electric blanket not lasting long

I am on my second Sunbeam electric blanket this Winter and it is doing the same thing as the first one I had-- starts off for a couple of weeks working correctly, then spends a week getting weaker and weaker where I have to turn up the controller all the way and even then the heating is uneven and weak. I was going to return this one too, but before I do, I wanted to ask if anyone knew of a solution to repair this? Almost seems like there is a circuit issue somewhere, maybe in the controller, but who knows. If it were a cheap repair, I'd just keep the blanket after the low cost repeatable fix. Thank you.

Reply to
R2D4
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Pretty much same problem here. So just letting you know you're not hallucinating.

t
Reply to
danny burstein

In the interim, I've ordered a Softheat brand; supposed to be top rated and also a higher pricetag, but we'll see (about double the price of the Sunbeam for the twin size). Not exempt from its share of problems either, although less than the Sunbeam. I kick myself for ditching my original electric blankets-- they lasted 15 years with no issues.

Reply to
R2D4

R2D4 wrote in news:o8kdsh$le8$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

Mine - every brand I've tried - last a bit longer - two, or if I'm very lucky, three years. I guess they're designed now to fail - and keep the Chinese factory production lines going.

Reply to
KenK

That's crazy. Not fair to the US consumer, is it? Well, the Softheat I have coming has a 5 year warranty which, from what I have read, they seem to honor for failures. To be honest though, I'm thinking of ditching the whole idea of electric blankets and just going back to good blankets. I mean, it they're all this unreliable now.....

Incidentally, I've had two Walmart bought $19 Sunbeam throws that have gone on for several years now and I've even stepped on the controllers and krinkled the throws up themselves many times. Wonder why they're lasting and the blankets aren't?

Reply to
R2D4

It's called obsoletion, as in a manufacturers requirement for products to become obsolete or to have a limited life span. If products were made to last forever, how would the CEOs be able to afford their mansions, vacation homes, jets and luxury cars?

Reply to
Meanie

Same problem here, the heating wires are not the same as the old days, they are two parallel wires with the heating material embedded between the two wires and the electricity is applied across the two wires, sort of a parall el system instead of series. I think the idea is that if the wire breaks i t won't spark and start a fire?

But they do seem to degrade and it is the heating element wire itself that degrades, not the controller. I have been searching for the right kind of replacement wire but it must be hard to find. If you could find the wire , the repair would be easy.

m
Reply to
makolber

I've noticed that electric blankets do not last as long as they used to. Don't know if the heating element in the blanket is being made cheaper allowing it to break, or they've done something with the controller in the name of hyper safety liability that thinks it's overheating and shutting down.

Reply to
Arthur Conan Doyle

Quit blowing farts, man. It'll last just fine....

Reply to
Travis Bickle

I'm on my third blanket. I liked the first controller (better shape) and still use it. It's the blankets that are failing.

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

We just use ours to pre-warm the bed - must be 8 or 10 years old now

- actually likely older than that - and still working fine. It is a sunbeam queen size We only replaced the old one because a double size doesn't work too well on the queen.

Reply to
clare

I've never had an electric blanket, but the electric mattress pad I use is about 10 years old and still working. You might try that.

Reply to
Vic Smith

Thanks, I've been thinking about trying one out instead. What brand do you use?

Reply to
R2D4

Westpoint Stevens. Wife picked it up new for @50 bucks. Double bed size. One controller. Don't know if they make it now.

Reply to
Vic Smith

Check out electric mattress pads. The heat is coming "up" from under you -- less overall heat needed.

Reply to
John Albert

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Answered my own question. Doesn't explain why they break, but probably a thinner heating element is more susceptible to damage.

We are constantly asked why today?s blankets are not as hot as older ones. The answer is that since the late 1980?s, electric bedding in the USA has been designed to be used all night long at a low wattage, i.e. a low level of heat. This has prevented many of the fires that used to happen in this country and still do occur in some other countries that continue to use higher wattage products. Today?s heat level in this country is so low that unless a blanket traps the generated heat, you will hardly feel the warmth.

Reply to
Arthur Conan Doyle

Indeed:

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Reply to
Arthur Conan Doyle

Just makes getting into bed on a cold night a little more comfy by preheating for about 15 minutes or so. The comforter takes care of the rest.

Reply to
clare

As others have said, try the heated mattress pad. I have used the heated mattress pad for about 25 years, however, the do eventually break. The one I have now has the name Cannon on it, however, they all are the same and are made in China. I didn't like the controllers because they were (wait for the buzz word ....) digital. This means I can't connected them to an X10 unit to automatically pre-warm the bed. So I called the company. It took many, many tries to get through to an apparently, one person call center, that covered this model marked with several manufacturer's names. She offered to send me a set of controllers that have a real on/off switch and thus will work with X10. My wife uses her's every night to pre-warm, but usually turns it off before she falls asleep. If not, the X10 controller will turn it off at a set time, in our case, midnight. On my side, I have an old twin bed electric mattress pad, horizontally at the bottom of the be. The hotter side is on my side. I only want warm feet. But there are those time that I'll turn on the whole bed unit.

As for electric throws, I have a very old Sunbeam throw and it still works well. Only problem is that it's too short. So usually I use a twin bed electric blanket which works well. But I really think the Sunbeam throw puts out a little more heat than the full twin blanket.

Reply to
Art Todesco

My Sunbeam throw, just a couple of years old, works well too. Why it's lasted so well, I don't know. It certainly gets crumpled and left on and day after day keeps working. Sitting with it around me now as I write. I've even nearly crushed the controller getting out of the chair sometimes, but it still keeps going.

I have a Softheat blanket on the way. I ordered through Walmart website and it's expected to arrive tomorrow. I ordered it before reading much about the mattress pads-- they will be the next thing I try if this blanket fails to meet expectations within the return period. I went with Softheat because they have among the highest ratings and all reviews say that they seem to stand behind their 5 year warranty, replacing parts as they fail.

For you all using comforters, what's a good brand that's fairly lightweight and would keep me warm? If I could find a good one of those, I might just abandon the electric blanket idea altogether. I used to have a few *real* down filled (not down alternative) throws that were great to have for the chairs, but they all wore out. Your comforter brands would be welcome.

Reply to
R2D4

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