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Buyer's Guide - Infrared Heaters

This article is a guide about how to buy the right infrared heaters for your business.

As a rule, ordinary lamps must not be operated in an angled position as they will burn out. Tansun is a leading UK manufacturer of infrared heaters and so offer infrared quartz heaters with lamps which have been specifically designed to operate either horizontally or at an angle and these must be specified at the time of ordering. Always look at the lamp inside the heater and ensure that it is a branded lamp and not a cheap alternative.

A quartz linear heater should always have a highly reflective, long-lasting aluminium reflector which directs a focused energy beam on an area as required. A special benefit of the adjustable beam direction is that high intensity radiant heating can be provided at low levels even though the heater is mounted at a high level.

Always look for heaters with a dedicated reflector; not ones relying on the surface of their extrusion to reflect heat back. The method of extrusion production leaves draw marks on the surface and it is usually not of mirror quality so cannot act as a true reflector. It is merely a cost saving measure for the manufacturer.

Tansun Patio Heaters Offer Supreme Quality

High grade aluminium is always used on our reflectors, due to its reflectance being in the 85-90% visible range and rising to 90-95% in the IR-A range - this gives the high heat levels which are required when the heaters are mounted at a higher level.

Cheap imitation quartz patio heaters only have 30% of the output of a Tansun infrared heater as they use low grade lighting material which is just 0.2-0.4mm thick; it has insufficient reflective coating and absorbs the heat, eventually closing up around the lamp.

Tansun Infrared Heaters Have a Superior Parabolic Reflector

It is essential that the parabola shape of the reflector is accurate and the lamp is placed in the correct focus within the reflector in order to obtain maximum heat output. Tansun utilises CAD technology to produce the reflector, the most critical part of the heater.

If the focal point of the lamp mounting is incorrect, it will retain heat in the body rather than projecting it outwards, resulting in premature lamp failure. The pinch temperature on the lamp mountings is very critical and should not exceed 350 degrees Celsius, if it does it will again cause premature lamp failure.

The lamp should be mounted in such a way to dissipate heat away from the ceramic on the lamp towards the heater body, which in turn will act as a heat sink. Always look for heaters with side reflectors as they keep the heat away from the critical part of the lamp and significantly improve the output of the heater.

Weatherproof Infrared Heaters for All Seasons

Some heaters are marketed with a high IP (ingress proof) rating e.g. IP65. You are paying extra for it but the question is, do you really require it? Many heaters are installed under cover, an awning or umbrella, which in itself provides protection. If they are not, then anything above IP24 is a sufficient rating for permanent outdoor installations. If a heater has an IP65 rating, check whether it can be re-lamped as many cannot be.

The wiring is normally such that the heater will either need to be stripped down by an electrical engineer for re-lamping or returned to a factory. Cheap copies of quartz patio heaters are a problem for manufacturers of genuine products - the old adage is “you get what you pay for” and this applies to most things in life including patio heaters!

The facts are the component parts are of an inferior quality, produce poor heat output and an inadequate lamp life of less than a hundred hours. Substantial technological improvements have occurred since the very first infrared quartz patio heater came on to the market over 15 years ago. Tansun’s improving infrared quartz heater range incorporates all of these improvements with unrivalled reliability - reputation is everything!