Note to Econoheat users:

[politicat]

The good news: when an Eheater goes, it blows safely. No fires, no short-circuits that can start something burning or blow out a house circuit, etc.

The bad news: they may occasionally blow. We have only had it happen once - and we are using five of them this winter, and Econoheat sent me a new one that arrived in 3 days and paid for the return shipping. They were really great and stood behind their product.

The other good news: if one does blow, it's likely to do so within 30 days of installation. In the shakedown period, in other words.

But I figured those using them might want to know. (As it happens, a fire-fighter friend looked it over and was pretty confident with the design, saying that it's a pretty safe concept.)

[NMDemDist2]

1. what happens when they "blow"

??

it's been cold here and those e-heaters are working full time this last couple weeks

[politicat]

2. Nothing very dramatic... thankfully.

I wouldn't have even noticed it had not I gotten cold and wondered why the den was chilly.

On the front, down in the right hand corner, there's a round plastic cover. There was a sticker that said "Econoheat" and had some info on it when we got it, but the sticker was peeled off right quickly. The only damage we found that was visible was a very small burn mark about half the size of a dime, if that large. It sort of looked like a cigarette burn, for those who smoke.

There were no marks on the back, and none on the wall. When I spoke to an engineer at Econoheat, I was told that there is a failsafe in that small plastic housing, and in case of problems, that will burn out, like fuses do.

As for working full time.... the one in our bedroom ran 24 hours a day for 4 months last winter, and it's looking like it will get a longer workout this year. So I think that, if there's going to be a problem, it's most likely going to happen in the shakedown period. Like the Titanic, all of the manufacturing failures will be obvious pretty darn quickly. :-)