Wall mounted convection heater and MDF

[johngc]

I am decorating and updating a loft room for my three year old son.

At the moment, the only heat source is a convection heater with a timer and a variable heat setting. It is a Glen 2172 which I believe is a 2Kw heater.

The previous fittings were into the plaster board and had been badly fitted and were half out. In order to make it more secure I screwed a bit of MDF to the wooden frame behind the plaster board and the wall brackets to that. Hey hold the heater about 15mm away from the wall / MDF.

The heater heats the room very quickly and has only ever been set to around level 2 and on for an hour or so in the morning. I dont see it ever being put on full whack or on for a prolonged period of time. (It is now quite well insulated up there )

Before I finish the room up and put my son in there, I just wanted to clarify a couple of points:

1. I understand MDF to be non combustable. Are there any issues with mounting the heater on the wall to MDF in this manner?

2. I obvioulsy don't want my sone to touch the heater or be able to play with the controls and dont really like the mesh 'covers' you can buy so would I be ok getting a big MDF radiator cover to ensure a good distance all round the heater? If so, what would you suggest the minimum air space should be?

I cant find the instructions on line but similar heaters talk about clearance of a few inches up to a meter!

Thanks

John

 

[EFLImpudence]

No.1 is ok.

No.2 Radiator covers are for radiators. Convector heaters are not radiators.

I would think this heater is fundamentally unsuitable for a child's room.
Especially as, according to the web, it is obsolete and therefore must be quite old.

I suggest you consider an oil-filled radiator which you could enclose in a radiator cover.

 

[RF Lighting]

Have a look at electric radiators. These are available with low surface temperature covers which allow loads of heat out without actually getting hot enough to burn a child.

I've used them and they are really good.