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We have two oil filled space heaters and they were a great help when that polar vortex came upon us last winter. One died towards the end of the season and we had to purchase another one on Amazon. The stores had already started trending towards the spring season, and space heaters were off the shelf. We use them every winter and keep one for the basement year round. I like a toasty room when we're watching movies. The oil filled ones are quiet but you have to run them about an hour before you want to use the room. We had one running non stop for days when the polar vortex hit. I have no complaints and no problem with them. I prefer them to noisy space heaters, and I think they're safer than most.
All you people seem in-the-know...any difference in the costof using them?
You should be able to find "cost to operate/energy consumption" information before buying them. You'd have to compare each specific model...and compare the energy consumption of the ceramic towers to that. The oil may retain heat a little longer than the ceramic does. My parents always had one or two of these radiators around. I have relatives in the UK who choose to live in historic buildings; no central heating. There's an oil-filled radiator in every room. Silent and slow, but durable and trouble free.
I don't think the cost of use varies much between (reasonably modern) space heater types. The efficiencies are about the same, and kW per BTU doesn't vary much.
What they do is deliver heat in different ways. The open-radiant ones "throw" heat at a target but heat a room slowly. The convective ones (like oil filled) radiate heat into the area and warm the room without focusing it on any one spot. Choose the type that heats the way you need it to generate comfort.
I have a tiny one with radiant coils and a fan that would probably cost a fortune to use in heating any but a very small room. However, pointed under the desk, it keeps my feet and legs warm even though the room remains on the cool side - which I can tolerate as long as my tootsies aren't frizzed. No need for the expense and trouble of a whole-room heater, or to run the house heat much higher.
All you people seem in-the-know...any difference in the costof using them?
I buy ceramic tower heaters...have maybe 4 of them with remotes controls...
But they are not silent. I could use something at work is why I'm asking.
The cost per BTU to run any resistance electric heater is exactly the same.* Oil filled, ceramic, incandescent light bulbs, your hair dyer or the expensive ones advertised on TV. How they differ is the distribution, one with a fan for example can more evenly push the heat around the room than a cheap radiant heater. The oil filled heaters are also radiant but are slow to heat up but slow to cool down, they also have a lot of surface area. They can provide more even heat similar to hot water radiator.
*One with fan will have slightly more electric consumption and don't confuse these electric heaters with heat pumps which also use electric. Heat pumps are completely different and can be much more efficient.
IMO oil filled heaters are dangerous and smelly. Fire hazard is the main reason. Also based on past history of these heaters the insurance companies don't like'm charging more for for fire coverage.
Don't confuse oil filled space heaters with oil fired central heating. Totally different.
IMO oil filled heaters are dangerous and smelly. Fire hazard is the main reason. Also based on past history of these heaters the insurance companies don't like'm charging more for for fire coverage.
How would an insurance company even know if you had an oil-filled heater? Unless you had a fire caused by one or were foolish enough to volunteer the information? Insurance investigators don't routinely go inside insured houses, unless they're doing an itemized evaluation for very expensive structures. For ordinary houses and policies, a quick look from the street and one photo, is all they do for new policy applications.
Heaters really are not dangerous anymore. Oil based or ceramic, neither one had hot wires. Neither burns anything and neither one can burn anything. You might be able to find some of those old wire resistance heaters if you order them form china, but why would you?
Really is is a question of the delivery style. Oil filled heaters radiate heat. Most ceramic heaters blow it around. One heats your stuff, one heats the air. A fan will heat up an area faster, but it will also lost the heat if a door is opened. Radiated heat heats much more slowly but you do not lose it when you open a door. Radiated heat is also healthier.
I don't see how an oil filled space heater can heat a garage or large room when the temps are really cold outside. I've used them in the past to help heat a bedroom. An oil filled heater isn't going to make a very big dent in heating a cold good sized living room especially with higher ceilings. It will run continuously and never shut off even if it has a thermostat.
If you live in an area with high electrical costs it will suck up a lot of electricity running 1500 watts all day, the same as any space heater will.
I do like the the quiet and radiant heat they put out, especially for a bedroom at night keeping the door shut so heat doesn't escape.
Last edited by marino760; 04-08-2019 at 06:55 AM..
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