Portable heater for lounge/living room?

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6325 posts

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#1328968 22-Jun-2015 08:37

oh i earn my living in bedroom sports, the living room is my break away room ;-p

actually there is a little clip looking thing, ill see if the want is high enough to flick it over, stupid tenants have lost some of the telescope. also looking into a cheap backing clothe just to pin up and un pin on cold nights to block hall way.

there are electric throws? that sounds cosey. we currently just use nice warm blankets, but when it gets to those 1-3 degree nights they wont be enough.

andrewNZ

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#1328980 22-Jun-2015 09:04

http://www.harveynorman.com.au/heating-cooling/heating/electric-blankets/goldair-electric-micro-fleece-throw.html

TeaLeaf

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#1329050 22-Jun-2015 10:00

wow that coule be a heaps better option.

do you know the wattage output? ill try a google. just seeing how much power it will use in comparison.

edit: flap 60w, even with 2 running thats a shed load less power than a 2000w heater :-)

SepticSceptic

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#1329272 22-Jun-2015 13:40

TeaLeaf: No gas where Im at. Ive used conventional bottle gas heaters before, can really heat a place fast and seems to feel like a mix of radiant and convection type heat. But I dont think gas bottles in our rental is a safe option.

Why do you think gas bottles in a rental is not a safe option ?

Quite a few renters will be using the 9kg bottles gas LPG heaters for heating their chilly and draughty homes ..

LPG heaters will generate far more heat than any electric heater - 3 panels going generate 4200 watts of heating, 2 panels will generate 2850 watts of heat - which is 20% more than the maximum that an electric heater can generate (2400w).

As for costings, gas usuage is 100gm/hour, per panel, so for 2 panels, 200gm/hour, so assuming a 9kg LPG bottle, that would take 5 hours per kg, so 45 hours per fill.

Alternately, say you use it 5 hours per day, that's 9 days per fill. On two panels.

A bottle fill is say $27.00.

So that works out to $3 per day.

OK, now 'lectricity - 27c per Kw/H

5 hours use at 27c = 1.35, plus the 20% to make up the LPG -equiv shortfall,

So that's $1.62 per day, just over half the cost of bottled LPG.

I think my math is correct, feel free to correct :-)

Electricity is cheaper, but a 3 panel LPG heater will heat your room a lot faster.

TeaLeaf

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#1329280 22-Jun-2015 13:49

Nope I think you are spot on.

We had 2 months off down Paunui last year in a rental and had 2 gas heaters, I guess im just afraid of the fumes people talk about.

And the stupidest thing is im ignorant to what are those fumes? If you leave your indow 1cm cracked is that enough for them to escape?

Yep they sure work, they remind me of our radiant heater in the 70s, which use to burn my jandles hahaha, very hot, very quick.

Good work on the math by the way.

Also probably not hard to find a used LPG heater on TM?

But could someone educate me to the safety concerns of them?

jonathan18

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#1329284 22-Jun-2015 13:51

TeaLeaf:
But could someone educate me to the safety concerns of them?

Worst-case side-effect?

Death.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/boys-deaths-blamed-on-faulty-gas-heater-20100602-wzxa.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1164625/Familys-grief-teenage-son-friend-gassed-death-slept-summer-house.html

Jase2985

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#1329285 22-Jun-2015 13:51

Carbon Monoxide and nitrogen dioxide

google them and the associated health effects

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lxsw20

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#1329296 22-Jun-2015 14:07

If you do for some reason decide gas is the best option, invest in a Carbon Monoxide Alarm.

timmmay

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#1329299 22-Jun-2015 14:14

Re SepticSceptic, couple of notes. I pay anything down to 8c/kwh on Flick, off peak, but in the evening it's more like 12-17c/kwh. Also heat pumps don't run at 100% power, they have an initial heat up period at full power then they run at a more efficient lower power setting and turn off when you're up to heat. Gas heaters may have a similar dialing down feature.

SepticSceptic

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#1329315 22-Jun-2015 14:37

Thanks Timmmay.

I was working off my electric power costs, which is an all-inclusive charge, but didn't take into account prompt payment discount (20%), and the GST. So ball park figures :-)

I am aware that heatpumps are far more eficcient, but not every place, expecially rentals, have them. Afterall, they have only been a mass-market item for the last 30 odd years. And still, many new builds don't incorporate them. Maybe good insulation ?

But we didn't have heat pumps when we were growing up in the 60's and 70's, The good old kero heater did us well :-)

SepticSceptic

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#1329318 22-Jun-2015 14:48

TeaLeaf:

Also probably not hard to find a used LPG heater on TM?

But could someone educate me to the safety concerns of them?

Would be wary of buying a second hand LPG heater - cracked hoses, faulty seals, probably would need to have the gas emitters serviced, probably a cost of at least a hundred.. New LPG heaters can be purchased for around $120. The DeLonghi we use was $180.00 ?

There will always be a faint odour associated with LPG gas, as the chemical additive odouriser will not fully burn off. The odouriser is added as a safety feature, normal LPG is odourless.

You need some ventilation, most older houses will breathe a fair amount, usually under doors, round windows etc. Carbon Monoxide is heaver than air,, and will suffocate you. Gently. You wont know. So dont sleep directly on the floor. You wont get up. Ever.

There is also condensation from the burning, but still seem to have condensation on the windows even when I dont run the LPG. Damned DiHydrogen Monoxide. Stuff gets everywhere. Can't even wash it off.

TeaLeaf

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#1331449 25-Jun-2015 15:36

the mrs reckons she figured it out to close the vents, had to show me up.

now for the blocking of the hall way, most of the cold comes from there, front door. so the gap to kitchen and wall is abou 3/4m by 10x. What kind of ultra cheap material could i Use to keep the heat in?

bongojona

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1331453 25-Jun-2015 16:05

hot water bottle under your jumper on the couch...

all you need !

bongojona

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#1331466 25-Jun-2015 16:26

TeaLeaf: the mrs reckons she figured it out to close the vents, had to show me up.

now for the blocking of the hall way, most of the cold comes from there, front door. so the gap to kitchen and wall is abou 3/4m by 10x. What kind of ultra cheap material could i Use to keep the heat in?

bubble wrap ! (really works)

jonathan18

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#1331925 26-Jun-2015 09:51

TeaLeaf: the mrs reckons she figured it out to close the vents, had to show me up.

now for the blocking of the hall way, most of the cold comes from there, front door. so the gap to kitchen and wall is abou 3/4m by 10x. What kind of ultra cheap material could i Use to keep the heat in?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the quality of the curtain or other fabric doesn't need to be fantastically thick or thermal-lined to make a significant difference to blocking out the cold; rather, just make sure it blocks as much of the gap as possible. Speaking of which, is the space you're wanting to block really 10 m long by 3-4 m high? That is a damn high stud and a big space to block - is there really no way of blocking it off at a narrower and/or lower point?

Have you tried an end-of-line curtain or general fabric shop? We've previously picked up good fabric for curtains at bargain prices in such shops in Wellington, and I assume they're found elsewhere in NZ. Of course, lining the curtaining will help, but not as much as blocking the gap.

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