where can I get the right converter to plug a 300W 120V US fan heater into a UK socket?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yup. And may well be worse being made for the 'land of the free' rather than to EU regs. If there are any.

[Martin Brown]

The most obvious being that the insulation on the wires and any switches is likely only good for lower US voltage. I hope it has a tilt cutout otherwise it will almost certainly invalidate household insurance.

Even with a tilt cutout it may still start a fire by residual heat.

[Robert Phillips]

igned to look a bit like a fan. I don't think it has any fan on there.

Thanks,

An infra red bulb designed for 240V is great

If I don't want to make a hole in a wall and I want to get that infra red b ulb powered by the mains.. What can I get?

I might look at something like that infra red bulb or even this one that is 1000 watts

I see a strap like thing on that 1000 watt one.. I wouldn't want to hang it on something 'cos I don't want to burn the thing it hangs on..or heat the thing it hangs on too much. If I can get it on some kind of stand that can safely hold it, and raise it or move it then that'd be good. Maybe like a tripod for a bulb? Like a lamp stand basically. I suppose a lamp stand(if that's the right term?), for the 1000W bulb with the strap, would be diffe rent to one for the 300W bulb you linked to?

[Robert Phillips]

I will go for a bulb then, one built for 240V. I guess that can be done safely.

If I have the flexibility of even doing one that is 1000W and can plug it in and move it around and raise it then that's great.

[tabbypurr]

A 1kW bulb would be blinding, and a danger in itself. It's also a different animal to a bowl heater. What exactly are you trying to achieve?

NT

[Robert Phillips]

Infra red bulbs produce less light.

I've seen somebody use a greenhouse heater to heat a garage. It wasn't blinding.

If a 1000W infra red bulb would be dangerous and blinding then a couple of 300W infra red bulbs would be fine. I want to mount them and be able to move them and raise them up and down and plug them in.

[Chris Hogg]

A lot of the red-glassed infra red bulbs are just ordinary bulbs with red glass on them to give the impression of being specifically infra red, but actually just reducing the glare. We used to use red-glassed infra red bulbs for drying small samples at work, but found the clear-glass ones worked just as well.

[The Natural Philosopher]

get the heater and stick a 32 uF capacitor in series. It will work

[tabbypurr]

yes, far less

I'm pretty sure we were talking about heat lamps, not IR bulbs.

Without knowing the details I would not assume it safe. Your not being aware of the safety issues only leads me further in that direction.

NT

[Robert Phillips]

igned to look a bit like a fan. I don't think it has any fan on there.

Thanks Peter, that kind of thing, an infra red bulb, looks good, I just nee d a bulb holder for it with a plug. I don't want to drill a hole in the wal l so something like a lamp that could take a bulb like that would help. Bu t the wattage seems low for my purposes.. I want to heat a small bathroom w ith it.

[Roger Hayter]

Are they not the same thing, synonyms even?

[tabbypurr]

the most common heat lamps are 275W filament lamps, they've white light rather than IR

Someone's quoting is messed up

NT

[Robert Phillips]

I guess a 275w lamp would be very slow to heat a bathroom

I see these things advertised as being to heat or pets that stand near it, or for physiotherapy.

I want it to be a heater whose bulb or light source is very accessible so I can clean it. So it doesn't smell.

[tabbypurr]

rather than IR

very

e/dp/B06XHH523H

, or for physiotherapy.

I can clean it. So it doesn't smell.

The main issues with heat lamps & IR heaters are: tip over, solved with a switch on the underside guarding concentration of heat leading to injury or fire. Ideally you want a nonconc entrated source that doesn't focus - bowl heaters fail on both those points as well as tip-over risk & on stability. Heat concentration is ok in situa tions where the lamp is fixed in place in a position that can't cause anyth ing to get too hot, hence one reason why IR heating is normally placed abov e head height. And if you roll your own the whole thing needs to be up to the temps involv ed, which can be fairly severe.

NT

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In a bathroom, you really must make sure anything like that conforms to any regs.

[Dave W]

Thanks Peter, that kind of thing, an infra red bulb, looks good, I just need a bulb holder for it with a plug. I don't want to drill a hole in the wall so something like a lamp that could take a bulb like that would help. But the wattage seems low for my purposes.. I want to heat a small bathroom with it.

------------------------------------------- Now that you've said what you want the heater for, the recommendations are different. Your first post was about how to drive a 120V bowl heater. That claimed to be much better than other heaters because of its low wattage. It is only better for heating one spot because all the heat is concentrated by the parabolic reflector.

For heating your small bathroom you need more wattage and more distributed heat. I have a 2KW fan heater in my bathroom to warm myself, but it's not enough to heat the whole room much and is probably illegal because it's too near a wet area, even though it's double-insulated in a plastic housing. Perhaps a paraffin convector heater would obviate any electrical dangers. Or maybe a heated towel rail.

[Chris J Dixon]

Back in the 50s and 60s it became popular to fit what were marketed as "Heat Light" lamps in bathrooms, because they quickly gave a feeling of warmth. The small ads often used to feature them.

When the original bulbs failed, cheap replacements were often bought that were not designed to cope with condensation, resulting in shattered glass - pretty nasty in a bathroom.

I recall having a large roll top desk up in the attic where I did my homework, and used a reflector heater similar to the one you have looked at. In the end a fan heater blowing into the kneehole was a safer replacement.

Chris

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yes - and as were proper infra red heaters. As a kid we had one. The only heat in the bathroom. In the NE of Scotland. Just about useless.

[tabbypurr]

FWIW the point of bowl heaters was to warm someone sitting in a chair. Because they focussed the heat in one direction they could be low wattage, making them far more affordable than other types.

NT

[Dave Plowman (News)]

We've used infra red heaters on a film location where it can be impossible to heat a drafty old warehouse, etc with space heaters.

Fine to warm your hands etc when fully clothed, but absolutely useless in a bathroom when having a bath.