have were heavy down blankets! Those were thick ones too. Sure you'd freeze your butt off the first few minutes you jumped in bed but you soon warmed up nicely and stayed that way the entire night. You could hear the wind whistling and roaring throughout the night as your were as snug as a bug under a run.
These days, I can't stand the feeling of jumping into a cold bed. We prewarm the bed with an electric blanket. But through the night we use the lowest setting. Sometimes you can't put a price on true comfort!

 

[gadgetgary]

Cast Iron Stove

Seems like a nice way to supplement whole house heating, and add some atmosphere.

 

 

It got great reviews on HSN.

 

 

http://home-solutions.hsn.com/fire-sense-stove-style-electric-heater_p-6220053_xp.aspx?cmsstr=103970&webm_id=6220053&web_id=6220053&sz=665&sf=HD&dept=HD0060&cat=HD0088&o=&ocm=seis