Storage Heaters - keep them switched on all the time?

lupine79

I posted this onto he back of another thread but i think it may have got lost, so i thought i'd start a fresh one.

Can anyone recommend the best course of action in the following scenario:

Just took out a lease on a shop, and the only heating available is a storage heater on each floor. (I can take pics if it'll help?).

Long term i think i'm going to buy a couple of Calor Gas Heaters, but for the next week or so i need to use them to keep the shop warm during the day. I've read a lot of forums and there is conflicting advice, for obvious reasons (everyone uses them at different times, different models etc.)

Do i need to keep them on all the time? i'm aware that i need to set the output to low when i'm out, then raise it when i'm in. Do i also increase the input when i'm out, and lower it when i'm in?

Also, would having the heater on a timer help? Just run it 12am-7am on full charge? Or will this not provide enough heat for opening times between 12pm and 6pm? The heater is on a fused plug. It looks pretty old...80s or 90s maybe. It doesn't look big enough to house these bricks i keep hearing about. (I do know that we've just been signed up to an economy 7 tariff with N Power.)

Very confused, i keep hearing that these things cost a fortune, then other people say they're ok. is it maybe best to just use it as a conventional heater in the meantime, til i get the Calor Gas sorted? seems strange to have the thing on for so long while i'm not around!

Thanks in advance!

thenudeone

A storage heater should be wired directly into the fusebox using 20A cable, not plugged into a normal 13A socket, so it doesn't sound like it's been installed properly.

They are designed to heat using Economy 7 electricity which may be 0000-0700 but could be a different time (and it could change when British summer time starts).

Ideally they are wired into a circuit which is automatically switched on by the meter when the cheap rate starts so no separate timer is needed, but if a timer is needed it needs to be wired in and capable of handling the high current for a long continuous period. I bet the plug feels very warm to the touch when the heater has been on for a while. A pound shop plug-in timer might just melt (and possibly catch fire) because of the heat generated in the electrical contacts in the plug and socket.

If you need more heat during the day you would be better to get a separate standard heater. If you turn the storage heater on in the day, most of the heat will be stored in the bricks, some will heat the wall behind the heater, and at least some won't be released until night time when you're not there. At least with a fan or element heater 100% of the heat is going into the room when you want it.

Storage heaters can be useful to take the chill off an otherwise cold room but they may struggle to replicate standard central heating, especially in a larger room with lots of external walls. But if mains gas is not available they can be an alternative to having to pay the ever-increasing cost of heating oil (400% increase in 14 years!)

At this time of year set the "Input" to maximum and gradually increase the output or boost control as late afternoon/evening approaches to let as much of the remaining heat out as possible, re-setting it to the lowest setting before going to bed (or closing the shop).

thenudeone

have a look here http://www.knh.org.uk/knhdocs/Doc.aspx?Appref=qkrf2f&FileRef=wmao2n

Owain_Moneysaver

For commercial use:

You set the Input dial according to how cold you think it's going to be tomorrow.

You open the Output dial about half way at 9 am

You continue opening the Output dial throughout the day until the heater is cold and it's 5pm. with practice those times will coincide.

You close the Output dial to 0 before closing the shop.

Your lease, or insurance, may well prohibit the storage or use of flammable gas cylinders on the premises.

The heaters MUST be wired in to individual circuits back to the off-peak consumer unit. Plugging them into general socket circuits is completely inappropriate. From the sound of it you need to get the wiring checked, which may also be a requirement for your insurance.

Ally74

I think in your case it would be cheaper to use the storage heaters rather than portable gas heaters. Start off with the input at max then decrease the amount every day to suit your needs and keep an eye on the weather and adjust them accordingly. You'll soon get the hang of it. If your shop is open between 12pm and 6pm you will get a good amount of heat from them as storage heaters tend to run out of heat in the evening. The shop wouldn't be that cold when you got there and then again adjust your output dial as you require more heat.

pothole50

Calor Gas heater 15kg bottle will cost £33 they are said to burn for 150 hrs on the lowest setting which is 1.2kw so thats a cost of 22p per 1.2kw of heat and you have no control over the temp it will burn up 22p per hour, where as a 1KW electric heater will cost 10p to 14p per hour and depending on the temp set will cut out on with the thermostat.

lupine79

Thankyou nudeone, owain, ally and pothole - very broad and helpful advice from you all there! I think i'm going to avoid the Gas heaters now - i was practically resigned to getting two and i thought they were very economical. You are right about the plug - when i unplugged it from the mains to plug it into the timer (and you got my number...it was a B&Q £2 one!), it was hotter than any plug i've touched before. I'm pretty sure the courtyard manager will not have the wiring looked at, he'll probably just say they've been like that for years and no one else complains. I may look into it though. Luckily the shop didn't burn down and it was a lot warmer this morning, and was still pumping out heat well into the evening after the midnight-7am charge. (I guess i was confused as to how the unit would remember to keep hold of the heat and let it out slowly when the timer ticked off, but i guess it knows!) I'm going to continue to use the timer on the storage heater and supplement with a halogen heater when it gets really cold for now. In terms of this hot plug business, is this something that will get worse over time? And would buying a more expensive and well made timer help? Again thanks to you all. Confirmed a few suspicions and also helped me avoid a few costly errors. Ta! We opened tonight and begin trading officially tomorrow!

mr-angry

Lupine79, I would suggest that you have a fire risk assessment carried out as a matter of urgency before your premises become a statistic!

Owain_Moneysaver

lupine79 wrote: »

I'm pretty sure the courtyard manager will not have the wiring looked at, he'll probably just say they've been like that for years and no one else complains.

Well, you're complaining now.

lupine79 wrote: »

In terms of this hot plug business, is this something that will get worse over time? And would buying a more expensive and well made timer help?

Storage heaters are completely unsuitable for supplying via 13A plugs and plug-in timers; many storage heaters consume more than 13 amps and most 13A plugs aren't actually rated for continuous use.

13A socket wiring is also not rated for continuous heating use. You don't know what's overheating somewhere you can't see it.

Richie-from-the-Boro

I'm assuming E7 commercial

lupine79, its out of your control anyway the energy is switched by telemetry by your leccy company, so forget about timers and switching on and off. Put simply what you have :

- is a suitcase full of heat bought cheaply when no one wants it during the night
- how much heat you put in the suitcase [thermostat] you can choose from a little to a full suitcase
- how long the heat in the suitcase lasts depends on how wide you open the suitcase [damper] lid


Now don't plug the soddin' thing into a 13a socket, the socket pins will eventually burn out and fail .. .. but not before the wiring hidden in the wall is on fire .. .. don't do it my friend.

You have a solution, but its important to know that you will always need an alternative extra source of immediate heat [halogen / fan heater / whatever] with an E7 system.

As to the problem / solution I'm sure you are aware as a retailer, you can't sell it if you don't have it in stock. Your problem is easy you don't have enough of the cheap heat stored in stock, and you are using expensively priced electricity to power your halogen heaters.

Your solution is easy .. .. keep more in stock of the cheap stuff :

- uprate your existing small storage radiators to large, or ;
- fit an extra large storage radiator to store extra cheap stuff
- s/h '16 bickers' are about £50 on buy & collect ebay
- new 16's are about £240+

lupine79

Ok, i can see the 13a issue is more urgent than i thought. I'll speak to the landlord today...if i know him though (and after 2 weeks he's made it clear what kind of guy he is - nice but lax), i doubt he'll invest anything in the shop. But i will get it seen to. I have a mate who's an electrician - he wired my house - and is certified to do industrial.

Richie - are you saying that once wired into the mains, the storage heaters come at midnight and go off at 7am, religiously? So even if you wanted to power it outside of E7 hours, you couldn't? That's good if so.

Unfortunately I'm going to have to temporarily the timer for now though. I'm guessing that if i lower the input - set to 7 at the minute - that the power consumption and thus strain on the plug will be less, and so the danger should be less.

There are about 10 open shops in the yard, i know not all of them have storage heaters but some of them do, and use them. I'd better have a word with these guys too.

Thanks everyone. Saving money and lives!!