Honeywell surround heater won't keep running

If it's a fan heater, muck on the fanblades makes them less effective. Muck can also collect in the elements.

NT

Is there an internal adjustment to adjust for an aging thermostat? They don't last forever, and the bimetallic element weakens from repeated flexing.

That was my next guess, but I have the heater on low now and it will run continuously if thermostat set at max, which makes me rethink that there may be dust collected somewhere inside where I wasn't able to reach.

I second Michael's comment. It's a common thing in old bi-metalic thermostats.

Along with pitted contacts that heat up and affect the accuracy.

Just like us Michael, things wear out.

And they act as an anticipator. Too good of an anticipator.

And the proper spare parts are rarely available. Then it is constant pain, and handfuls of pills just to survive. :(

Also common for these heaters to have over-temp cutoff switches.

Which activates with a sticky fan bearing or fan blades crudded up or both

Well, I picked up another heater at the local Walmart. Unfortunately, it doesn't really have the same type of housing and is emitting a sort of plastic smell as it runs. I'm very tempted to return it, but I suspect any other I get will also smell. I'm hoping the smell will go away as I use it.

As for the former, is there any way to replace its thermostat? I don't see any part replacements online. As an alternative, I was thinking of perhaps bypass the internal thermostat completely and just controlling it via a plug in type, if possible. Don't even know if I could bypass, but just a possibility. Compared to this new heater, I think the older one is superior and it would be a real shame if I couldn't get it working.

I'm taking this new heater back, I can't stand the burning plastic smell it's producing. I brought out my old one, opened it up, and bypassed the thermostat. Now it's running continuously no matter what setting. I'm going to add a 15 amp timer programmable plug in thermostat as a replacement:

Thanks again for all the help & suggestions.

Glad you decided not to Darwinate

Oh, looks you do want to Darwinate after all. At least make sure no-one else is home.

NT

Meaning? By adding the external thermostat, I would think that would take care of any potential safety issues, no?

No, absolutely not!

The unit will continue to run as long as the *EXTERNAL* thermostat wants it to do so.

But the external thermostat has no clue about what is going in INSIDE the h eater. So, should it decide to have a spectacular melt-down because the int ernal thermostat has been bypassed, well, there it is. And the results coul d be anything from a puddle of burnt metal and plastic (least serious) to a death or two or three.

You might also consider what would happen when (not if) the insurance inves tigators found the altered heater. It would be designated as the cause of a fire. That would be a "CLAIM DENIED" situation.

You may purchase a new heater for as little as $19 for a UL-compliant devic e at your local big-box. Why would you even think about doing what you did?

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Interesting, never thought it would be such an issue. I use a similar device with my 150 W aquarium heater because almost every heater I bought would get "stuck" on after a year and almost fry the fish. Since adding the external thermostat with a temperature probe that goes in the water, no more issues. I just thought the same could be done with the Honeywell, but now you have me really rethinking. This was the replacement I bought and returned due to the horrible plastic smell while on:

I'll return the external thermostat IF I can find a compatible heater of the same wattage that does not stink while it runs. Suggestions?

At its most basic:

We have one of these at our summer house that has been reliable for years. Note that all new heaters stink for the first few hours - this is burning o ff the manufacturing oils and such. When we get any new device, we set it o utside and let it rip for a couple of hours (costs $0.28). That usually kil ls the smell. But for light use, we like the metal heater as it is rugged, has a good fan with two speeds as well as a thermostat.

For the house, replete with cats, dogs and often grand-kids we prefer ceram ic type heaters for safety.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

That is commonly called a 'Milkhouse Heater'. They are made to last for decades, and to be used in places that they can be knocked over. I have a couple of them for my home. One for the bathroom, and one for my bedroom. I rarely need heat in the rest of the house, here in Central Florida.

Walmart has them for $16.94.

Here's what I ended up getting for now:

Different animal that the others for sure and no fan except my ceiling fan in reverse. I'm not sure whether or not I'll keep it.

I like the idea behind the ceramic heaters. Those are actually the most appealing to me, but unfortunately the timers they have only seem to shut them off and aren't programmable for an "on" time. With both the old Honeywell and this new Mainstays, controls are analog so I can use a

I may just have to settle for another Honeywell after all and let it run for a few hours (days?) somewhere not occupied so the smell can dissipate.