HMV Cavendish fan heater question

[Phil G4SPZ]

Thanks to a kind donation from Steve (Colourstar) I am the happy new owner of an HMV Cavendish, and an hour's fettling this evening has brought it back into operation. It runs smoothly and quietly, however the top gets quite hot at the front after five or ten minutes' running on the 2kW setting. By "quite hot" I mean I wouldn't like to rest my hand on it for more than a second or so...

Which prompts my question to the dozens of Cavendish owners out there - how hot 'should' a Cavendish get? I can see no restriction to the airflow, the fan is clean and running freely, and I've removed the dust from inside the heater. Mine is the model with the louvres in the back panel.

I've searched and read several threads on this model which mention that these heaters get hot, but I'd just like to be sure that this is normal behaviour. Many thanks,

Phil

[Phil G4SPZ]

Addendum to the foregoing - I have just measured the temperature of the warm air leaving the heater, which stabilised at around 82 degrees C, so it's hardly surprising the thing gets hot! I suspect the reason that the Cavendish is so much quieter than 'modern' fan heaters is that the air flow rate is much lower.

For safety's sake, for the time being I'm going to restrict it to 1kW and use it in my workshop where it will be under observation at all times

[mark pirate]

These do run quite hot on the 2kW setting, my Cavendish has been dismantled and cleaned as well as fully re-lubed. It is quite happy running all day on the lower setting.

It is not uncommon to find that someone may have repaired the heating coils by shortening them, this will make it run hotter than it should, but if the correct thermal link is fitted, it should be safe to use.

Mark

[Mike Phelan]

Mine's quite hot at 2KW, Phil, and I also tend to use it mainly on the lower setting.
I did replace the element completely though.

You've probably already seen this.

[Phil G4SPZ]

Originally Posted by Mike Phelan

...You've probably already seen this.

I certainly had, Mike, and it puts my Cavendish to shame However, I decided against a complete cosmetic restoration because I know, without even asking, that my wife will not give it house room, but I've thoroughly cleaned and overhauled it, removed the internal dust and fitted a new fireglow bulb. The top responded well to Brasso and a spot of wax polish. I've even lubricated the motor, a full two months before it's due...

Mark, the elements on mine look original and short of carefully dusting the coils with a soft brush, I've done nothing more to them.

It certainly makes a very nice, quiet, compact and eminently useable 'period' heater for the workshop, and its bit of patina and distress help it to blend in with the generally shabby chic decor therein!

Phil

[Colourstar]

Well done Phil- it looks superb, despite what Mrs G4SPZ may or may not think! You can almost warm your hands on the photo.

What did you do about the broken switches? Did you manage to source a replacement?


Steve

[Phil G4SPZ]

Oh, hello Steve! You recognised it then! No, as yet I've not found anything that will fit in the space, so as a temporary measure I've simply bent the brass switch contacts so as to 'make' one 1kW element section and 'break' the other one.

The heater was in otherwise very good condition. The fan motor is excellent and the elements are all working. I approach the winter confident of warm evenings in the workshop! And as you say, the red light has the psychological effect of adding 500 watts to the heat output...

Thanks again for passing it on to me. All the best,

Phil

[howesthis]

Hello everyone.

I'm joining in on this conversation after finding you all on line. I have two Cavendish heaters, one cream and brown bakelite the other cream and black bakelite. The brown one works perfectly but the black unfortunately has lost its element. Are these hard to find these days, since a dealer is trying to buy them from me and I know very little about them.

Many thanks

Elliott

[richrussell]

They still turn up fairly often at auctions (online ones and traditional), and at car boot sales. They're not worth a huge amount as a result. But I like mine - so much quieter than flimsy modern fan heaters.

I hope everyone's made a note on the calendar for that special occasion for these heaters. Only 6 weeks to go now

[Nickthedentist]

What a lovely pair, as a certain Mr James would no doubt have said.

As Rich says, these can often be had for £20-£30 and are well worth it.

Good luck on the hunt with a new element.

Nick.

[howesthis]

Thank you guys. I do love them and saved them from a rubbish tip some 20+ years ago. Glad I did.

[unitaudio]

They look amazing! Pity the modern equivalents can't be as stylish.
Regards
Paul

[Phil G4SPZ]

A month ago, our coal-effect gas fire in the living room went wrong, and while we waited for the Gas Safe registered plumber to come to repair it, I put the HMV Cavendish into operation for a few days. It was amazingly effective, and seemed to chuck out more heat than the gas fire. And my wife approved of its looks, too...

[mark pirate]

Mine is doing a good job of heating my little museum, I must remember to oil it on the first of January

Mark

[Dickie]

My Cavendish does not have a switch and runs at high power all the time. It gets hot quite quickly. There is no evidence that it has ever been fitted with a switch. Is this model very common, or maybe an early one that soon got discontinued? I am tempted to add a switch just for safety.

You can predict shortages and panic-buying of 3 in 1 as everyone oils their fan heaters at the same time

[Richard]

Hi

Mine also has no switch.
Inside the base of mine I found an envelope with a spare thermal fuse, not needed it so far

Richard

[Heatercathodeshort]

Originally Posted by Dickie

You can predict shortages and panic-buying of 3 in 1 as everyone oils their fan heaters at the same time

Now there's an idea! We must arrange a New Year get together for all owners of Cavendish heaters. Substitute 'bring a bottle' for 'bring a can of 3in1'
We can then oil each others heaters to the sounds of Mantovani.. J.

[Radio_Dave]

The switches, on mine, are used to choose 1kW, 2kW or cold. They do not switch the mains. I think these heaters had a very long production run, so I guess others may be different? I've often thought about fitting an inline switch, to the mains lead, but I've never got round to it.

[Nickthedentist]

You'd have to find a switch with a very high current rating, David, which might be an impossibility.

I would stick with pulling out the plug when you're done, which also has the advantage that you can see whether it's powered or dead at a glance.

N.

[Radio_Dave]

Hi Nick, Yes you're right and it's probably the real reason why I haven't done it yet.

I do have a 10 amp inline switch, but I think this is a bit borderline. I'll wait until I find a bigger one, or carry on pulling out the plug, as you suggest.

David