Low-wattage space heater

Tube heater of some sort?

Isn't a 'greenhouse heater' what you need?

I have something similar to

but _without_ the built in thermostat. Mine is then connected to a mains plug in thermostat where i can set a frost protection temperature.

I'm not sure what the lowest setting on the linked heaters.

A 250W Dimplex mini 'ceramic' fan heater run for about 12 hours overnight in an outbuilding with a washing machine just about kept the temperature above freezing (range +1 to +3C) over the last 5 or so days. But it's poorly draughtproofed and insulated, with no solar gain. So maybe it might just about do for you.

An incandescent light bulb (100 or 150W, or more than one). I expect you (or someone) will have some lying around. Put it/them in a box if you don't want the light.

When I worked on automated weighbridges, the cabinets had a 100W light bulb in them to prevent the paper from getting damp ...

Unfortunately space is tight in the porch. No socket for a blub, either. One of those tube jobbies looks a possibility, but for tonite I am establishing need by moving a max/min thermometer into the porch. Down to 6.5, so far. Min external temp supposed to be -1 to -3. We'll see.

That's a crying shame... ;-)

. One

Although of not much use if you want to protect the tubing inside the washing machine, if you're only interested in protecting pipework outside perhaps something of this sort would be of use:

Lots of choice at:

One thing to take into consideration is the range of the inbuilt thermostat and how it operates. In reality it must be highly highly influenced by the temperature of the tube itself being internal to the enclosure.

With a tube heater without an inbuilt thermostat and a separate plug in thermostat I'm sampling the temperature approx 600mm away at the plug socket hence more accurately the temperature of the room (old outside toilet now with an insulated roof (no windows).

Check also Ebay for greenhouse tube heaters without an inbuilt thermostat

One issue I found, although with a much higher wattage heater, is that the plug-in thermostat was slightly heated by the contact resistance of the two plug-socket connections and so got a false higher reading; it was difficult to find an accurate anti-frost setting.

nib

RAF Mildenhall The report was made 39 minutes ago, at 19:55 UTC Wind 8 mph from the South Temperature 3°C Humidity 81% Pressure 1040 hPa Visibility 10 km or more Overcast at a height of 3100 ft

JFTR my unprotected outside tap, which is on the exterior wall of the utility room the other side of which is the washing machine, freezes when the outside temperature reaches a sustained -6degC; above that it’s OK.

I would be surprised if pipes in your side porch froze at anything less, unless a ‘beast from the east’ turned up.

How about an incandescent light bulb?

In fact it only went down to +6 in the porch last night. Our outside tap is left 'on', with a shutoff inside.

As I mentioned, no socket to plug it into.

You must have power. Wire up a socket! Screw some baton holders to a strip of wood, wire them to a 13A plug.

How do you square that with "Plugging direct into the socket would also be favourite."?

Plugging a device consuming any amount of power into a lighting socket was, I agree, what out forebears did in the early/middle parts of the last century, but today it is frowned upon.

When I said, "plugging direct into a socket would be favourite" I was referring, obvs, to a 13A socket in the wall. And using an incandescent light bulb in any sort of temporary arrangement is inviting broken glass everywhere.

In a tat bazaar near you: