Mounting a heater - what is a "heat resistant wall" acording to AS/NZS

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timmmay

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#271778 26-May-2020 19:37

I purchased a Goldaire heater to mount on the wall of our laundry. The wall is gib with paint.

The instructions say "wall mounted heaters are only to be mounted on heat resistant walls that comply with current AS/NZD specifications & building regulations".

Questions

How do I know if I have a heat resistant wall? I found that specification but it costs about $90 to buy.
Ignoring standards for a minute, is it generally considered safe to mount a 1000W heater to a painted gib wall? I left the heater on high for an hour, the struts that attach to the wall didn't even get warm.

Handle9

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#2492144 26-May-2020 19:52

You don't know if you have a heat resistant wall as I don't think anything like this exists in the building code. It's just normal BS.

snnet

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#2492204 26-May-2020 20:00

James Hardie Villaboard is considered heat resistant in installations, but the instances I've seen it used (burn off heaters for solar installs) it hasn't been painted so whether that affects the rating I'm not sure

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2492212 26-May-2020 20:17

What standard number? I can't find anything relevant in 3000; there's stuff about saunas and downlights though.

Handle9

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#2492217 26-May-2020 20:23

SomeoneSomewhere:
What standard number? I can't find anything relevant in 3000; there's stuff about saunas and downlights though.

There isn't a standard quotes - it's just manufacturers posterior covering

timmmay

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#2492220 26-May-2020 20:30

SomeoneSomewhere:

What standard number? I can't find anything relevant in 3000; there's stuff about saunas and downlights though.

It doesn't specify a standard number. I Googled and found

AS/NZS 1905.1:1997
Components for the protection of openings in fire-resistant walls - Fire-resistant doorsets

timmmay

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#2492224 26-May-2020 20:35

My neighbor is an electrician, he says they're fine on gib walls in their mounting brackets.

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snnet

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#2492225 26-May-2020 20:37

They generally are, yes

One of the brands - I don't recall if it was CDB Goldair or not - had a spate of wall heaters catching fire. The instructions are probably for wiggle room.

Edit: Yes it was Goldair (in 2018) - but panel heaters (I had thought it was bathroom fan heaters)

https://www.morefm.co.nz/home/trending/2018/08/kiwi-mum-warns-of-the-dangers-of-wall-heaters-after-her-daughter.html

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2492227 26-May-2020 20:42

"Fire resistant walls" is talking about firewalls; I.e. if a fire starts on one side, it takes a certain time to burn through the wall.

Heat resistant is probably more concerned with pyrolysis.

timmmay

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#2492285 26-May-2020 21:17

Having tried it out, it's nowhere near as effective as a fan heater, as expected. We moved all the appliances around, so I might end up putting the heat in a bedroom, on casters in my bedroom for a while, then mounted on the wall of my toddlers room. That's not great that about the recalled models, maybe I better register it in case it's recalled... but there's no registration on their website :(

Bung

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#2492316 26-May-2020 21:54

snnet:
They generally are, yes

One of the brands - I don't recall if it was CDB Goldair or not - had a spate of wall heaters catching fire. The instructions are probably for wiggle room.

Edit: Yes it was Goldair (in 2018) - but panel heaters (I had thought it was bathroom fan heaters)

https://www.morefm.co.nz/home/trending/2018/08/kiwi-mum-warns-of-the-dangers-of-wall-heaters-after-her-daughter.html

The Goldair bathroom fan heater recall was in 2014. Models 3108 & 3109

goweed

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#3369911 2-May-2025 13:21

I had the same query as the OP. I just bought a Goldair model GBH550. On the Goldair website I found this so it seems standard Gib is all good.