tarsa@decvax.UUCP (Greg Tarsa) (01/13/84)
Although a heater may seem to be a necessity, my wife and I had problems with deciding what temperature to set ours on. I perspire a LOT at the slighest provocation, a problem which was compounded by the vinyl of the bed. None of the recommended settings seemed to work: either I woke up with muscle stiffness, or I woke up in a pool of sweat (yecch!). What we ended up doing (we live in New England) was putting a comforter UNDER the sheets, to insulate us from the water temperature (and the vinyl) and UNPLUGGING the heater. This has worked well for us and we have been doing it for about three years, with the side benefit of reduced electric bills. My case may not be a universal one, but it does show the feasibility of having waterbed comfort with out the added expense of a waterbed heater. Greg Tarsa decvax!tarsa
holmes@dalcs.UUCP (Ray Holmes) (01/14/84)
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I have lived with a waterbed for about 13 years and for only
about 2 of these did I have a waterbed heater. I would say that the
main concern is that you have sufficient protection from the "cold"
vinal. (as you may note, I live in the FROZEN north.) A waterbed
heater is nice, but you can comfortably live without one. Using an
electric blanket seems to me to be inviting desaster (one leak and
your electrocuted ("I can't figure out how to spell that"). Waterbeds
DO leak, but that is normally a minor concern.
:wqhon@ihuxv.UUCP (Herb Norton) (01/14/84)
My wife and I purchased an unusual hybrid waterbed. It has seven tubes filled with water inside what is essentially a hollowed out foam mattress. It would be impractical to heat each tube, but there is enough insulation between you and the tubes that you don't need a heater. Having the tubes makes it easy to fill and drain and one side of the bed can be firmer or softer than the other. It also suppresses side to side waves. Herb Norton