Rewiring a space heater so it works?

[Brian Runau]

I have a small electrical space heater I turn on in my basement shop during cold winter days to take the edge off or when I do finishing to raise the temp. I never leave it plugged in when I am not in the shop, except when I forget, once or twice over the years. My furnace is in the basement and heats it pretty well and I have vents that I mostly leave closed, just hate to heat an unused space. I know it only takes once to burn down my house, but I am frugal and fix stuff vs throw it out.

This thing got knocked over or fell over and temp sensor stopped working. Turns out this is a common thing with these cheap heaters. It turns on, but cycles on and off in very short cycles continuously now. I am thinking of rewiring it so it bypasses the sensor and just plug it in and unplug it.

I know it would only take once and having it run for 18 hours and start a fire etc...Kind of talking myself out of doing this as I write.

Any suggestions on a higher quality unit I can purchase?

Thanks.

Brian

[Steve Demuth]

I think you answered your own question: you don't want a heater with no overtemp protection, given that you might forget to unplug it.

That said, have you thoroughly cleaned the heater, verified that the fan is running properly, and checked the connections on the thermocouple?

If none of those things are the problem, then I wonder, if you feel competent to bypass the temperature sensor, why not replace it, and see if that helps?

[Jim Koepke]

Of course the best time to purchase a new space heater is when the retailers are about to put them in storage for the warmer months.

My advise on your damaged heater is to give it a toss. In my case, the power cord would also be cut so it can't be used to cause a future catastrophe.

Lee Valley has a nice one that won't tip over > https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/workshop/44590-quartz-overhead-radiant-heater

There are many like this available at many large retailers with a safety switch to turn them off when tipped over.

jtk

[Doug Garson]

I have the Lee valley one Jim linked to, it works well but note it is a radiant heater so it doesn't heat the space much, just heats whatever it is aimed at.

[Mark Wedel]

Given the relatively low cost of space heaters and safety concerns, I wouldn't rewire a space heater. If the cord leading to it was damaged, I might spend the time to put a new cord in, but not if other parts are damaged.

I recently bought one at home depot for $30 - I have a similar use case - just take the edge off when working in the garage on the colder days. I sort of like it being small, as I can move it around to wherever I'm working and have it blow warm air on me.

Note that pretty much all space heaters are going to be constrained by the 15 amp circuit. So despite some being marketed for small vs large rooms, they are all in the 1500 watt output - so often doesn't really make much difference which one you buy.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I have a little cheap-o that always made its cord and plug hot. I rewired it with 14-2-g Romex and a 20 amp plug. It has worked fine for 30 years. It trips GFCI's now that it is grounded. I just added a hard wired electric heater in the shop. I am more at ease with the new one.

513857 The high temp and tip over switches remain intact and function.

[Jerome Stanek]

I would wire a outlet to the light and when you switch off the light you shut the heater off

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I would wire a outlet to the light and when you switch off the light you shut the heater off

I have been in situations where this type of arrangement has caused problems. Our building inspectors philosophy and my fire training makes imagine worst case scenarios. I could see myself placing something too close to the heater during the day when the light was not turned on followed by forgetful me, or an un-aware person turning on the light without knowing about the heater.

[Lee Schierer]

If you rewire the heater to bypass the over temp switch, be sure to cancel your building insurance at the same time. A good fire inspector would easily discover the source of the fire and your insurance company would likely become aware.

It is likely that the switch or the heating element has moved from its original position because of the tip over.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have my air compressor wired to a switch that has a light in line to tell me that it is on when I leave the shop I shut the lights off and if the light on the air compressor is on I know to shut it off. Also I have a solenoid wired to one of my light banks so my compressor doesn't lose air when I leave

[Ken Combs]

Should be easy enough to just replace the overtemp switch. Probably 10 buck on ebay after you figure out what temp range you need. Or available from a local H&A shop for more money.