cardboard "walls" and infrared heaters

[H8diy]

Hi, I bought a couple of infrared heaters, one the big flat white tv things, the other the aluminium bar type.

However, when i came to hang them i discovered that the walls were made of Amazon packaging, or at least what feels like it.
To make it worse i'd bought the biggest white tv one i could find (1.2M & 1Kw).

So i have two questions:
1) how can i mount these to take the weight?
2) will they need more than the normal don't set my house on fire protection?

fyi stuff:
Yes, i've not lived here long - first diy job here.
Yes, i am rubbish at diy ... and i do hate it.
Yes, i really do need the heaters up asap

Many thanks if you've even read this far and i'm sorry if you've fallen off your seat laughing.

 

[Mike13]

The taking the weight part is that you use a strong magnet to find the screws/nails that secure the wallboard to the wooden studs, typically 16" centers. The heat part you need to look at expected maximum temperatures of the panels. You may need to put a layer of plasterboard on that wall to cover the fibreboard? on the existing wall. The temperatures will be declared in the instruction manual I would hope.

 

[H8diy]

Thanks for the reply Mike.

"fireboard": Nah, this really is "Amazon packing rejected" corrugated cardboard. IR panel heater says 80-90C
What sort of fixture/fitting/"big screw things" would you need to take the weight though? 15Kg & 1.2Mx57cm

Any further thoughts please?

 

[Mike13]

Thanks for the reply Mike.

"fireboard": Nah, this really is "Amazon packing rejected" corrugated cardboard. IR panel heater says 80-90C
What sort of fixture/fitting/"big screw things" would you need to take the weight though? 15Kg & 1.2Mx57cm

Any further thoughts please?

I said fibreboard, not fireboard, because your description made it sound like it could be that.
It could be held with 4 off M5x70 screws or thereabouts, but if the wall is really corrugated cardboard then it is not safe at all and does need to be covered/replaced with plasterboard, if there is a fire it will just rip straight through that in a minute or so.

80-90 is much too hot to touch, needs to be kept away from any smaller fingers in the house. 60-65C is about the allowed limit for touching.

 

[H8diy]

This is the sort of thing that at least some of my walls are made of ... although i am going off a quick glance when a spark was making a vertical hole to thread a cable through some 12+ months ago

 

[foxhole]

So photo is not of your wall ? Very unhelpful .
Heating panels do not require special treatment as they cannot get hot enough to damage walls ( unless faulty ) .
You must have deep pockets if you can afford such an ineffective and expensive heating type .
What rooms are you heating?
A photo of your wall with a hole in it would be more helpful .

 

[Mike13]

My first thought was that a previous owner was having a laugh and thought it would be cheaper to do his wall like that, but a quick google showed it was briefly used a bit in the uk in the 50's and 70's, more common in the us.
Most likely a "U value" of about 1, and some is parrafin wax impregnated, so a good firelighter perhaps?
It would pay you to redo the walls to a more modern standard before fitting the heater, otherwise good as a cool pantry.
It would at the very least need covering in plasterboard before it could be even slightly safe to install that type of heater.

You need to work out the construction of your rooms and the likely heat losses and see it will possibly have quite a quick payback to upgrade. It is going to take some poking around to work out how your walls are constructed before you mount anything on them.

 

[H8diy]

1) So photo is not of your wall ? Very unhelpful .
2) Heating panels do not require special treatment as they cannot get hot enough to damage walls ( unless faulty ) .
3) You must have deep pockets if you can afford such an ineffective and expensive heating type .
4) What rooms are you heating?
5) A photo of your wall with a hole in it would be more helpful .

Thanks for your reply foxhole:
1) Sorry
2) 95 deg C at the front (can't find any details of rear temp).
3) Please cite/check your facts. IR panels convert 98% of elec in to heat output. Most other heaters are 30-50% efficient - at best! Ok they are a bit expensive to buy but if i can run them off a battery charged by solar panels then it's FREE.
4) Tiny bungalow. Main: 5.135m x 2.797m Bed: 2.861m x 2.527m Plus end of kitchen where my old bones rattle.
5) i don't want to make a hole as i had it decorated once the spark had finished but it's the same as the pic. Why would a pic in situ show anything different?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

3) Please cite/check your facts. IR panels convert 98% of elec in to heat output. Most other heaters are 30-50% efficient - at best! Ok they are a bit expensive to buy

In your dreams! All electric heaters are 100% efficient at converting Kw into heat output, irrespective of the type or design - none is wasted.

 

[Mike13]

but a flat heater against a wall is going to lose a significant amount into the cavity behind the cardboard, front and back will be at about the same temp.

 

[foxhole]

In your dreams! All electric heaters are 100% efficient at converting Kw into heat output, irrespective of the type or design - none is wasted.

Thanks Harry , infrared has a very short range and only heats locally unlike convection heating .

 

[H8diy]

In your dreams! All electric heaters are 100% efficient at converting Kw into heat output, irrespective of the type or design - none is wasted.

Thanks for reading/replying Harry but with a quick Google i found that Good Housekeeping would seem to disagree, viz:

 

[H8diy]

Thanks Harry , infrared has a very short range and only heats locally unlike convection heating .

That is precisely what i want.
I do not want to warm the whole room, just a bit of direct heat on me.
BUT without stirring up any dusty particles.

 

[H8diy]

but a flat heater against a wall is going to lose a significant amount into the cavity behind the cardboard, front and back will be at about the same temp.

I've not switched it on so i can't confirm but the sales blurb & pics specifically claim the IR only goes forward, ok the unit itself may well get hot but i can turn it down to 35C and that suits me as i don't want warming massively quickly, gentle warming is far better and probably far more efficient.

 

[RandomGrinch]

Thanks for reading/replying Harry but with a quick Google i found that Good Housekeeping would seem to disagree, viz:
View attachment 314598

I'm afraid they are wrong!
They are confusing the power output/cost in electricity used with 'efficiency' - the heater used the least amount of energy in their tests, because it simply had the lowest maximum output.

As has been suggested, all electric heaters are 100% efficient, it's just they heat the room, or you, in different ways.