Any idea how to fix a small heater?

[politicat]

The fan sounds like it is out of alignment - makes a terrible racket when it's on.

It still puts out decent heat, it's just noisy.

Is it even worth the effort?

[NMDemDist2]

1. ooooo the infamous "death rattle" of an appliance

some times I google and see if I can find a breakdown on the web to look at and see if it looks like I can tear into it

then it's "screwdriver, you'd with me! Heater, let me take a look...."

sometimes I get lucky, sometimes.... well not so much :shrug:

[Warpy]

3. Right, it sounds like the bearings are shot

Sometimes you can squeeze a little extra life out of such an appliance before tearing it appart to repack the bearings by squirting a little WD40 into it (just do it when it's cold, and keep it cold for a while after).

I've got a fan I've been using for 4 years with just the WD 40 squirt every time the thing gets noisy.

[politicat]

5. Well... we got it apart...

And without the front grill, it was silent again, so we think that it got dropped (okay, we know it got dropped!) and bent the blades.

So... I've rebent them some, but it's still scraping on the housing. Next week's project, I guess.

[LiberalUprising]

2. No really worth the effort

You can buy small ceramic heaters for $20 at Home Depot or Lowes. I have a $20 dollar model that will heat a 16x14 room no problem it has a thermostat and 3 heat settings.

If ya wanna spend a little more you can get one with remote control and other features.

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0124052439.1133968605@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdeaddggmhmdgkcgelceffdfgidgng.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc/searchResults.jsp&MID=9876&N=2984+4370&pos=n08

[Warpy]

4. Then again, there's my trick

I wrap up in an electric blanket while I'm waiting for the wood stove to get going and warm this place up.

[politicat]

6. That' doesn't work for keeping steam off the mirror in the bathroom.

That's what this stupid thing is really for, after all. DH wants to be able to shave after showering, so he uses this heater on the counter to keep the mirror fog free and the bathroom toasty.

I know, the poor guy is so babied it's not even funny.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Well, if that's what its for, take a different tack .......

Here are two ........ do a google for 'fog free shower mirror' for more choices.

I have this one and it works great:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000184Z1G/002-3197189-9581603?v=glance&n=284507



That one relies on being attached to the shower head and it diverts just a trickle of hot water to keep it the same temperature as the water .... and hence fog free.

This next one uses some sort of coating to do the deed:
http://www.comforthouse.com/comfort/fogfreshowmi.html

I don't know anything about the second version.

Great stocking stuffers, these are! And cheaper than a new heater.