Anyone used Rointe heaters?

Will_Rich

Anyone had any issues with Rointe Heaters overheating at the plug?

Just been PAT Testing in a business, numerous sockets were cracked & the plugs were very hot to touch. One had severe visual signs of overheating at the plug/socket. 

Wasn't sure if this was potentially an Electrical Installation issue and/or an issue over time with the appliance(see note below).

Heaters roughly 5 years old & this has only really came apparent in the past year. To note, they have moved away from using the the programme & rely on switching on/off each day.

Referred them back to installer/electrician. I personally thought they should be on a spur, though doing so (removing plug) may void Rointe Warranty, as per manufacturer website. 

MultiFuelBurner

Will_Rich said:

Anyone had any issues with Rointe Heaters overheating at the plug?

Just been PAT Testing in a business, numerous sockets were cracked & the plugs were very hot to touch. One had severe visual signs of overheating at the plug/socket. 

Wasn't sure if this was potentially an Electrical Installation issue and/or an issue over time with the appliance(see note below).

Heaters roughly 5 years old & this has only really came apparent in the past year. To note, they have moved away from using the the programme & rely on switching on/off each day.

Referred them back to installer/electrician. I personally thought they should be on a spur, though doing so (removing plug) may void Rointe Warranty, as per manufacturer website. 

I wonder if they should have been directly wired into a fused connection

Example below

QrizB

We havent had a magic clay post for a while, this is a bit of a blast from the past!

Will_Rich said:

Referred them back to installer/electrician. I personally thought they should be on a spur, though doing so (removing plug) may void Rointe Warranty, as per manufacturer website. 

I agree, I think a permanently installed heater should have a fused connection unit, not a plug & socket.
(We've got a few electricians on this board, does anyone know what the IEEE Regs say?)

Marysister

I am not sure anyone can help with this. My sister invested in Sunflower radiators in 2023. Unfortunately Sunflower no longer exists. Her energy bills are very high and this is now impacting on her well being. She is frightened to use the radiators and is cold most of the time. She has challenged her bills with her supplier but they just say she is using that amount of energy and her bills are right. Is there anything else she can do?

Stubod

..this is a very old thread, you may be better off starting a new one..??

QrizB

I am not sure anyone can help with this. My sister invested in Sunflower radiators in 2023. Unfortunately Sunflower no longer exists. Her energy bills are very high and this is now impacting on her well being. She is frightened to use the radiators and is cold most of the time. She has challenged her bills with her supplier but they just say she is using that amount of energy and her bills are right. Is there anything else she can do?

I agree with Stubod; if you want to start a new thread and give us details of

• what radiatiors your sister used to have, and what she has now
• her current energy supplier and tariff
• her recent bills

we might be able to offer some pointers.

Direct electric heating is one of the more expensive ways to heat a property, and running direct electric heaters on a tariff like Economy 7 that's intended for storage heaters will only compound the issue.

EssexHebridean

Even if the sister was mis-sold, if the company no longer exists she isn't likely to have any comeback I fear. Best bet might be to price up a proper replacement option and work to save for that if she cannot afford what the existing ones are costing to run.

sparky_2005

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79622116#Comment_79622116

Kind of resurrecting this thread.
I am an electrical contractor and I've always been concerned about the claims from Rointe and others.Quite a few years ago when Rointe first appeared on the scene a group of local electricians were invited to a presentation hosted by Rointe.
Lot's of freebies, food and drink provided.
A Q&A session followed.
I raised a question regarding the information given to us about the ability of the aluminium used in the manufacturing process to be able to hold heat longer than ' normal ' aluminium.
We also had the same energy saving 'rubbish' spouted as well.
When I contested the heat retaining qualities it was quickly avoided and another question was dealt with.
Got the feeling I wasn't flavour of the month after that which was compounded when I won first prize in the raffle, a weekend for 2 in a luxury hotel.
I have fitted some Rointe heaters since then.
They are OK in certain circumstances, they are more controllable than a simple panel heater and their efficiency does increase with the addition of suitable insulation but you could say the same for any form of heating.
What I'm saying is they do have a place in the heating market just forget those spurious claims

WiserMiser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82167589#Comment_82167589

Not in this country ! They may be fine in their home country of Spain, but the circumstances there are very different. Electricity is about half the UK price, and the ambient temperatures Spain are generally higher than in Britain. Peak rate electricity can be worth considering, especially for flat dwellers with low heat losses. Mains gas isn't as widely available outside cities and built up areas, so that can be another reason. Larger properties are more likely to use a boiler e.g. running on bottled gas.

In Britain, daytime electricity is about four times the cost of gas per kWh, so electric heating should be limited to heatpumps and High Heat Retention Night Storage Heaters. Otherwise users are likely to find that they're always chilly because the electricity bills will be humongous.

WiserMiser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82167589#Comment_82167589

I hope you haven't been suggesting or recommending Rointe heaters. Your customers won't thank you or recommend you to others when they find out how much they cost to run ! Especially if they had something that worked reasonably well beforehand, e.g. old-style Box of Bricks storage heaters. They're not looked upon favourably these days because they emit heat at the wrong times so much of it is wasted, but they're not nearly as bad as using Rointe or other panel heaters on daytime electricity.