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Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details. |
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10th Dec 2019, 2:00 pm | #1 |
Hexode
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Grove Park, SE London
Posts: 382
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Rothermel bed heater
Hey guys! I have this Bakelite bed heater and opened it up to find.... a ton of damaged asbestos acting as a form for the element!
I chucked this away very carefully and washed everything. How can I remake the element? Does anyone know a good replacement or alternative? I still have the asbestos in a tied bag on the balcony until I know how to dispose of it, so I could salvage the wire too? Or is there a unit that could just fit inside? I like the idea of using this. |
10th Dec 2019, 2:58 pm | #2 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 729
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Ooh! That looks nice - like an electric hot-water bottle.
No idea how to restore it, but I hope you get lots of responses and manage to get it working again!
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10th Dec 2019, 3:13 pm | #3 |
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
3mm? thick Cement Fibre Board as used in the building trade may be suitable.
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Graham. Forum Moderator Reach for your meter before you reach for your soldering iron. |
10th Dec 2019, 3:24 pm | #4 |
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Another thought. You might be able to use the Mica? material material from say a Dualit toaster element.
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10th Dec 2019, 3:29 pm | #5 |
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
I don't think I would try to use it - not worth the risk of burning your house down. There are plenty of electric blankets with modern safety features if you like that sort of thing.
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10th Dec 2019, 4:06 pm | #6 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: St.Ippolyts, Hitchin, Hertfordshire QRA IO91UW
Posts: 3,520
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Quote:
If the material that you have removed from that heater is indeed Asbestos (very likely) then the action of removing it, and unwinding the wire will have exposed you to the dust. Just leaving it in a tied bag on a balcony is hardly the right thing to do. might I suggest that you get it disposed of in a professional manner now, so as not to expose anyone else to the risk of this material. I would also echo Paul's advice - I rather think that your house insurance would suffer in the event of a fire caused by this device.....
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10th Dec 2019, 4:51 pm | #7 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Leicester, Leics. UK.
Posts: 1,685
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Well, I don't know. I am not a purist, and it's risky now to say the wrong thing, but my mum's garage roof is asbestos cement and it doesn't keep me awake at night. I am sure there is a risk and it must be treated with respect, particularly, with that stuff, when disturbing it. My local tip used to have a skip for the roofing sheet. I would ask at your's if they have a system for it. As to using the heater .. I use a Belling electric bed warmer with a 40W bulb in, and it is excellent. I don't see why this couldn't be made usable safely. So far as risk is concerned we are rather inconsistent - we live in a society which almost totally lacks the precautionary principle, and whole nations deny global warming.
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10th Dec 2019, 7:44 pm | #8 |
Guest
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
A length of tracer heating tape?
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10th Dec 2019, 8:28 pm | #9 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK.
Posts: 5,277
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Lots of alternative heaters here if your purse will stretch to it. Here for example.
https://www.omega.co.uk/guides/heaters.html
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Kevin |
10th Dec 2019, 8:48 pm | #10 | ||
Octode
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Newbury, Berkshire, UK.
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Quote:
I know this may be seen as "elf 'n' safety gone mad" by some but I'm afraid I agree with it 100%, both on the electrical safety side, but especially on the asbestos side. People don full body suits (that are subsequently decontaminated or disposed of) these days to avoid the risks of this stuff. There is documented evidence of people suffering serious and life ending disease from just being around people who were exposed to this stuff in the building trade (dust brought home on clothing and shoes). The water is under the bridge with respect to what you have already exposed yourself to but please don't increase your risk further, or expose others to risk. Please seek expert advice on how to move forward. Aside from the material in the bag, there may also be dust in the vicinity of where you unwound the element.
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Chris |
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10th Dec 2019, 9:40 pm | #11 | |
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Quote:
Check your local council's website and see what asbestos disposal services they offer. Last time I had some asbestos to dispose of the local council wanted to charge me £28.00. I found a contractor with all the correct paper work who did the job for £20.00. The council's fee at present is £85.00.
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10th Dec 2019, 10:08 pm | #12 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK.
Posts: 5,355
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
My council will now take away small quantities of asbestos for free.
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10th Dec 2019, 10:14 pm | #13 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, UK.
Posts: 8,198
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
How about the glass element in a food warmer tray that keeps the dishes warm during dinner?
All else fails I may have some resistance wire that would do if purely for cosmetic purposes and not being used in a bed. PM me when you know what you need. Ed |
10th Dec 2019, 11:03 pm | #14 |
Octode
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Belper Derbyshire
Posts: 1,936
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
How about a sheet of aluminium with metal clad resistors screwed on with some thermal grease underneath them. As the wattage required is not that high you could then get away by operating it on say 24V DC from a power supply which would be safer.
Christopher Capener
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10th Dec 2019, 11:38 pm | #15 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK.
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Doesn't need to be a DC power supply- a simple isolating stepdown transformer would be fine.
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11th Dec 2019, 2:41 am | #16 |
Hexode
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Grove Park, SE London
Posts: 382
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
wow thanks for all the replies! I know I shouldn't have removed the asbestos. It was a bit of a failure to recognise that there was a high potential of running into it given the period of the item and purpose. Once I opened it up it was a case of already being committed, so I was super careful, wore a mask and VERY tactfully removed it and made sure to wash everything gently and thoroughly. Of course I will get it professionally taken away asap, so thanks guys
I really like the idea of using the metal clad resistors and a small transformer to get lower voltages... would this be the safest option? Does anyone have a circuit in mind? I definitely would need a thermostat or something similar to cut off the power to avoid any accidents! |
11th Dec 2019, 10:24 am | #17 |
Octode
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Co. Durham, UK.
Posts: 1,118
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Just out of interest; did you check the element for continuity before you opened it up?
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11th Dec 2019, 10:43 am | #18 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Warnham, West Sussex. 10 miles south of DORKING.
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
I can hear the 'Blues and two's in the distance. Really, do you want to risk a house fire just to use a dangerous bed heater? Your house insurance policy will probably be null and void if disaster occurred. By all means keep it as a bit of history but actually use it..No! John.
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11th Dec 2019, 10:58 am | #19 |
Moderator
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Location: Oxford, UK
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Using a low voltage supply will be safer than using full mains, but you still have the problem that hotspots can develop causing smouldering and sometimes fires. That's why commercial electric blankets run much cooler than decades ago and have mandatory overtemperature protection. If lashing up some homebrew solution you will finish up with something that either runs too cool to be any use, or potentially develops hotspots.
I like using nice old artifacts too, but in this case I don't think it's worth the risk and hassle. |
11th Dec 2019, 10:58 am | #20 | |
Heptode
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Southport, Merseyside, UK.
Posts: 646
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Re: Rothermel bed heater
Quote:
When I was very young we had a pair of "Veret" bakelite bed warmers. I checked online and their pic's come up. They worked quite well as I recall
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