oil filled radiators

[penandink]

Looking for some ideas on oil filled radiators. Our bungalow currently has gas central heating which is on its last legs. Normally this is easy to upgrade, but our pipes are very narrow and we have only about 6 inches under the floorboards so a system flush is not viable. We also have wooden floors. Three radiators have packed up entirely. At the moment we are thinking of having put in an additional dedicated circuit ring that three oil filled radiators will connect to so that they remain separate from the other electrical circuits. We know that to run electric radiators works out more expensive but realistically our time in this place is limited by age. My queries are these. Can you run oil - filled radiators for 24 hours? In the North of England they would need to be on a low setting 24 hours and then turned up in the rooms we are using. Also does anyone have any recommendations?

[Someone-Else]

I understand your dilemma (The heating you describe sounds like microbore) but have you considered the running costs?

Yes an oil filled radiator has a thermostat, some even have built in 24 hr timers (so they will switch on/off when ever you like)
and yes most have 2/3 heat settings. But for ease of calculation lets use 1kw (Most heat setting are above or below this)

Electricity is sold in KWH lets go for the average of 35p/kwh
One oil filled radiator set to 1kw will cost 35p/ hour
If you have all 3 on that will be £1.05 hour

If you had one rad on for 8 hours that is £2.80/day
7 days a week = £19.60
1 month = £78.40

Yes not all radiators will be on all the time, but you see how expensive it is.

I would suggest you consider a "Portable gas heater" as they are cheaper to run, but to be sure, get a carbon monoxide alarm too.

[dewaltdisney]

I would think that storage radiators might be better. These radiators warm up overnight, using cheap rate electric Economy 7, and discharge the warmth during the day. Have a read https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy ... ed-to-know You probably would not need too many as they would warm the bungalow to an even temperature throughout if placed stratigcally. This can be augmented in your seating area with a warm air high output convector with a thermostat. Just an idea.

DWD

[penandink]

Many thanks for the replies. We understand how expensive electricity is but given the quotes to upgrade the system, and the disruption to do so we feel there is no choice. Realistically around here when anything old is sold it becomes a building plot for a mansion or 2 semis. Freestanding heaters we have ruled out on the grounds of becoming increasingly clumsy. Thanks for the link to storage heaters we will take a look at that - they are obviously worth considering as an alternative.

[ericmark]

I must admit I have considered using an oil filled radiator. I look at our electric use

Cheap-electric.jpg (42.44 KiB) Viewed 464 times

and there are two times during the day when electric is either cheap or free. The off-peak requires a simple timer, the afternoon excess I have a iboost+ which basic does nothing in the winter as the central heating gets the water too warm, so to use it to power a oil filled radiator seems a good plan.

However is it worth it is the real question, I got the iboost+ with all good ideas, but in real terms it will never pay for its self. And in real terms the idea is a pipe dream.

My central heating is not working as it should, micro-bore oil, and my guess is the pump is damaged, the motorised valve micro switch played up earlier in the year, so the pump was pushing against a closed valve, I think this has damaged the pump, its keeping the house hot enough at the moment, and I don't want to play in the winter, that is something to look at on the summer service.

I wish water was like electric and I could put a clamp meter around the pipe to see if the water is flowing, but no, but pump change is easy enough, I have an oil filled radiator as emergency should the boiler fail, but I would be looking at getting the central heating fixed, it may only need the pump speed increasing?