How Do I Use Storage Heaters

Confused_landord

In my property it has storage heaters, now i have never used these before and dont know nothing about them,,but how on earth do i use these????There are 2 dials on the top one says in put and one says out put,,,what shud i do with these ,, I am finding that in the mornings its really hot and by evening they are slightly warm, which makes the room a little on the cool side...how do take control on how they emitt the heat..They are on a timer from 12 at night to 7 the next day to take in the electric when its cheaper

EliteHeat

The output dial simply operates a mechanical damper that is supposed to limit the amount of heat emitted by the heater, in theory if this is turned down during the day there might be some heat left during the evening when you actually need it. I am guessing that the input dial is linked to a thermostat that controls how hot the internal bricks get.

However, the older storage heaters such as yours are relatively uncontrollable and you are finding what every other owner finds - that they are useless, fundamentally flawed devices.

Does anyone remember the 'heat electric' advertising campaign with the snail? ridiculous!

Confused_landord

The units are brand new.....but do you mean basically they are rubbish??i will try what you said tho about the dial,,,i hav not had storage heaters myself..what was the snail ad?..thank you for your reply

steveo3002

input is like charging them up...set it full if you want to use max output or half if you dont want much heat

output is to control how much comes out, although you wont get more out than what you put in if you get me

Confused_landord

so say at night..how do i stop the heat coming out,,,and when i come in from work how do i make sure there is enuff heat left to be comfortable on an evenig...or is that why they are rubbish,,because you cant?

Essex_Maid

Keep the output on low - which should mean that by the evening it has not put out too much heat, so you can then move it up to high in the evening and thus get the heat when you want it. Then turn it down to low before you go to bed so you are not baking in the morning. HTH.

steveo3002

to stop (slow ) the heat put the output to its lowest setting

when you get in the evening ajust the output accordingly ...low for warm max for hot etc

theyre a bit rubbish as in if you dont put enough charge in on a warm spell then it wont give much heat the next day if it turns cold

Confused_landord

thanx guys for that

Confused_landord

oh and are they cost effective??????

knightstyle

OK lets look at what you get with storage heaters. A lot of people try to use them like central heating to heat the room to a comfortable living heat but this is uneconomical as much of the heat is given off during the day. The best, thing is to keep them turned down, open yhe damper boost and use a fire in the living room to boost the temperature whilst you are in there. Don't forget to close the damper when you go to bed. This will keep the property warm and help prevent damp.
The cost if you do this will be slightly more than gas central heating but lower installation and no annual maintenance costs.
We had them in our last flat for many years and in the end only had the hall and living room ones on and these two kept the place cosy.