Are oil-free electric radiators any good?

lauranurse

Morning

Now that it is getting chillier in the conservatory in the evenings we need to get a heater to keep it cosy.

At the moment we have got an electric fan heater which drives us mad with the noise and smell!

After posting on here a while back and getting some advice on whether an oil filled radiator would be any good, we were all set to get one of those,but then we saw the Dimplex oil-free radiators in the Args catalalogue. They say they heat up faster and are better than oil-filled ones.

Has anyone got one, or could advise on whether they are any good?

Thanks

economiser

I am not sure why people are so keen on oil filled electric radiators. They are expensive to buy and slow to heat up. The efficiency of all electric heaters is the same. Saying that I have never had one so maybe others can explain the advantages.

yorksguy11

Oil filled ones tend to hold the heat longer as the oils a insulater. But like the other person said they take ages to warm up. But once warm they use little electric as they are controled by a thermostat.

27col

They use a lot of electricity. The fact that they are on a thermostat is irrelevant. If they are in a conservatory on a cold night, the thermostat is going to be calling for heat almost continuously due to the heat losses through the roof and glass walls. This applies equally to oil filled radiators or any other type of electric radiator or fan heater for that matter. It takes a fixed amount of heat to replace losses from a poorly insulated room, and it doesn't matter what type of electric heater that you use. The cost will be the same.

Gambler

27col wrote: »

They use a lot of electricity. The fact that they are on a thermostat is irrelevant. If they are in a conservatory on a cold night, the thermostat is going to be calling for heat almost continuously due to the heat losses through the roof and glass walls. This applies equally to oil filled radiators or any other type of electric radiator or fan heater for that matter. It takes a fixed amount of heat to replace losses from a poorly insulated room, and it doesn't matter what type of electric heater that you use. The cost will be the same.

We've been advised by a heating engineer that we would be better getting a couple of small Delonghi oill filled rads rather than install a new rad to the gas central heating system.

We only use our conservatory during the day as it is our 2 year old's play room.

Would it be expensive to run them for a few hours per day during the autumn/winter to try and take the chill off the room, even if we went for one with a variable thermostat?

tink_loves_pink_things

Hiya
I have no gas in my property so rely on electric storage heaters which are all good in the day time but cold at night. So I was going to get an oil filled radiator to boost the heat. I too saw the oil free radiator and thought it sounded better than the old oil filled ones.
So I bought a Dimplex oil free 2kw radiator and I can honestly say it's brilliant it takes little time to heat up, it's light and very portable and keeps my quite large open plan lounge lovely and toasty on half power. It is similar to the old oil filled radiators in that it warms up to required temp then just maintains the heat therefore not constatly using your electricity. I highly recommend spending that little bit extra on the oil free radiator, you won't be disappointed!

[Deleted User]

yes it is brilliant. I bought the £99 one when we had a ch leak and no heating for days. Highly recommended

avviey

Hi, can someone tell me the difference between oil free and oil filled radiator? they both use electricity, ah?

Many thanks.

ormus

ones got oil in it and the other one hasnt.

dimplex are very good, ive used em for yrs now. i find them very cheap to run. (using common sense).

tink_loves_pink_things

In the end I bought one last year (oil free) It's brilliant. I would highly recommend. The fact it is oil free means it's much lighter and heats up in no time.
I wouldn't go as far as to say it has saved me lots of money. BUT we have never been cold! We put the heater on at night (when storage heaters are going cold) and the room is lovely and toasty again in no time.

In reality who is saving lots of money on heating whatever form it is, in the current financial climate!

moonrakerz

I put a Focus 2kW convector in my conservatory (about £15 IIRC), does just what it says on the box !.