Anyone used Rointe heaters?

Cardew

Paulb_2 said:

Gerry1 said:

Paulb_2 said:

Gerry1, not sure how you've jumped to that conclusion from my posting history? As I said, I was researching heaters and came across this thread, its suplemental heating for a beach house that currently has storage heaters.

OK, I believe you ! 

The problem is that non-storage 'magic dust heaters generally have a very poor reputation (extremely expensive to run because they use full  price daytime electricity) and manufactureres' claims have often been taken to task by the ASA.  Anyone who suddenly starts claiming that they can be cheaper tends to raise eyebrows a bit...

Cardew has expressed what I'm struggling with, in theory it should take the same Kw to heat and maintain the temperature in the room with 100% efficiency yet the Which tests suggest otherwise.

Gerry1, I'm not claiming anything, I'm trying to understand the Which report and how the heating rates can be different under the same test parameters and consume more/less power to reach and maintain the given temperature.

However badly the Which Report is written, it talks about a test room reaching the desired temperature quickly, it doesn't say different heaters use less electricity to maintain the desired temperature in the room.

There is no doubt that if you want to quicky get a room up to the desired temperature - say a bathroom - then a fan heater would be the quickest. Obviously you shouldn't use that type of heater in a bathroom when the bath is being used, but you might use it to pre-warm the room.

Remember also that the fan heater is initially heating air and when it is switched off the walls/ceiling/furniture will all extract heat from the air and the air temperature will drop quickly.

Given any room will leak heat through doors/windows/floor etc it will require xx BTU/Calories/Joules to replace that leaked heat and thus maintain the room temperature. Without question all electrical heaters produce the same amount of BTU/Calories/Joules for the same electrical consumption(kWh). So to bring a room up to temperature, and maintain that temperature, will require the same consumption in kWh regardless of the type of electrical heater producing that heat.

Paulb_2

I get the theory, just hard to understand that real world testing from a reputable source suggests otherwise. This is what Which state, "Every electric heater sent to the Which? test lab gets tested on how quickly it heats a room, if it can maintain a steady temperature, how much energy it uses and how easy it is to use."  Anyway, its become a bit of a moot point as my OH doesn't like the idea of getting out a portable heater when it gets a bit chilly, so as its open plan its looking like a plinth heater. So back to the drawing board.....which one to choose.

matelodave

A fan heater from Argos is around £20-£30 whereas a plinth heather is £150+.

Most fan heaters have a thermostat to control the temperature, most plinth heaters dont so you need to check them out.  This one from Dimplex has a bluetooth remote https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/dimplex-bfh24e-2-4kw-electric-plinth-heater-with-integrated-controls/

Reed_Richards

Paulb_2 said:

.... its become a bit of a moot point as my OH doesn't like the idea of getting out a portable heater when it gets a bit chilly, so as its open plan its looking like a plinth heater. So back to the drawing board.....which one to choose.

You never mentioned what your main heating source is (I don't think).  It might be more economical to beef that up than to use a plinth-type fan heater as electricity is presently a lot more expensive for heating than other fuels.

Paulb_2

Matelo Dave, I've looked at a few including that one, Screwfix do a much cheaper programable version but a lot of compalints about the complexity to program it, Winterwarm WWFH20E Plinth-Mounted Fan Heater 2000W 400 x 100mm | Heaters | Screwfix.com

Reed_Richards, its storage heaters and there is no mains gas. Its for a beach/holiday home at a quaint place called Humberston Fitties and it's only supplemental heating for colder evenings. 

QrizB

Paulb_2 said:

Matelo Dave, I've looked at a few including that one, Screwfix do a much cheaper programable version but a lot of compalints about the complexity to program it, Winterwarm WWFH20E Plinth-Mounted Fan Heater 2000W 400 x 100mm | Heaters | Screwfix.com

Reed_Richards, its storage heaters and there is no mains gas. Its for a beach/holiday home at a quaint place called Humberston Fitties and it's only supplemental heating for colder evenings.

Here? It looks a lovely spot for a beach house, I'm a bit envious!
For a holiday home with infrequent winter occupancy there's even less reason to spend a lot on the heater. A plinth heater like the Screwfix one could be perfect for you. You'll get a nice blast of warm air after a bracing stroll along the beach

Gerry1

Paulb_2 said:

I get the theory, just hard to understand that real world testing from a reputable source suggests otherwise. This is what Which state, "Every electric heater sent to the Which? test lab gets tested on how quickly it heats a room, if it can maintain a steady temperature, how much energy it uses and how easy it is to use."

I usually like 'Which?' but sometimes they can struggle a bit on important technical aspects.   For example, not all that long ago they managed to report on digital radios without ever mentioning DAB+, which is essential because many stations cannot be received if this is missing.

Presumably they're thinking of electric heaters without thermostats, so some won't maintain a steady temperature and will therefore use more energy than others if they're not manually turned down or off when the room has become comfortable.

On this basis the 1kW/2kW Dimplex Aspen would cost more to run than the 600W/1.2kW Dimplex Yeominster, and the clear winner at just 75W would be the Dimplex PGF20 Opti-V Electric Wall Mounted Fire, a snip at a mere £3,600 !  But note the fifth bullet point...

simonlangford

I'm a bit reluctant to revive this long thread but I'm in the same position as a recent poster in that I need to replace knackered old night storage heaters in a beachside rental property.  I understand all the physics about 1kW of electricity giving 1kW of heat regardless of the type of heater, but nonetheless I don't feel you can rent a cottage to a paying guest and just provide them with cheap fan heaters from Argos.  I need robust heaters which will last for years.  The night storage heaters have lasted 30 years but they are tired now, and anyway they have always been hopeless at keeping the house at a comfortable temperature.  It's usually far too hot in the morning and too cold in the evening.  And too hot on a sunny winter's day.  People who rent the cottage don't want to faff about turning them up and down manually, they just want the house to be at a stable comfortable temperature.  Night storage doesn't do that.

I would happily go for cheap panel heaters if they looked smart and were solid and robust with thermostats and timers that were programmable over the internet.  That's why I'm looking at Rointe but should I be looking at any other makes that forum members can recommend?

matelodave

As said before a Roint heater is basically an oil filled radiator. I've been in several holiday rental properties that had them.

Trying to work your way through the controls is a bit like operating the flight deck of the starship Enterpise- it's not intuitive and easy to cods it up.

I've always ended up tweaking them to make the place warm enough (that may be because they've been inadequately specified) and frequently just left them cooking continuously and then reset them when it's time to leave. so it probably doesn't do a lot to improve the running costs.

Cardew

simonlangford said:

I would happily go for cheap panel heaters if they looked smart and were solid and robust with thermostats and timers that were programmable over the internet.  That's why I'm looking at Rointe but should I be looking at any other makes that forum members can recommend?

There must be hundreds of websites selling panel heaters - this is the Screwfix site. https://www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/heaters/cat831056?calcheaterproducttype=panel

I still have a couple of old panel heaters that have seen service in kids bedrooms, a greenhouse and an annex when the gas CH boiler went kaput. They must be 40 years old.

The trouble with recommending a particular manufacturer is that their models manufactured, say, 10 years ago might be ultra reliable but they now market cheap Chinese goods under the same brand name.