Which type of heater is best for a bathroom?

[Pete Zahut]

Apart from a central heating radiator, which we can't do (and even if we could, the central heating won't be on during the night so it's a non-starter anyway), what's the best type of heater for in a bathroom?

This query has been prompted by a rather unpleasant situation. The ceiling height in our (small) bathroom is 7ft 6in and we currently have a fan heater mounted on the wall at about 6ft high. The fan heater starts off at 2kW and when IT thinks it's warm enough, IT switches down to 1kW automatically.

At about 3am one very cold morning I was woken up with a dose of the runs and spent about 50 minutes to an hour sat on the loo. Of course, we all know that hot air rises, so up at ceiling level the room was lovely and warm, so much so that the fan heater took it upon itself to cut it's output down to 1kW. Meanwhile, at 'sat on toilet level' I'm freezing me nads off and shivering for England, as well as suffering the squits!

The fan heater has, just this very morning, gone to that great bathroom in the sky and I'm wondering what we can replace it with that will allow heat to get down to toilet height in order to avoid such a situation again in the future.

[Chris Green]

I'd have thought the obvious answer would be a small (1kW or 1.5kW) radiant heater, preferably with a run-down timer so it doesn't get left on permanently.

[Tim+]

How much do you want to spend? Electric underfloor heating would do what you want but response time is slow so if you want a cosy loo in the middle of the night, you really have to have it running all the time.

I?m not sure whether a kickspace fan heater would be allowed in a small bathroom but at least the heat would be starting off at floor level.

Tim

[Martin Brown]

I suppose you could use a radiant heat insulated electric fire bar high up or another fan heater. The former will warm surfaces and you slowly by radiation the latter will warm the air in the room more quickly.

Pity. It was probably the best chance in terms of warming up the air - all you needed to do was disable the thermostat or set it impossibly high. An air curtain/fan heater is about the best way to warm the air in a room quickly.

You always have the problem that warm air rises but at least a fan heater will stir things up if you set it up right. Done properly as a door curtain it can also help keep warm are inside a heated room too.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

A fan heater is by far and away the quickest way to heat a room when it is actually needed.

Your problem is it is mounted high up, so its internal thermostat reacts to the temperature up there. Rather than at your level - as you say hot air rises.

You need an external thermostat mounted lower down to control the heater if that is the only sensible place to site it.

[alan_m]

Shops have ceiling mounted fan heaters directing the air flow towards the floor. Why not something similar for a bathroom for almost a like for like replacement.

Example:

or

You would have to check if its suitable for bathroom use.

[tabbypurr]

Best option is a room sealed wall mounted gas heater. If you need to go electric, a metal cased fan heater is the best bet. If, despite it blowing down, you were freezing & it hot, I'd ask whether the house's insulation is adequate.

I'd also suggest using a separate CH type stat lower down. Fan heater stats tend to be uncompensated, making them hopeless. Check stat current ratings.

NT

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

This is a wind-up right?

Unless you have a serious medical problem that sees you regularly frequent the toilet for an hour or more at 03:00hrs it appears that you're trying to create a solution to a problem that will most likely never again occur in your lifetime... unless it's a regular occurrence then perhaps there are more important things to worry about than keeping warm whilst evacuating the entire contents of your intestines. ?

Curing the cause is the best solution surely? Just a thought.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Honestly an electric towel rail or stick electric UFH under the tiles

[The Natural Philosopher]

In a house with no gas?

[David]

Flat I visited recently had a fan heater just above the loo, pointing downwards.

The OP doesn't describe how the fan heater was oriented so this may be the way it was set up. Or not.

I wonder why the fan heater was binned before a replacement was sourced?

With yet another Beast From The East on the way this seems foolishly impulsive.

Cheers

Dave R

[Pete Zahut]

That is the exact fan heater that has just self-distructed after many years of service - but it's also the same fan heater that only heats the top two feet of the 7ft 6in high room :-@

[Pete Zahut]

Because it just blew itself up!

[Robin]

You might try an infrared heater[1] pointed at the loo. But it'll only warm you from one direction; and won't warm your nads at all if they're dangling in the shade.

Of course there's always a Japanese style toilet which will warm them with a gentle spray of heated water...

[1] eg

[Pete Zahut]

Pete Zahut explained on 27/03/2018 :

As it's causing so much speculation, here's a picture of the current situation. I don't want a solution where I have to rip half the bathroom apart or run new pipes/cables, all I want is a suggestion for a better form of heating than this IF ONE EXISTS:

[David]

Yes - that looks very familiar.

At least this explains why the bloody thing kept turning itself off as I was shivering on the khazi.

You would think that there might be a thermostat on it to allow raising the cut off temperature a bit.

Thinking further, for your specific use it would be better without a thermostat at all. Don't know if that is allowed within regulations but this might be an option.

Cheers

Dave R

[Huge]

A downdraught fan heater mounted lower down.

[spuorgelgoog]

They do that. There aren't many truly thermostatically controlled fan heaters suitable for bathrooms.

I use a 500 watt t/stat controlled convector at low level. Warms the room adequately and doesn't run away with the lecky bill if left on accidentally.

Owain

[John Rumm]

Fan heaters are usually good for heating the air rapidly. However they need to be left on under thermostat control to keep a room warm. (I use something similar controlled from an external stat in outbuildings just to keep the chill off).

If you want a "I need to feel warm NOW" type of heater, then something like:

will project heat at you. They are better at making the people in a room feel warm, but not so good at heating the air.

[Michael Chare]

Just take care about what you eat and drink.