Is there really any difference between the expensive "Amish built, oak cabinet, infrared, digital w/remote" that cost $150 to $200 or more and the simple, inexpensive milk house type heater? If each has a maximum 120 volt, 1,500 watt input you can't get any more heat BTU's out of the expensive one can you?

 

Portable Heaters | Department of Energy

 

1,500 watts is 1,500 watts.
That's basically a hair dryer in a cabinet.

IF I'm doing my math correctly, a 1500 watt heater, running on 110v AC is pulling/drawing about 13 amps (13.6363636363 amps.)
It's been a long time....... I (current in amps/13.63636363) = P (wattage/1500 watts) ÷ E (voltage/110 volts)
Going any higher in heat output, would require a higher amperage circuit, I do believe.



For heating a room, many years ago, I bought two of those electric 'oil' heaters, that look like the old style radiators. (I think we still have one, down in the recesses of our basement, under all of the kids' college 'stuff'!)

For my purpose, they worked very well. They heated the room(s) very well.

 

The infrared heaters are radiant, they heat the objects in the space.

The milkhouse-style heaters are resistance heaters with a blower fan behind the coils, they heat the air in the space.

Many of those heaters are "Amish-styled" or "Amish-inspired" so you can bet that they aren't being built by plainly dressed, bearded craftsmen in a rustic workshop. Even the ones that feature true Amish cabinets have a cheap imported heater dropped into it.

 

Not a 'fan' of the forced air type heaters.

I've got two oil-filled radiant heaters that Keith mentioned. They are quiet and very handy to have in rooms that aren't getting enough heat from the central heating.

When our oil furnace died I was able to keep the house comfortable with two of these heaters running at 1500 watts despite outside temperatures of -5. One thing I learned is not to buy another unit with digital controls. The first one I bought has the digital controls and will draw 1500 watts as soon as I turn it on. I have to be very careful not to plug it into certain outlets that are already carrying a load.

When I bought the second heater during our furnace emergency I selected a simpler model with dial controls. This one allows me to adjust the setting manually before turning it on. Following up on Keith's math a 110v heater set at 600 watts will only draw about 5.5 amps. For our living room which is the furthest from the central furnace and gets a little chilly the low setting is more than enough to keep it comfortable and I can plug it into the nearest outlet without worrying about overloading the circuit.

 

Last time I visited the Amish, the electric was only from a 12 V battery, charged by a gas powered generator. Heat came from burning wood, coal, etc.

Kinda like buying a car with Amish-styled driver's controls. Makes me go "Huh?"

 

I know its an older thread, but I just found it.

Yes, 1500 watts is 1500 watts, and thats around 5200 btus/hr... no matter what the ad copy says or how amazing they make it sound.

A $20 chinese heater from a big box store and a $250 'heirloom' heater from a boutique outlet will put out the same amount of heat if they are both 1500 watts. Period. The laws of physics and electricity dont change even if the marketing types want you to think so. (a couple of watts for fans and indicators dont amount to much difference in power consumed)

The primary differences are in the controls, the quality, the safety, and the cosmetics.

I prefer the oil-filled radiator types. Second preference is the 'baseboard' types.

Third, the small fan forced heaters for small rooms are ok for a few years till they get noisy or dirty.

Bang for buck, a $50-$80 oil filled radiator heater is hard to beat. A good one will last for decades.