I need a heater- please help

[spiritedenergy]

I'm renting a room in Winnipeg (-20 or so right now) with a large window from where chilly air comes.
Especially in the evening the temperature seems to drop (probably my landlord setting), but I need a very warm room to feel confortable and working/study.

I plan to buy a cheap (<40$) heater either online or in store, but cannot decide which one; I found that the brand HOLMES seems very good and reliable, but don't know where they sell it in Canada. So I'd like an advice about:

1- where to buy the heater (Canadian Tire, Rona, Home Depot, etc.)
2- which brand/type to buy. this (http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=140847439 6672700&bmUID=1196561534157&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441894095&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true) model looks good but I don't know if I should trust NOMA.

Thank you in advance.

[fireguy9]

xscargo has a nice honewell unit for $40 ,, normally $80

[ji2o0k]

This one is a little more than your budget but it is a really good heater....

DeLonghi Portable Oil-filled Radiator-style Heater. Currently being sold on Sears.ca for $71.99

http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000HU58DC?ie=UTF8&searsBrand=core

My sister has this heater, her room is above the garage and gets pretty cold in the winter. The heater is incredibly warm, even on a low-medium setting, it warms up the entire room.

It uses oil (non-refillable I think) but should last a few years at least of usage.

I bought a Noma one that looks exactly like the DeLonghi from Canadian Tire for $45 but doesn't heat as well at all. I crank up the Noma to the max. setting (which is a 6) and it barely heats what my sister's DeLonghi does at a 4 setting (also out of 6 and I think both have the same BTUs - but maybe not).

I highly recommend this one.

[Pete_Coach]

But first, get an insulating window film to put on your window. Something like this http://www.improvementscatalog.com/home/improvements/29234-extralarge-window-insulation-kit.html
you can get it at any Canadian Tire or Home Depot or other store. Why heat cold incoming air.
I would personally get a ceramic heater with a fan (something like this http://shopping.msn.ca/reviews/shp/?itemId=12253784) to better heat the space as opposed to an oil filled radiator that uses convection to heat the space. It is small, efficient and very portable.

[scoop]

It uses oil (non-refillable I think) but should last a few years at least of usage.


It heats the oil, but doesnt burn it. Should last much more then a few years of usage.

[TorontoEh]

This one is a little more than your budget but it is a really good heater....

DeLonghi Portable Oil-filled Radiator-style Heater. Currently being sold on Sears.ca for $71.99

http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000HU58DC?ie=UTF8&searsBrand=core

My sister has this heater, her room is above the garage and gets pretty cold in the winter. The heater is incredibly warm, even on a low-medium setting, it warms up the entire room.

It uses oil (non-refillable I think) but should last a few years at least of usage.

I bought a Noma one that looks exactly like the DeLonghi from Canadian Tire for $45 but doesn't heat as well at all. I crank up the Noma to the max. setting (which is a 6) and it barely heats what my sister's DeLonghi does at a 4 setting (also out of 6 and I think both have the same BTUs - but maybe not).

I highly recommend this one.

I bought the Noma one as well for $64 from CT (did you buy on sale for $45?) and it works fine for our master bedroom.

The one you mentioned above is also available at costco for $69 , i might pick one up and try.

[ephdub]

This one is a little more than your budget but it is a really good heater....

DeLonghi Portable Oil-filled Radiator-style Heater. Currently being sold on Sears.ca for $71.99

http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000HU58DC?ie=UTF8&searsBrand=core

My sister has this heater, her room is above the garage and gets pretty cold in the winter. The heater is incredibly warm, even on a low-medium setting, it warms up the entire room.

It uses oil (non-refillable I think) but should last a few years at least of usage.

I bought a Noma one that looks exactly like the DeLonghi from Canadian Tire for $45 but doesn't heat as well at all. I crank up the Noma to the max. setting (which is a 6) and it barely heats what my sister's DeLonghi does at a 4 setting (also out of 6 and I think both have the same BTUs - but maybe not).

I highly recommend this one.

I just bought myself a NOMA heater from CT about 10 minutes ago. It feels hotter than my old Honeywell oil filled heater... It was down to a Delonghi one from LD for ~79.99 or the NOMA one for 64.99. The only difference was the price but it had the same stats (1500W or ~5100BTU's). If your Noma and Dlonghi had the same BTU's, and stats... it should be identical in heat.. maybe if your oil filled heater had less fins or something, maybe it won't distribute heat as fast? Who knows...

But back to the OP... LD has a sale on right now on some of the ceramic based heaters with a fan. I didn't opt for it since most of those are directional fans and I like a heated up room rather than just a heated fan pointed at me.... You can opt for a small oil filled based heater... like:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444286 0863&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672700&bmUID=1196653710812&deptid=1408474396672676&ctgrid=1408474396672677&subctgrid=1408474396672700

In CT in BC, it costs 49.99 so I opted to pay an extra $15 to get a full sized one.. Mind you, I don't have
- any problems with the larger size (the larger sized ones had more heating options)
- any power problems (circuit breakers or wiring in the room being heated being limited)
- any problems with energy usage costs

Which those three things helped me choose to opt for a larger oil filled heater

Hope some of what I wrote helps

[ji2o0k]

It heats the oil, but doesnt burn it. Should last much more then a few years of usage.
ahhh ok...........thx for clarifying...........
I bought the Noma one as well for $64 from CT (did you buy on sale for $45?) and it works fine for our master bedroom.
The one you mentioned above is also available at costco for $69 , i might pick one up and try.I am pretty sure it was for $45-50. But maybe my model is a lower model?

It really doesn't seem hot enough.........maybe mine is a lemon?

[TorontoEh]

ahhh ok...........thx for clarifying...........
I am pretty sure it was for $45-50. But maybe my model is a lower model?

It really doesn't seem hot enough.........maybe mine is a lemon?

for $45 i was seeing at getting the airworks model but that doesnt warm our master as the NOMA one does....

I'm actually thinking of getting the NOMA Digital one for $89.99 on sale.

[ephdub]

for $45 i was seeing at getting the airworks model but that doesnt warm our master as the NOMA one does....

I'm actually thinking of getting the NOMA Digital one for $89.99 on sale.

I was thinking of getting it.. but the CT I went to was OOS. So my choice was clear. They even sold the demo model yesterday.. apparently. One thing to know about those digital read out ones... sure they're handy.. but if you put the heater through heavy use like my room mate did (max. heat setting for hours on end), the LCD display "blacked out".. from the digital display overheating.. it was fine once he turned the heating unit off and let it cool down.

[TorontoEh]

I was thinking of getting it.. but the CT I went to was OOS. So my choice was clear. They even sold the demo model yesterday.. apparently. One thing to know about those digital read out ones... sure they're handy.. but if you put the heater through heavy use like my room mate did (max. heat setting for hours on end), the LCD display "blacked out".. from the digital display overheating.. it was fine once he turned the heating unit off and let it cool down.

wow I didn't know about the lcd part.... my buddy who bought it last week did mention it's in FARENHEIT not celcuius and you can't change it.

[ranny3]

is an oil heater better than ceramic in terms of drying air? I find electric baseboard heating really dries up the air (waking up with a sore throat!).. are the portable ones all the same?

[TorontoEh]

is an oil heater better than ceramic in terms of drying air? I find electric baseboard heating really dries up the air (waking up with a sore throat!).. are the portable ones all the same?

that's one of the reason Oil Heaters work so well...yes it does take em time to warm up but they emit very nice warm heat.... ive tried the baseboard and ceramic heaters and have returned them all because of the DRY AIR PROBLEM.

[dealhunting]

If you want quiet even heating, I would stay away from the ceramic heaters. They are usually good if you want to quickly heat a room or spot heat a specific area and don't mind a lot of noise from the fan cycling on and off. Oil filled and panel heaters take longer to heat a room, but they are very quiet and give you a comfortable even heat. Ceramic also has a drying effect as previously mentioned and since you're living in Winipeg, I would think dry air would be an issue.

We use both. The ceramic heater just to pre-heat the bathroom for our baby's bath and a panel heater 24/7 for the baby room.

http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-HHP1500-SafeHeat-Radiating-Heater/dp/B000C3MLRU

The panel heater is out of your price range but you can pick up an oil filled unit for $50-60.

[ephdub]

Just to let the OP know, LD in BC now has all their heaters on sale. Even the oil filled portable heaters and the panel that the previous poster mentioned...

[excel]

go costco and get a parabolic heat dish.

[spiritedenergy]

Hi thank you everyone for the replies.

I bought a Holmes fan heater at 17$ at Walm-Mart, unit HFH110-CN. It's very basic (there is a similar unit with thermostat that costs 24$).

So far is doing great, it's a bit noisy but not so much, and at the lower setting (1000 watt) heats really quickly my room, which is rather small (< 10x10 feet). I use it about half an hour, then turn it off, and the warmt keeps steady for long. Sometimes i fell asleep with it on and it got very hot and had to wake up and turn it down. It doesn't have a thermostat but an auto shut down feature for overheating, but it never happened to me.