As the winter approaches and my studio (and body) get colder in the basement, I want a really good portable heater this year. Done with those small under the desk gadgets. Looking to heat around 1000 sq', although my isolated room is 15 x 17. Suggestions appreciated.

Zuki check out the Honeywell Quartz heaters ($50)..I have one that works great, and it's not bad on operation cost...

Hurry Home depot they have em all......

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[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-10-2008).]

Zuki, if you don't want to go the electric route.., a very popular and very INEXPENSIVE way to heat that basement is with a small pot-belly wood stove. I've seen those little gems sell for as low as $139.00 Easy to install and vent..., cheap to heat with too. Not sure if you've ever used one.., but a little pot-belly stove in that basement would have it very toasty and comfortable.

If you're going the electric heater route.., make sure it has a thermostat.. I'd also look for one that has a thermo with up to (3) settings. We've got several electric heaters. Here's what we got:

1 Electric Stove (looks like a wood burning stove) Has thermo.., two heat settings, and the "looks pretty factor" is a 9/10 considering this model is probably the most realistic "fake flame" I've seen to date. The vent is located at the bottom of the heater as well. Would probaby work it's tail off though to heat 1000 sq ft-as would any space heater of course when you consider heating that much square footage) Cost new was $99.00 Home Depot (where we bought ours) gets this particular model in by the boatload

2-Holme's space heaters with two heat settings and a adjustable thermo.(small $12 heaters from Wally-World). Do a great job for spot heating.

1-Oil Filled electric radiator. Very cool heater. Never needs to have the oil refilled.. Numerous settings, but with these understand they need to be placed in a room where there's traffic. They're a stationary heater that uses "radiant heat". My wife puts a very small table top fan on the floor next to ours and it pushs the warmth around.

Bottom line.., you're wanting to heat a large area with an electric heater. That's why I suggested something like a pot belly stove (cheap to install, and cheap to heat with).

Zuki,

I'm heating 1,500 square feet of basement using a ventless, propane fired, gas log stove. It works great, costs about $30 a month to run during the winter months (October through April), and the stove cost me $895 installed. My Grandpa Bear wood stove was a lot better, cheaper to use, but at my age splitting two cords of firewood every year is no longer an option. The vent-free propane stove is 100-percent efficient, which means none of the heat goes up a chimney. And, they are very safe to use.

Good Luck,

Gary

I'm not sure I would recommend ANY type of heater that put particulates in the air, no matter how few...

Wood burning in a studio? Not a great idea, IMO Just removing the ash is going to dust up your precious gear...

Hello,

I live in Florida and my 1953 wood frame house has 1 electric wall heater in the living room. I also have 2 electric oil-filled radiator heaters. The larger one keeps my 14 x 16 bedroom cozy on cold nights. The smaller one goes in my 12 x 13 media room and also does a great job. They don't get too hot to touch, so they are safe and won't cause a fire when unattended. They don't run constantly and the oil inside them holds the heat a long time. If they have a drawback, it's that they won't heat a cold room quickly. You must anticipate when they will be needed and set their thermostats early. I bought mine at Home Depot for about $40 each. I love em! -charley

Charley , I also use the oil filled radiators..they do a good job, but the fan forced quartz heaters distribute quicker for a quickly heated room..

For constant heat, yes the oil filled do a great job..

As with all electric heaters...try to reduce heat loss..

That is so true,
my wife had a problem in a very small (~300-350 sqf) apartment she rented. When I carefully installed some foam/polyurethane self stick cords around the window frame and the door frame, we truly FELT the difference in temp around the room. We also had a noticeable difference in the sound coming from the street.

We used something with a "P" profile, similar to that:



Those electric radiators with oil inside do wonders (albeit in very small spaces, like the isolated 15x17 room Zuki talks about).

[This message has been edited by trident (edited 11-12-2008).]

Diki.., I don't know what kind of wood stoves you've used but they do not put off the kind of dust you're thinking of. I grew up with wood stoves. I grew up on Lake Erie just under Canada. Wood stove heating was common in my area. A small pot-belly stove puts out very little dust.

Plus most people who use wood stoves know.., when emptying the ash to add a little water to the bucket as it greatly reduces any dust floating in the air. I don't know if you're ever used a pot-belly stove, but the ash left behind per full load isn't large at all.

The oil filled radiator heaters are nice..., but as stated you got to anticipate the use and get an early start with them. They will heat a room nicely..., however heating 1000 sq feet with oil filled radiator heaters just may push that electric bill up a bit. Keep in mind they use "radiant heat". It's suggested to use these types of heaters in an area where there is traffic...., as that will help move the heat..., and allows them to run more efficiently. My wife uses one, but she has a "very small" desk top fan that she places on the floor next to the heater... It does a good job at helping to push the air around if the traffic in the room isn't heavy enough.




[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 11-12-2008).]

Any heating or cooling device that moves large volumes of air will also circulate particulate matter. That's why air filters were created. As for a wood stove sending dust into the room--none that I've used had this problem--even while cleaning. As the ash is being removed from the stove, there is a constant updraft from the chimney flue that draws the dust up the chimney--even when the stove is cold. And, because the newer stoves, which have catalytic converters installed in the stack is so efficient, much of the ash is incinerated, leaving very little ash to remove from the stove.

Cheers,

Gary

ANY dust is too much

If an electric heater puts out zero, why use something that makes more?

Long term reliability (I know many here swap out gear faster than it wears out, but maybe SOMEBODY looks at longevity in mixers, amps, pre's, whatever you have down there ) is directly linkable to dust, ash and smoke (especially tobacco).

For me, there is nothing worse than an intermittent pot or an unreliable switch. You waste valuable time tracking them down and fixing them...

Put it this way... what was the last pro studio you saw with a wood fire in it?

Diki.., seriously woodstoves do not put out the dust you seem to think. As Gary stated these new ones are amazing in how little ash is left behind....

You also don't seem to realize Diki.., that some of these woodstoves have a tray that simply slides out and requires NO shoveling.. Which means NO dust. You simply take the whole tray outside and dump it.

With a potbelly, or even standard wood burning stove you wouldn't have any more dust than would build up from any conventional central air system. Plus you would have ZERO dust from a potbelly stove as it uses radiant heat and not a blower (as found on many larger wood burning stoves). If there's NO blower.., there's no means of blowing any dust around.

I can see how living down in Florida and all would probably confuse you a bit on these heating stoves Again.., I grew up on Lake Erie..., much of my family is still there and woodstove heating is used heavily up there. Many of my own family still use them.., I grew up using them. They don't put out the kind of dust you're speaking of. Hell..., my $4,000 York central heating/cooling system with a good quality air filter moves more dust around my house than a wood stove.




[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 11-12-2008).]

The largest producer of dust is humans. We constantly shed skin particles, which over a period of a few days covers everything in your home with a thin layer of dust.

And, though you may find it difficult to believe, all heating systems circulate dust particles. Even an oil-filled electric radiator circulates dust particles throughout the area via convection. The cooler air close to the floor is drawn toward the radiator's fins, heated, rises toward the ceiling, then moves outward toward the walls. As the air cools it falls back toward the floor, where it is again drawn across the dusty floor, picking up minute particles along the way before being cycled once again. It's a constant process.

The cleanest studio on the world is heated and cooled with something that moves air. If you move air, you ultimately move dust along with that air--this ain't rocket science.

Gary

If a pot belly stove is the route wanted,take into consideration carrying
wood downstairs!seems a dangerous task.

..........Actually I've read that many studios and electronic or computer "clean rooms" have passive heating in the floors. They are usually ceramic coated cement or tile floors that have heating elements embedded in them. Many of the new energy efficient "green" homes in Florida have this type of heat too. I imagine they do use conventional fan-forced air conditioning though? -charley