Airing cupboard heater

denwyn

We're moving soon to s bungalow. It's recently had a Worcester combi boiler fitted in the utility room,so no airing cupboard anymore. My other half has only just realised this and is kicking up a fuss there's no airing cupboard. I will look at maybe putting in a small radiator, this isn't ideal as we don't tend to use the heating a great deal. There is s power supply in the old airing cupboard,so I was thinking of a small electric tube type heater on a time clock. I would fit it in mesh cage,so no clothing could drop on it at all. Any suggestions as to what heater to buy and where from., Or any other suggestions. Ideally I would love to rip the combi out and put HW tank back in with standard boiler,not to keen on combi boilers,but apparently this one is only about 2 months old and top end of range model ?? ,cost to do this makes it out of question.

Aylesbury_Duck

Why the obsession with an airing cupboard? Yes, they're useful but there are plenty of other ways to dry clothes and now you have a much bigger cupboard you can use for storage.

Why not rack out the larger cupboard and plug in a dehumidifier when you need it there?

denwyn

I know, it's not my obsession,but you try and tell her that. Storage isn't an issue, we have plenty. Funny you mention s dehumidifier,we have just sold a Delongi one,it wasn't much good,very noisy and not cheap to run. There not cheap to buy either,so afraid there definitely not an option. Thanks anyway.

Aylesbury_Duck

Argos sell a Dimplex tube heater for £32

denwyn

Thanks I'll have a look at Argos

Ebe_Scrooge

I'd ask the question - why does the OH want an airing cupboard ?

Now, I realise I'm opening up myself to a right royal flaming here ... but ...

Combi boilers - they take a lot of flak, but for a couple in a small house with minimal heating needs, they can make eminent sense.

Tumble dryers - likewise, they're not the cheapest thing to run, but equally they're not the energy-sucking monsters that a lot of folk make them out to be. Sure, they may be one of the more energy-hungry things in an average house - but if used sensibly ( by which I mean, you hang stuff on the line when the weather is nice, use the tumble when needed, or just to "finish stuff off for a few minutes" ), then it's fine.

Sorry, I realise I'm making some assumptions here about your family and living arrangements ... but from a purely MSE view, it's worth thinking about. Remember that any form of electric heating is pretty much the most expensive there is. If you can run a tumble-dryer overnight on E7 or whatever, that may well turn out to be more efficient overall.

tori.k

How big is your utility room, our oil Combi used to kick out some heat so my husband added a couple of rails to the ceiling and I would hang clothes from there and finish in the dryer for a few minutes, but my utility was small two walk in cupboards knocked into each other.

denwyn

Its not that big, about 8' x 5' 9", it has high level wall mounted Gas Combi, washing machine, and probably a small under counter chest freezer, main fridge freezer being in kitchen, i am hoping to fit new worktop with small sink in it. I have run the idea about hanging clothes rack, i dont think she is that keen as utility is a walk through to back door. Will probably end up buying a decent tube heater to fit in airing cupboard. We dont have a tumble dryer, never had need for one, plus they are not that eco to run.

Thanks for all the advice.

Ebe_Scrooge

denwyn wrote: »

Will probably end up buying a decent tube heater to fit in airing cupboard. We dont have a tumble dryer, never had need for one, plus they are not that eco to run.

Hmm. Not wishing to argue with you - but there are a couple of questions that spring to mind.

First off, how do you dry clothes when you can't ( because of the weather ) hang them outside ? On a clothes horse, or over a radiator ? If so, you need the heating on for that to work, plus you have the problem of quite a humid atmosphere indoors.

Don't get me wrong - I'm a big fan of hanging washing outside whenever possible ( apart from anything else, you can't beat that gorgeous, indefinable smell ! ) but I'll use the tumble dryer when needed.

Secondly, what really is the reason for wanting an airing cupboard ? Sure, if you have a hot water tank then it's a great way of making use of what is essentially "wasted" heat - well, it's not really wasted as it heats the room up a bit, but you know what I mean. But it just seems a bit strange to me, to use electricity to heat a cupboard for no real reason - when a tumble dryer would do the job a lot more efficiently. I think the going rate is something like 60p a load or thereabouts to run a tumble dryer ( obviously there are loads of variables ). A lot less if you can partially dry stuff outside first, which is what I often do - even in winter, if it's a sunny day with a bit of wind, not particularly warm but dry and breezy. Then 20 minutes in the tumble to finish it off.

Of course, it's your choice at the end of the day, and I'm not trying to cause an argument. Really, just putting some ideas out there. Are you more interested in costs or convenience ? Which option suits your family circumstances and lifestyle better ? Just food for thought, hopefully

kpwll

We put a small rad, run off the central heating, in our airing cupboard and left it there when the combi boiler was moved.

Waterlily24

My hubby built a very big cupboard around our combi boiler and shelved it, I use that as an airing cupboard. It's in the utility room.