Servitherm Heater

[colliecrew]

I wonder if anyone can help me.

I purchased two of these energy heaters for my outdoor kennels. On delivery, I plugged them in to my kitchen socket and felt that the heat they generated was adequate for the purpose.

Today, an electrician has taken a spur off a socket in the house (which runs my TV etc) and has ran an outdoor cable to two kennels for two heaters. An RCD box sits in both kennels also.

Now...the problem is that, whilst the heaters are clearly getting electricity as there is a tiny amount of heat to be felt, they are nowhere close to being as warm to touch as they were when plugged into the kitchen. In fact, they are useless!

Can anyone advise what the problem is?

 

[Taylortwocities]

It sounds like volt drop due to the cable he has run to the kennels being to small.

Some questions first be for we jump to assumptions:

How far are the kennels from the house?
What is the rating of the two heaters?
What is the size of the cable that he has run to the kennels?
If you only use one heater, does that get hotter and does it generate less heat when the other is switched on.?

 

[londonboy]

Or is there a thermostat (or some kind of control) thats been adjusted by the electrician?

 

[BS3036]

Or of course, it could be that as the air is perhaps 15° cooler outside, it just feels cooler too.

 

[electronicsuk]

Or of course, it could be that as the air is perhaps 15° cooler outside, it just feels cooler too.

Perhaps, but a spur from a ring final to run two heaters sounds a little suspect, although of course we can't say for sure until OP replies with more details.

 

[colliecrew]

Okay, bare with my on this guys - my electricity knowledge is somewhat close to zero!

I did think about the ambient temp being cooler but, in truth, I don't think this is the reason.

The cable running from the house to the kennel is around 10ft

The servitherm heater says 120W 3A (supposed to be energy saving low wattage)

As for the type of cabling - eek, about all I can tell you is that it's armoured cable which leads to an RCD box - a small pre-fitted cable from the heater then runs into the other end of the RCD.

I am so anxious that I've been horribly ripped off - a lone female sometimes has it a wee bit tough with tradesmen!

 

[bongos]

The cable running from the house to the kennel is around 10ft

The servitherm heater says 120W 3A (supposed to be energy saving low wattage)

I wouldn't expect 10' to cause too much of a volt drop problem even on 1.5mm² SWA.

I wouldn't expect a 120W heater to give off much heat outdoors either. I think the heaters are probably not up to the job.

 

[colliecrew]

This is what they are designed for though

And I tested them indoors first and, to touch, they felt the same as to touch an energy saving bulb - comfortably cosy!

However, touch them now and you can barely tell there is any heat apart from a small section in the centre.

I don't expect them to give off much in the way of direct heat but I did think the dogs would get some warmth from them if lying against them!

 

[Taylortwocities]

Yes I agree.

I had thought that the kennels were a long distance away - sort of Hounds of the Baskerville stuff.

Bear in mind that 120W is as much heat as two average filament lamps gives out so its not going to be tropical.

 

[Steve]

The servitherm heater says 120W 3A (supposed to be energy saving low wattage)

Theres no such thing as an energy saving electric heater. They pass current through a resistive wire, which gets hot. One way or another, for a given wattage every heater give off the same heat to the space around it as another heater. The only way to make them more efficient is to insulate the space they are heating.

In my bedroom I have a 1000w electric oil radiator to supplement the gas central heating radiator, but I still get cold feet when the weathers cold out because theres a draught coming through the bay window bottom.

The only "energy saving" electric heating is that which uses a refrigerant circuit to recover heat from the air/ground outside, commonly known as a heat pump, or "air conditioner on heat".

Your heater is energy saving because it dont produce any heat!

This kennel, is it an enclosed space? I'm struggling to picture it.

 

[electronicsuk]

Perhaps a better option might be to extend the CH out to the kennels? That or keep the dogs indoors.