How to find a safe portable 1500 watt heater
I have 20+ year old space heater that is nearing end of life.
120 volt, 1500 watts
We use it in the camper when have electric hookup, and need a little extra heat.
I started looking online for a replacement, the one I have is not made any more. There are some similar looking ones but the reviews of them are really bad.
I started looking at all the portable 120 volt, 1500 watt electric heaters. Prices from $20 to $150 and even ones with the best reviews, have about 10%, 1 star reviews. Things like,
- Stinks like melting plastic even after hours of use.
- The cord melted
- The switch(es) melted
- Stopped working after a couple of hours (or a few days)
- No or very limited heat
- Auto tip over shutoff does not work
I expect some level of poor reviews on any product. And there are few of the normal stupid stuff, like "It won't heat my whole house" and "If I run it and a bunch of other stuff it trips a circuit breaker in the house".
Overall the level of potentially fatal flaws reported on all makes and models of portable 1500 watt heaters is scary.
Can a safe portable 1500 watt heater be purchased new in modern times?
If so what attributes will help me narrow my search to safe products?
P.S. over $150 they get too big to be portable, this is size limit not a budget constraint.
P.P.S I have an integrated propane heater in the camper, the electric heater is backup/supplementary
2 answers
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The "ceramic" variant is considerably safer than the old hot-element type. They use a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) variable-resistance ceramic element and a fan. If the fan fails, the PTC behavior means the resistance of the element goes up, so its power use goes down, and you don't have anything at glowing ignition temperatures, ever. With the fan blowing, heat is transferred to the air going through and resistance is lowered, so power goes up to the rated value.
They are also compact[1] which might be of benefit in a camper. Many can also be operated at half-power or full-power, and be thermostat controlled. The oil-filled one will be quieter, however.
As usual, be sure to get one that is actually listed by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).[2] That will eliminate the cheapest junk units proudly marked only CE[3] by the sellers, helpfully letting you be the "importer" from their far-off warehouse to circumvent normal safety testing under the somewhat bizarre rules global markets have devolved into.
Passing NRTL testing tends to eliminate melting cords and switches.[4] It may also improve the odds that the company making it is not a constantly changing name (on a factory that is never named) to avoid honoring warranty claims, since a 5 year warranty for a company that ceased to exist 4.5 years ago is hard to collect on.
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Compact as compared to the oil filled radiator suggested in another answer, and also as compared to the old fire-hazard hot bar or hot filament units. ↩︎
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NRTLs vary with country, with ETL and UL being examples in the US, TUV for Germany, etcetera. ↩︎
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CE is a self certification that has no useful meaning. ↩︎
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Well, except for the idiots that ignore instructions and put cords under carpets. ↩︎
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If you're worried about fan heaters because they all seem to have a poor safety record... that wouldn't be entirely unjustified. There do exist reputable models that won't leave small plastic puddles on your floor, of course, but it can be difficult to separate the good, the bad, and the fire risk.
If you're not up for doing that, you can also look for their cousins, the portable oil-filled radiators. They're... exactly what they say on the tin; a small radiator, filled with oil, that you can cart around and plug in where you want them. As always, go for a recognised brand rather than the cheapest or coolest looking.
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