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| Thread ID: 81003 | 2007-07-12 09:54:00 | Electric Oil Column heater | Johnnz (7246) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 568441 | 2007-07-12 09:54:00 | Hi all, Gotta 10 fin Goldair oil column heater (thats a few years old now) but wondering if its working properly. Maximum temperature at the base where the heating coil is is 80 degrees on full power setting (as measured by a non contact infra red temperature probe). Anyone else able to test theirs and let me know how hot it gets? Mine doesn't seem warm enough these days to warm the room adequately. Maybe its just too cold - going for -7 outside tonight :( Cheers, -John. |
Johnnz (7246) | ||
| 568442 | 2007-07-12 09:56:00 | don't forget heating depends a lot on air movement. i used to run a small fan next to mine. | tweak'e (69) | ||
| 568443 | 2007-07-12 12:14:00 | Hi all, Gotta 10 fin Goldair oil column heater (thats a few years old now) but wondering if its working properly. Maximum temperature at the base where the heating coil is is 80 degrees on full power setting (as measured by a non contact infra red temperature probe). Anyone else able to test theirs and let me know how hot it gets? Mine doesn't seem warm enough these days to warm the room adequately. Maybe its just too cold - going for -7 outside tonight :( We recently got a four column version - no-name brand. Along with the el-cheapo dehumidifier it's making our small house quite comfy. The cat's happy. Looking forward to seeing next month's power bill though. |
Greg (193) | ||
| 568444 | 2007-07-13 00:07:00 | We recently got a four column version - no-name brand. Along with the el-cheapo dehumidifier it's making our small house quite comfy. The cat's happy. Looking forward to seeing next month's power bill though. Just make sure you are sitting down when you open it. :p :p |
FoxyMX (5) | ||
| 568445 | 2007-07-13 03:47:00 | A Wellington taxi driver asked me the other day whether you had to top up/refill oil column heaters... That left me a bit flummoxed about how to reply. The first time I fire mine up in winter (after it has been off for months) it makes seriously weird noises - banging, clanking and gurgling - but it never happens again during the winter. What causes this? The heater starts up from cold every day when I am using it, so what is the deal with the first winter start up? It is on for 2 hours each morning before I get out to my office, and it is then off for the rest of the day, so I can't measure the temp at the moment. Will try tomorrow am and get back to you. I only have a room temp thermometer though so it probably won't be much use. |
John H (8) | ||
| 568446 | 2007-07-13 04:36:00 | How do you store it during the warm weather, John? If it's lying down, you might need to get oil back into all the tubes after you stand it up. The oil is a very light one and flows easily. I recently drained a couple of scrapped heaters to get the oil for a dummy load. One oil was almost clear, the other was dark brown. They seemed to mix OK. ;) |
Graham L (2) | ||
| 568447 | 2007-07-13 05:43:00 | How do you store it during the warm weather, John? If it's lying down, you might need to get oil back into all the tubes after you stand it up. The oil is a very light one and flows easily. I recently drained a couple of scrapped heaters to get the oil for a dummy load. One oil was almost clear, the other was dark brown. They seemed to mix OK. ;) Well, I alway store it upright, but I shift it into the garage in early summer when I replace it with the fan! Perhaps the shifting around messes with the oil distribution. What is a dummy load??? |
John H (8) | ||
| 568448 | 2007-07-13 06:49:00 | A dummy load is a resistive load used as a substitute for an antenna when testing radio transmitters. Commonly a set of resistors in a can of oil to provide cooling. When I made one I used transformer oil, which I suspect is what is in the oil heater. I have noted the noise you describe, I suspect its just some air in the oil as a result of moving it. The air would cause some cavitation when heated by the element. |
godfather (25) | ||
| 568449 | 2007-07-13 09:18:00 | A dummy load is a resistive load used as a substitute for an antenna when testing radio transmitters. Commonly a set of resistors in a can of oil to provide cooling. When I made one I used transformer oil, which I suspect is what is in the oil heater. I have noted the noise you describe, I suspect its just some air in the oil as a result of moving it. The air would cause some cavitation when heated by the element. Oh well, I would never have guessed that in a million years! I am sure you are right about it being air. It sounds like bubbles being aggravated and being violently moved around. Sometimes it is so violent it is quite frightening, - it sounds like the precursor to an explosion. I imagine that the air and oil is expanding with the heat, and convection currents are moving around quite violently in the columns. |
John H (8) | ||
| 568450 | 2007-07-14 02:57:00 | The dummy load I got at a junk sale had transformer oil in it . I drained the heaters to replace it because I suspect the old transformer oil would have contained the nasty PCB . :( Perhaps your heater is the special model for witches: Double, double, toil and trouble Fire burn and caldron bubble Bill S had a quote for everything . |
Graham L (2) | ||
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