Discount Intermatic FF460M 60-Minute Spring Loaded Wall Timer, Brushed Metal

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $49.22
Sale Price: $38.75
Today's Bonus: 21% Off

For less than 1/2 price, you get the same timer but with only one set of contacts. The cost of the second set of contacts is minuscule. I guess they got you if you need to wire a 220v switch. The cover plate is plastic, not brushed metal, and is held in place with a center nut over the timer shaft (same design as the single pole timer). Nothing to keep the cover from rotating, opening the box. Definitely not the best design, and a ridiculous price. But on the positive side, the timer does work.

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American Harvest 52,300 BTU Pellet Stove with Exhaust Blower Reviews

Customer Ratings:

The reason many people end up dissatisfied with this stove is poor documentation. The stove really will efficiently burn wood pellets, cherry stones, corn, and other biomass fuels. The problem is that the manual explains virtually nothing about how to adjust the stove to get an efficient burn out of any of these fuels.

The fuel/air mixture is controlled from a digital keypad on the side of the stove. It is rather cryptically labelled with the digits 1-9 and the letters A, B, and C. The manual says that A controls the auger speed which means it controls how fast fuel is fed into the burn chamber. B, it is claimed, controls blower speed. C stops the auger for 90 seconds.

Where we run into problems is that all the default settings, in my experience, have a fuel/air mixture that is too rich. That is to say that there is too much fuel and not enough air. The result is that the stove burns poorly, produces a lot of soot, and doesn't heat well.

If you go to the keypad and simultaneously press and hold the A down arrow and the B up arrow for 5 seconds the display will flash; this means you can adjust base auger speed and base blower speed. This is where the manual really falls down.

Now press A. The LED above A will light and you will see numbers in both the A and B displays. 7 and 7, for example. What the booklet doesn't tell you is that this is basically a decimal display that means 7.7! You can adjust auger speed by tenths all the way from 1 to 9.

Press B and you can do the same thing with blower speed.

The booklet also confuses the blower issue. There are actually two blowers at work. B adjusts the blower that forces air into the burn chamber, not the fan that blows hot air into the area you want heated.

With a clear idea of what the keypad actually does, you should dial auger speed way down and blower speed up. With premium wood pellets I usually have the base auger speed set at around 2 and the base blower speed set at around 8. From there, as you adjust the heat level up and down, you just have to adjust the damper accordingly.

The manual notes that you should add chicken scratch to corn to avoid clinker formation. I've found it's a good idea to add it to any fuel that you are using.

Finally, avoid the temptation to run the stove with the damper too far open. This gives a blow torch look to the flame. You want to avoid it because it promotes clinker formation and because it blows a greater amount of fly ash around the inside of the stove than necessary.

With respect to fuel types: Wood pellets produce the greatest amount of heat and the smallest amount of fly ash. Corn and cherry pits have to be burned in greater volume to keep the house at the correct temperature and they produce greater amounts of ash. This means, in practice, that the stove has to be cleaned less frequently with pellets than with other fuels.

Overall, this stove works very well and would have a better reputation if American Harvest had put any effort whatsoever into producing a manual that explained how the controls function.

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I have had my stove for a year now. It cost about $300 to heat my 1600 sq ft basement heated. The additional benifit is that because the heat rises, my floors are warm on the first floor, and the air in the family room which is also the room with the stairs to the basement is warmer.

There are a couple issues that you must take into consideration:

Dry corn is a must. I buy corn from a local farmer with a moisture content of about 14 14.5%. This is a little higher than recommended by the manufacturer, so I add 2 lbs. of wood pellets per bushel of corn. I also add about 1/2 lb. of oyster shell (chicken scratch) per bushel to virtually eliminate klinkers.

The stove needs to be clean. I shut the stove down once a week for cleaning. Empty the ash bin, vacuum the firebox area, the heat transfer tubes, and the chimney clean-out.

Noise is about equal to a normal box window fan in good condition. The noise I hear is tha actual air blowing more than anything else. The firebox does lift up and drop back down on occasion, but this happens on average about once every hour or so, less immediately after a cleaning, more after 5 or 6 days of running.

Power. You must have electricity to run. If the power goes out, so does the stove. This will not keep you warm during power outages. We have lost power while the stove was running, but all that happened was the stove went out. No fumes seemed to back up into the house, but I had closed the air intake vent immediately. I would imagine that if you didn't close it, it would smell a bit until the fire died out.

It is much more work than just turning up the thermostat, but I have saved more than half the cost of the stove in propane compared to last winter. I am thinking about purchasing another one for the upper level.

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I bought one of these American Harvest beauties from the local farm supply store for $1280. I have had it hooked up and running for about a month now and am thinking about selling it. Here is what I do not like about it:

1. Its noisy.

Today it started to rattle. It sounds like the fan that circulates the heated air.

It makes frequent "bangs". When using corn large "clinkers" form in the burn tray. There is a bar inside the burn tray that rotates and keeps things mixed up. These "clinkers" wedge against the rotating bar and cause the burn tray to lift up and drop back down again...Bang! Luckily I can sleep through anything. The wife on the other hand hasn't slept much since we got this. :-(

2. Requires frequent cleaning.

The burn tray has holes drilled in. Corn is dropped into the burn tray and gets burned. The resulting ash is forced through the holes into the ash drawer, or that is how it is supposed to work anyway. In actuality, the spent corn is forced out of the burn tray into the pit that surrounds it. After a couple of days you need to shut the stove off for a couple of hours then vacuum out the pit. You need to let it rest for a couple of hours to make sure that it is completely burned out or you will start your vacuum on fire. I have tried using fireplace utensils to clean the pit but that doesn't work very well. The manual that comes with the stove recommends adding chicken scrath to the burn mixture to get a more complete burn. That doesn't seem to help mutch. They also recommend buying low-moisture corn. I asked the guy at the farm store what the moisture content of his corn was. You can probably guess how well that worked out.

The window requires frequent cleaning. This stove comes complete with something called "fire wash" technology that is supposed to keep the window clean. It doesn't work.

3. Difficult to regulate tempurature.

The stove has two controls. One controls the heat output and the other controls the blower for the heated air. The winter in my location is generally pretty mild so we usually run the stove somewhere between 1 and 3 (9 is the highest). I think the stove was designed to run at a higher output than this. This morning I was getting ready for work and noticed that it had completely burned out. Evidently, on a setting of 1 it doesn't add corn fast enough to keep itself burning. I relit it and bumped it up to three. Hopefully it will still be burning when I get home.

You also need to be careful what setting you leave the blower fan on. Set it too low and the stove will overheat and make your house smell funny. You really need to keep the fan set on at least 4 or 5. Sure its loud, but at least it smells better.

Honest reviews on American Harvest 52,300 BTU Pellet Stove with Exhaust Blower

I have owned this stove for more than a year. It has been nothing but a head ache. It smokes up my house and has shut down for countless reasons. I take a lot of care in running the stove and cleaning it...more than the average person would care to face. Their customer service is horrible. I find it hard to believe they own the stoves themselves with how they blame each and every problem on the customer. According to them they have no "problems". I love the idea of burning corn for fuel but I would definatley try out a different model and different company. Anyone interested in this model should research the difficulties other people face. I am definately not the only one wouldn't you agree?

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I have owned two pellet stoves before ordering this one, a Harmon Accentra and an old Whitfield. The Whitfield worked about as well as the Harmon and I came to realize they all operate on the same principal so I was not concerned about ordering the 6039.

When I went to install the stove I ran into a problem. I could not attach the 'T' fitting to the stove exhaust outlet. The outlet pipe had been jammed so tightly against the stove sheet metal that there was no gap for the 'T' to fit. I called the company at about 4:25 PM and was on hold for 25 minutes. The person I spoke to was rude and unhelpful but, best of all, she hung up on me at 5:00! I decided to just repair it and worry about the warrenty later.

As for the operation of the stove, I have used pellets only and it does pretty well. The fan is no louder than the other stoves I've owned. It does have to be cleaned weekly but all pellet stoves should be cleaned that often. In fact, some of the older stoves had to be cleaned daily. After 2 months I checked the 'T' fitting and it was virtually clean so I'm assuming the burn is efficient.

This stove does not have an auto ignitor which I was not sure would be a problem. My method is to use a propane (MAP gas) torch to lite the pellets, it works great and is fast and clean.

I have had a problem when it runs out of pellets. The stove will show ERR2 and normally you just add more and restart. Lately however it will just keep shutting down. I removed the side panel and jumped out the low temp switch to keep it running and after a few hours it was back to normal.

I would only recommend this stove based on it's price and only if you are confident you can repair it yourself. Customer service is worse than useless. As far as parts, it looks like they used off the shelf motors you could interchange with ones from Grainger to save some money.

Cheap The Original SUNHEAT Electronic Infrared Zone Heater, Black Cherry

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List Price: $399.00
Sale Price: $329.00
Today's Bonus: 18% Off

Perfect for gently warming a room that central heating has shortchanged. Fan is quiet. Old-fashioned analog thermostat is adequate, don't need electronics in everything. Unobtrusive enclosure. I've reached the Amazon 20-word minimum, enough said.

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great product, easy to work and creates good amount of heat for such a small heater. I am using in garage so I can workout in the empty space and works perfectly

Buy GE WR51X10101 Defrost Heater and Bracket Assembly for Refrigerator

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List Price: $46.00
Sale Price: $21.56
Today's Bonus: 53% Off

I was a little hesitant ordering this knowing that it wasn't a GE-manufactured part. However, it seems to be constructed nearly identically, and the dual-element design (over the original single-element) seems to be more effective during the defrost cycle. I watched a youtube video (search for 'Refrigerator Defrost Heater GE WR51X10101' on youtube) in order to verify my install. It was pretty straightforward, and indeed the dual-element heater fits with no problems in place of the single-element heater. So far, so good. I'll update my review in case of early failure.

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I thought that this went well with the WR51x10101 -but it is really not helpful. Maybe a good part for a repairman but not helpful for a home owner.

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No problem. Went right in and works.

Thawed the ice out with a hair dryer, rerouted the wire to right side and plugged it in.

Honest reviews on GE WR51X10101 Defrost Heater and Bracket Assembly for Refrigerator

GE should have used this part in the beginning. Everything was in the box to install and it is working great. Installation was easy and can be done by anyone with a screwdriver and a hair dryer, need it to defrost the coils.

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I installed this part a week ago & so far it appears to have fixed frig problem. Also, very simple installation; only took

15 minutes. Other retailers were selling this item for twice the amount that Amazon charged!

Best Whynter 12,000 BTU Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner, Frost White Deals

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List Price: $579.99
Sale Price: $474.81
Today's Bonus: 18% Off

I'm in NYC in a basement apartment and my old junky LG 10,000 unit was doing nada.. I don't know if it was broken or just junky it never got anything that cold.

Now really, 12,000 btu units are supposed to be for a small space.. 400 to 500 square feet.

As I said I am in a basement apartment and I was SWELTERING... dying!!!!!

I researched every portable air conditioner under the sun and was ready to go out and buy one but the ones in the local stores either blew out ho hum air or were not set up to try at all, and online with all of them I read a lot of people saying they didn't do much... or ho hum reviews... this was the only unit where people wrote really enthusiastic 4 or 5 star reviews. I also learned that you don't even want to MESS with unit that has no exhaust / or just a single exhaust vent. If you are going to get a portable A/C you WANT a dual vented one. One takes air in, the other sends hot air out. This is MUCH more efficient, cooler, and FASTER than no vent / single vent unit and you don't have to be emptying buckets of water either.

I'm an actor/director/editor so I have hot computers running too and there's nothing worse than going to an audition sweaty or having to edit a movie or video in 90 degree+ heat.

I decided this was the one to try but I couldn't find ANY in NYC! Can you believe that? At $490.00 amazon's price is slightly inflated but all other places that had it a little cheaper were out of stock or had ridiculous long shipping waits or high shipping charges.

When I saw this puppy in stock, I grabbed it, and with the free trial of amazon prime shipping I ordered it 2nd day, (which would have cost like $180 on this heavy beast! but I got it free) and low and behold it came the next day!! HALLELUJAH!!! Law of attraction works I tell you!

First off this is NOT a 12,000 btu uit it is 14,000 btu. 2nd it is HUGE, and fairly HEAVY, but it looks nice, like a droid from star wars and luckily it's on wheels, but when the ups guy came it looked like he was delivering a refrigerator.

Second and most importantly this thing blows REALLY cold air. Within a few minutes of turning it on I could feel the blast of air was very cold. I knew that my space is really more like 700 to 1000 sf so I set it on full blast and on 61 degrees. Within an hour it dropped from over 90 and disgustingly humid in here to a cool comfortable 69 degrees even with all my computers running. If I turn off all the computers it gets even colder faster.

CONS:

The only con is that the venting hoses (like a dryer exhaust hose) should have been a little longer. They are about. This won't be a problem for most people but if your window is high, or you have a weird tiny basement window that only opens sideways you will have to mount the dual vents vertically, and it didn't quite make it, so I had to put the unit a little higher on top a little foot stool, and I had to do some duct taping on the window to make sure it was air tight sealed. That;s not their fault though I have really weird tiny nyc basement windows.

Other than that I have no complaints and still give it 5 stars I'm very happy to be writing this in comfort rather than torture. NYC summer this year has been insane with temps hitting 105. This is an old house too and the power usage on this unit is only 10.5 amps so no blowing out the circuit breaker.

The build seems quality hopefully all is well and it will hold up performing as great as it is doing.

Also this unit is MUCH better/cooler than the newer Whynter arc-14s. Whatever they did with that unit they messed up... I was going to buy it in a store and it didn't feel so cool and the guy kept saying that that's because it was in a big space but I mean the breeze coming right out of the machine with my hand right next to it or standing right in front of it was NO where as cool as the arctic blast that shoots out of this arc-12sd machine.

I hope this review helps you out. If you have are looking for a portable AC unit I can't imagine one being better than this.

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We did a lot of research before choosing this Whynter "Eco-Friendly 12,000 BTU Dual hose Portable Air Conditioner". We have an older Victorian house that does not have central air that we had been cooling with standard in window units but, with the rough winters we get, we were getting tired of moving them in and out twice a year. This portable unit does a great job and more than meets my needs. Here are my observations:

Pros -

+ Cooling Ability; this unit easily chills my 15' x 20' (300 square feet) family room

+ Compressor Noise; this is surprisingly quite, even at the highest setting

+ Size; not too intrusively large, about the size of the old upright radio we have it setting next to

+ Portable; unit is fairly heavy but it is on wheels (note that the window vent needs to move with the unit)

+ Remote Control; a handy addition with a digital display that lets you change the temperature, fan speed, and timer from across the room

+ Easy Setup; my son and I had this unboxed and running within 15 minutes of opening the box, only one Philips Head screwdriver required to attache the screws to the window vent mount

Cons -

Ugly Vent Hoses; while it can't be helped as they are needed, the white vent hoses (look like dryer vent hoses) are an eyesore when extended out and totally incongruous with any decor (we keep ours retracted as much as possible except when needing to aim the Air Conditioning output to a different room)

Misc -

*Fan Noise; this can move a lot of air and makes the expected amount of fan noise when on the highest settings

This portable unit was a good solution for my needs and we will likely be getting at least one additional unit in the near future for use our the second floor.

Highly Recommended!

CFH

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I did a lot of research, and called a bunch of local A/C shops before I bought this. They all recommended the dual hose feature they said I'd be "wasting my money" getting anything else pretty impressive, considering they sold both types and could have made money on me either way.

It's amazing. Within 20 minutes our whole bedroom (20 x 16, or 320 sq ft) is crisp and cool, and if we leave the door open it cools the hallway and the bedroom across the hallway, too.

I recommend this completely, but a few cons you may want to know just in case they're deal-breakers (in no particular order):

1) It's not quiet. However, it's not ridiculously loud, either. I can sleep through it, and I'm usually not able to sleep with much white noise. If being cool is your #1 priority (as it was for us), you can deal with the noise.

2) It's not small. We call it our R2D2 (Star Wars), as it's about the same size. We have a tall California King, and it still stands a few inches taller than the bed. Again, worth it for the cooling capacity.

3) The window install kit is small. Isn't tall enough to fit our 4' window I had our handyman rig it up using other materials he had to get at a hardware store. Without this, you really can't install it in a window much bigger than 2 or 2.5'. And no, it cannot be used unless it's installed in a window (in case you were hoping to get around that).

Honestly, you won't regret this purchase if your main concern is beating the summer heat this is a lifesaver.

Honest reviews on Whynter 12,000 BTU Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner, Frost White

I did a lot of research on a portable A/C unit to replace the one I've been using for the past 6 years, an 8,000 BTU Hyundai.

I'll start off with two things I wish I had known before I purchased this:

1 the water drainage pipe clearance is way too low. There's only about 1-inch clearance. The instruction booklet said to use a "plate" to remove the water, I kid you not... a plate to pour water out. Try doing that, especially at 3am at night and you might as well just save yourself time by pouring the water out directly onto your carpet. Now I'm shopping for a condensation pump and water tube that'll cost approximately $45, which is ok but you may want to factor in this cost. By the way when the water is full, it completely shuts off. I'd prefer it would leave the fan on (what my 8,000 BTU Hyundai was able to do). I live in the SF Bay Area, so I don't consider this area to be humid, but it can collect a fair amount of water in a short time. This is particularly true if you set the temperature low enough that the unit doesn't go on fan mode for a couple of hours to air out the water through the vent. My old unit drains the water into a container, which is more preferable to me. Obviously this is my biggest gripe.

2 the temperature meter light can be super bright. Granted, I do have it close to my bed, but it's like having a night light on. I like complete darkness when I sleep, so I gerry rigged it by taping a piece of paper onto it. Not the most pleasing sight, but it works.

Things I like which many reviewers have already said, so I don't need to go into detail:

1 blows cold air

2 can be loud but, because you can adjust the fan speed, lowering the fan would make it quieter

3 compared to my old unit, this is much narrower and shorter, even though it has more power / BTU

4 not super heavy

All in all, I wouldn't say I regret the purchase. I'm definitely not going to go through the hassle of boxing this up to return it. I just wish I had known about these annoyances beforehand.

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I purchased this unit to alleviate the extreme heat inside of one of my rooms. This particular room housed the majority of my electronic equipment. This thing sure made a difference. After about a day of running it dropped the temperature about 20 degrees.

The only downside that I would place on this would be the window adapter. It wasn't quite wide enough to completely seal my window (it missed the mark by about 4 inches). A simple fix of a piece of wood cut to size and some duct tape fixed it up nicely though.

Review of American Wick AW4E Replacement Kerosene Wick

Customer Ratings:

This wick is a perfect fit for the 10KBTU radiant heaters made by Sengoku under model numbers CTN-110 and HM-110 etc.. They are a higher quality wick than the one that comes with the heaters, and I recommend that it be installed before suffering with the factory wick. These are also the same wicks sold by the famous kerosene wick expert Miles. A good buy!

Update: 3/6/2013 This wick does not have the line at the same place as the factory wick, it is higher. I thought this was a mistake, but I believe it is because this wick brings up more kerosene than the factory wick so it has to be set what seems to be 1/4" lower. I placed this wick at the same height as the factory wick, and there was no way to adjust the heat properly. Next time, I will trust the line on the product.

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I bought these for the replacement on my CTN-110 heater and they work perfect. I must say that this is a perfect little heater for a small house too, sometimes we run this as our only heat source and it keeps our house at 71. So, if you have or want a heater like that....these are a perfect fit.

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Mail packaging is safe and nicely done. The item is new and as advertised and was received as per schedule. Meantime I keep it for the coming winter. But for sure this serves my purpose.

Honest reviews on American Wick AW4E Replacement Kerosene Wick

This wick is too small to fit the Mega-110 that I bought it for. Even the packaging said it was the correct fit. No the wick was way too small.

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Appears very well made and sized correct for my KeroHeat. Sold by American Wick yet is marked Made in England. Cool.

Review of Black & Decker Infrared Quartz Heater 7BDQ1000

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Not sure how long this bargain will last but jump on it ! 26.00 plus 7.00 shipping.. Works good and has remote. Best deal around . Now I just received it today and I was really wondering if it would be ok as I believe you get what you pay for but its just fine and brand new. Now it if lasts the test of time I'll be very pleased. I see terrible reviews on allot of these type heaters and I don't reconise any of the brand names but I've always had good luck with Black and decker products. Seemed like a win win. Glad I took the chance. This company Wayfair that sells it shipped it promptly. Thanks Wayfair !

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Camco 20860 30"ID x 2" Aluminum Water Heater Drain Pan with PVC Reviews

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List Price: $39.53
Sale Price: $33.41
Today's Bonus: 15% Off

Terrific item, super fast shipping..This pan has saved me already twice while hooking up a new solar storage tank...Don't think it can't happen to you with a new tank....Its always something when you are dealing with water storage.....worry free transaction, thanks again Amazon....cc

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I bought 2 plastic pans prior to buying this one, and wish I'd just started with the aluminum. It holds up well where the others cracked almost instantly. I am still using this pan and highly recommend it.

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Turned out I did not need the product because the original drain pan worked, and I returned it. Vendor was very easy to deal with, and the full transaction was very smooth.

Honest reviews on Camco 20860 30"ID x 2" Aluminum Water Heater Drain Pan with PVC

Worked fine but very flimsy and thin. Squeezed to hard when trying to bend up around fitting and ended up tearing the lip a little.

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Arrived in 2 days with Prime. Fit perfectly, job done on time, everyone was happy. Easy to connect the drain line. Soft, pliable aluminum for tight locations. Mine was in a small closet.

Bonavita BV1800 8-Cup Coffee Maker Review

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List Price: $179.99
Sale Price: $169.95
Today's Bonus: 6% Off

I'm really happy with this coffee maker, having chosen it over the Technivorm Moccamaster Coffee Brewer With Thermo Carafe Technivorm 9587. It brews extremely quickly (about 7 minutes), and I measured the temperature of the water coming from the spout at about the 195F-200F range, so it's in the right range for extracting optimum flavor -the brew from this machine is just at the point of being tip-of-the-tongue scalding. The water is dispensed at a number of different points into the filter, and looking at the grounds afterwards you can tell that the dispersion pattern works well, as the coffee grounds remain clumped at the bottom of the filter, rather than being thinly spread across the entire filter.

Note that this is a minimalistic coffee maker. It is fairly compact, has an unassuming appearance, and there are no glowing dials, no HUDs, no clocks. There's one control: the on/off switch. It has no timer. It doesn't have a brew stopper, so you have to let the coffee maker finish before you can pour yourself a cup (since the coffee maker brews so quickly, this isn't too big of a deal). You cannot navigate your kitchen at night by the light from this coffeemaker, nor can you signal passing UFOs.

Nonetheless, it makes great coffee.

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VIDEO REVIEW:

The video captures brewing the first pot of coffee with the Bonavita and (briefly) how to fold a filter. It demonstrates pouring.

WRITTEN REVIEW:

Today I received my Bonavita Thermal Coffee Maker and made my first brew with it.

First impressions: This is one fast and impressive little machine. No wonder it garnered the Specialty Coffee Association of America's coveted Certified Brewer Equipment award: one of only four machines to do so as of this writing. This machine makes very hot coffee indeed: I measured the coffee in the preheated thermal carafe right after brewing at 188° F. With a non-preheated carafe the coffee was 183.2° F right after brewing completed.

Temperatures during brewing were at 195° F at 58 seconds into brewing and reached as high as 205.8° F briefly at the 4:04 minute mark and at 203.3° F at the end of the brewing cycle (see photos). Brewing time was 5 minutes 48 seconds, so just under six minutes.

A photo is attached of what you receive with this brewer, and the list, like the brewer, is very basic.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX:

* Bonavita BV1800 8-Cup Coffee Maker

* Bonavita Thermal Carafe

* Carafe Lid

* Filter Basket

* Bonavita "Brewing Perfect Coffee Everytime" Manual

* Small paper insert on how to clean the showerhead (the lid and showerhead are removable and can be cleaned in the dishwasher)

* "Bonavita Exceptional Brew" Manual

* Pink sheet of instructions for care of the thermal carafe, also known as the "Melitta insulation jug."

* Starter pack (4) of Melitta Super Premium Flavor Enhancing #4 Coffee Filters in Natural Brown

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

* Extra filters. A starter pack will get you going for the first few days.

* If you choose it, a gold tone filter, instead of paper filters. I purchased the Cuisinart GTF Gold Tone Filter, which fits inside the Filter Basket, in case you'd like to fit your Bonavita with a permanent filter. Be advised that gold tone filters do let in sediment (depending on how your coffee is ground), so if you use a gold tone filter, you may get sediment at the bottom of the pot. As a sidenote, so far, the Bonavita brew times have remained within the recommended SCAA guidelines when I tested it.

* ETA about the gold tone filter: Although I am a fan of gold tone filters, I have become a big fan of the Melitta filters since my Bonavita purchase as they have no paper taste. So I am sticking with paper Melitta filters for my Bonavita.

MY FIRST BREW:

The instructions are basic and easy to follow. Using the "Bonavita's Exceptional Brew" manual, I measured 7 grams of coffee for every cup or a total of 56 grams of coffee to make 8 cups. (Bonavita recommends between 7 and 9 grams of coffee per 5 ounces of water. The Bonavita "cup" size is a 5-ounce cup.)

You can also measure your coffee to taste or use the scoop size you usually prefer if that is your preferred method. More detailed instructions are in the manual.

I put a paper filter in the filter basket, folding the crimped edges of the filter (per the instructions on the back of the filter package) -the filter fits perfectly this way. I put the coffee into the filter, then placed the filter basket on top of the thermal carafe. I placed the thermal carafe onto the coffee maker, put in 40 ounces of filtered water, then turned it on. Voila! It began to brew.

The brewing cycle is fast and efficient at just under 6 minutes. I was expecting the filter basket might be clumsy to remove: not the case. Having previously used Chemex, Krups, Braun and even Cuisinart (with all of their dreaded innards), the simplicity of removing just the filter basket and replacing it with the thermal carafe lid was marvelous. One complete turn and the carafe lid was in place.

MY FIRST POUR:

My first impressions of the coffee? Delicious and strong. Hot at 188° F. I went back to the carafe three hours after making the coffee and took off the lid. Still hot. You *will* get hot coffee from this machine: blissfully hot coffee.

HOW TO CLEAN THE CARAFE:

There are a few reviews about exploding carafes. I clean my carafe by only swishing warm water inside of it (see the pink sheet of instructions). I don't put sponges, plastic dish scrubbers, or anything else inside the carafe. It's been fine so far.

A NOTE ABOUT PLASTIC TASTE, OR RATHER, THE LACK THEREOF:

There is no plastic taste with this machine. If I put my sensitive nose into it, I smell no plastic smell. I don't taste plastic in my coffee. Even with the first brew right out of the box. This is likely due to Bonavita's use of BPA free plastic. Hallelujah!

PROS:

* Very hot coffee.

* Speedy brew cycle of 6 minutes: within SCAA guidelines

* 1400-watt heating element (aluminum)

* Auto off after 15 minutes

* Glass-lined carafe that keeps coffee hot for hours

* One-full-twist easy-on carafe lid

* Easy off filter basket makes clean-up easy

Note:

* I'm only mentioning this so people will be aware in case it happens to them. After brewing, when I lifted out the paper filter from the filter basket, there was a small amount of coffee that had not drained from the filter basket. Apparently this has to do with the position of the hole in the filter basket and is for better extraction. I removed the paper filter and simply tipped the filter basket with its coffee directly into the thermal carafe. The amount of coffee is so small it is insignificant. ETA: After doing this a few times, it depends on the amount of coffee or your grind. The water might drain into the carafe on its own.

WHO SHOULD GET IT:

* If you love coffee; and you just want a deliciously brewed, piping hot, delicious cup of coffee

* If you want a machine that produces fantastic coffee but without all the "bells and whistles" such as programmable features, brew and pause, etc.

* If you are looking for a truly great thermal carafe: one that keeps the coffee hot, pours easily, and has an easily removable and replaceable lid

* If you want a machine that is easy to clean

* If you want a machine that easily fits under cabinets: my kitchen cabinets are low at 17 3/4" and the Bonavita fits under them easily at 11 5/8" high.

Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with this machine.

Please see my photos and video for more details.

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At the time I'm writing this review there were no reviews of this coffee maker and I almost overlooked it and ordered a different one. I would normally wait longer to post a review but this review may bring others attention to this machine. I have only used mine twice but I know from those two times this machine extracts more from the grinds than my Starbucks Barrista did because I can feel the effects of the caffeine after 3 cups (about 3/4 of the carafe) whereas I didn't feel it at all from the Starbucks unit (also 8 cup capacity) after a whole pot. I don't notice that the coffee is any hotter than it was from the Starbucks unit but it is piping hot. My Starbucks unit was 8 years old and had started to leak water on the counter during the brewing process and shut itself off before the reservoir was empty requiring multiple restarts. I am not trying to compare the Bonavita to the Starbucks because I did not descale the Starbucks unit anywhere near as frequently as I should have which may well have lead to the leaking problems. The Starbucks unit did brew a very good pot of coffee.

This machine is one of only four coffee makers certified by the Specialty Coffee Assoc. of America for home use. The certification is based on the machine's ability to heat the water to 195-205 degrees which is the ideal temperature to extract maximum flavor from the grinds. Bonavita claims on their packaging this is the only coffee maker sold with a 1400 watt heating element. The other three certified machines are a Bunn HG Home Brewer (sold on Amazon) which is slightly less money but when I read the reviews is very unreliable, the Technivorm Moccamaster which is $300 (sold on Amazon) the reviews indicated quality control problems, and the Lance Larkin BE 112 Brew Express $300+ (not sold on Amazon) which requires a water line permanently installed and is designed to be built into cabinetry. Since I was not going to spend $300 the choice was between the Bonavita and the Bunn but I immediately excluded the Bunn because of the numerous recent reviews indicating it stopped working and had to be replaced sometimes more than once. Bunn is known for high quality machines but it is very apparent this is not one of them.

The Bonavita's thermal carafe is manufactured by Melitta and has a glass liner. It can be purchased separately from Bonavita (perhaps Melitta too) and is so satisfactory to use I would recommend it even if you don't purchase the Bonavita coffee maker. One of the things I noted repeatedly in many reviews of thermal carafe coffee makers (all the brands Amazon sells) was users having difficulty using the tops of their carafes and/or dripping when pouring a cup. This carafe has a very easy to use top that screws on and has a trigger for one handed usage. My Starbucks carafe always dripped and the center spring loaded button broke on two tops. I am thrilled that I don't have to wipe the carafe and counter every time I pour a cup anymore.

Because of the caffeine effect from this machine's brew the next pot I'm going to use 3 rather than the 4 coffee measure spoons I have always used to brew 8 cups and see how that tastes. The machine is very easy to use, I simply fill the carafe and pour into the non-detachable reservoir than the filter basket sits on top of the carafe (with the carafe's top removed). After brewing which takes about 8 minutes you simply remove the filter basket and screw the top on. Again, because of the caffeine effect I have yet to finish a whole pot so I can't say how long the carafe keeps the coffee very hot but it is still piping hot 2 hours after brewing. My guess is probably 4 hours, maybe 5 like my Starbucks thermal carafe. It uses #4 cone filters and Bonavita claims using the paper filters is preferable to the metal style filter because the paper filters absorb more coffee oils.

The machine appears to be well built and all but the bottom and recessed drip tray area are stainless steel. Two potential downsides of this machine are 1) you cannot pour a cup until the brewing cycle has completed (doesn't bother me but may bother others) and 2) there is no timer function which for the cost of the machine I think there should be. It is not a feature I used very often on my Starbucks unit so I'm OK without a timer but others may want one.

The reason I rated the Bonavita 4 stars rather than 5 is because the machine is in such limited distribution the $149 price is in my view not a deal like almost every other coffee maker Amazon sells. There are however two ways to look at the price, I read an online review which favorably compared the Bonavita to the Technivorm unit which costs twice as much. Still, I think at some point this machine will have wider distribution and the price will come down. If you go to Bonavita's website they list the resellers and everybody sells it for $149-$159. I think closer to $100-120 would be a good deal.

It does have a 2 year warranty and at this point given my limited usage of the machine I would say that I am very satisfied with it. It does brew an excellent pot of coffee, is easy to use and clean and I like its appearance. So if you want an excellent pot of coffee poured from a drip free carafe and can overlook the lack of a timer and the ability to pour a cup before the brewing cycle has completed and don't mind the price this is a choice well worthy of consideration.

I was mostly satisfied with my Starbucks Barrista except for the carafe always dripping so thus far I like this machine better because the carafe doesn't drip. Here's a tip for Starbucks machine owners, call their customer service when yours stops working and complain that they have no support because they no longer sell coffee makers. When I did I was initially offered a $10 gift card but ended up with a $25 gift card.

On a side note, I was truly amazed by all the problems other owners reported with virtually every thermal carafe coffee maker Amazon sells. From machines that stopped working to those that spilled water/coffee all over the floor/counter to tops that leaked and/or were difficult to use. I probably spent a good 6-7 hours researching all the thermal carafe models filtered by highest reviews and had selected the Kitchen Aid 12 cup model but before I ordered it I quickly reviewed the models one more time and caught this one on the last of 7 pages of machines with no reviews. I'm glad I did. I hope my review will cause others to consider this machine.

If I encounter any issues with this machine I will update this review.

Honest reviews on Bonavita BV1800 8-Cup Coffee Maker

Making good coffee is actually quite simple:

1. Buy freshly roasted beans.

2. Grind the beans immediately before brewing.

3. Brew with 195 to 205 degree water.

The brewer can only help you with #3, and although there are various manual methods you can use, there are only two drip machines that are rated to consistently deliver the water at the right temperature: the Technivorm Moccamaster Coffee Brewer with Thermo Carafe and the Bonavita. I've been using the Bonavita for a month now, and I'm a very happy camper.

PROS

* The Bonavita heats the water quickly and brews at the temperature they claim. I measured the temp myself and it was right at 200 degrees.

* It makes a full pot (40 ounces) in 5-1/2 to 6 minutes. That's how long it takes to extract all the flavor from the grinds, so you don't want a brewer that works any faster. Of course, the coarseness of your grind affects the time. Too coarse and the water flows through too fast; too fine, and it bogs down and over extracts.

* It brews smaller amounts well, too. Just for myself, I make 3 cups (15 ounces) at a time. It takes two or three minutes and tastes just as good as a full pot.

* The showerhead design distributes the water evenly so all the grinds get to participate.

* The design is simple and attractive with a small footprint.

* I'm delighted with the lack of useless bells and whistles. The Bonavita's only "feature" is that it shuts off automatically. I'm a believer in unplugging small appliances when they aren't in use (let me tell you about my toaster oven experience sometime... ) but the auto shut-off is a nice safety feature in case I forget.

* The thermal carafe has a well-designed lid that screws on and keeps it sealed, so it should keep the coffee hot as long as coffee could be expected to stay hot in any thermos. I don't really keep coffee sitting around, so I have no comparison for that.

CONS

* The only real "con" is the price. I don't see why such a simple appliance has to cost $150, but since the only competition costs twice that much, the Bonavita is the best buy.

* This is really more of an FYI than a con. A lot of steam comes out of the top so you probably don't want to leave it directly under the upper cabinet while brewing. Just pull it forward.

UPDATE

Please don't let my comment about the steam discourage you from trying this great brewer. Obviously, any brewer that heats the water adequately is going to put out some steam. Just to be clear, the steam vents are the dot pattern you can see in the picture, on top above the basket, so the Bonavita design nicely directs the steam in one small area.

Keep in mind that you have to pull this or probably any brewer out from under the cabinet in order to fill the water tank anyway, so it's easy enough to just leave it pulled out while you brew.

ONE YEAR LATER

I've been using the Bonavita daily for more than a year now and it has held up well. I have no complaints.

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We bought the Bonavita January 3, 2013 and it worked very well. I appreciated the simplicity: it is easy to see how much water you have put in, one button to press makes operation simple. However, in late March (3/27/2013) the water did not heat. I tried again the next day with no luck. I'm guessing this is a bad heating element that should be replaced since it should work for more than 3 months. When I attempted to report the malfunction, I discovered the real problem:

The customer service is the worst I have ever encountered. Should something go wrong, you must email them with a full description of the problem. You must include several numbers off of the maker and carafe, so have those available. They will then email you back within 5 WEEKS! I am writing this review at the limit of the 5 weeks (5/2/2013) since I filed the service request. I have been very carefully scanning my junk mail folder to be sure I don't miss the email but they have not contacted me yet. For those of us who have a daily coffee or more, 5 weeks is really unacceptable. I have been using my back-up french press for the last month and the ridiculous delay has given me time to fall in love with it.

If you decide to buy the Bonavita coffee maker, be aware that if it breaks, you're on your own.

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I love this little heater! I bought this to help heat my trailer. It does such a great job that my furnace has hardly kicked on, even on the 32 degree and below nights we have already had! I really like how you can set the temperature and the heater actually seems to run and heat according to the actual room temp, not the heaters temp or the immediate areas temp. When I was out looking at heaters, a Lowe's employee told me that the thermostat is on the top of the heater so the closer to the floor you can place it the more accurate the heater's thermostat will read, so therefore the heater will run more accurately. I have mine set about 18" off the floor at one end of a 450sq. ft area. My thermostat is across the room and reads fairly close to what I have the heater set for!!!

I also bought this for the safety features. The outside stays cool and if it tips over it shuts off. I have a curious 1 year old so these features were very important to me. It also has a slim design so it fits well up buy the wall out of the way. It is pretty quiet too.

I highly recommend this heater and intend to buy one for my bedroom as well!

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Enjoy a softly warm flow of circulated heat by selecting this very quiet heater's oscillation that rotates up to about ½ circle.

Here's how it has been designed to save up to 35% on electricity, which means a small contribution to lowering greenhouse gases on the top of this heater is its Energy Smart knob that has six basic settings: -"frost watch" 65 F. 70 F. 75 F. 80 F. maximum heat.

On "Maximum Heat" the heater goes full force and does not save electricity. On the other settings the heater automatically selects the appropriate power level to best accommodate your desired temperature selected. As the temperature in the room approaches the set temperature, the heater will automatically lower the power consumption and provide consistent warmth without wasting energy. This also means your room will heat to the set temperature without overheating the room -a real nice feature.

The illuminated LED lights indicate what the current room temperature is. The "frost watch" automatically turns the unit on if the temperature drops below 55 F. to help protect against freezing of pipes or frost damage.

This heater also has an auto-off tip over switch and Overheat Protection; plus a 3 year warranty. And, its operation is almost silent and it's cool to the touch. Five stars for Honeywell's design and quality control of this Made in China product.

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I bought this heater at Wal-Mart for $40.00 so Amazon's price is higher plus it doesn't include taxes and shipping. The unit itself is wonderful. I have a 15x14 bedroom and it gets my room up to 80 degrees in no time. It's not extremely quiet but it's not so loud that it drowns out the TV. I love the fact you can tell what temperature it is in the room right on the heater and that it swivels back and forth on it's own. The feature that was most important to me is that the front face/grill of it wouldn't be hot to the touch and no matter what the temperature it stays cool. So I don't have to worry about anyone getting burned or it tipping over on something and burning the house down.

I bought another heater (smaller) for my office cubicle and that one's going back because it throws heat but only in one direction and the front/grill gets hot. For it to be effective it would have to sit on my desk and that's not possible. So, I'll just pick-up another Honeywell. I highly recommend this Honeywell heater, I haven't had to turn on the heat so far and with these units I hopefully won't have to all winter long.

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This is my first negative review on Amazon. I bought two of these space heaters, and both of them failed within the first year. One turns on but the heating element doesn't heat up. The other overheats anytime it's turned on, then shuts itself off. Talk about poor quality control! I wouldn't waste your time with these Honeywell heaters; try any other brand first.

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This is a good heater. I have it and it serves it's purpose good. What I wanted to say most importantly is that the cord is very long. What most people do not realize is that it is wrapped up underneath the base...so it is hidden. If you look underneath you'll see it...it's a storage compartment for the cord.