Anyone got kitchen plinth/kickboard heaters?
Discussion
....and are they any use?
We are just finalising the electrical and heating layout of the new extension which is an open plan kitchen/dining/family room and the only radiators (2of) are over one side of the room. It looks to me like the floor area around the kitchen will get a bit chilly.
You can get wet plinth heaters for about £160 and I'm thinking one of these might just take the chill off.
I'm also aware they may never actually get used.
I don't want/can't afford wet undefloor heating. The joist are down already and it's just too much messing about.
I could just wear slippers....thoughts?
We are just finalising the electrical and heating layout of the new extension which is an open plan kitchen/dining/family room and the only radiators (2of) are over one side of the room. It looks to me like the floor area around the kitchen will get a bit chilly.
You can get wet plinth heaters for about £160 and I'm thinking one of these might just take the chill off.
I'm also aware they may never actually get used.
I don't want/can't afford wet undefloor heating. The joist are down already and it's just too much messing about.
I could just wear slippers....thoughts?
Obviously it is difficult to say as so much depends on layout.
In our first house we did the galley style kitchen, back door one end, door into hall at other end. We removed the single radiator, and installed a plinth mounted electrical fan heater.
It was used maybe 4 or 5 times absolute max in the 3 years before we moved and that was in an exceptionally cold winter, and even then just to take the chill off first thing in the morning.
Maybe we were just lucky.
Not much help tbh, sorry.
Edited to add, thought about underfloor electric heating? We have it in our main bathroom, not the type to heat the room but just take the chill off the floor tiles, costs square root of sod all to run.
In our first house we did the galley style kitchen, back door one end, door into hall at other end. We removed the single radiator, and installed a plinth mounted electrical fan heater.
It was used maybe 4 or 5 times absolute max in the 3 years before we moved and that was in an exceptionally cold winter, and even then just to take the chill off first thing in the morning.
Maybe we were just lucky.
Not much help tbh, sorry.
Edited to add, thought about underfloor electric heating? We have it in our main bathroom, not the type to heat the room but just take the chill off the floor tiles, costs square root of sod all to run.
Edited by F i F on Friday 26th November 13:01
This is what I'm thinking. They prob just end up being expensive ornaments (that don't look all that!).
The wet ones though...they are plumbed in to the CH system so I assume they can just sit there with the fan off and passively radiate some useful heat into the floor space. That is without activley walking over and switching the leccy fan on....anything that requires you to get up and crouch down to switch on isn't going to get used it it!
I'll have a look at the electric underfloor, forgot about that, cheers.
Slippers though, I'm thinking they are the solution here
The wet ones though...they are plumbed in to the CH system so I assume they can just sit there with the fan off and passively radiate some useful heat into the floor space. That is without activley walking over and switching the leccy fan on....anything that requires you to get up and crouch down to switch on isn't going to get used it it!
I'll have a look at the electric underfloor, forgot about that, cheers.
Slippers though, I'm thinking they are the solution here
dave_s13 said:
....and are they any use?
We are just finalising the electrical and heating layout of the new extension which is an open plan kitchen/dining/family room and the only radiators (2of) are over one side of the room. It looks to me like the floor area around the kitchen will get a bit chilly.
You can get wet plinth heaters for about £160 and I'm thinking one of these might just take the chill off.
I'm also aware they may never actually get used.
I don't want/can't afford wet undefloor heating. The joist are down already and it's just too much messing about.
I could just wear slippers....thoughts?
We fitted a Smiths SS-5 wet plinth heater when we re-did our kitchen. Going open-plan and re-arranging the units meant we lost a 900-wide double panel rad and a 400 wide single panel rad, but the plinth heater combined with a new 300 wide double panel rad has proven to be an equally good combination. The unit has two output settings (We keep it on the low setting), and is thermostatically controlled to stop it blowing cold air. My main concern was fan noise - I shouldn't have worried as it's barely audible (but in this particular installation the 10mm solid maple skirting might provie some sound suppression). We are just finalising the electrical and heating layout of the new extension which is an open plan kitchen/dining/family room and the only radiators (2of) are over one side of the room. It looks to me like the floor area around the kitchen will get a bit chilly.
You can get wet plinth heaters for about £160 and I'm thinking one of these might just take the chill off.
I'm also aware they may never actually get used.
I don't want/can't afford wet undefloor heating. The joist are down already and it's just too much messing about.
I could just wear slippers....thoughts?
Edited by edfrp on Friday 26th November 13:35
All good chaps.
The space doesn't really lend itself to a designer rad but good idea.
I think I might try one of those SS5 jobbies......Does it just work in tandem with the CH (which is controlled via a wireless stat). If it just does it's thing without any human input then that would be ideal.
Kitchen is delivered (in 3million flat pack boxes) on 20th dec.
Gues what I'm doing this Christmas
The space doesn't really lend itself to a designer rad but good idea.
I think I might try one of those SS5 jobbies......Does it just work in tandem with the CH (which is controlled via a wireless stat). If it just does it's thing without any human input then that would be ideal.
Kitchen is delivered (in 3million flat pack boxes) on 20th dec.
Gues what I'm doing this Christmas
We have a tiny kitchen which has no room for a radiator so we have a Smiths kick heater which is tapped in the the CH. It works great and takes the chill off of the lino on concrete floor. I have had a 'manually operated' one but as others have said, you normally can't be arsed to switch it on and when you do its too late before it has taken effect.
If i read your post right, its the floor you want to heat, and electric plinth heaters are designed to take the chill off the air for a short period really (as they are normally about 2000w and expensive to run) not warm a floor(heat rising etc etc)
Certainly they wont warm the floor, and they are there as some kitchens (alone not as a dining room combo) tend not to have rads as space is a premium.
Certainly they wont warm the floor, and they are there as some kitchens (alone not as a dining room combo) tend not to have rads as space is a premium.
Our kitchen's 18ft x 12ft and had a 4ft double rad in. When we re-did it I took out the rad and put underfloor electric heating in before stone tiles. It's all controlled by a timer with a master on-off switch just behind the door. SWMBO, who does like the heat, is in charge of the switch and I reckon we used it no more than eight times last year. We just leave the kitchen door open and heat from the hall seems enough most of the time. Having said that, for what it cost to install and run, it's a bit of a no brainer.
P924 said:
CO2000 said:
Had them but never used them, does anybody ?
Same here. Had 2 in different appartments in the past over a period of about 6 - 7 years. Usually forgot they were there.Plinth heaters operate exactly like a radiator. They come on with the central heating. Why would you not use them??
felixgogo said:
If your floor tiles are not yet down, I would recommend electric underfloor heating. It is taped to the subfloor, then buried in the tile grout. In our kitchen, you don,t need the rad on at all! And lovely toasty toes! Low running costs, and the cat loves it.....
Check it out.
But unless you have a properly insulated floor you'll waste a lot of energy.Check it out.
We have a decent size kitchen, 8m x4m, with sofa and tv etc, so it can be used as a day room.
We had hydraulic Myson plinth heaters, they are physically the same size in the plinth, but one was I think a "600" and the other a "900" IIRC, and is basically teice as powerful, (go figure on the numbers!)
We tend to only use the larger one, it's far end o the kicthen from the tv and sofa, but it gets plenty warm enough in winter. If we are away and have heaing off, we put both on on our return. It gets warm quick then.
Being "wet" they operate with the in built thermostats and the fans kick in as and when needed. You can over ride them by turning them off completely, or just having them as fans, ie no heat, for summer and just for circulation in winter if required.
We fitted what was recommended for the size of room, but the larger one on its own suffices.
I have to say, they sounded complex when we got them, but I installed them myself with the kitchen and they have worked faultlessly. Pretty quiet in opration, tucked out of the way, and so overall I am very pleased with them indeed. They work better than I though they would and are far more "reactive" than a convector radiator, haivng the fan blowing and all.
But f they plumbers merchant reckons you need two to get the BTU required, I'd suggest one first and see how you go. Wiht ktchen heat, and if your boiler is in yours, you may get away with it and savea few quid.
We had hydraulic Myson plinth heaters, they are physically the same size in the plinth, but one was I think a "600" and the other a "900" IIRC, and is basically teice as powerful, (go figure on the numbers!)
We tend to only use the larger one, it's far end o the kicthen from the tv and sofa, but it gets plenty warm enough in winter. If we are away and have heaing off, we put both on on our return. It gets warm quick then.
Being "wet" they operate with the in built thermostats and the fans kick in as and when needed. You can over ride them by turning them off completely, or just having them as fans, ie no heat, for summer and just for circulation in winter if required.
We fitted what was recommended for the size of room, but the larger one on its own suffices.
I have to say, they sounded complex when we got them, but I installed them myself with the kitchen and they have worked faultlessly. Pretty quiet in opration, tucked out of the way, and so overall I am very pleased with them indeed. They work better than I though they would and are far more "reactive" than a convector radiator, haivng the fan blowing and all.
But f they plumbers merchant reckons you need two to get the BTU required, I'd suggest one first and see how you go. Wiht ktchen heat, and if your boiler is in yours, you may get away with it and savea few quid.
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