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1100 man · 13th Apr 2019, 9:40 pm

Fan heaters have been an integral part of my life from my earliest memories. I've always loved the gentle purr and the benign warmth of sitting in front of them. Not much good for space heating, but for individual people heating, they can't be beaten.

My Grandfather ran a shop selling small electrical appliances and offering repairs in the '50's & '60's. He was therefore well placed to supply the family with the latest 'must have' gadgets! So we had the latest MK rocker style light switches in the early '70's and also the fan heaters.

The first is a Magicook Appliances Ltd (MAL) type 134. I can't find much on the internet about them, only a reference to a trade exhibition.

As far as I know, this did duty in grandad's greenhouse and then dad's greenhouse where I remember playing with it when I was a kid. It's had a life and is now a bit of a wreck, but is a really good, very quiet heater. It gets a lot of use during the winter heating the workshop.

Every couple of years it needs a clean out and the motor bearings soaking in oil as it starts to get noisy. The spiral element has been repaired a couple of times with terminal block (insulation removed) which has proved to be a good method of repair. The two fan speeds are achieved by switching in a resistor in series with the motor. Unusually, instead of 1Kw, 2Kw, it's 600W, 1.2kw & 2.5Kw.

It also has provision for a 15W orange pigmy lamp, although it's never had one that I can remember! So it's now had it's service and clean and is now nice and quiet again.

The GEC 'tropicana' is somewhat newer, I suspect early '70's although I never remember a time when it wasn't in the house. This also gets extensive use throughout the year and benefits from a clean out and lubrication.

It still has it's rather unusual 'ribbed' grey mains lead with red, black & green cores. The PVC is still in excellent condition, luckily.

So two pieces of vintage equipment still in regular use and doing what they were designed to do!

All the best
Nick

Yes, there is a motor under all that fluff!!

13th Apr 2019, 9:40 pm	#1
1100 man Octode Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Ventnor, Isle of Wight, & Great Dunmow, Essex, UK. Posts: 1,377	Magicook 134 & GEC tropicana fan heater Fan heaters have been an integral part of my life from my earliest memories. I've always loved the gentle purr and the benign warmth of sitting in front of them. Not much good for space heating, but for individual people heating, they can't be beaten. My Grandfather ran a shop selling small electrical appliances and offering repairs in the '50's & '60's. He was therefore well placed to supply the family with the latest 'must have' gadgets! So we had the latest MK rocker style light switches in the early '70's and also the fan heaters. The first is a Magicook Appliances Ltd (MAL) type 134. I can't find much on the internet about them, only a reference to a trade exhibition. As far as I know, this did duty in grandad's greenhouse and then dad's greenhouse where I remember playing with it when I was a kid. It's had a life and is now a bit of a wreck, but is a really good, very quiet heater. It gets a lot of use during the winter heating the workshop. Every couple of years it needs a clean out and the motor bearings soaking in oil as it starts to get noisy. The spiral element has been repaired a couple of times with terminal block (insulation removed) which has proved to be a good method of repair. The two fan speeds are achieved by switching in a resistor in series with the motor. Unusually, instead of 1Kw, 2Kw, it's 600W, 1.2kw & 2.5Kw. It also has provision for a 15W orange pigmy lamp, although it's never had one that I can remember! So it's now had it's service and clean and is now nice and quiet again. The GEC 'tropicana' is somewhat newer, I suspect early '70's although I never remember a time when it wasn't in the house. This also gets extensive use throughout the year and benefits from a clean out and lubrication. It still has it's rather unusual 'ribbed' grey mains lead with red, black & green cores. The PVC is still in excellent condition, luckily. So two pieces of vintage equipment still in regular use and doing what they were designed to do! All the best Nick Yes, there is a motor under all that fluff!! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by 1100 man; 13th Apr 2019 at 9:45 pm. Reason: extra text