Storage heater smelling strange & pretty hot

miriam_d

Hi,

Following on from my post yesterday about efficient use of storage heaters I turned on two of the three last night. I woke up around 6 feeling pretty warm and there was a very warm smell too. I've turned the living room one off and opened the windows a bit, still smells pretty funky almost a burning smell. Turned the living room one off an hour ago and it's still smelling.

Is this just a build up of dust or something? Or more? Would be grateful for any thoughts please.

RelievedSheff

It could just be the dust if they have not been turned on for a while.

Worth getting someone in to check them over if you are concerned about their safety though.

miriam_d

I think it was just dust. It was pretty worrying though because it was a very strong smell for quite a while, kind of gets to the back of your throat type smell, and was a bit hazy when I walked in to the kitchen. I’ve turned them back on as suggested and there was a definite strengthening of the smell but it’s mostly worn off now.

Hopefully all is well and I just panicked. Right now to do all my jobs. And then go back to bed for a nap!

stewie_griffin

The same thing happened to me last year. Both of my storage heaters seemed much hotter than usual and there was a real acrid smell in the bedroom that took over a day to fully go. I panicked at the time but after thinking about it they hadn't been used for a while so must have been dust. I've not had it happen since so it can't have been a problem with the heaters.

miriam_d

So it's me again. I've had the storage heater on again maybe two or three times since first making this thread and it's still smelling weirdly chemical with an edge of burning but nothing is burning, especially if I have the input dial on anything more than 3. Any ideas or suggestions please? I'm writing this at 5am having being woken up by the smell which has happened a couple of times now.

Gerry1

It may be just that the weather is colder. There's probably a thermostat to determine how big a 'gulp' it takes when charging up, so perhaps the bricks are now getting hotter, and/or more sections are being switched on. Either way, it's burning off the dust in parts that weren't previously reached.

Try turning the wick fully up for a couple of days to finish the job.

miriam_d

Gerry1 wrote: »

It may be just that the weather is colder. There's probably a thermostat to determine how big a 'gulp' it takes when charging up, so perhaps the bricks are now getting hotter, and/or more sections are being switched on. Either way, it's burning off the dust in parts that weren't previously reached.

Try turning the wick fully up for a couple of days to finish the job.

Hi,

Me again. Storage heaters, which haven't been on every night but more often than not, still smelling weird and burning and waking me up in the early hours, especially if they're on anything more than 2/3 on the input dial. Today the fire alarm went off at 2:30am. Is it likely to be connected? Needless to say my kittens and I were momentarily freaked out and storage heaters turned off all okay now just can't get back to sleep two hours later and still a smell from the storage heaters. Btw no obvious thermostat unless it's just an internal one? Just input and output dials which incidentally are really stiff.

Would be grateful for any thoughts and advice from the forum please, particularly if anyone's a storage heater expert or has had similar things happen. Meant to be having three different bunches of friends over each day for several days, some have small children so this isn't ideal and also have a friend staying next week.

frugalmacdugal

Hi,


strange if it's all heaters getting really hot.


If just the one then it could be that the thermostat, thats controlled by the input dial, has overheated and 'welded' in the shut position meaning that the heater doesn't shut off when getting to certain temperature.




The thermostat can be easily replaced.

miriam_d

I don't know which one it was which triggered the fire alarm. I had the one in the bedroom on low for the third time in a row, think it was on 2 on input and output. The one in the living room/kitchen was on too at about 3 input and 1 output. It did feel pretty hot to the touch at 2:30am. Should I switch them on again? Either now or tonight? It's not desperately cold now.

miriam_d

So the weird thing is I just thought "hmmh still feels warm in here," in the living room that is and despite turning it off at 2:30am the heater is still pretty warm to the touch. That's a bit weird isn't it? I'm in a rented property. Is it time to call the landlord? Stupid I know but I feel like I'm bothering them.

frugalmacdugal

Hi,


'storage' heaters store heat overnight on cheap rate, then dissipate it during the day.


I always have output set at zero, do you need a warm bedroom, just leave doors open and let the heat circulate at bed time.


I would suspect that the heater that gets really warm is the culprit, might as well get landlord to get it checked, though might be quicker getting someone yourself.