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Cixi Ocean Trade Co., Ltd.
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Blog
Heat sources
While the FAN HEATER in fan heaters are electrically powered, several heat sources may be used.
1.Electric elements are common, and used in portable plug-in electric heaters. Although they may supply several kilowatts of heat, such heaters are usually small as the electric element itself is small, and the removal of heat by the fan removes the need for the body of the heater to act as an effective heat sink.
2.Hot water tubing is used where the heat is provided by a hydronic heating system.
3.Gas, kerosene, and sometimes other fuels such as used engine oil are burnt in high-power fan heaters
Safety
Electric fan heaters are unsealed appliances with live electric parts inside, so are not safe to use in wet or very humid conditions, due to risk of a short circuit leading to fire, or electrocution due to access to electrically live parts. Electric fan heaters usually have a thermal fuse close to the element(s) to protect against fan failure causing overheating and possibly fire. Steel-cased heaters perform better in potential fire-causing faults than plastic-cased ones, since the case will stay whole and not burn.
Portable fuel-powered fan heaters release all the fumes of combustion into the room, creating a risk of poisoning by carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Most installed fuel fan heaters in the first world use a heat exchanger and external ventilation, avoiding this risk, and dumping the water vapour from combustion outdoors.
internal parts
The picture immediately to the right shows most of the component parts of a typical plug-in electric fan heater.
1.The heating element is the coiled wire frame located behind the fan blades.
2.The thermostat is at the top left.
3.The heat (wattage) selector switch is at the top right.
4.The switch at the bottom is a normally open switch that serves as a "tipover switch" safety device; as long as the heater is upright, the switch is engaged and the circuit is closed.
5.The grip for the power cord is at the bottom right.
The next picture shows the two overheat cutouts. The bimetal cutout (left) operates if the device overheats because the intake is blocked or the fan fails, and resets once the heater cools after the obstruction is removed. The thermal fuse (right) is a failsafe backup device that will disconnect the heating element permanently in case of extreme overheating causing risk of fire, usually because the bimetal switch fails to operate (e.g. due to its contacts welding together).
