Spent $600 on that new infrared heater for the break room

Bought one of them high dollar infrared heaters for our break room at the foundry back in November. Figured it would save on the gas bill since we keep the big doors open half the day. Well it works good for about 10 feet then nothing, guys still huddle around the old space heater. Wish I had just bought three cheap ones for the same money and spread em out. Anybody else try those infrared deals and get burned?

3 comments

3 Comments

michael80321h ago

Bought one of those for my garage last winter. Worked great if you stood right in front of it but my tools got frost on em across the room. Ended up giving it to my brother and put a couple of those little propane ones in instead.

rowanr8821h ago

I read a review from some HVAC guy online that said those electric infrared heaters only work in small enclosed spaces within like 6 feet. He said the heat doesn't move through the air, it just warms whatever is directly in front of the coil. That explains why your tools stayed cold. My neighbor got one for his workshop and had the same complaint, said it was basically a waste of money for anything bigger than a closet.

brian_hart15h ago

Yeah, that "within 6 feet" thing really hits home for me. I bought one of those infrared heaters for my basement workshop last winter, thinking I was being smart about energy use. But I ended up standing there like a rotisserie chicken, warm on one side and shivering on the other, while my drill bits stayed cold enough to hurt my fingers. It was basically just an expensive way to heat a single spot in the room, and I had to keep turning around like a moron to toast the other half of me. So yeah, I feel your neighbor's pain, that's pretty much exactly what happened to me.