How does a baseboard heater come off?

May 26, 2007 4:01 PM

How does a baseboard heater come off, so I can put some bookcases along that wall?

I've just moved into a new apartment and there is a nice long wall that would be perfect for putting my bookcases on, except for the fact that there's a baseboard heater along there. I'm thinking about removing the heater, capping off the wires, and putting the bookcases in front of it. There are two other heater units, one in the hallway right behind the living room and another in the dining room, so I figure I'll just let it go and see how the temperature holds up in the chilly season, and if necessary supplement it with a space heater hooked up to an outlet.

How are these things attached to the wall and how do I get one off?

posted by kindall to home & garden (10 comments total)

I had one where the front metal cover was just sort of clipped on (grabbing the bottom and pulling it out would remove it). The body of the heater was attached to the wall with screws.

Look for any screws holding the front on and try removing them if present. If none are present try pulling on the front.

Be careful if the heater is mounted to wallboard because you may wind up just pulling out the screws attaching it there.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 4:10 PM on May 26, 2007

As MSN said... they just screw on, but getting to the screws will take a little investigation.

I just came here to nag about the potential liability issue of doing this in a rental. I'm sure it's crossed your mind, so just make sure it's all done to professional standards. You don't want any chance of damaged wiring starting a fire behind the bookshelf.
posted by The Deej at 4:21 PM on May 26, 2007

Baseboard heaters act as an electrical box as well. If you want to cap off the wires, you will need to install an electrical outlet box to protect the termination, and the box will have to be exposed on the wall, with a cover plate. It is a code violation to hide the box behind drywall, and you can't put an outlet because the line is more than likely 220V (no neutral wire).

I would be pretty concerned about the heat distribution issues myself, but it isn't that hard to reverse if you create a disaster. Note that portable heaters aren't as safe, and probably can't provide as much heat.
posted by Chuckles at 5:15 PM on May 26, 2007

Are you 100% sure that your heaters are electrical? Because if they are circulating hot water units, as are common in many multi-unit apartment buildings, it won't be a simple matter of pulling them off the wall, and capping some wires. And I agree with Chuckles as to the unlikely feasibility of replacing the heat capacity of several feet of baseboard units with portable heaters, not to mention the expense for power for such units.
posted by paulsc at 5:47 PM on May 26, 2007

That baseboard heater is a permanent part of the real estate property. You should contact the manager/owner before you go altering or removing electrical wiring.
posted by JayRwv at 6:30 PM on May 26, 2007

PaulSC, a joule of heat is a joule of heat. In the long run, all electrical heaters are 100% efficient at converting electricity to heat, so for the same net increase in room temperature they're all going to use the same amount of energy from the wall. There may be other issues with portable heaters, but I don't see how they would increase the electric bill, all other things being equal.

Have I missed something?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 10:01 PM on May 26, 2007

These are very definitely electric heaters; I know one when I see one. Pretty much all the rental units here in the Seattle area have electric heat because the electricity is mostly hydro-generated and thus reasonably cheap. I have never seen a unit with a heater making a wall basically useless.

Another alternative, I guess, would be to put cinder blocks in front of the heater, and put the bookcases on those, but that would be ugly and less than practical for a number of reasons.
posted by kindall at 10:19 PM on May 26, 2007

"... In the long run, all electrical heaters are 100% efficient at converting electricity to heat ..."
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 1:01 AM on May 27

Actually, many are not nearly 100% efficient, because in order to compensate for small size, many portable heaters use a small AC fan motor, which is typically a pretty inexpensive single phase split-rotor design, to push (inefficiently) room air over their heating elements. The resulting power factor losses, and turbulent losses in pushing air with small fans, make these units measurably less efficient than baseboard resistive units that use large surface areas, and a combination of radiant and natural convective actions to provide heat in a living space.

Pure radiant devices like quartz lamp heaters, or oil column heaters avoid the efficiency problems of small fan forced units, but are less effective in raising air tempature quickly. They work best in situations where direct radiant energy is sufficient to keep room occupants comfortable.

"... Another alternative, I guess, would be to put cinder blocks in front of the heater, and put the bookcases on those, but that would be ugly and less than practical for a number of reasons."
posted by kindall at 10:19 PM PST on May 26

As I indicated, most baseboard units supply both radiant heat energy and warm air by natural convection over their large surface areas. You can generally feel the flow of warm air coming up from them when they have been on for a few minutes, and many will have a single flap internal louver to control how much air movement you get, vs. how much radiant energy you get. So, blocking them with large furniture elements is generally double-plus ungood, unless you leave vertical clearances of at least a couple of feet for convective circulation (tall narrow sofa or console tables, highboys, and legged buffets work as furniture styles in these situations). But if you do decide to do something like this with tall bookcases, make sure to anchor them somehow to walls, to prevent tip over. Good luck with organizing your living space around your heating needs.
posted by paulsc at 1:51 AM on May 27, 2007

Why not put up bracket-type bookshelves on the wall above, no need to put anything on the floor. You screw the vertical supports where the studs are, clip the bracks on, put shelves on. Easily reversed when you move out. And you can still use the heater, although to prevent the heat from damaging books you might want to put some sheet metal to divert heat out into the room.
posted by beagle at 9:43 AM on May 27, 2007

That's actually not a bad idea, beagle, come to think of it. The reason I didn't consider it, of course, is that I already have three IKEA Leksvik™ bookcases I want to use, since I paid for them and then paid to move them. However, it's a sunk cost, so...

What I like about this idea is that it gives me a lot more flexibility for shelving. I don't have to have a shelf just inches off the floor, which means no stooping. And on the underside of the bottom shelf I could mount a few low-voltage computer fans to blow out the heat into the room a bit before it all rises to the cathedral ceiling, which might help with keeping it toasty in the winter.

I have a couple smaller bookcases I use for paperbacks and those could be mounted similarly. It would be easily expandable as I get new books. (IKEA doesn't make the Leksvik bookcases in light gray anymore so I can't expand past what I already have.)

Hmmm. Hmmm.
posted by kindall at 6:03 PM on May 27, 2007