Honeywell surround heater won't keep running

[JBI]

I have a Honeywell small electric space "surrounding heat" heater that I
use for zonal heating of a single room in the house. Lately, I've
noticed that I have to turn the thermostat up higher and higher to get
it to run for longer. It used to be that if the thermostat was turned
all the way up, the heater would run continuously, but now it only runs
intermittently. Online searches for this problem indicated to open the
base and vacuum the input grilles, which I did but this didn't seem to
help (they weren't that dirty anyway but I did remove as much dust as I
could). Any suggestions as to what to do next would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[tabb...@gmail.com]

If it's a fan heater, muck on the fanblades makes them less effective. Muck can also collect in the elements.


NT

[Michael A Terrell]

Is there an internal adjustment to adjust for an aging thermostat?
They don't last forever, and the bimetallic element weakens from
repeated flexing.

[JBI]

That was my next guess, but I have the heater on low now and it will run
continuously if thermostat set at max, which makes me rethink that there
may be dust collected somewhere inside where I wasn't able to reach.

[Tom Biasi]

I second Michael's comment. It's a common thing in old bi-metalic
thermostats.

[Michael A Terrell]

Along with pitted contacts that heat up and affect the accuracy.

[Tom Biasi]

Just like us Michael, things wear out.

[jurb...@gmail.com]

>"Along with pitted contacts that heat up and affect the accuracy.
"

And they act as an anticipator. Too good of an anticipator.

[Michael A Terrell]

Tom Biasi wrote:
>>
> Just like us Michael, things wear out.

And the proper spare parts are rarely available. Then it is constant
pain, and handfuls of pills just to survive. :(

[Terry Schwartz]

Also common for these heaters to have over-temp cutoff switches.

[Rheilly Phoull]

On 21/12/2017 9:34 AM, Terry Schwartz wrote:
> Also common for these heaters to have over-temp cutoff switches.
>

Which activates with a sticky fan bearing or fan blades crudded up or both

[JBI]

Well, I picked up another heater at the local Walmart. Unfortunately,
it doesn't really have the same type of housing and is emitting a sort
of plastic smell as it runs. I'm very tempted to return it, but I
suspect any other I get will also smell. I'm hoping the smell will go
away as I use it.

As for the former, is there any way to replace its thermostat? I don't
see any part replacements online. As an alternative, I was thinking of
perhaps bypass the internal thermostat completely and just controlling
it via a plug in type, if possible. Don't even know if I could bypass,
but just a possibility. Compared to this new heater, I think the older
one is superior and it would be a real shame if I couldn't get it
working.

[JBI]

I'm taking this new heater back, I can't stand the burning plastic smell
it's producing. I brought out my old one, opened it up, and bypassed
the thermostat. Now it's running continuously no matter what setting.
I'm going to add a 15 amp timer programmable plug in thermostat as a
replacement:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7NYY8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Thanks again for all the help & suggestions.

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, 21 December 2017 13:12:32 UTC, JBI wrote:
> I'm taking this new heater back, I can't stand the burning plastic smell
> it's producing.

Glad you decided not to Darwinate

> I brought out my old one, opened it up, and bypassed
> the thermostat. Now it's running continuously no matter what setting.
> I'm going to add a 15 amp timer programmable plug in thermostat as a
> replacement:
>
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7NYY8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
>
> Thanks again for all the help & suggestions.

Oh, looks you do want to Darwinate after all. At least make sure no-one else is home.


NT

[JBI]

Meaning? By adding the external thermostat, I would think that would
take care of any potential safety issues, no?

> NT
>

[pf...@aol.com]

On Thursday, December 21, 2017 at 12:58:37 PM UTC-5, JBI wrote:

>
> Meaning? By adding the external thermostat, I would think that would
> take care of any potential safety issues, no?

No, absolutely not!

The unit will continue to run as long as the *EXTERNAL* thermostat wants it to do so.

But the external thermostat has no clue about what is going in INSIDE the heater. So, should it decide to have a spectacular melt-down because the internal thermostat has been bypassed, well, there it is. And the results could be anything from a puddle of burnt metal and plastic (least serious) to a death or two or three.

You might also consider what would happen when (not if) the insurance investigators found the altered heater. It would be designated as the cause of a fire. That would be a "CLAIM DENIED" situation.

You may purchase a new heater for as little as $19 for a UL-compliant device at your local big-box. Why would you even think about doing what you did?

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[JBI]

Interesting, never thought it would be such an issue. I use a similar
device with my 150 W aquarium heater because almost every heater I
bought would get "stuck" on after a year and almost fry the fish. Since
adding the external thermostat with a temperature probe that goes in the
water, no more issues. I just thought the same could be done with the
Honeywell, but now you have me really rethinking. This was the
replacement I bought and returned due to the horrible plastic smell
while on:


https://www.bestbuy.com/site/honeywell-360-surround-fan-forced-heater-slate-gray/4238400.p?skuId=4238400

I'll return the external thermostat IF I can find a compatible heater of
the same wattage that does not stink while it runs. Suggestions?

[pf...@aol.com]

> I'll return the external thermostat IF I can find a compatible heater of
> the same wattage that does not stink while it runs. Suggestions?

At its most basic:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41zkNpD8vaL._SY300_.jpg

We have one of these at our summer house that has been reliable for years.
Note that all new heaters stink for the first few hours - this is burning off the manufacturing oils and such. When we get any new device, we set it outside and let it rip for a couple of hours (costs $0.28). That usually kills the smell. But for light use, we like the metal heater as it is rugged, has a good fan with two speeds as well as a thermostat.

For the house, replete with cats, dogs and often grand-kids we prefer ceramic type heaters for safety.

https://smedia.webcollage.net/rwvfp/wc/cp/12662537/module/cpwalmart/_cp/products/1387552820329/tab-a953d4b1-e764-4d66-af93-dd41553dd3fa/1780b0f2-dcd9-483d-bbd6-f93ae8842c21.jpg.w960.jpg

[Michael A Terrell]

That is commonly called a 'Milkhouse Heater'. They are made to last
for decades, and to be used in places that they can be knocked over. I
have a couple of them for my home. One for the bathroom, and one for my
bedroom. I rarely need heat in the rest of the house, here in Central
Florida.

Walmart has them for $16.94.

<https://www.walmart.com/ip/Patton-Electric-Utility-Milkhouse-Heater/17808701>

[JBI]

Here's what I ended up getting for now:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Electric-Quartz-Heater-with-Thermostat-White-HQ-1000/53017088?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227046668859&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=103588831697&wl4=pla-256828218218&wl5=9003835&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=53017088&wl13=&veh=sem

Different animal that the others for sure and no fan except my ceiling
fan in reverse. I'm not sure whether or not I'll keep it.

I like the idea behind the ceramic heaters. Those are actually the most
appealing to me, but unfortunately the timers they have only seem to
shut them off and aren't programmable for an "on" time. With both the
old Honeywell and this new Mainstays, controls are analog so I can use a
15 amp timer to start them up in the morning about 2 hours before I get
up so the room is just starting to get toasty.

I may just have to settle for another Honeywell after all and let it run
for a few hours (days?) somewhere not occupied so the smell can
dissipate.

[bruce2...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, December 21, 2017 at 8:12:32 AM UTC-5, JBI wrote:
> I'm taking this new heater back, I can't stand the burning plastic smell
> it's producing.

Buying a more expensive heater from a less-cheap store might be a good idea, too.

[JBI]

The quartz heater I linked to earlier seems to be doing a surprisingly
good job. It seems to heat up the room more quickly than the Honeywell
did, no smell from the start and not running continuously. The only
inconvenience I can find is that the analog thermostat, like the
Honeywell, isn't very accurate. If I try presetting it when the timer
triggers the heater early morning, it's still plenty cold in the room
when I walk in several hours later. Due to that, I just might use the
external thermostat (I ordered it before recognizing the possible
hazards mentioned prior and it arrived on Saturday) I also mentioned
before, but leave the heater thermostat at a point where it won't ever
run continuously. I think it would be more accurate than the heater's
since it's digital.

[Fox's Mercantile]

On 12/25/17 12:08 PM, JBI wrote:
> I think it would be more accurate than the heater's since it's digital.

Being digital does not equal accuracy.

--
"I am a river to my people."
Jeff-1.0
WA6FWi
http:foxsmercantile.com

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Monday, 25 December 2017 19:03:38 UTC, Fox's Mercantile wrote:
> On 12/25/17 12:08 PM, JBI wrote:
> > I think it would be more accurate than the heater's since it's digital.
>
> Being digital does not equal accuracy.

no not at all. Portable heaters with bimetal stats tend to lack compensation, without which the stat is almost useless.


NT