quartz infrared heaters

MelissaW · #1 10/25/07, 06:25 AM

Does anybody have one, and if so, would you recommend them? We heat with a wood furnace, but are considering a quartz infrared heater that is supposed to heat 1000 sq. ft. to heat our main floor at times when it's not practical to start a fire, like in the morning before everyone leaves for work and school.

If I were to put it in the largest room, would the heat travel into the other three rooms enough to make them comfortable? Are the replacement bulbs affordable? Thanks!

Farmer Dave · #2 10/25/07, 06:41 AM

I have 3 quartz electric heaters and I personally like them better than the ceramic or the oil filled heaters. However, I believe they are best for use in smaller enclosed areas and not for heating an entire floor of a house. I've found they are great for sitting directly in front of while reading but they don't keep areas very warm that are located away from the front of the heater. An oil filled electric heater is best for heating an entire area but they take awhile to warm the room (couple hours or more) where the quartz you get almost instant heat directly in front of it.

**Cabin Fever** · #3 10/25/07, 07:38 AM

1000 sq. ft.?!?!?!? What kind of electrical plug does it have? 110 or 220? If it's a regular 110 volt device it won't put out any more heat (BTUs/hour) than a hair dryer.

MelissaW · #4 10/25/07, 03:36 PM

It says it uses a 110 volt outlet and 12.6 amps/1500 watts. It's says it is 5000 BTU's. I know that we have both 110 and 220 outlets in our house, but I have no idea what that other stuff means! Maybe if the air doesn't travel well, it's not the best option. The living room is 15 x 18 which has a wide opening to the kitchen/dining room that is something like 15 x 25. The office and bathroom don't matter all that much and can be closed off. Thanks for the input! I really wanted to hear a few opinions before making a purchase.

Jim S. · #5 10/25/07, 03:39 PM

Electric is your most expensive form of heat, in the vast majority of the country.

Silvercreek Farmer · #6 10/25/07, 03:57 PM

Maybe get a couple oil filled electric heaters and put them on timers(on 2 different circuts), perhaps coming on 2 hours before you get up and shutting off when you leave. As cabin mentioned, 1500 watts is very unlikely to heat 1000sq ft unless it is very well insulated or only 50 degrees out! A big 220 volt heater could probably do it (plugs into something like your dryer or stove outlet) but the cost of the unit and wiring it are probably not worth it. Another option may be one of those wall mount LP heaters run on a 100 lb tank. The tank would probably last for quite a while if the heater is only on for a few hours a day. You could leave it on a temp where it only comes on when your fire burns out, then turn it off as you leave the house.

greg273 · #7 10/25/07, 04:08 PM

Those oil-filled baseboard heaters work well, but yeah, they take a little time to warm up the room.
And I'l have to second the thoughts about the quartz heaters, very good for sitting in front of, not so good for heating a room.

BaronsMom · #8 10/25/07, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelissaW

It says it uses a 110 volt outlet and 12.6 amps/1500 watts. It's says it is 5000 BTU's. I know that we have both 110 and 220 outlets in our house, but I have no idea what that other stuff means! Maybe if the air doesn't travel well, it's not the best option. The living room is 15 x 18 which has a wide opening to the kitchen/dining room that is something like 15 x 25. The office and bathroom don't matter all that much and can be closed off. Thanks for the input! I really wanted to hear a few opinions before making a purchase.

We closed off the bathroom one year planning not to heat that room and the pipes froze - oooops!

pancho · #9 10/25/07, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelissaW

It says it uses a 110 volt outlet and 12.6 amps/1500 watts. It's says it is 5000 BTU's. I know that we have both 110 and 220 outlets in our house, but I have no idea what that other stuff means! Maybe if the air doesn't travel well, it's not the best option. The living room is 15 x 18 which has a wide opening to the kitchen/dining room that is something like 15 x 25. The office and bathroom don't matter all that much and can be closed off. Thanks for the input! I really wanted to hear a few opinions before making a purchase.

They are good for single room heaters. A bedroom is about right for one. They are not very good for larger open areas. If they are used for larger areas they will never shut off, run continually, and heat only a small part of the room. They are good for what they are made for but not for as large an area as they are advertised for.

MelissaW · #10 10/25/07, 04:42 PM

Thanks all! You are talking me out of it. Although, we still will be using our wood furnace for primary heat. The quartz heater would only be for when the fire goes out and we wake up to a 58 degree house, and want a little heat from 4:30-8:30 am when we are all getting ready to go out for the day. Still, it sounds like maybe not such a good idea!

uncle Will in In. · #11 10/25/07, 09:19 PM

What do you do when you get home in the evening? If you don't build a fire in the furnace in the morning the house will be so cold when you get home it will be bed time before it gets warm. Did you live there last winter?

MelissaW · #12 10/26/07, 06:01 AM

We've lived here for 15 years. Normally, if I'm on nightshift (half the week), my husband builds the fire in the morning and I let it die down to coals before I go to work two hours before he gets home. Then he just builds it back up again. When I'm on day shift, we build one in the afternoon. The problem is, that makes it too hot when we are sleeping. If we have a small fire in the evening so that it's cool enough to sleep comfortably, it's only 56-60 degrees when we wake up and no one wants to build one for the few hours we are home before going to work again. I guess this house is pretty well insulated, because if we wake up and the fire is out, and we don't build one all day until someone comes home, it still has never gone below 55 degrees in here.

Today is also a good example of why a little heater would be nice. It's not cold outside, but it's cool -about 45 degrees- and the house is at around 62. It's not really cold enough to fire up the big furnace, and by afternoon, it will be plenty warm in here, but right now it would be nice to have it a few degrees warmer.

uncle Will in In. · #13 10/26/07, 06:10 AM

If you stay close to one area in the morning such as the bedroom and bathroom a couple of the heaters would help a lot. Might need to move it around with you????

MelissaW · #14 10/26/07, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle Will in In.

If you stay close to one area in the morning such as the bedroom and bathroom a couple of the heaters would help a lot. Might need to move it around with you????

I was thinking that too. The measurements on the one we're looking at are something like 18 x 13 x 14, so it would be easy enough to move. It would also benefit me, the coldy of the family. My guys like it when it's just skimming 60 in here, but I shiver until it's at least 70! I could just huddle in front of the heater with my book, and the icecycles would actually melt off my nose for a change.

uncle Will in In. · #15 10/26/07, 06:21 AM

Those ice cycles on the nose are not a good thing Martha says. They are particulary gross just before they freeze.

MelissaW · #16 10/26/07, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle Will in In.

Those ice cycles on the nose are not a good thing Martha says. They are particulary gross just before they freeze.

I almost got out of bed to put a hat on last night too!

Silvercreek Farmer · #17 10/26/07, 07:45 AM

This "furnace" you have, what is it? Is it airtight? It almost sounds like a good wood stove might do you well, something that will still be burning in the morning so you can just throw a couple of logs on when you get up and it will roar to life.

MelissaW · #18 10/26/07, 08:02 AM

Our furnace is a Hotblast brand coal/wood burning furnace that blows air throughout the house through the regular vents. We installed it a year or so after we built this house, so I guess it is 13 or 14 years old. I think it's fairly airtight and efficient. We burn far less wood than the neighbor with an outdoor wood furnace. It's actually quite easy to bring back to life in the morning, but we don't like leaving a big fire going when we leave the house. We would love to have a smaller woodstove upstairs (the furnace is in the basement), but we have no place to put one in any of the rooms, and no practical place for another chimney or chimney pipe. There is also the fact that I'm just plain lazy at 4:30 in the morning when we get up and don't want to mess with the fire

Those beautiful soapstone stoves sure are tempting though! We like our wood burning furnace a lot, but would just like a little supplimental heat.

Silvercreek Farmer · #19 10/26/07, 08:14 AM

I used to think I didn't want to leave a fire burning either, then I decided that if I was willing to sleep with a fire going then I should be willing to leave with a fire burning. As the latter didn't potentialy put my or my family's life at risk, wheras the former might. Not to say you are wrong, but that is just how I look at it.

Ken Scharabok · #20 10/26/07, 11:09 AM

Check the product literature. If I remember correctly the quartz bulb only last a couple of seasons. Find out the bulb replacement cost and if you can even replace it yourself.

My understanding is the quartz bulb heats up a heat sink material and then heat radiates from it.