"Huge" wrote in message
...
Our bedroom gets very cold at night, due to having unheated spaces on 5
of it's 6 sides, despite double glazing, cavity wall insulation, loft
insulation and insulation in the floor. I don't want to run the central
heating all night, partly because it's wasteful to heat the whole house
for one room and partly because it was installed by an imbecile and it
clanks and clonks as it heats up and cools down and keeps us awake. I'm
already wearing a tracksuit under a 13.5tog quilt, so more bedding
isn't really an option.

So ... I bought a Dimplex 2kW convector heater to have on at night,
thinking it would be relatively silent. Wrong. The thermostat in it
reminds me of the Rank Organisation's gong in the credits of their
movies. So, we're lying there wide awake (nice and warm, mind)
listening to this thing going *TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*, long pause,
*TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*, long pause, *TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*,
long pause, *TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*, long pause, *TICK*, long pause,
*TOCK*, long pause, *TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*, long pause, *TICK*,
long pause, *TOCK*, long pause, *TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*, long pause,
*TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*, long pause, *TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*,
long pause, *TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*, long pause, *TICK*, long pause,
*TOCK*, long pause, *TICK*, long pause, *TOCK*, long pause, *TICK*,
like a bloody deranged slow-motion grandfather clock.

So, does anyone know of a plug-in thermostat that will switch 2kW, but
above all must be silent. TLC have this one;

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SMET05.html

But looking at the instructions, it too ticks. And my experience of the
longevity of Smith Instruments domestic timers and the like is not
good.

I don't know of any commercially available electronic thermostats that will
not have an audible click, a bimetallic strip or latching relay (both
mechanical) are the cheapest way of switching lots of power. I have built
such systems in the past using solid state relays which are silent, but
would be very expensive commercially.

Have you thought about an electric blanket? You can throw off all that
excess bed covering weight and still be nice and toasty. A darn sight
cheaper to run than a 2kW heater! I
reckon ours uses less than a unit per night.

Dave