Silent thermostat
 

"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

Silent thermostat
 

"Huge" wrote in message
...

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,

Ear-plugs? but then you won't hear the smoke alarm...

--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ms1938/

Silent thermostat
 

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Huge wrote:


I've never been very happy about the idea of electric overblankets.
Are they safe?


Yes. Well, at any rate, you don't hear of too many electrocutions or fires
caused by them.g
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is Black Hole!

Silent thermostat
 

"Huge" wrote in message
...


I've never been very happy about the idea of electric overblankets. Are
they safe?



Yes. But like all electrical items you have to treat them with respect.
Always buy new and follow the instructions carefully (which are only common
sense instructions).

By law all electric blankets sold have to be BEAB approved and have built in
overheat protection. They also monitor earth leakage and check for breaks in
the circuit continuously.

They are so robust you can wash them in a washing machine, although
personally we don't. We replace ours every 5 years as a matter of course.

To be absolutly straight, yes, they have caused fires, and people have died
using them, but in all cases blankets have been blatently faulty and 99%
were over 10 years old. I believe about 20 people a year in the UK die using
them.

Compare this with fatalities caused by faulty heaters.

Using one is safer than crossing the road, but you have to weigh up the pros
and cons in your own mind.

HTH

Dave

Silent thermostat
 

In message , Huge
writes
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.


BTDTBTTS.

An oil-filled electric radiator may be a better solution.
From memory, the thermostats are a lot quieter, if only because they are
in a big empty (almost) metal "sounding" box.
Also the higher thermal mass means the stat operates much less
frequently. Steadier heat output as well.



--
Steve

Silent thermostat
 

On 31 Dec 2003 15:53:08 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

"Dave Gibson" writes:

"Huge" wrote in message
...
Our bedroom gets very cold at night, due to having unheated spaces on 5

[27 lines snipped]

Have you thought about an electric blanket?

I've never been very happy about the idea of electric overblankets. Are
they safe?

My experience of falling asleep on an underblanket (accidentally left
switched on) is that you will die of overheating first. However, they do a
good job of taking the chill off the bed itself, and you should not feel
cold while you fall asleep. Two people under a winter rating duvet ought to
get through the night without discomfort even in a cold room.

[Alternatively, why don't you move to one of your other gazillion bedrooms
when it's chilly ?!]

--
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.

Mail john rather than nospam...

Silent thermostat
 

On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 20:15:15 -0000, "Dave Gibson" wrote:

To be absolutly straight, yes, they have caused fires, and people have died
using them, but in all cases blankets have been blatently faulty and 99%
were over 10 years old. I believe about 20 people a year in the UK die using
them.

Which is more people than die each year that will be saved by the new
electrical safety regs to be introduced shortly. And guess what? Those
safety regs do not cover electric blankets or any other type of
utility device plugged into the mains.

PoP

Replying to the email address given by my news reader
will result in your own email address being instantly
added to my anti-spam database! If you really want to
contact me try changing the prefix in the given email
address to my newsgroup posting name.....

Silent thermostat
 

On 31 Dec 2003 13:32:08 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

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.

I would be seriously considering an exorcist if I were you.

ATB

Kris

Silent thermostat
 

In article ,
Huge wrote:

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,
[snip]

If the thing is 2KW capacity and is cycling the thermostat
then it is running at less than 2KW average. You can gain
some idea of the actual power by estimating ON/(ON+OFF).

If that is the case then it might be possible to run it at
a reduced mains voltage such that it produces the same avg
output power without ever tripping the thermostat (turn the
stat up full anyway). eg, P= V-squared/R, so running at
(say) 0.707x normal mains voltage would produce an average
of 1KW output from a 2KW heater.

TRIAC power regulators are devices that produce an effective
reduction of the AC voltage into a resistive load (silently).

See http://www.farnell.com part numbers 291-500 or 291-511.

291-511 is interesting because it also allows attachment of a
thermistor for temperature control.

--
Tony Williams.

Silent thermostat
 

On 1 Jan 2004 13:48:00 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

Tony Williams writes:
In article ,
Huge wrote:

[20 lines snipped]

TRIAC power regulators are devices that produce an effective
reduction of the AC voltage into a resistive load (silently).

See http://www.farnell.com part numbers 291-500 or 291-511.

291-511 is interesting because it also allows attachment of a
thermistor for temperature control.

Ooh. Tinkering to be done. Thanks!

A solution for tonight - get inside it and connect the 2 x 1Kw
elements in series to make a 500 w one which is probably nearer the
actual output you need during the night and turn the thermostat up to
max. You could re-jig the switchery to give a choice of 1 kw or 500w
so you can preheat the room before you retire.

If it's cycling with the frequency you describe ISTM the heater is
badly designed anyway. The thermostat is getting ackled directly by
the heating element itself rather than the air temperature of the
room. It would benefit from being divorced from the heater itself. To
that extent a 14 quid plug in thermostat would give you less grief
because of less cycling and even if it had a relay in it the absence
of the resonant tin box must make it quieter.

DG

Silent thermostat
 

"Huge" wrote in message
...


BTW, for all the electric blanket fans, SWMBO has vetoed that. She wants
the air temperature raised to acceptable levels.


Presumably as its only your head that will benefit, have you thought about
buying a couple of balaclavas?

..... you could always add goggles afterwards if she still complains about
her eyelids getting cold.

Dave

Silent thermostat
 

On 1 Jan 2004 13:26:03 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

John Laird writes:
On 31 Dec 2003 15:53:08 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

Two people under a winter rating duvet ought to
get through the night without discomfort even in a cold room.

We have seperate quilts on a 6' bed. Sharing a quilt with my wife is
not a pleasant experience, as the only heating benefit gained is
friction burns caused by the quilt flying past in her direction, as she
wraps it round herself at about 15rpm.

;-) There must be a joke in there somewhere, women, entropy, natural order
of the universe, that sort of thing.

You could still try an underblanket. They lend themselves well to
"sidedness".

[Alternatively, why don't you move to one of your other gazillion bedrooms
when it's chilly ?!]

We had this conversation... :o)

Because the bed in the spare bedroom is too small.

What about the spare wife - is she no better ?

--
God dislikes money - look who he gives it to.

Mail john rather than nospam...

Silent thermostat
 

"Dave Gibson" wrote
| Presumably as its only your head that will benefit, have you thought
| about buying a couple of balaclavas?

I would have thought it could be pretty frightening waking up in the middle
of the night to find it's twisted round and the eye-holes are no longer over
the eyes.

Owain

Silent thermostat
 

"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.

Look in the CPC catalogue, part no PL02451. It's a Goldair fan heater with
electronic control, when it gets colder the fan slowly speeds up and the
element gets gradually hotter, then it slows down and cools as it gets near
the set temp. We bought one for our camper because the clicks used to annoy
us as well. This one works a treat, no clicks.

Rgds

Andy R