Is your fan heater broken? Or are you having problems with a radiant heater or electric radiator? No worries! The problem can most probably be fixed.

Electric heaters more popular since 2022

For years, we didn’t see many electric heaters at the Repair Café. But this has changed since the war in Ukraine. Since the sharp rise in gas prices in 2022, electric heaters have become much more popular. In 2022, the fan heater was even the highest new entry into the RepairMonitor, the online tool in which Repair Cafés worldwide keep track of their repair data.

Many Repair Café repairers have recently gained experience in repairing various types of electric heaters. The RepairMonitor shows that in 61 per cent of cases, fan heaters were repaired successfully. For radiant heaters, it was 58 per cent, and for electric radiators, 46 per cent.

Electric heaters with broken switches can be fixed!

Lately, Repair Café Eindhoven-Woensel has seen more electric heaters. Repairman Rens (pictured at the top of this article) even saw one during the tenth anniversary of his Repair Cafe on 3 March. According to its owner (pictured left), this heater is three to four years old.

The owner said: “I took it back to the BCC where I had bought it, and they said, ‘Just throw it away.'”

Rens offers other advice. He notes that the switch is slack. But it needn’t be a big problem as far as he’s concerned. “It’s a pretty standard switch. I know an address where they probably sell them. So, I sent the owner there to buy a replacement switch. When he returns with it, we’ll replace the switch.”

Other solutions to problems with electric heaters

Repairers indicate in the RepairMonitor that they can often solve the problems by doing one or more of the following:

– replace capacitor
– clean contacts, thermostat or other parts
– remove dust
– lubricate
– replace fuse
– repair or replace cable

Sometimes, a more creative solution is needed. According to data in the RepairMonitor, sometimes a broken base is glued or a backing plate is added. In one case where a fan heater stalled, spacers were put between the fan and the main housing. In a few cases, the on-off button is bypassed, so you can only turn it off by unplugging it.

Reasons why electric heater repairs fail

When electric heater repairs don’t succeed, it’s often because there are no spare parts, or the spare parts are too expensive. But the RepairMonitor also identifies other reasons. Sometimes, a heater or radiator was too worn out, there was no way to open the product, or the repair would take too much time. In some other cases, the repairer couldn’t find the problem.

Repair your electric heater yourself or bring it to a Repair Café!

Need help repairing your fan heater, radiant heater, or electric radiator? Then come to a Repair Café near you. Want to do the repair yourself? Then find a repair guide at iFixit! You can also use these step-by-step guides to prepare for your visit to the Repair Café. That way, you’ll know what to expect.

Het bericht Repairing electric heaters verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.