Room heater buying advice

nRiTeCh

nRiTeCh

Skilled
Guys I'm looking forward to buy a room heater. But have no idea what all characteristics to look for unlike AC we look for 1 ton etc.
So guide me for a room heater.

Queries:
  • Does a single room heater helps heat all the rooms in our house as in does the heat passes/circulates around the house (lame query but again no exp.)
  • I'm particularly eyeing only for a single room ftw.
  • Can we use mild ceiling fan while keeping heater on.
  • Need portable, cheap and good brand.
 
nRiTeCh said:
Guys I'm looking forward to buy a room heater. But have no idea what all characteristics to look for unlike AC we look for 1 ton etc.
So guide me for a room heater.

Queries:
  • Does a single room heater helps heat all the rooms in our house as in does the heat passes/circulates around the house (lame query but again no exp.)
  • I'm particularly eyeing only for a single room ftw.
  • Can we use mild ceiling fan while keeping heater on.
  • Need portable, cheap and good brand.
Click to expand...

oil room heaters are better than halogen or fan ones. but they are expensive.
every room needs its own heater.
fan can be kept on but depends on room and outside temperature. it will not help in keeping the room hot though.
Go with fan based one of orient, morphy richards if you want cheap
 
Oil radiator ones are better if it doesn't matter to you how quickly the room warms up and the temps are not too low. We have always preferred the fan based ones and have 4 of these from Usha. They heat up the room zquickly and more uniformly at the cost of making the air drier than other alternatives. I even carry them with me when I am going to a hill station in winters, because many hotels these days only have the radiator ones and they are too slow for my liking. These are usually 2kW rated and some models have a 2 stage option as well a thermostat which keeps switching it on and off.
 
Have been using Orpat Fan 2000W (three step, only fan, 1000W and 2000W) for many years now. They heat up the room relatively quickly and uniformly as stated by other members. They are pretty cheap aswell (around 1000 rupees).

Pro: Cheap, quickly heat up the room, uniform.
Con: Makes the air very dry.

You can keep a bowl or plate with raised edges and fill it with water. It helps with air dryness.

I use mine with a bowl of water and I don't run it throughout the night. I have set schedules in Wipro 16Amp Smart Plug, it turns the heater ON for 30 mins, then off for 2 hours, then ON for 30 mins and so on throughout the night. Works pretty well for me.
 
Oil heaters are better for health , i have been using Morphy richards, i has been working fine for around 10 years.
 
Oil based ones of you intend to run throughout the night. It is slow, but healthy, won't dry the air. I used one from Westinghouse.
Fan based ones- quick, spread is more, inexpensive, but will dry the air if used for long.
Do refer to suggestion by @john1911 as the water will help to restore some level of humidity.
 
Oil based are good but will be too much on professional front. 6k is fine but again they are heavy.
Would opt for a normal ones but with lesser noise one and light weight.
Arjun said:
Oil heaters are better for health , i have been using Morphy richards, i has been working fine for around 10 years.
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Health as in only dryness worries right?
puns said:
will not help in keeping the room hot though.
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From a single digit temp to a double digit temp is all what I'm looking for. Not like entire night or too warm but sufficient enough warm for entire night.
Also, do fan ones shoot up electricity bills?
Do they come with timer etc. so as to turn off after few hours or keep running at intermittent intervals.
 
nRiTeCh said:
Also, do fan ones shoot up electricity bills?
Click to expand...
Yes, depending on your usage. Hence I ditched fan one and went for oil based. While oil based in general also consume lot, I used the mini fan which was like a smaller heater but less suffocation. Used the radiator function only when temps dropped to 2-3C.


nRiTeCh said:
but again they are heavy.
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They have roller wheels to move from place to place.
nRiTeCh said:
Health as in only dryness worries right?
Click to expand...
It varies from person to person. I would wake up with severe throat pain, suffocation, dry and itchy skin, pain in nose due to dryness. If you can borrow from someone, use it for some days and see the impact.
 
OFRs only OP. These can be used in closed rooms and safe for infants and old people too. It does not dehydrate/feel sick in any way. The tech is way superior.
Cons:
1)If you get one without inbuilt fan it will take time to heat up entire room. 30/60 mins depending on variables like room size outsize temps.
2) Consumes more electricity than AC in my experience but I have the heavy hitter 13 fin Morphy Richards which I regret buying for my small room (overkill Wattage)
Kaleen Bhaiya said:
I would wake up with severe throat pain, suffocation, dry and itchy skin, pain in nose due to dryness. If you can borrow from someone, use it for some days and see the impact.
Click to expand...
Using OFR?
nRiTeCh said:
Oil based are good but will be too much on professional front. 6k is fine but again they are heavy.
Would opt for a normal ones but with lesser noise one and light weight.

Health as in only dryness worries right?

From a single digit temp to a double digit temp is all what I'm looking for. Not like entire night or too warm but sufficient enough warm for entire night.
Also, do fan ones shoot up electricity bills?
Do they come with timer etc. so as to turn off after few hours or keep running at intermittent intervals.
Click to expand...
Yes IIRC the fan takes another 400W and is recommended to use only to fasten heating in a cold room (if you really need that) I seldom use it.
john1911 said:
Have been using Orpat Fan 2000W (three step, only fan, 1000W and 2000W) for many years now. They heat up the room relatively quickly and uniformly as stated by other members. They are pretty cheap aswell (around 1000 rupees).

Pro: Cheap, quickly heat up the room, uniform.
Con: Makes the air very dry.

You can keep a bowl or plate with raised edges and fill it with water. It helps with air dryness.

I use mine with a bowl of water and I don't run it throughout the night. I have set schedules in Wipro 16Amp Smart Plug, it turns the heater ON for 30 mins, then off for 2 hours, then ON for 30 mins and so on throughout the night. Works pretty well for me.
Click to expand...
OK this is a smart approach.
nRiTeCh said:
Oil based are good but will be too much on professional front. 6k is fine but again they are heavy.
Would opt for a normal ones but with lesser noise one and light weight.

Health as in only dryness worries right?

From a single digit temp to a double digit temp is all what I'm looking for. Not like entire night or too warm but sufficient enough warm for entire night.
Also, do fan ones shoot up electricity bills?
Do they come with timer etc. so as to turn off after few hours or keep running at intermittent intervals.
Click to expand...
OFRs are dead silent. You might hear occasional metal tingling sounds as the oil inside the radiator gets hot and has an impact on the metal?! No biggie.
 
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nRiTeCh said:
SO much issues? Then humidifier cum heater?
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I don't recall something like this exists. Heater will suck whatever moisture is in air, hence the dryness. You can get an AC with a heat pump but that will be expensive (unless looking to buy a new AC).
The reason for those problems was dry air. I have sinus issue which only aggravated my problems. Hence the issues.
If you can keep a bowl of water then it will help recoup the lost moisture due to heater.
 
Kaleen Bhaiya said:
I don't recall something like this exists. Heater will suck whatever moisture is in air, hence the dryness. You can get an AC with a heat pump but that will be expensive (unless looking to buy a new AC).
The reason for those problems was dry air. I have sinus issue which only aggravated my problems. Hence the issues.
If you can keep a bowl of water then it will help recoup the lost moisture due to heater.
Click to expand...
Did you face these issues with OFR? I had same issues with those cheap ones. Nothing with OFRs.
 
Kaleen Bhaiya said:
No, that was with blower. And since I had to use it the whole night(no smart plug to programme it)/I ended up on the worst side.
Couple that with Delhi air quality and you know what I mean.
Click to expand...
Try keeping something like this (more surface area exposed, very important) filled with water in front of blower (in the direction of air flow) around 1 ft. away from it. It will help tremendously.
 

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john1911 said:
Try keeping something like this (more surface area exposed, very important) filled with water in front of blower (in the direction of air flow) around 1 ft. away from it. It will help tremendously.
Click to expand...
What if we keep the blower a bit tilted or bit opposite sides of the bed (avoiding direct flow on body) is the after impact same?
 
Kaleen Bhaiya said:
No, that was with blower. And since I had to use it the whole night(no smart plug to programme it)/I ended up on the worst side.
Couple that with Delhi air quality and you know what I mean.
Click to expand...
Blowers have that issue. Not sure but old people suffer more because it affects their bones.
 
nRiTeCh said:
What if we keep the blower a bit tilted or bit opposite sides of the bed (avoiding direct flow on body) is the after impact same?
Click to expand...
The air in the room will become dry which you will be breathing. It will have the same affect wherever you keep the blower in the room.
 
2 oil heaters .
First one is 10 years+ old . Still going strong . No oil chnage required .
Other one comparatively new .
Oil Fin Heater is the long term , safe healthier option
 
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