Space heater with POWERFUL fan

[Mike S.]

We have a small unheated bathroom and have been using small electric heaters to make the temperature comfortable when someone takes a shower (yes, the heater is keep well away from anything wet). Problem is, while all the small heaters are a nominal 750/1500 watts, they differ greatly on the amount of air moved. For the most part, they're designed to be quiet - and that means they don't move that much ear.

The need is for the heater to get the bathroom warmed up _fast_, which means it must blow a lot of air around the room within only a few minutes. I'm frankly getting tired of standing in the middle of the room with a handheld hair dryer .... but _that_ works.

The latest attempt was with the Vornado heater which claims to create a vortex which causes air to circulate throughout the room. That it does ... the toilet paper rustles from around the corner - but unfortunately that vortex doesn't contain enough high velocity air to instantly heat the whole room.

Any suggestions?

[barry]

If air-moving were the issue, a symptom would be an overheated region in the path of radiation or convection from the heater. Which you do not mention.

Even 1500-watt heater (which does stress the electrical connections) is only going to dissipate 5100 BTU/hr. About half the output of a stovetop gas burner.

Suggestions? Get used to it; start heater earlier; go to higher-output

220v hard-wired heater; insulate, seal, and heat efficiently. Your pick.

HTH, J

[Pat]

Or, heat lamps.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

No amount of air volume or velocity will heat the air any faster than the heater can give off heat. Youneed more h eat, or a longer heating time. Try using a small 10" box fan and see if that helps bbefore you invest in equipmetn that is no better than what you have.

No 1500 watt heater will be instant. Consider an infrared aimed right at you. They tend to feel instant.

[Joseph Meehan]

All the fan does is mix the air. It does not make more heat or increase the heat output of the heater. Unless the problem is a hot area and a cold area, you don't need a stronger fan. If that is your problem, just buy a good fan to mix the air in the room. My guess is you need two such heaters. That likely will mean a new circuit to power the second heater.

Another alternative is to turn on the current heater ahead of time. Turning it on an hour before you want it it can have the room warm. A timer may be needed to help you out.

[Goedjn]

If your water heater has the capacity, running the shower at it's hottest setting will dump a lot of heat into the room fairly quickly, and heat the surface you're standing on, too.

I find that if I turn the shower on first thing as I enter the bathroom, and pull the curtain, by the time I actually get INTO the shower, the stall is a fairly comfortable.

If you need better than that, I think you're going to have to start heating the bathroom all the time.

Or let someone else go first.