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From: msc@saber.UUCP (Mark Callow)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Space heater info wanted
Message-ID: <1901@saber.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-Jan-86 19:45:10 EST
Article-I.D.: saber.1901
Posted: Thu Jan  9 19:45:10 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 12-Jan-86 00:15:31 EST
References: <894@whuxlm.UUCP> <655@cylixd.UUCP> <769@lasspvax.UUCP> <1759@dciem.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Saber Technology, San Jose, CA
Lines: 42

> I would never leave a space heater in a room, unless I was present
> and awake.  They are a common cause of house fires.  A faulty space 
> heater was the cause of a fire in a house which my friends were renting; 
> they lost their baby.  The babysitter had left the space heater 
> unattended in another room.
>
> Please be careful.
This is much too general a statement.  After all a space heater is, by
definition, simply a machine for heating space.  There are many types
including central heating systems such as forced air and hot water
systems.  I doubt many people would consider leaving such systems on
unattended a fire hazard.  As far as portable single room space heaters
go, there are several types.  Let's look at them.

Oil filled electric radiators:  these do not get hot enough to be a fire
hazard.  The only potential fire hazard from these is clapped out wiring.
Incidentally these are not new; they've been available in other countries
for at least 25 years.

Convection Heaters:  these are similar to a large hair dryer.  The heating
elements are so far inside that it would be very hard for something
inflammable to touch them.  They are more of a fire risk than oil filled
radiators but not a lot provided they are not covered up or something
equally dumb.

Radiant heaters:  these could be electric or paraffin.  Because of the
exposed heating element these present the greatest fire risk.  Even
with the proper guards in place it is fairly easy for inflammable materials
to touch the element.  There are also heaters which are combination
radiant and convection heaters.  These have the same fire risk as
radiant heaters.  I would not want to leave a radiant heater unattended
for more than a few minutes.

Any heating system (and lighting system) can become a fire hazard if the
wiring is clapped out.  Wiring can be a fire hazard too if you lay the
wire in a nice neat coil (unless the wire can carry a current sveral times
that of the load) because you have built yourself an induction coil.
The eddy currents can overheat the wire severely.
-- 
From the TARDIS of Mark Callow
msc@saber.uucp,  sun!saber!msc@decwrl.dec.com ...{ihnp4,sun}!saber!msc
"Boards are long and hard and made of wood"