I remember the first winter in my new place. Heating was going to be a Dimplex storage heater setup, and I thought, “How hard can it be?” Turns out, really hard. I made a mess of it that first season. I'm writing this from the perspective of someone who's made the mistakes so you don't have to.

The Surface Problem: My Electric Bill Was Through the Roof

My first month's electric bill was a shock. I’d run the storage heaters all night, as instructed (sort of), and they were barely warm by evening. So, I cranked up the input dial. And the output dial. Everything. The result? An empty wallet and a cold house. That’s what everyone thinks the problem is: not enough heat.

But that's just the surface. The real issue wasn't the heater's capacity; it was that I had no idea how to actually use the thing.

Deep Cause #1: The Blower Motor is Not Just for Show

Most Dimplex storage heaters have a blower motor. I ignored it. I thought it was just a noisy fan that would cool the room down. Wrong.

The blower motor is what forces the stored heat out of the brick core. Without it, the heat just sits there, leaking out slowly. I was essentially storing heat overnight and letting it all escape during the day without using it. Kind of like filling a bathtub but forgetting to take a bath.

I'm not an electrical engineer, so I can't speak to the physics of thermal mass. What I can tell you from a user perspective is: if you want instant heat in the morning, you have to use the blower motor. It’s not a gimmick; it’s the core mechanism.

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The third time I stood there shivering in my own living room, I finally created a checklist for myself. Should have done it after the first week.

Deep Cause #2: The 'How to Drain Hot Water Heater' Confusion

This sounds silly, but I spent a good hour trying to figure out how to “drain” my storage heater. I saw threads online about “how to drain a hot water heater” and thought, “Ah-ha! I need to drain my storage heater!”

I was using the same words but meaning different things. A storage heater doesn't have water. It has bricks. The confusion came from the term “drain.” For a water heater, draining is maintenance. For a Dimplex storage heater, maintenance is vacuuming the dust.

Lesson: Stop looking for a drain valve on a Dimplex oil heater or a storage heater. It doesn't exist. If you're a handy person like me who tries to fix everything, this is a crucial distinction.

"In Q1 2024, I submitted a request to maintenance 'to drain my storage heater.' They were confused. That's when I learned that the term is completely wrong." — Personal experience

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

So what happened because of my ignorance?

  • Money wasted: I estimate I spent about $150 extra on electricity that first month because I ran the input dial at max but never used the blower motor. The bricks stored the heat, but I couldn't get it out. That's $150 straight to the trash.
  • Embarrassment: I called a technician to fix my 'broken' heater. He walked in, touched the blower motor switch, and said, “There you go.” The look he gave me. I still cringe.
  • Delay: Once I finally learned the settings, it took another two days for the house to reach the right temperature.

The (Short) Solution: Smart Settings

After all that pain, the fix is embarrassingly simple. You don't need a degree. You just need to stop doing what I did.

How to Use a Dimplex Storage Heater Properly

Here is the checklist I now use:

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  1. Input Dial (Night): Set this based on the outdoor temperature forecast for tomorrow. It's cheaper to store heat at night.
  2. Output Dial (Day): This is your manual thermostat. If it's cold, crank it up. This triggers the blower motor.
  3. Blower Motor: Leave it on “Auto” or set it to a low speed. It will kick in when the room needs heat. If you turn it off, you’re just paying to store heat you'll never use.

That's it. It's basically a trade-off between storing energy at night and releasing it during the day. Get that balance wrong, and you’re back to my situation.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much when I first got these heaters. But once I actually followed the instructions (and stopped trying to drain them), they worked pretty well. The system is actually pretty efficient if you use the cooling fan – wait, we don't cool with these. The key is the blower motor. Period.

If you’re still struggling, just remember: the blower motor is your friend. Don't be an idiot like me who ignored it for a month. Simple.