Best electric portable heater?
October 6, 2015 5:12 PM Subscribe
I live in a very quaint apartment, but winter is just around the corner and I know it will be a bear to heat. It was hard to keep cool this summer, so I expect heating will be even tougher and there is nothing I hate worse than being cold. What have you found to be the most economical, safe, and comfortable way to heat your abode in the winter months?
I am weatherizing my single pane windows with the apartment provided outside storm windows and the planning on adding another layer inside as well. The heaters in the walls suck and have no temperature regulation. If I was gone for the weekend I would leave them on the lowest setting, but other than that, I don't feel very comfortable in using them.
So I'm looking at a few options...Oil filled radiators and infrared portable heaters look to my best bet for warming up my large living room (with high ceilings, and thankfully a ceiling fan) and my separate kitchen. I have a great small ceramic heater in my bathroom which I can use as needed and a tall ceramic heater as well. Of course I want something that uses electricity economically and is safe. I would plan on leaving at least one of these heaters on during the work day to keep the apartment from getting too darned cold.
So fellow MeFites, what are you recommendations? Specific brands and links to said items are appreciated. I live in a very rural area and end up doing much of my shopping via Amazon, etc. I find that Walmart has very limited choices and I often worry their products are made with somewhat inferior parts to keep prices down. I await your suggestions and thank you in advance!
I am weatherizing my single pane windows with the apartment provided outside storm windows and the planning on adding another layer inside as well. The heaters in the walls suck and have no temperature regulation. If I was gone for the weekend I would leave them on the lowest setting, but other than that, I don't feel very comfortable in using them.
So I'm looking at a few options...Oil filled radiators and infrared portable heaters look to my best bet for warming up my large living room (with high ceilings, and thankfully a ceiling fan) and my separate kitchen. I have a great small ceramic heater in my bathroom which I can use as needed and a tall ceramic heater as well. Of course I want something that uses electricity economically and is safe. I would plan on leaving at least one of these heaters on during the work day to keep the apartment from getting too darned cold.
So fellow MeFites, what are you recommendations? Specific brands and links to said items are appreciated. I live in a very rural area and end up doing much of my shopping via Amazon, etc. I find that Walmart has very limited choices and I often worry their products are made with somewhat inferior parts to keep prices down. I await your suggestions and thank you in advance!
I have lived in a large, brick 1920s house in Saint Louis for a little over decade now. We use the original steam heat radiators to keep the pipes from freezing, but little else.. The thermostat stays set on 50°during the worst of the cold, which is not BRUTAL, mind you, but decidedly uncomfortable.
The most important thing you can do is to stop the leaks, and the best way to do that is to seal the windows with something like Frost King... It's the clear plastic/double-sided tape solution. It's finicky, but VERY effective.
We use the oil radiators for our bedrooms.. An even, steady heat. I have had a deLonghi for the last three years.
posted by bird internet at 5:26 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
The most important thing you can do is to stop the leaks, and the best way to do that is to seal the windows with something like Frost King... It's the clear plastic/double-sided tape solution. It's finicky, but VERY effective.
We use the oil radiators for our bedrooms.. An even, steady heat. I have had a deLonghi for the last three years.
posted by bird internet at 5:26 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's not great for warming up large spaces, but a parabolic heater is magical for a bedside/sofa-side. I have this 'Presto' from Costco which has been chuffing away for a few years now. (While it takes a long time to heat a room through, the odd night I do fall asleep with it on, I wake up in a toasty warm room, so it might be an on-all-day option if you just want one warm room to come home to -- they don't use much energy compared to most heaters).
Really thick curtains are a good investment. If I had to start over, curtain-wise, I would use the this Ikea triple curtain rod, get two sets of cheap neutral curtains (probably Ikea's cheapest curtains, as the then-cheapest-Ikeas have been going strong in my laundry room for years but Walmart's, originally in a fetching shade of purple, turned into a sun-bleached disaster in a year) and get curtain ring clips and hang thrift store wool blankets in between the two sets of curtains.
Rubber weatherstripping beats any other kind I've tried, both in usefulness and longevity.
If this is a place you have bought or will be in for a long time, caulking is not difficult to learn and totally worth your time to do, around the window frames and everywhere there's a draught.
posted by kmennie at 5:34 PM on October 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Really thick curtains are a good investment. If I had to start over, curtain-wise, I would use the this Ikea triple curtain rod, get two sets of cheap neutral curtains (probably Ikea's cheapest curtains, as the then-cheapest-Ikeas have been going strong in my laundry room for years but Walmart's, originally in a fetching shade of purple, turned into a sun-bleached disaster in a year) and get curtain ring clips and hang thrift store wool blankets in between the two sets of curtains.
Rubber weatherstripping beats any other kind I've tried, both in usefulness and longevity.
If this is a place you have bought or will be in for a long time, caulking is not difficult to learn and totally worth your time to do, around the window frames and everywhere there's a draught.
posted by kmennie at 5:34 PM on October 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Get up on a ladder and check around the ceiling fan. There will be a switch. Flip it. (Summer setting blows cool air down and winter setting blows up (spinning the other way) so that hot air, that rises, is forced out away from the fan and down the walls.)
Down comforter. Worth every penny. Don't waste your time with anything synthetic, it's all bullshit. Bonus points for real feather and down pillows.
posted by sexyrobot at 5:41 PM on October 6, 2015
Down comforter. Worth every penny. Don't waste your time with anything synthetic, it's all bullshit. Bonus points for real feather and down pillows.
posted by sexyrobot at 5:41 PM on October 6, 2015
In college, I lived in a huge loft with high ceilings and open spaces. I learned quickly that there is no heating the entire place, there is just keeping yourself warm.
Nowadays I live in a small apartment, but it's poorly insulated and I live in Southern California and thus lack central heat. So I've been drawing on a lot of my college habits.
I have a little desk-sized space heater. It goes wherever I go, in my house.
I also have a nice big fluffy down comforter on my bed.
This year, I am getting one of those kigurumi fleece pajama type things to wear around the house.
Herbal tea and sweaters/scarves/warm socks are also priceless.
posted by Sara C. at 5:41 PM on October 6, 2015
Nowadays I live in a small apartment, but it's poorly insulated and I live in Southern California and thus lack central heat. So I've been drawing on a lot of my college habits.
I have a little desk-sized space heater. It goes wherever I go, in my house.
I also have a nice big fluffy down comforter on my bed.
This year, I am getting one of those kigurumi fleece pajama type things to wear around the house.
Herbal tea and sweaters/scarves/warm socks are also priceless.
posted by Sara C. at 5:41 PM on October 6, 2015
Heated mattress pad. You will stay toasty at night without having to keep your apartment warm then.
posted by wyzewoman at 6:36 PM on October 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by wyzewoman at 6:36 PM on October 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Vornado. One of the real 1500w ones, not the tiny 750/900w ones. Basically anything but the two cheapest ones here will be great. They last forever, are extremely safe, extremely quiet, and don't have glowing coils that can burn things(or dust). Yes, they're $70-100, but you only need to buy them once. They've significantly better than the baseboard or shitty in wall forced air heaters in any rental i've had. The only better solution i had was literally building a cocoon/field hospital operating tent sort of thing out of velvet theater curtains around on my bed on 5 sides. Note that the newer shiny plastic ones have sturdy interiors but scratch-prone cheesy exteriors. The old-style models like the VH2 are tanks that can fall down the stairs and look new.
When i've needed to heat a larger space i just got... two.
Me and my parents both have a stockpile of several spares we pull out if we need them.
It's really amazing how efficiently they push heat into the room away from the heater. A closed room, even a mediocre-ly insulated one, will heat up very quickly with one or two running.
The reversing the ceiling fan trick will work, just never turn it off. Clean the dust off it now, and leave it on all winter. Also commit to leaving the heat on at say, 65, even if you're not there. There's sort of a "thermal runaway" with these sorts of spaces where you end up spending more time miserable than not while it tries to reheat(and finally does just before you get in bed) unless you just pick a base temperature and let it heat to that. I've had many fights with roommates over that last one.
The newer ones idle the fan at a low speed even when the heating element isn't running(and use infinite fan speed control, not 1-2 set speeds). This makes a huge difference in evenness of temperature in the room, along with a ceiling fan, if you just let it do its thing. It's also IMO one of the marquee features of what sets them apart and makes them worth $70. It's one of those things, like buying a properly good pair of boots, where after a few weeks you'll go "yea, this was worth the money".
posted by emptythought at 6:47 PM on October 6, 2015 [4 favorites]
When i've needed to heat a larger space i just got... two.
Me and my parents both have a stockpile of several spares we pull out if we need them.
It's really amazing how efficiently they push heat into the room away from the heater. A closed room, even a mediocre-ly insulated one, will heat up very quickly with one or two running.
The reversing the ceiling fan trick will work, just never turn it off. Clean the dust off it now, and leave it on all winter. Also commit to leaving the heat on at say, 65, even if you're not there. There's sort of a "thermal runaway" with these sorts of spaces where you end up spending more time miserable than not while it tries to reheat(and finally does just before you get in bed) unless you just pick a base temperature and let it heat to that. I've had many fights with roommates over that last one.
The newer ones idle the fan at a low speed even when the heating element isn't running(and use infinite fan speed control, not 1-2 set speeds). This makes a huge difference in evenness of temperature in the room, along with a ceiling fan, if you just let it do its thing. It's also IMO one of the marquee features of what sets them apart and makes them worth $70. It's one of those things, like buying a properly good pair of boots, where after a few weeks you'll go "yea, this was worth the money".
posted by emptythought at 6:47 PM on October 6, 2015 [4 favorites]
All the weatherstripping you can manage. Do the candle-by-the-door/candle-by-the-window/candle-by-any-crack-you-notice thing, and block the cracks you find. Fold spot rugs up against the base of doors to help block those drafts.
Having a fan running (overhead or otherwise) will help keep the air circulating, which can mean the difference between a winter spent mostly on the sofa under a blanket vs a winter spent moving around the apartment doing stuff.
Also, aiming towards meals that involve baking or roasting can be helpful. Just don't try the thing where you leave the oven door open to heat the apartment — that's dangerous and inefficient.
posted by Lexica at 7:54 PM on October 6, 2015
Having a fan running (overhead or otherwise) will help keep the air circulating, which can mean the difference between a winter spent mostly on the sofa under a blanket vs a winter spent moving around the apartment doing stuff.
Also, aiming towards meals that involve baking or roasting can be helpful. Just don't try the thing where you leave the oven door open to heat the apartment — that's dangerous and inefficient.
posted by Lexica at 7:54 PM on October 6, 2015
You mention adding another layer to the inside of the windows; window insulation film is the way to go here. It stops convection losses when properly applied and make it easier for heaters to keep the place comfortable.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:19 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:19 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
We use those Laskos from the Sweet Home link in our large bedroom and bedroom-offices, during the day/evening. Plus heated mattress pads (so good, SO GOOD).
We do not live in deathly cold climates, but can overheat a good-sized room in California.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:18 PM on October 6, 2015
We do not live in deathly cold climates, but can overheat a good-sized room in California.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:18 PM on October 6, 2015
I live in a 2500sq ft loft with 20 foot high ceilings and leaky factory windows... we heat the whole thing with 4 of these:
http://goo.gl/NvylC5
they are safe, they work, and they stay hot for a long time after you turn them off so you can fall asleep while it's still warm.
you can make it more effective by putting a fan in front of it when you need to move warm air around
posted by bobdow at 10:16 PM on October 6, 2015
http://goo.gl/NvylC5
they are safe, they work, and they stay hot for a long time after you turn them off so you can fall asleep while it's still warm.
you can make it more effective by putting a fan in front of it when you need to move warm air around
posted by bobdow at 10:16 PM on October 6, 2015
Seconding Oil filled radiators: they are indestructible, they last forever, they have little thermostats on them and they can't start a fire.
They also heat a surprisingly large space for a long time. Buy two.
posted by jrochest at 10:29 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
They also heat a surprisingly large space for a long time. Buy two.
posted by jrochest at 10:29 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Might not be an option for you but applying cheap clear insulation film to leaky old windows made a big difference for me.
posted by yoHighness at 3:48 AM on October 7, 2015
posted by yoHighness at 3:48 AM on October 7, 2015
Oil filled radiator. Quiet, safe, and they work really well. They take a bit of time to heat up when you first turn them on, and in my experience can be a bit stinky the first couple time you use them when they are brand new. Because of their thermal mass, they continue to radiate heat even after they are turned off.
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:21 AM on October 7, 2015
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:21 AM on October 7, 2015
Vornado sent me a replacement remote control, no questions asked.
Under the desk I use a "Heated floor mat" (Google away); all of 90-140 watts, it does wonders for keeping the desk area warm; probably put one under the coffee table this winter and let it radiate away. Can't recommend parking one under the couch; but I might try that in lieu of under the coffee table.
posted by buzzman at 8:15 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Under the desk I use a "Heated floor mat" (Google away); all of 90-140 watts, it does wonders for keeping the desk area warm; probably put one under the coffee table this winter and let it radiate away. Can't recommend parking one under the couch; but I might try that in lieu of under the coffee table.
posted by buzzman at 8:15 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I ended up deciding to get one oil-filled radiator for the kitchen and a vornado for the living room. Thanks for all the weatherizing suggestions, most of which I've been working on and hope to finish that up this weekend. Thanks everyone!
posted by OkTwigs at 6:35 AM on October 8, 2015
posted by OkTwigs at 6:35 AM on October 8, 2015
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