Wall panel heater - normal surface temps?

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wratterus

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#233291 9-Apr-2018 10:36

I've just installed a 400w wall panel heater in one room as it's rather chilly there and we have a relative staying for a few months over winter.

It goes pretty good - but man it gets hot on the surface, a lot warmer than I expected. With it being so close to the wall, I feel a little uncomfortable with how hot it does get, and how hot the wall and surrounding area is going to get if it's left on for extended periods.

Wondering if anyone who has one could comment on how they've found theirs, and how hot they actually get? I don't have an accurate way to measure the surface temps, but you can't touch it for more than a few seconds without it feeling like it's going to burn you.

Thanks!

Gurezaemon

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#1991899 9-Apr-2018 10:51

That sounds pretty standard. I wouldn't want to touch my panel heater for more than a second or so.

timmmay

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#1991914 9-Apr-2018 11:29

Warning: heaters can get hot.

How far from the wall is it? You could look at paint / gib board maximum temperatures, and an IR thermometer might be able to measure the temp.

wratterus

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#1991920 9-Apr-2018 11:40

You don't say timmmay. I should say the heater temp itself doesn't concern me, but the heater's proximity to the wall when it's that hot does.

It's installed using the included stand-offs. Haven't measured but probably 20 - 25mm. The house is old (50s) and this specific wall has painted wallpaper over old style gib with that stringy hessian type stuff in it. I may be a little paranoid about fire risks but how hot the wall was getting definitely made me feel a little uncomfortable haha.

I hadn't considered making some custom standoffs, which could actually be a good idea to get it a bit further out from the wall.

Jase2985

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#1992095 9-Apr-2018 15:35

there should be adequate space under the heater to create a convection current between the heater and the wall which should be fine heat wise.

MikeAqua

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#1992110 9-Apr-2018 15:49

Our run slightly warmer than a heated towel rail. Does that help?

Unless someone beats me too it I'll bust out the IR thermometer on the weekend, take a reading and report back.

Mike

wratterus

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#1992111 9-Apr-2018 15:52

MikeAqua:

Our run slightly warmer than a heated towel rail. Does that help?

Unless someone beats me too it I'll bust out the IR thermometer on the weekend, take a reading and report back.

Thank you - that is certainly helpful, this is much much warmer than a heated towel rail.

Mark

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#1992363 9-Apr-2018 20:49

As a matter of interest, which panel did you install ? A big range of them all got recalled for cracking/over heating and fire risk.

https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/recall-panel-heaters

Both of mine had ot go back and I just got the version 2 "don't burn customers houses down" replacements.

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wratterus

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#1992537 10-Apr-2018 09:35

Mark:

As a matter of interest, which panel did you install ? A big range of them all got recalled for cracking/over heating and fire risk.

https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/recall-panel-heaters

Both of mine had ot go back and I just got the version 2 "don't burn customers houses down" replacements.

Right I am going to check that as soon as I get home, thanks for that. It was one the wife procured so I'm not actually sure what exactly it is.

trig42

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#1992551 10-Apr-2018 09:49

We have one in the hallway. It gets hot enough for me not to want to leave my hand on it, but not so hot that I can't touch it. At a guess I'd say 50-60 degrees (based on hot water - how long I can 'touch' our hot water which is at 64 degrees.

Mattmannz

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#1992554 10-Apr-2018 09:50

Are the new 400W don't burn the house down models very effective?

I have a small 4x3 room that needs heating. Everything you read says that they aren't that effective and you are wasting your time with Eco panel heaters.

MikeAqua

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#1992615 10-Apr-2018 11:05

They are effective at slowly and quietly heating a room without having a dangerously hot surface (excluding malfunctions).

They are a simply a 400W electric radiator. The heat output is like a hydronic radiator - slow and steady.

Over 24 hours they turn about 10kWh of electricity into 10kWh of heat. You don't get the efficiency of a heat pump, but they are cheap to buy, DIY install, un-obtrusive and you can have one in each room.

We have programmable thermostat units in the bedrooms and run them continuously for the coldest 6 or 8 weeks of the year (Nelson). We back the temperature off to 15C during the day and increase it to 18C at night. The hallway unit is set to 15C. Our house is sunny and easily heated.

We are on smooth pay so I couldn't tell you what the actual cost of power is, but our annual power bill is low.

Mike

Gurezaemon

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#1992630 10-Apr-2018 11:25

Mattmannz:

Are the new 400W don't burn the house down models very effective?

I have a small 4x3 room that needs heating. Everything you read says that they aren't that effective and you are wasting your time with Eco panel heaters.

I have a 5×3 m office heated by one of these, through a cheapy analog timer. It doesn't heat up quickly, so I set it to come on around 5 am (well before I start work) for a few hours, and then a few hours in the evening.The office is also heated by a fairly grunty computer system, which also helps.

Wooden, somewhat drafty house in Whangarei, so YMMV. It works well as long as the kids don't leave the door open.

wratterus

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#1992859 10-Apr-2018 16:59

Well this one isn't on the list of affected heaters. It seems to be an 'Econo-Heat 0603'. Very basic, doesn't seem to have a thermostat at all, not an adjustable one at least. Mounted 20mm out from the wall. I will try and borrow an IR thermometer and get some temps around it.

Read a bunch of Amazon reviews on this particular heater, and it seems it does get warmer than average for these type of heaters.