Oil filled radiator - Munro

samandmillie

I wondered if anyone knows how much it might cost to run this heater as I can't find anything about it online. It's a Munro oil filled radiator, the label states 230v, 50hz, 2500w. We have been leant it and I can't find any instructions either, there are two dials, one that says low and high and the other says 1, 2, 3. I guess that the numbers are the power setting? Many thanks

Cardew

The 1/2/3 will probably be thermostat settings. i.e. determine the temperature in the room before the heater will switch off.

The radiator would 'notionally' use 2.5kWh every hour(say 35 pence) if it was on the high setting and the control set to 3.

However in normal practice the thermostat will operate and switch off power to the heater.

How long in an hour it will be heating depends on several factors - how cold the room, how big the room, insulation, thermostat setting etc.

All anyone can tell you is that it will cost between a few pence and 35 pence an hour.

chris1973

Personally I think the 1,2 and 3 will be the switches which control the elements, often a high power heater such as this will have dual / treble wound elements, offering settings such as 750w, 1250w and 2500w (as an example), the dial marked High and Low sounds more like the built in thermostat.

On its full setting a 2.5kw heater won't be cheap to run, and depending on its thermostat setting and the room insulation and size it will consume upto 2.5 units of Electricity every hour (worst case) on its '3' setting. So taking an average of 12p per unit, it would cost upto 30p per hour to run at 2.5kw. Again, how often it actually switches on/off on its built in thermostat depends on many factors, if you are heating a large living space or a poorly insulated room, it probably won't be staying off for long

Of course running the heater on a lower setting (1 or 2) would consume less electricity but you would also get less heat out of it also, and so you need to run it on the setting required to make the room feel comfortable, rather than based on how much its costing to run. Otherwise you'll just end up paying for the Electricity its consuming on a lower setting and still be sitting there with your coat on!, which defeats the point of running it at all.

Personally, if this is the only heating you are using, i'd start off with the heater on its '3' setting, and the Thermostat set to high, and as soon as the room is warm enough turn the low / high setting back towards 'low' until you hear a click and the heater turns off, from this point onwards it should cycle on/off keeping the room at that temperature.

To give you an accurate running cost, we would need to know what you are currently paying for every unit (KW/H) of Electricity, and this can be found on a recent bill (although note that most suppliers have hiked their prices recently, so check any correspondence from them, to see if you have been affected)

Cardew

chris1973 wrote: »

Personally I think the 1,2 and 3 will be the switches which control the elements, often a high power heater such as this will have dual / treble wound elements, offering settings such as 750w, 1250w and 2500w (as an example), the dial marked High and Low sounds more like the built in thermostat.

My 'guess' is the other way around! with two wound elements each being 1.25kW so just two heat settings - High and Low - and 3 thermostat settings(1,2,3,)

However either of us could be correct - and I did say 'probably'.

Wywth

samandmillie wrote: »

I wondered if anyone knows how much it might cost to run this heater as I can't find anything about it online. It's a Munro oil filled radiator, the label states 230v, 50hz, 2500w. We have been leant it and I can't find any instructions either, there are two dials, one that says low and high and the other says 1, 2, 3. I guess that the numbers are the power setting? Many thanks

Here's a user guide for an oil filled electric radiator with similar controls to yours

http://www.igenix.co.uk/system/datasheets/769/IG1600%20Manual.pdf

Different brand, but if it looks similar to yours it probably works in a similar manner.

samandmillie

Thank you for the replies and link to the manual.

I have used the heater for 30mins in my bedroom tonight and its amazing, so nice and warm. My central heating has been on 22deg since 4pm and the house and bedroom felt cold still at 9pm. At 9.30 I put the heater on for half hour and its really warmed the room up. I just don't understand why the house is so cold, perhaps we need double radiators? Any ideas? Thanks

macman

Have you bled the rads this season? Are they cold at the top?

samandmillie

The radiators are colder at the bottom than top so I think that there might be a bit of sludge in there. A plumber is coming to check them next week.