# Building a flexlible radiant heater

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-flexlible-radiant-heater/840827>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 25, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-flexlible-radiant-heater/840827 "2019-09-25T23:28:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-flexlible-radiant-heater/840827/21 "2019-09-27T19:46:11Z")

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> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> I don’t know what it’s called but it sounds like what I have for a plastic sheet bender, and there are similar things for heating/thawing water pipes. It can get very hot but spreads the heat out instead of concentrating it in a thin wire.
> 
> ETA: I think it is metal wire sheathed in some kind of wrapping, then woven together.

That sounds pretty similar. The stuff we had in the lab could be plugged in directly to the wall and it would get very hot. They hooked it up to a resistor so they could control the heat. I supposed that would also work for consumer water pipe heaters.

If you go with something that produces radiant heat instead, one way to avoid the problem of hot air is to have the heating element above the bow. The hot air will rise up and away, while the actual infrared light rays which provide the radiant heat would still travel straight to the bow.

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**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-flexlible-radiant-heater/840827/22 "2019-09-27T19:58:42Z")

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> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Heat lamps? Mount a few in gooseneck fixtures and aim them to give fairly even coverage. Use a little fan to keep the air moving around them if necessary. They don’t heat the air much from the light, but the bulb gets very hot.
> 
> I think this is a better approach them most heating elements.

This was going to be my suggestion too. What better than a lamp\*, if you want radiation of heat (and some light)? \*Halogen or something hot, not an LED.

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