info please intertherm baseboard heaters

[joanie]

We just bought a home , built in 1965, in each room there is a intertherm baseboard heater. Which I believe are orginal to the home.

Model..EBH 1500 24 The thermostats are located on the wall.

The prevoius owner told us never to turn the thermostats all the way off or "bad" things would happen. As that what he was told by the orginal owners son ? But the stats have been turned all the way off.

I've search for info on these heaters to no avail. Some of the heaters are rusted . And we're no sure how to maintain them.

I do know that they are water and some type of gas..but yet electric.

Thanks in advance for any info!!!

[kurt]

It's an electric baseboard heater w/water & ethylene glycol (antifreeze) mix inside. By heating the water mix (electrically), you get a more uniform heat output that w/a resistance coil (or something like that).

Nothing bad will happen if you turn them off; I have no idea why anyone would say that, other than maybe thinking something would freeze(?).

You can buy new ones' for between $150-200 a pop depending on output.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by joanie

We just bought a home , built in 1965, in each room there is a intertherm baseboard heater. Which I believe are orginal to the home.

Model..EBH 1500 24 The thermostats are located on the wall.

The prevoius owner told us never to turn the thermostats all the way off or "bad" things would happen. As that what he was told by the orginal owners son ? But the stats have been turned all the way off.

Perhaps the original owner's son had mis-understood something that he'd heard as a kid.

Bad things that will happen if you turn these heaters off:

The room will get cold.

The power company will make less money.

Your electric bill will be lower.

I've search for info on these heaters to no avail. Some of the heaters are rusted . And we're no sure how to maintain them.

They contain water that's heated by an electric element. The idea was to mimic the heating curve that you'd get from a hot water boiler and radiators. They worked. The water heats up slowly and releases its heat slowly so that you don't get wide temperature swings between cycles. They require no maintenance other than a light dusting now & then.

Every one I've seen was still working fine. I imagine that, if one were to break, you'd have to replace it -- I doubt that they can be repaired. New ones are spendy.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[joanie]

[] Thanks so much for the replies !!!

Would you know if it's possible to paint the covers were the rust is with some type of heat resistant paint ?

Also..is it possible to relocate a heater ? Or to take a heater out of a room ? The kitchen and dinning room were opened expaned together at some point..so there are two large heaters..just about side to side..

We might want to replace the one in the bathroom..as the bathroom is soo small and the heater is on the only small open wall ...behind the door..

Would it damage the whole set-up to take out a heater ?

Thanks again !!

[hausdok]

Hi,

Yeah, you can paint them. Sand them down and then prime and repaint them with hi-temp engine paint. You can get it in a variety of colors at any auto parts store. It'll usually stay blister free and won't discolor up to about 400° or some number much hotter than your convectors will ever get.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[joanie]

Thanks..

About taking out a heater and replacing it..I should have been more clear..sorry..

What I meant..

Is it safe to take out a heater..do they each run alone or is it a system ?

Is there a site that anyone knows of that has info on these heaters ? ...Don't want to be a pest with all these questions[]

Once we take one out..we'd like to replace it with a regular base board heater.

Thanks again[]

[Les]

Joanie,

They are stand alone type units. Just google up intertherm and you will get pages of info.

I happen to like them for various reasons and would never replace one with a resistance type unit.

PS: I have to chuckle, because you have gotten abt 400years of advice from the guys above and it is all free!!

[kurt]

Originally posted by Les

Joanie,

They are stand alone type units. Just google up intertherm and you will get pages of info.

I happen to like them for various reasons and would never replace one with a resistance type unit.

PS: I have to chuckle, because you have gotten abt 400years of advice from the guys above and it is all free!!

Most often each heater is on it's own circuit; don't go "moving" the heater until you de-energize/shut off the circuit.

Better yet, hire an electrician; if you don't know how to move one, you really shouldn't.

[Roni]

Hi, I have a similar question to Joanie about these type heaters, the EBH models that is permanently mounted. I think they run in a system or series because twice in 2 different rooms the heaters have gone out when 1 went out. The latest was when the thermostat (PSG Lin-STAT) blew, the wiring melted, the thermostat melted . We replaced the thermostat with the older type we kept but neither of the two heaters come on. In the hallway the same thing, the heaters haven't worked when 1 of them stopped working. It's difficult to know which without replacing all of them.

[hausdok]

Hi,

They're electric heaters. I'd be real careful about monkeying around with them 'cuz you could get electrocuted. I'd call an electrician and have him/her figure it out.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Les]

Mike has given you some good advice. This sort of thing is a snap for an electrician. They may or may not like these units, but they sure should be qualified to do work on them.

[duhnet]

I have 2 intertherm radiators - appliance #B000303513. They also have the copper tubing and some sort of liquid. We just thought it was all water. Is there any places to take these to refill them? And do all of them have the water and glycol mix?

Thank you,

[hausdok]

Hi,

There is no "refilling" them. They are a closed system. If it leaks, toss it and get a new one.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[lholden]

Originally posted by joanie

We just bought a home , built in 1965, in each room there is a intertherm baseboard heater. Which I believe are orginal to the home.

Model..EBH 1500 24 The thermostats are located on the wall.

The prevoius owner told us never to turn the thermostats all the way off or "bad" things would happen. As that what he was told by the orginal owners son ? But the stats have been turned all the way off.

I've search for info on these heaters to no avail. Some of the heaters are rusted . And we're no sure how to maintain them.

I do know that they are water and some type of gas..but yet electric.

Thanks in advance for any info!!!

My landlord told me if I turn them on, they would emit noxious gas...they don't appear to be leaking at all, and they heat up fine, any thoughts?

[hausdok]

So,

Let's just suppose that your landlord weren't a whack job and they did emit noxious gas; shouldn't we still then consider him a whack job anyway, because he's renting out a place with devices that emit noxious gases? That begs the question; why would you rent a place with heaters that the landlord says will emit noxious gases?

I'm curious; how did you determine that they didn't emit noxious gas - put a canary in a cage in the room, turn on the heat and close the door? Invite your mother-in-law over for a sleepover and give her that room to sleep in? What?

Oil is a great medium for distributing heat evenly; stick an electric heating element into the stuff and it gets warm and radiates a nice heat. Pretty simple stuff really; unless it's a type of oil that really does produce poisonous gas when heated, I wouldn't be concerned about them.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Michael Gan]

We have these heaters installed in 1979. How is the energy efficiency of these units? Would it be better to install new heating units? Or are there better thermostats available (each one have their own thermostats except in the great room)?

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by Michael Gan

We have these heaters installed in 1979. How is the energy efficiency of these units?

Like any electric heater, they're 100% efficient. All of the electricity that they use is converted to heat. With electric heating, the inefficiencies take place at the power generation plant.

Would it be better to install new heating units?

There would be no advantage to installing new electric heating units. There might be a benefit to installing new heating units that run on a different fuel. It would depend on the price of the fuel vs. the price of electricity in your area.

Or are there better thermostats available (each one have their own thermostats except in the great room)?

There are always better thermostats available. They can get quite fancy. What's your goal? What are you trying to achieve?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Michael Gan]

Our home has been a vacation home for over 25 years, so our PG&E bill has been about $120 a month. We recently moved in to live there 3-4 days a week and our bill (electric only) has skyrocketed to about $500 a month. This is with changing all our lights to cfl's, shutting off all appliances when not in use, and only running one TV at a time. The only other electrical thing is the heating system in which only the top floor heaters are running (we only run the downstairs if we have guests). I can't believe that increase in home usage would bloat our bill out that far.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by Michael Gan

Our home has been a vacation home for over 25 years, so our PG&E bill has been about $120 a month. We recently moved in to live there 3-4 days a week and our bill (electric only) has skyrocketed to about $500 a month. This is with changing all our lights to cfl's, shutting off all appliances when not in use, and only running one TV at a time. The only other electrical thing is the heating system in which only the top floor heaters are running (we only run the downstairs if we have guests). I can't believe that increase in home usage would bloat our bill out that far.

I agree. Something's not right.

What do you pay per kilowatt hour?

How big is the house?

How old is the house?

Where is it located?

Do you turn the heat way down on the days when you're not there?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[hausdok]

It sounds like someone has tapped into their system while they were away.

Is the neighbor a stoner? Maybe there's a grow op over there and you're paying the electrical bill.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Jeremy]

Originally posted by Michael Gan

Our home has been a vacation home for over 25 years, so our PG&E bill has been about $120 a month. We recently moved in to live there 3-4 days a week and our bill (electric only) has skyrocketed to about $500 a month. This is with changing all our lights to cfl's, shutting off all appliances when not in use, and only running one TV at a time. The only other electrical thing is the heating system in which only the top floor heaters are running (we only run the downstairs if we have guests). I can't believe that increase in home usage would bloat our bill out that far.

The two largest areas of energy consumption in a home are space heating and domestic water heating. Any inefficiencies in these two areas will be highly magnified when put into regular use as compared to occasional use.

Summer or winter vacation home? A lot of older summer vacation homes/cottages were not built with winter time energy usage in mind.(Speaking from the Northeast now.) How well insulated is the house? What type of windows? How tight is the house? When was it built?

Electric resistance heating plus large older home can easily equal 500 monthly during cold weather.

[JDW]

Just a few comments.

A toxic smell is a result of a leak. The burning of ethylene glycol (antifreeze) is the culprit. Just after a leak occurrence in the copper tube, you'll hear noises. Bangs, pops and snaps.

It's done. Turn it off at the breaker and have a professional remove or replace.

The original thermostat has mercury. BE VERY CAREFUL. Have a professional fix or replace.

One last thing. An electric bill as high as $500, what normally was $350, can be the result of adding just one oil draped space heating with maximum power of 1500 watts.

[phillija]

I just purchased a house with these intertherm md-7 baseboard heaters in them. I want to replace the old turn dial thermometer in the main bedroom with a programmable thermostat. Is this possible to do? Thank you.

Jake

[Jim Katen]

I just purchased a house with these intertherm md-7 baseboard heaters in them. I want to replace the old turn dial thermometer in the main bedroom with a programmable thermostat. Is this possible to do? Thank you.

Jake

Heck, sure, yeah. Just google "programmable thermostat baseboard heater."

- Jim in Oregon

[phillija]

I had purchased a regular honeywell thermostat, I didn't realize there were different thermostats just for baseboard heaters. I will find something online. Thanks.

Jake