What do you guys think of this thing? (heater)

[hotblues20]

The Econoheat Panel wall heater...

It seems too good to be true - I am the guy with the unheated room on the 2nd floor on my 100 year old colonial...

If this thing only puts out 425w and works for a 10x10 room, why not?

What is the catch? Is the product bullshit or what? (The reviews are glowing, but all the reviewers have one review each...a little suspicious...)

If this thing works, why not put one in all 7 rooms and turn off the oil burner completely? I mean, if it runs on 3 cents an hour, that is about $150 a month for the whole house, running 24 hours a day. (I kid, I kid...)

Thoughts?

Bluesman

[rck]

425 Watts is 1451 BTU. Here's a good calculator for figuring BTU needed: Bob

[plumbplumbplumb]

Consider Stiebel Eltron:

look sharp...

[nicksanspam]

And power is energy? :-)

Nick

[hotblues20]

I agree, that thing is pretty cool looking...

So the Econo-heat thing is crap? They appear to have been successful in Europe and S Africa, only recently coming to the US, so it is not like a red neck came up with the idea for a panel heater in his trailer... Maybe I will drop the $70 and see what happens....

Bluesman

[Edwin Pawlowski]

It may be OK for your small room since yo are looking for a supplement to the rest of the house. It will have the same output as four 100 watt lightbulbs. before spending the money, put four lamps with 100 watt bls and see if it does the job for you.

[Colbyt]

Bluesman,

I have been following this thread. Since you like web links, I think this unit would solve your problems in that cold room. It would be worthless in your garage.

I see a cookie in that link so if it fails to display for you, go to samsclub.com and search for "oil filled heater" without the "". It should be the first item displayed, the safeheat oil filled radiator.

Colbyt

[3rd eye]

Is the product bullshit or what?

No, you are. But you've been certainly sucessful at trollin.

(The reviews are

[John Harlow]

Why do people buy "oil filled heaters"? Do they think they put out more heat than a regular space heater or a light bulb?

[effi]

site was enlightening, after reading it thought,,,why not just heat with lightbulbs? now those old indoor pole lights with 3 bulbs and each bulb with its own (heat radiating) metal housing makes some kinda weird sense now...

thought about adding electric floor mats?

ones

thought about any type of solar heat?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Beats me. A Btu is a Btu. The larger surface area of the oil filled makes the surface less likely to burn like the old glowing coils. Can't think of any other reason as the heat output is the same for a given wattage. . Ed

[m Ransley]

For most of the=A0 U.S. electric is nearly triple the cost of gas. So Go electric if you are rich

[Martik]

My heating bill with ZONED electric is approx 1/5 (20%) the cost of natural gas. Why heat 3000 sqft when you use 400 sqft 90% of the time. We pay

6cents/KWH which is equivalent to NG from a 70% AFUE furnace. You need approx 1 watt/cu ft for elec heat with average insulation and temerate climate (Seattle) so a 10 x 10 x 8 room = 800 watts. Double that for the midwest.

[Anonymous]

No Fan to fail, No Fan to whrrrrrrrrrr no "intense heat" source......

No fire hazard !

[hotblues20]

Colby ~

Cool - I have one of those, I think it is a Pelonis, that is on a timer in the unheated room now - it runs a couple of hours in the morning and at night.

I was looking into the Econo-heat thing as a 24 hour non-obtrusive solution - but I agree, the oil filled radiators work pretty well. Thanks,

Bluesman

[Sexytom976]

Space heaters get instantly hot when on and instantly cold when off. Creates uneven temperatures the you WILL notice.

Oil filled heaters retain the heat when it cycles on or off and creates a more even temperature. Not to mention that space heaters can catch fire pretty easily. Oil units dont have any open elements to burn things down with.

[Chip C]

The catch is: "heats a 10 x 10 INSULATED room". A golf cart can get you to work on time if you live close enough. If a room is well enough insulated, you can heat it with a candle.

425W ain't a lot. I'm sure there are rooms out there with cold corners for which this thing is just perfect. But if your unheated room is drafty (or since it's a 100-year-old colonial, "draughty") or has north-facing windows, you might not find that 425W makes much of a difference.

And any local hardware or dept store can sell you nice little oil-filled free-standing heaters (they look like old rads, but they're on wheels), usually switchable 750/1500 W.

Chip C

[JerryMouse]

Five 100-watt lightbulbs will put out more heat. You get light, too!

[Jeff Wisnia]

My thoughts are that you didn't think to tell us where you live or how low the outside temperature gets.

That heater ought to work just great in San Paulo, but how about if it's in Minnesota?

And, what's the nature of the insulation in your room versus the "insulated room" they tested it in?

No one can give you a sensible answer without all the facts. As the others have said, try four lit 100 watt lightbulbs in the room and see if it's cozy in cold weather. That'll tell you what you want to know.

Or, just invite three friends over and see if the room stays warm while all four of you are in it. The average human radiates about 100 watts of heat just standing around, even more if there's an orgy in progress.

Happy Holidays,

Jeff

[Tom Zillig]