An oil filled radiator heater is essentially a sealed tube of oil covered with heat dispersing fins. An internal heating element heats the oil, which begins to circulate by convection. The fins become hot and heat radiates outward from them, warming the room air. Radiator heaters are slow to heat a room, but they are very efficient and very quiet. They slowly and steadily dissipate heat into the room, so the longer an oil radiator heater is switched on, the more heat will build up in the room.
The radiator heater first became popular during the industrial revolution, when many residences had small boilers. Piping ran through the walls of homes and connected a series of radiators. As the superheated water passed through the radiators they became hot, and a series of fins dissipated the heat out into the room. However, unlike the electric radiator heater that is common today, these radiators were fixed to the wall and were not portable. They also had to be opened up periodically to have accumulated air bled from them. The portable radiator heater that is found in homes today is permanently sealed and the oil never needs to be changed.
Most oil filled heaters has a thermostatic control which holds the oil at a certain temperature. The hotter the oil, the more heat the fins radiate into the room air, so the output of the heater is indirectly controlled by regulating the interior oil temperature.
Convection heaters function in a similar manner, but disperse heat much more quickly. Convection heaters have no heat dispersing fins. Instead they enclose a heating element in a housing with openings at the top and the bottom. As the heating element becomes hot, heat rises from it, thus drawing air upwards from the bottom of the housing. The rising air passes over the heating element (usually a porcelain plate or rod) and continues on out the vent at the top of the housing, carrying warmth with it. Because this type of heater actually has an air flow, it will warm a room more quickly than a typical radiator heater. It is, however, equally as efficient and equally quiet.
Oil filled heaters are common at hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowes as well as smaller hardware stores, and also department stores like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc… The better models have three different energy settings, rated by wattage. The fins of these heaters must be exposed in order to radiate heat, and they can become too hot to touch. Always follow manufacturer’s guidelines for placement and avoid placing them in contact with combustible materials. They are generally best purchased at retail locations, since they are heavy and shipping charges would likely overshadow the cost of the heater itself. Prices range from $35 to $100, depending upon the features of the selected unit.
An oil filled radiator heater is essentially a sealed tube of oil covered with heat dispersing fins. An internal heating element heats the oil, which begins to circulate by convection. The fins become hot and heat radiates outward from them, warming the room air. They are slow to heat a room, but they are very efficient and very quiet. They slowly and steadily dissipate heat into the room, so the longer an oil heater is switched on, the more heat will build up in the room.
The radiator first became popular during the industrial revolution, when many residences had small boilers. Piping ran through the walls of homes and connected a series of radiators. As the superheated water passed through the radiators they became hot, and a series of fins dissipated the heat out into the room. However, unlike the electric heater that is common today, these radiators were fixed to the wall and were not portable. They also had to be opened up periodically to have accumulated air bled from them. The portable unit that is found in homes today is permanently sealed and the oil never needs to be changed.
Most oil filled heaters has a thermostatic control which holds the oil at a certain temperature. The hotter the oil, the more heat the fins radiate into the room air, so the output of the heater is indirectly controlled by regulating the interior oil temperature.
Convection heaters function in a similar manner, but disperse heat much more quickly. Convection heaters have no heat dispersing fins. Instead they enclose a heating element in a housing with openings at the top and the bottom. As the heating element becomes hot, heat rises from it, thus drawing air upwards from the bottom of the housing. The rising air passes over the heating element (usually a porcelain plate or rod) and continues on out the vent at the top of the housing, carrying warmth with it. Because this type of heater actually has an air flow, it will warm a room more quickly than a typical radiator heater. It is, however, equally as efficient and equally quiet.
Oil filled heaters are common at hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowes as well as smaller hardware stores, and also department stores like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc… The better models have three different energy settings, rated by wattage. The fins of these heaters must be exposed in order to radiate heat, and they can become too hot to touch. Always follow manufacturer’s guidelines for placement and avoid placing them in contact with combustible materials. They are generally best purchased at retail locations, since they are heavy and shipping charges would likely overshadow the cost of the heater itself. Prices range from $35 to $100, depending upon the features of the selected unit.
Tagged as:
heating your room,
portable heater,
portable radiator,
radiator cover,
room radiator
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