Heatdish Heater

Posted by AdminBonsai on Dec 3, 2009 in Oriental Trees

Heatdish Heater
I have a PRESTO HEATDISH electric heater but all my electricity keeps turning off, so it must be the heater?

This never used to happen before so I don’t think it is the TV or computer causing my electricity to turn off. It’s just a little circular heater that sits on the floor, is it really using that much electricity? Do you think using this heater is going to make my electricity bill a lot higher? I have heard ceramic heaters are better, but I have never seen one, so I don’t know if that’s true. It gets really cold in my apt. during the winter & the gas heater in the hallway doesn’t heat up the whole apt. What is a good heater I can buy that won’t cause my electricity to shut off or make my bill a lot higher?

The outlet you are plugging the heater into may not be pulling enough volts to run the heater causing you to trip a circuit in your breaker box. If you have too many items plugged into one outlet, that too will trip a circuit. Having too many appliances plugged in at one time (especially in older homes where the wiring is not as up to date as the appliances being used now…) will also cause a circuit to trip.

And yes, these electric heaters will increase you electric bill. I would have your landlord or apt. manager replace or repair the gas heater in your hallway. If it is not putting out enough heat to heat your apartment, there should be something done about that. You may also want to check the settings on your gas heater to make sure there is enough gas running to it to adequately heat your apt. Other than that, winterize your windows and any exterior doors as much as possible by putting up plastic around windows, and putting some kind of insulation (old towels, new weather stripping etc….)at the bottom of your entry doors to keep cold air from coming in under them. Likewise, you may want to caulk around doors and windows to prevent air moving in around them too. You can also try to get a small fan to help circulate the heat from your hallway into other areas of your apt.

Do be very cautious when using any kind of space heater! Every year, there are thousands of fire related deaths caused by over heated space heaters, or over-loaded outlets!

Definitely contact your landlord or property manager!