Tube / frost heater - where from on high street?

[Anthony]

hi,

Any idea where I can get a tube / frost greenhouse type heater on the high street to take to boat tomm, I cant find them in Argos?

Thanks

Ants

 

[philip_stevens]

An electrical wholesaler should have them in stock.

 

[holly1]

Go to an electrical wholesaler get the wire guard aswell it could stop things getting scorched.

 

[ksutton]

Screwfix sell them

 

[SK700]

Have you tried a garden centre or Homebase/B&Q?

Out of town but should have stock this time of year.

edt: On the high street, Robert Dyas might have them

 

[Anthony]

Does anyone know of the screwfix or toolstation ones have a thromostat, they dont say on their sites and they dont seem to know either having called them.

B&Q dont have any listed on their website

thanks

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Have you looked for a greenhouse heater?

I bought one with a thermostat, designed for a greenhouse to come on at temperatures below +5 if you want. It is also a fan, so it circulates the air at the same time, and you can you use it as a conventional fan heater when you are staying on board if you choose.

I think it is called a Frost-Eeeze or something like that !

 

[ksutton]

Never seen a tube heater with a thermostat, they reach a max temperature and sit there 24/7 at that temperature, a bit like a 120w or 180w light bulb and light bulbs dont have thermostats.

 

[Anthony]

Ah ok, I presumed they had a thermostat to just come on when it got really cold, thanks I'll go to toolstation and grab a small one for near the engine space.

 

[ksutton]

You could consider a small oil filled radiator. B&Q and others do a very small one, 800w it has two heat settings and is thermostatically controlled.

 

[nedmin]

. The prob with modern tube heaters is that they are now built with a overheat thermostat built-in.Unfortunately the cheap chinese material used in the contacts oxidises and then you lose continuity.This happened to me a couple of years ago.I managed to get an old heater with no overheat thermostat in the tube.If fused properly a steel tube heater is not going to catch fire.If I bought a modern one I would short this out but for obvious reasons I cannot recommend you to do this.

 

[Refueler]

Can I suggest you forget tube heaters as they are in-efficient. I know two boats with them and you might as well not switch them on.

B&Q do frost heaters at 200W ... tenner each, fully regulated :

if you want more - there's the Dimplex Coldwatch 500W fully regulated job at about 40 quid from CPC and similar (Chandlers mark those up another tenner - but still worth it !)

Honest apart from under engine or bottom of wet-locker ... tubes are rubbish IMHO.

I use above to look after my boat interior while sitting out baltic winter. I have a weather station sensor in the cabin and display readout in the house kitchen window - so I don't even need to visit boat to know it's ok.

At moment ... Outside temp is -1C, boat cabin is 8.2C.

 

[Anthony]

thanks i'll pop in and see B&Q have any left they are not on their website. I mainly want it for the engine space but ike the idea of a thermostat

 

[emnick]

I wanted the same. I ended up using a 120W tube heater under the engine, wired through a frost stat. Bought the tube heater from Screwfix and the frost stat from plumbers works a treat! (wire it in so it switches the live to the heater) frost stat is not in the engine compartment.

 

[BAtoo]

Just bought 200w heater with thermostat from B&Q for £12, nice compact unit and seems to work well - keeps the chill off my cabin anyway!!

 

[longjohnsilver]

CEF seem to be about the cheapest, I bought a 12" tube heater there a few weeks ago for just over a tenner.

 

[Ruffles]

[ QUOTE ]
Can I suggest you forget tube heaters as they are in-efficient

[/ QUOTE ]
Oi!
There's no way an electrical heater can be inefficient. The only way it can lose heat is, er, as heat.

Discuss....

 

[DaveS]

I have to fundamentally disagree. All electric heaters are 100% efficient. Tube heaters are deliberately low rated, however - 60W per foot length is traditional - to keep the surface temperature down, and a particular size might not give as much heat as you want or need, but that's nothing to do with efficiency.

 

[maxi77]

I'll vote with the fuel man, recently fitted one of these in the main cabin, and as long as themarina power doesnt trip it's great.

 

[Refueler]

[ QUOTE ]
Just bought 200w heater with thermostat from B&Q for £12, nice compact unit and seems to work well - keeps the chill off my cabin anyway!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Is it same as I posted piccy of above ? Even with the 2 quid rise in price - well worth it. I have 2 of them and they work very well.