How To Troubleshoot An Infrared Space Heater

For holding the temperature high, space heaters are used and they are very useful. On a cool, breezy day, they’ll make you feel warm. They are small in scale and they can be moved quickly.

They are specific devices that can be used for a limited time for warming up places inside a home or other room. Technology has seen tremendous growth and we have seen a lot of research and attempts over the decade to create more and more space heating methods. This gave rise to the evolution of space heaters for electrical and gas forms. These heaters either use electricity or certain forms of fuel for operation, like kerosene or wood pellets, and these will heat enclosed areas easily.

The power consumption appears to vary and this depends on the space heater’s size and type. Depending on the size and the kind of space heater you are using, you would need a particular type of power supply. The most critical fact about a space heater is that it is highly compact and can be transferred quickly from one position to another, as well as being very effective and operating effectively. In a traditional palace, a space heater is capable of producing a sufficient amount of warmth.

Generally, the most typical space heaters are convective and radiant. Infra-red heaters are also common and commonly used by the general public. Convective heaters produce hot air in a small closed area, which allows more cold air to the floor and thereby leads to convective air circulation in a room or enclosed space.

All of these space heaters are very useful but they are machines and they will always be prone to facet difficulties on some days while you are using them. Infrared heaters are one of the types of hectares in which problems and errors occur but they are also very simple to resolve.

Today we are going to look at how we can troubleshoot an Infrared heater. We will also look at the different types of possible problems that can occur and how to come out of those problems. Infrared heaters are machine only and when they stop working efficiently or properly you do not have to worry as it is very simple to repair them.

Some of the things you need to check when your Infrared space heater stops working

Below mentioned are some of the biggest possibilities that are most common which occur in an Infrared space heater. You must look at these things initially when your Infrared Heater stops working.

Burning smell

This is a very common type of thing that occurs in an infrared heater. This isn’t a very rare thing and can often take place. This mainly happens in a newly bought infrared heater.

This smell can be there in the initial usages only and if the lamp is unable to create much convection there can be very less or no smell otherwise the smell should automatically go away with some time as it is just hot dust and nothing else. There is a possibility where the heating element can be dirty which might lead to prematurely burning out of the filament. This can be serious and dangerous on those heaters which are not new and it is necessary to carefully vacuum all the dust and dirt by switching off the power.

All you need to do is open the control panel and remove the knob of the heater control. If you have got a unit that has a separate thermostat then you need to remove the knob. If it is necessary then you also need to remove the unit from the wall and open up the cabinet so that you can easily get access to reach the heating element properly.

Overheating

Not just in infrared heaters, overheating is the most common issue that generally takes place in any kind of heater you will get. The one thing that is responsible for this is the thermostat.

A thermostat is a device that is used by the heater to sense the temperature inside the heater if the thermostat stops working there is a very high chance that the heat that is produced inside the heater is uncontrollable and therefore overheating might take place. When the thermostat senses overheating it might provide a signal to turn off the unit but when it fails no such thing happens which might lead to overheating.

The mode button can also be modified for an electronic one-touch thermostat since the mode is more precisely adjustable than the analog type. Often when working with any product form, you have to review the user manual for additional information. Lack of control over thermostats is not advised and may cost you more money. Stop the use of an extension cord because it may be a big fire risk.

Warm Cord and the Circuit Breaker

A warm cord doesn’t necessarily mean that the heater is faulty or there is a problem with the heater; an old or worn-out outlet can be the biggest reason for concern in this.

If there isn’t a proper connection between the socket and the plug then there are chances that this will cause resistance and also lead to the building up of heat in such a situation all you need to do is replace the outlet.

There is also a possibility where the circuit breaker might get tripped. A cricket breaker is a device that helps to prevent any kind of damage. It gets tripped when it detects any kind of overload on the appliances. If there is any overheating or overload it might get tripped which will cause the infrared heater to stop working. You just need to reset the circuit breaker for the heater to start working.

If the fuse is blown or popped out, the circuit breaker might not reset in such cases you need to replace the fuse by finding the appropriate one that will fit.

Reasons why Infrared Heaters won’t turn on

There are many reasons and factors that can be blamed for such things but when we talk about an electric infrared heater then you need to make sure that the unit is plugged in and also make sure that the cord is free of any kind of damage.

The thermostat can adobe a reason and therefore if your unit has a thermostat then you need to check whether it is set to low and if it is then you need to adjust it to a proper temperature. You need to also make sure that the electrical socket in which you are plugging the heater is working properly and providing a sufficient amount of power or not. You can do this by plugging in some other known working appliance.

In some other kinds of heaters which work on gases like natural or propane gas, they have a gas tank so you need to make sure that the tank is duly filed and doesn’t have any kind of damages and leakages. This might also be a reason why your infrared heater has stopped working.

The tubes and the vents can get clogged and therefore cleaning of such things is important. You need to disconnect the tubes and blow some air inside them.

When Infrared Space Heaters turns on but fails to work

The first step is being checked and if you are done checking all the power sources and cable and all the connections and after this too if your heater fails to work then the possible reason why your infrared heater is not working might be something else.

You need to look at all of the other reasons that can happen. If you are facing issues with your heater then you need to look at the grill of the heater. If the grills are full of debris then you need to make sure that all the debris is cleared off thoroughly. Dust on the grills can also be a very big problem in the long run therefore it is also to be dealt with. You can use a vacuum cleaner for cleaning all this. You need to be careful while doing this.

Now you need to plug-in the heater and let it work for some time. Take a look at the fans. If the fans inside the heater are not working or are rotating slowly then you need to stop the heater immediately and clean the fans too.

If you are not getting a sufficient amount of airflow and heat from the heater then you can try changing the filters of the heaters.

When Infrared Space Heater keeps turning on and off

This is a very common thing that tends to happen in most Infrared heaters. This happens due to blocked airflow to and from the unit.

A faulty thermostat or control switch can also be one of the reasons why this type of thing can happen with your Infrared Heater. In such situations, all you need to do is remove any kind of obstructions that are near or in between the airflow. The vents should be cleaned thoroughly. If there aren’t any kind of obstructions then you can try fixing or replacing the switch too.

You can also check whether the thermostat can be fixed by keeping the temperature high. If it still doesn’t work you need to replace it.

When the heater doesn’t switch off or stays on

There are possibilities that the room in which the heater is can be small or undersized, the poor insulation of the apartment can also be one of the reasons for such problems.

The poorly insulated room can cause ineffective airflow due to the flow of breeze inside the room and transfer of warmth outside the room resulting in heat loss. In such instances, you can try insulating the walls and stop the circulation of air in and out.

When cool air is flowing from the heater

The following are the reasons why the heater is blowing fresh air :

Some types of infrared heaters come with fan-only settings. This helps or enables you to use the radiator as a fan. If you have a model with these settings you need to put it on fan only mode.

If you have kept a heater on one of the heat settings and not on fan only settings. This might have caused the heater to overheat and this might have led the radiator to stop working. You can read the instruction manual and reset the heater.

Some Heaters have a digital thermostat and these digital thermostats will let the fan run for 30 seconds once without heat as soon as the heater reaches a set temperature. This happens just to make sure that the excess heat is blown out of the heater. This will make sure to read a consistent and accurate temperature reading.

When the Electric Fan doesn’t work

This might be a result of the wires that are improperly connected to the fan motor. An obstruction in the blades, a bad switch, or a broken fan motor can be some of the other causes for this.

You can remove the cover present using accurate equipment and then check if there are any obstructions or loose wiring. You can also check for the current of the motor using an ohmmeter and if there’s improper current flow then you can replace the motor.

When there is very little heat circulation

There are chances where such types of issues can happen and this is because the elements might not be directly visible.

Infrared heaters tend to work in the best manner when they are in a direct view and they find difficulties in radiating heat when the elements are unable to see. To tackle such issues some of the infrared heaters have a solution. They use fans that help in dissipating the heat which is being radiated. This helps the heater to transfer heat properly like other heaters and they also use electricity to work.

In such instances, you can also check if the fan is in the proper condition or not. Check the working of the fan if it is rotating slowly then you must clean it by turning the heater off. You can also use external fans in case your Heater by default does not have any fans or the fan is not operating properly. This will help in radiating the heat.

When the heater is producing sounds

Some models are designed in such a way that they produce a little sound when they work which is pretty normal. Models like Radiant, Parabolic, Quartz, and even Baseboard heaters.

These heaters may produce a crackling sound or even sound of vibration when they are first turned on. This type of sound is created due to the heating elements expanding because they heat up. This is normal and this happens commonly in these heaters.

If you switch to different heat settings and still find heat at each of them then your heater is working exactly as it should.

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Conclusion

Space heaters are very useful and they are getting popular day by day as they can help to get a warm feeling when the temperature is too cold.

The best thing about space heaters is that they are compact and portable that can be easily carried from one room to another. As they use electricity to work, an infrared heater can have some errors and troubles on some days. These things can be easily dealt with without consulting an expert. You need to follow some instructions and check some of the most common things.

Today we saw the most common issues that occur in an Infrared Heater and also saw how you can troubleshoot them. I hope you find this article useful and relevant and now you can easily solve all the issues that are occurring in your infrared space heater.

Reference

https://qlabe.com/heaters/troubleshoot-infrared-space-heater

https://www.doityourself.com/stry/troubleshooting-an-infrared-space-heater