Reviews of Power Control for Strip Heaters

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Exccellent product, thanks a lot for your responsability. Everything arrives it in according to my order.

Thank you and we continue working with you.

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DeLonghi EW7707CB Safeheat 1500W ComforTemp Portable Oil-Filled Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $84.00
Sale Price: $74.99
Today's Bonus: 11% Off

This is my first oil heater, I have used spot heaters in the past. This oil heater is great because once it warms up (just a few minutes), it puts out a nice amout of radiant heat on high setting. You can feel the heat from the top of the unit when you put your hand over the top.

I feel safe leaving it on at night unlike the spot heaters. I didn't notice the strong odor on like others have posted.

Pros:

-Well built

-Seems safe to leave on at night

-Black color looks nice

-Has Low, Med, High and a maintain comfort setting

Cons:

-Thermostat goes from 1 to 6 instead of actual temperature.

-Wheels don't roll well on carpet

-Handle is only on one side, so have to wait until total cool to carry it upstairs.

-Wasn't the best packaging to ship with

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I purchased the DeLonghi heater instead of another brand because I have for many years associated that name with the oil radiator type of heater. The one I purchased, the EW7707CB works well but has a couple of what I would call "design flaws" that would prevent me from purchasing another one. One of the flaws is that if you press the energy-saver button while the heater is hot, it is natural to use your free hand to hold the back end of the heater as you press the button on the front end. Well, the back end of the heater is hot at some points during use. The other feature that I have found not so helpful, is that when you turn the dial from * to 1 to 2, etc., to set the heat level, it is not easy to see the number. I have to put on glasses and use a flashlight in order to see what number I am turning to. This is not a big deal, but it is enough to keep me from ordering another one. I wanted a second heater, so I just bought another brand at my local hardware store. Other than the above feedback, the heater does seem to work well. It has two settings one for 700 watts and one for 800 watts, or you can combine them and run it at 1500 watts. I have been using the 700 watt setting in an insulated garage with a concrete floor, and I set the dial around 1 or 2 for the heat setting. With nighttime temperatures outside of around 15 or 20 degrees, it keeps the garage at 48 degrees and uses around 2 to 3 KW of energy per 24 hours.

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UPDATE to my original review:

=============================

Even though I did not keep this particular heater, I still use an older DeLonghi oil-filled radiator and have been keeping records about electricity usage. The results should be helpful to anyone considering an oil-filled radiator electric heater.

I've tested electrical consumption both using a Kill-A-Watt meter and by comparing my electricity bills over time. The results show that oil-filled radiator electric heaters can be extremely efficient *IF USED CORRECTLY*, but that if not used correctly can actually be less efficient than other types of electric heaters.

The most efficient way to use them is to turn them on before you start feeling cold and leave them on low, avoiding if possible turning on both power switches. I live in a moderate climate where nighttime winter temperatures rarely go much below the high twenties Fahrenheit, so this is easier for me than for people in colder areas. I have an oil-filled radiator heater in my bedroom and have found that my electric bills are actually higher when I turn if off the DeLonghi while I'm asleep than when I leave it on low all night. This is because when it's off all night, in the morning I turn it up high, with both power switches, to heat up my room. However when it's on all night at a very low heat setting, in the morning I just turn up the thermostat but don't turn on the second power switch. Instead I use a Lasko 100 My Heat to heat my immediate area. It uses only 200 watts, rather than the 800 watts that the second power switch on the DeLonghi would use, and it heats my immediate area very quickly. The difference in my actual electricity bills were dramatic. Last winter I turned off the DeLonghi before going to bed and this winter I left it on low all night. My electricity bills for the same periods are dramatically lower this year with the DeLonghi on low all night.

I was disappointed that the particular DeLonghi I wrote the original review about did not work out for me, but if I were buying a new heater today, it would probably be another DeLonghi oil-filled radiator. When used correctly, they can be really efficient.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

I filed for a return on a Friday and UPS wouldn't be able to pick up the unit until Monday, so over the weekend I decided to test it some more. I didn't want to return it unless it really was defective. After about 16 hours of operation at high heat, the odor was finally mostly (but not entirely) gone, but now there was a new problem: the heater wasn't outputting as much heat as when I first had it. Initially, it became so hot that I could barely touch it with my bare hand, but on my last day of testing, I was able to lay my bare hand on top for prolonged periods without feeling any risk of being burned. In contrast, my much older DeLonghi EW0507 Safeheat still gets too hot to touch.

I have two other DeLonghi oil-filled radiators and I love both of them. After returning this heater, I considered ordering the same model as a replacement and decided first to contact DeLonghi and find out their reaction to my experience. I immediately received an automated reply that promised a personal reply would follow, but after four business days I still have not received the reply. I've now decided to stick with my old DeLonghi's for a while longer. When I buy another heater, it will probably be this model, but I'll do more research first to confirm that my experience isn't common.

There is one problem that seems to be common to DeLonghi oil-filled radiator heaters. It's the low quality electrical plug. It's true of both my DeLonghi's, it appeared to be true of this one, and I've read other owners complain about it, so it seems to be a widespread problem. I no longer use my oldest DeLonghi on high heat because the plug shows signs of melting, and my newer DeLonghi's plug also shows signs of melting, though not as advanced. This is the most disappointing thing about DeLonghi oil-fllled radiators. The heaters themselves will last decades, but if you operate them at high heat, the plugs won't last as long as the heaters. I don't know yet how hard it would be to replace the power cord.

In addition to my problems with this heater, I unhappy with the condition in which it was shipped to me. It was obviously a heater that a previous customer had returned. It was disappointing that either Amazon or DeLonghi (I don't know which) didn't even make an attempt to make it look new the box was taped amateurishly, the power cord was unwrapped, the user manual was dog-eared, and the two power buttons and ComforTemp buttons were all turned on. Additionally, when I first turned it on, I didn't smell the intense odor that I expected, which indicated that it had previously been used, but what odor there was never ended, even after ten hours at high heat. I was not happy that no attempt appears to have been made to check out the unit after the previous customer returned it or to ship it in new condition. However I don't know whether the fault was DeLonghi's or Amazon's.

My other experiences with DeLonghi oil-filled radiators have been excellent, aside from my gripe with their electrical plugs. I love the steady heat they produce. I've owned one of my DeLonghi's for 23 years and it's still working, though because of the electrical plug's signs of deterioration, I no longer use it at high heat.

I checked the claimed and actual wattages of the EW7707CB using my Kill-A-Watt meter. It showed that this 700/800/1500 watt DeLonghi's actual wattages are 700, 750, and 1350. Discrepancies like this are common in electric space heaters, and in fact these readings are nearly identical to the readings I got for my older DeLonghi EW0507 oil-filled radiator, which is also rated at 700/800/1500 watts.

There was one more problem when I submitted my request to return this heater: Amazon gave me instructions to give it to my letter carrier for pickup! I can just imagine the expression on my mailman's face if I asked him to put a very large, 25 pound box in his mailbag! I had to contact Amazon via chat to straighten it out and schedule a UPS pickup. Amazon made that part of it quite easy.

General information about buying electric space heaters:

=============================================

I've owned and used electric space heaters since 1988, mostly DeLonghi oil filled radiators. When I recently began looking for a heater that would warm up a room faster, I was frustrated at the lack of hard, objective, facts about electric space heaters. Even the manufacturer websites often fail to mention or makes it hard to learn the most basic information you need to know, such as wattage ratings and warranty lengths. Not even Consumer Reports has enough information to really inform a consumer. Therefore it's up to us as consumers to share what we know. The rest of this review shares some of what I've learned.

In case you're wondering what heater I decided on to replace my DeLonghi, I didn't. I tried a Vornado PVH and a Bionaire BH1331-U, but I ended up returning both heaters. I finally decided to stick with oil-filled radiators and to replace my 23 year old DeLonghi with one of the new black ones, but it was defective so I returned it and am sticking with my old DeLonghi's for the time being.

Basic electric space heater facts:

1. All electric space heaters are equally efficient. All heaters rated at 1500 watts output the same amount of heat, but may do it very differently. You have to choose the one that heats the way you need it.

2. Power consumption is determined by two things: the power setting you're using and how long the heater is actually on. Turning up the thermostat setting doesn't increase the heat or power consumption; it just lengthens the time that your heater will be running.

3. To reduce power consumption, use the lowest power setting on your heater that produces the heat you need.

4. An electric space heater will save you money only if you turn your central heating down or off and use space heaters to heat only the rooms where you need heat.

5. The only kind of electric space heater that's likely to provide adequate heat in a large or draft space is a radiant heater (not to be confused with a radiator heater, which is very different), but radiant heaters pose a fire hazard.

Don't take manufacturer wattage claims too seriously. When I used my Kill-A-Watt meter on six space heaters, I found variations of up to 200 watts between the claimed and actual wattage for each space heater. In most cases the actual watts were less than the claimed watts, but one of my DeLonghi's 1500 watt heaters turned out actually to be a 1600 watt heater.

Two crucial steps in finding the electric space heater that's right for you:

============================================================

1. Learn which heater is right for your needs. A huge percentage of complaints by reviewers about space heaters are due to reviewers buying the wrong type of heater for their needs. Your first step should be to decide between the basic types: Ceramic heaters with a fan, oil-filled radiator, micathermic, and radiant. First learn the conditions in which each one works best and works best and then select the type that will work best for your needs. There is no one single "best" heater for all situations. Each one has conditions in which it works well and conditions in which it's terrible.

2. Look at the warranties. Warranties on space heaters range from one year to five years. Delonghi and Soleus heaters that I've checked have one year warranties. Other companies, such as Bionaire, Honeywell, Lasko, and Vornado offer three year and five year warranties on many but not all of their models. If a company offers only a one year warranty on some models but a five year warranty on others (such as Bionaire), it raises question about the durability of the heater with the shorter warranty. However a long warranty is only as good as the company offering it. Read reviews to learn what experiences people have when their heaters die while still under warranty.

In most cases, you'll have to download the manual from the manufacturer's website to get the length of the warranty. It's a nuisance, but it's worth taking the time to do.

Don't let anyone tell you that any particular type of heater is "the best". The best type is the one that best suits YOUR needs. The best heater for me might be the worst heater for you. Some heaters heat up a cold room faster, some keep a room at a steady temperature, and some will work better in a large space.

Some questions you need to ask yourself before deciding which type of heater to buyWill it be keeping a room at a steady temperature? (oil-filled radiator or micathermics heaters might be best)

Will it be heating up a cold room? (a heater with a fan or a radiant heater might be best)

Are there children or pets who might be injured by touching a hot surface? (oil-filled radiator and radiant heater might be a problem)

Do you want to heat just a particular spot rather than the whole room? (radiant heaters might be best

Are you concerned about fire risks? (oil-filled radiator or micathermic heaters might be best, though no space heater is completely safe)

Oil-filled radiators:

These are my favorite heaters. These are the heaters that look like old-fashioned steam radiators. The oil retains its warmth after the thermostat cycles off, which is important if you want to keep a room at a steady temperature. The downside is that the oil takes longer to heat initially, which is why these heaters take so long to warm up.

I have two DeLonghi oil-filled radiators; I've been using one of them for 23 years, and the other is about eight years old. I love the heat they provide. It's steady, warm, with no noise and no drying out of the air like with some other types of heaters. They are ideal for maintaining a steady temperature in an enclosed room.

Oil filled heaters have a huge drawback, however: they are terrible at heating up a cold room quickly. It can take an oil-filled heater hours longer to heat up a cold room than other types of heaters.

The US Department of Energy recommends oil-filled heaters as the most efficient, because the fins generate warmth even when the heater's thermostat cycles off. However this efficiency is only when the heater is continually on, keeping a room at a constant temperature. If you turn the heater on and off frequently, you'll lose most of the efficiency that's inherent in these heaters.

If you have children or pets, look into one of the shielded radiator heaters. I prefer the unshielded ones because they radiate more heat laterally, but the surface can get very hot and be a hazard if touched. DeLonghi claims that their shielded radiator heaters circulate heated air more quickly. Both of mine are unshielded, so I have no way of confirming that. My concern about the shielded radiators is that they would direct more hot air up rather than to the side, where I need it.

If your electric rates are different for different times of the day, you can use this to your advantage in setting your radiator heater toswitch on and warm the room from cold when rates are low, then let it provide steady heat when rates are higher.

A word of warning about oil-filled radiators: if one is poorly made or damaged, it can leak oil and permanently damage rugs and floors or even start a fire. Only buy from a reputable manufacturer and don't accept one that has any visible damage.

Ceramic fan heaters:

These are great at heating a room quickly, however many people including myself don't like the heat they blow. I don't mind it in my Vornado Personal Heater (375/700watt), which is located under my desk, but I thoroughly dislike it in the old Honeywell ceramic oscillating heater that came with my house. I much prefer the warmth that comes from an oil-filled radiator. Ceramic heaters can be most effective at quickly warming up a cold room.

Radiant heaters

Radiant heaters (don't confuse them with radiator heaters!) work by heating whatever they are pointed at rather than heating the air in the room. If you have a large, drafty space, a radiant heater might be your best choice, because it doesn't heat the air, only the objects and people it's directed at.

Micathermic heaters

Micathermic heaters work similarly to oil-filled radiators, except that instead of heavy metal fins filled with hot oil, micathermic heaters have thin sheets of mica that heat up. I've only had experience with one micathermic, a Bionaire BH1331-U, and found that it's exterior surface remained very cool except for a few very warm spots on top. There would be less risk of young children being burned by touching a micathermic heater than an oil-filled radiator. Micathermic heaters are slower heating than ceramic fan heaters, but are faster then oil-filled radiators..

Baseboard heaters

I have a Lakewood oil-filled baseboard heater I bought five years ago that has many of the advantages of a micathermic heater. It heats faster than an oil-filled radiator but has no hot surfaces and low fire risk. My Lakewood does an excellent job of heating my 12x15 bedroom.

However I have not researched baseboard heaters and only have experience with this Lakewood, so I don't know whether others are as good as this one. I was impressed that when I measured the actual wattages of my various space heaters, the Lakewood's actual wattages came closest to its claimed wattages of all the other heaters I tested. Lakewood unfortunately went out of business in 2009 and had a major problem with oil leaking from its heaters a few years earlier. Despite this, it's in many ways my best heater and has the lowest cost of operation.

Honest reviews on DeLonghi EW7707CB Safeheat 1500W ComforTemp Portable Oil-Filled

Heater is being used as a supplementary heater in a finished/insulated basement about 1000 sq/ft. Have only had the heater for a week and a half and the "comfort temp" is at least 70*. I have a thermometer on order to place in the basement to see how warm it is, but it keeps the entire finished area in my basement warm. Winter has not come yet, so we will see once it gets cold out, like highs in the single digits and sub zero temps. I'm in WI, so its only gotten down to 30* or so at night and close to 50* during the days. Have not had to turn on furnace yet, temps have gone down outside and with heater in the basement the upstairs has not dropped below 68* yet (1800 sq/ft).

Heater is silent, stink from being new took about 3 days of consistent running to wear off. Even if I have to run this unit on high it will be worth it. with the kwh charges for electricity by me if I run it on high, 1500w, and using the peak kwh rate it will cost me $63 to run it 24 hrs a day for 5 months. Plus, all the heat will just go upstairs, none wasted.

I opted for the radiant style heater for constant output without a fan to dry or force the air and the silent operation. I don't think there is anyway this would heat 1000 sq ft by itself in WI temps, but we will see. I also have furnace piped into basement as well, but haven't used it yet. Keep in mind the finished area in the basement is fully insulated and the house was built in 2006 and it cost me less money to heat this house as compared to my old 1000 sq/ft house that was re-insulated and built in the 1940's.

UPdate: My math was off, cost me almost $60 to run this heater 24hrs a day for 30 days on the comfort temp setting. I have since moved out of this house so the heater is now unused.

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I received this in a great amount of time. I had actually expected it to come later than when it did. I've had it for a few weeks/months (not sure exactly) but it works great. In the instructions it tells you to leave it in a well ventilated area for the first 2 hours so the smell can go away. It had something to do with traveling, I'm not really sure. But I didn't really smell anything. I put it in my room after that, as I'm usually the coldest person in the house and it works great. It heats up my room quickly and when I reach a temperature I like, I move the nob so it clicks so it can keep that temperature. I've never really tried the ComforTemp button, but after reading the instructions about it, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I like it really warm as, I have pretty crappy circulation and I'm always cold. There's no real temperature setting on this thing, because it's based on what you feel is comfortable for you. So make it go on the max to first get the room to the ideal temperature and then adjust it so it keeps that temp. This was TOTALLY worth every penny. It also looks really cute and chic so it'll fit any modern room like a glove! And it's great because you never have to re-fill the oil! Score!!!

Review of Bodum Bistro 34-Ounce Electric Water Kettle

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $60.00
Sale Price: $43.99
Today's Bonus: 27% Off

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I currently have a T-Fal variable speed tea kettle and so did some direct comparisons between the two. The Bodum lagged in all. It took the T-Fal 2 min 19 sec to boil .5 liters and 3 min 35 seconds to boil a liter. The Bodum took 3 min 17 sec and 5 min 47 sec respectively, a significant difference and one that would certainly be noticeable while waiting. The greater size of the T-Fal is preferable to me as well--the Bodum tops out at the one liter mark, but others may not need a large kettle.

The Bodum is definitely lighter and if someone is concerned about weight, the Bodum wouldn't be a problem at all. It has a relatively small footprint, though not really significantly smaller than my T-Fal.

In general then, with the speed, size, and variabilty--I'd aim people to the T-Fal. But by far the biggest concern I had with the Bodum was its strange propensity to stay on even after boiling. On two occasions the kettle either stayed on or came back on and got hot well after I'd boiled and poured out the water. During my testing I ended up unplugging it every time just to ensure this not happening again. I don't know if this was a singular flaw or something that is a feature of all of them, but it's certainly cause for concern

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There's nothing to it really, an electric water heater so I don't have to light up the stove, wonder if there's a small clean pot, stand there until it boils or forget and let it boil over, etc.

You fill this up, push the ON button, after it boils it turns off. You lift the pot off the base and pour over teabag or into steeping pot, whatever.

I like it because it's green and modern looking. Functionality is so basic there's nothing to complain about.

Like the previous reviewer, I noticed there was no specific OFF button (just the ON button) But the auto shut off worked fine. If you're worried about auto shutoff not working soon enough, unplug after the water has boiled. I don't want bells and whistles, literally, on my tea-pot. One switch is great and the size is perfect for a family of four at breakfast. It's not like we're trying to boil water for spaghetti!

Looks like someone beat me to a 5 star review, but I'm sure we are both very pleased we purchased the product regardless of the negative review.

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This kettle looked so cute and modern that I ignored the reviewers who claimed the fact that there is no "off" button is extremely dangerous. how bad could that really be, right? I bought the red color and thought it looked so perfect in my kitchen. HOWEVER, when my husband woke up to find the kettle STILL BOILING from the night before (though the water had long since evaporated)he quickly plugged it out of the wall, and it is now on its way back to amazon. not only is this extremely dangerous, but it's also extremely costly! and explains the exorbitant electricity bill we recently received. who knows how many times the kettle stayed on boil for WAY over a minute.

I agree with the reviewer who said this item should be recalledit's completely unsafe.

Honest reviews on Bodum Bistro 34-Ounce Electric Water Kettle

After reading all the negative reviews, I called Bodum's customer service line before ordering to ask about the absence of an "off" button. The rep assured me that all you have to do is remove the kettle from the base and the heater clicks off. That made sense to me so I ordered.

As soon as I unpacked it, I plugged it in, pressed the "on" button, and the light went on. I immediately removed the kettle from the base and the light went off, so I assumed it was no longer heating. Just in case, I unplugged it,then plugged it back i, thinking it was still off since the light was off.

Half an hour later I came back and happened to touch the outside of the kettle and it was hot. The pot was STILL on in spite of the fact that I had lifted it from its base, unplugged it, and replugged it in with no "on" light on. There was no water in the kettle either; so much for the safety feature that it shuts off automatically as soon as it's empty.

In spite of what the customer service rep told me, the 72-page manual (72 pages to boil water? Granted it's in 11 languages, but slight overkill) clearly states, "If the boiling process is ended by removing the main plug from the electrical outlet, the kettle will immediately switch itself back on when the main plug is reinserted." What kind of a design or safety function is that?

The one and only plus of this product is the beautiful style with its nice lines and bright colors. Sadly it's the only reasonably priced modern kettle I could find. That's not enough to make up for the extreme safety hazard, of course. Needless to say, I'm returning this item immediately. It should be recalled.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Perhaps if Bodum had approached this kettle with the same care they seem to have put into their French Press coffee pots, I could write a better review, sadly this is not the case.

So it's a kettle, when I first came to the USA at the end of the last century, I would have been delighted with this thing, Boiling kettles seemed non existent then.

But with the march of time, and the popularity of tea specifically (like Europe) kettles are now available in an abundance of sizes, prices and features.

Biggest problem with this is kettle is the On switch.

You notice I did not say on/off switch, because it only has an auto shut off feature, which is highly dependent on the internal sensor recognizing a boil and turning the unit off. You can not turn it off manually unless you physically unplug it.

If you need a kettle for instant coffee, or soup for example, you don't want the water to boil completely, I mean how hard would an off switch have been to put in?

It's a real shame, it's a nice clean modern design, very lightweight, and looks classy.

Slower to boil then most kettles I've used, that I could care less about, but I suspect most people will not be able to get over the on/off switch thing.

Perhaps instead of worrying about being green, and boasting about "BPA free" they should have looked at functionality first.

I would recommend Aroma AWK-115S Hot H20 X-Press 1-1/2-Liter Cordless Water Kettle.

Not only cheaper, but larger capacity, quicker boiling, on/off capability, and automatic shut off when lifted from the base.

Overall I expected more from Bodum, especially as it is not exactly cheap either.

iHeater 1500 SQ FT Infrared Heater Review

Customer Ratings:

iHeater IH-1500 Quartz Infrared Heater Best Value on Amazon

I am very pleased with this product. It lives up to all they say about it, with possibly one exception. It costs more than a $1 a day to run. It did raise my electric bill considerably, but it lowered my gas bill as well. I've given it one less star than top rating because dealers are misrepresenting the cost to operate.

What is so great is that I was much more comfortable running this heater. It keeps my whole home (granted, a small home 1100 sq feet) warm. It is such a comfortable, even heat. Not like my forced air furnace which makes the room either too hot or too cold about 50% of the time. And the heat is even throughout the house, unlike the furnace where some rooms are too warm and some too cold. I don't feel the drafts as much, the air isn't dry and I don't have to run a humidifier. My furnace rarely kicks in.

It is hard to believe that a small compact unit can do such a big job and do it safely. Only the small output area gets hot. Having a remote and being easily programmable is a definite plus also.

I am so pleased I made this purchase.

Bobbie's Buttons and Bows

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I ordered one of these after I got a $460 power bill in this crazy winter in the mid-Atlantic region, after the power company raised their rates through the ceiling and I read the reviews on what an incredible innovation in heating this unit is. It's a nice space heater; looks great, great controls, very quiet, etc. But it is what it is a 1500 Watt space heater. It won't cut your electric bill in half, unless you're willing to freeze in the process. The hype is transparent to me now, and I could have spent a lot less for the same heating output, though it certainly wouldn't have been as nicely adorned wi5h features that are expensive but in the end add nothing to the real goal...staying warm cheaply!

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I had the opportunity to use two of these units. I had an area of about 500 square feet to cover and thought that this would work well at supplementing the heat from electric baseboard heating.

This heater works a little different in that it does not really increase the temperature of spaces. It is designed to maintain the temperature in a room after you have getten it high enough using your main heat sources. They said to leave it on continuously for two days to bring all of the surfaces up to temperature and then turn down your main heat source about 10 degrees and let the heater maintain the temperature.

Unfortunately, the heater was not able to maintain the temperature very long at all and the unit remained on all of the time so I was burning through about 36KWH per day just for the iHeater in addition to the cost of running the electric baseboard heat which ran quite a bit as well. In my application, the energy costs were actually higher for me than they were before using the iHeater. In addition, the heat was very uneven across the area being covered. The unit does not blow that much air through it so it has a real limited coverage area, and that was on the 1500 square foot setting.

This might work in a very small room but not in any larger spaces. I had much greater hopes for this product than it was able to deliver on.

Honest reviews on iHeater 1500 SQ FT Infrared Heater

I purchased my iHeater 1500 last week. Living in SE North Carolina, our temperatures aren't that bad. But as soon as we hit the 40's, I stayed cold. I set heater at highest level (1500 sq. ft.) and left it on for 2 days solid trying to warm it. It was cold even in the one room it was in. Yes, I kept my heat pump at 65 hoping this would help maintain that throughout my house but at least make the room it was in warmer. It says it heats up the elements. It may have heated them up, which I could not tell it did anything, but my hands and feet both stayed cold. Kinda feel like one guy said, it's pretty much like have a $30 quartz heater you can buy at Walmart. As a matter of fact, I have one of those and it heats the room better and uses the same amount of electricity. Sure wish I could say better things because I really wanted to save on my heating bill. But I can't . It' definitely not worth it.

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We recently had 2 of the 1500 model iHeaters bought for us as gifts from my parents. After getting them I looked at some of the reviews online and never really felt like I got very good information. At least I never saw anything written on how to actually use the heaters... I understood the concept -"your central heat doesn't turn on as much and therefore you save money". Made sense to me but what were the best settings to use? What should I expect? Etc...

Here's some background which should be useful:

This particular house I'm heating is a double-wide trailer, therefore it doesn't have Pella windows and isn't insulated like a brick & mortar home "should" be. We live in the mountains of Western NC. When we moved into this home the previous owner had just installed a brand new propane-powered central heating unit -it is NICE and it puts out the warmest heat I've felt from any central unit. The unit was so new that last winter was its first winter to actually be used. Last winter my parents were living with us, and as many people getting up in their years, they were both cold-blooded -so all winter they kept the thermostat at 72 degrees. 72 degrees meant that we paid somewhere around $500 every 6 weeks for propane! My parents moved out last spring and got us the 2 iHeaters to try this winter -paying $500 every 6 weeks for propane (excluding any electric bills) seemed ridiculous! I guess they figured that anything could help and nothing could hurt, so why not an iHeater (or 2).

Open the Box, Read the Directions:

At first the iHeaters seemed nothing more than "Ok". I got them when it was still warm outside and I was undoubtedly prejudging them. Mine are the fake wood models which I didn't find all that aesthetically pleasing. They didn't seem to put on a very "warm" heat in comparison to a ceramic heater. I needed to remember that the iHeater wasn't a ceramic heater and was actually meant to save money, which the hot-heat of a ceramic does not do. I thought the remote was cool and the back lighting looked good. I have 2 young children and these seemed very safe, which is important. I liked the fact the iHeaters are on rollers. For some reason I really like the oversized power button on the back of the unit. I needed to hold off on most of my judgments until I got them into action during the winter.

As I stated above, I didn't really know how to set them or what to expect. The directions that come with the iHeaters are no help. As an example, one of the iHeater settings says: "Small Room/Medium Room/Large Room". The only thing the directions tell you about these settings is that they are on the unit and can be controlled by the remote... What do they actually do? What is considered a small room and what is considered a large room? You have to find that out on your own I suppose. I honestly still don't exactly know what these buttons are for. I don't know if changing the room size setting changes the angle of the heat exiting the iHeater. I thought changing the room size setting might change the fan speed, but the best I can tell, it doesn't. Perhaps it somehow changes the fan setting or heat setting to use less electricity? I just have no idea...

One of the 2 iHeater units that we got has an extremely loud fan (in comparison to the other model 1500) and will have to be sent back to be fixed before the 1-year warranty runs out. If I didn't know how quiet the other unit was I would think it is normal (meaning it is not unbearable or anything). The unit that has the quiet fan is extremely quiet -you can hardly tell it is running. I returned my warranty cards and registered online with iHeater as soon as I got the unit out and realized how loud the fan was in comparison to the other unit. The faulty fan allowed me the opportunity to call iHeater and speak with their customer service. The young lady I spoke with had no accent and sounded young. Since it had been over a month since I registered the warranty she was able to pull up my information from their system easily. I have to admit that I was not very impressed with iHeaters customer service representative, at all, but between her coughing and gagging into her headset (and my ear!), she gave me the information I needed. It definitely seemed like talking to me on the phone was the last thing on her mind. It was almost comical how disinterested she was. I literally thought of the Discovery card "This is Peggy" commercial. Heh.

FIY: iHeater simply told me to box the unit back up and ship it to their Indianapolis, Indiana facility. They had pretty specific directions about how to box and ship the unit. I was told that I would have to pay to ship it to them and they would either fix it or replace it and get it back to me. I have since decided that I would keep the loud-fanned unit for this winter before sending it back. I simply am saving too much money to lose it for no telling how long (in the middle of winter).

Winter is Here! Running the IHeater:

One of the keys to using the iHeater is finding the right thermostat level between your central heat thermostat and your iHeater thermostat settings (the sweet spot). We found that if the central heat is set at 68 degrees the iHeaters (2 running at the same time in different parts of the house) will put out enough heat that our central heat will not kick on AT ALL, all night long. Sometimes the central heat will kick on 3 or 4 times first thing in the morning, but that's it. This example is when the outside temperature daytime highs are around 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the nighttime lows are from 10 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Again, we have 2 iHeaters so we had to find the right thermostat level for EACH iHeater unit. One is set at 77 degrees and one is set at 72 degrees. With the discrepancy in settings between units this may mean that one of them is giving a faulty thermostat reading -not sure. There is also a big difference between the iHeater thermostat and the central heat thermostat -not sure why? At any rate, with these settings (77 & 72) both units will kick on and off if the daytime highs are in the high 30s and above. If the daytime highs outside are in the low 30s, both units will pretty much run all day long; however, the central heat thermostat level will not fall below 68 degrees and therefore the central heat unit will not engage, at all. The iHeaters are heating the entire house on their own to 68 degrees.

If my central heat's thermostat is set on 69 degrees the central heat will still turn on and off all night long. I'm not sure if the central heat runs as often, or not; however, I can for certain say that it runs on multiple times each hour. Again, while running the iHeaters the central heating unit does not turn on at all, but there is a big difference with the central heat between what happens at 68 degrees verses what happens at 69 degrees. 68 degrees is the "sweet spot" that you want to look for if you have an iHeater -the temperature where your central unit does not cycle. I submit that if I had better insulation and windows the "sweet spot" would be 70 or above. I would expect that the cost savings would greatly increase, too.

As winter approached I paid close attention to my electric bills and to my propane level. The propane tank started the winter in October at 41% full. At the beginning of December (after 2 months of weather cold enough to use the central heat, and one month of weather cold enough to use the central heat all day long every day) the propane reading was 37% full. So I only used 4% of the propane in the tank during October and November. Our usual "summer" electric bill was around $100 per month. Our November electric bill was $160. Obviously the iHeaters used quite a bit of electricity ($30 a day to be exact); however, the enormous savings in propane easily offset any electric costs (I really need the electric bills from last November -my guess is that the bill was close to $150 just powering the central heating unit). I suspect that the electric bill will go up substantially in December since the iHeaters are running more often. As I mentioned, when the outside temperatures are at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit all day long, the iHeaters pretty much run all day, nonstop.

We are more than happy with the cost savings, so far. I feel that if I had better windows, doors and better insulation I could save much more money, but I'm not going to fault iHeater for the construction practices of trailer manufacturers. I figure you know something is good when directly out of the box it is not running like it should -which leads you to find out that the customer service is laughable -not only do those things not bother you, but you wouldn't give the item up for the world because you are saving so much money by using it!

Sam

Wagan 2577 Personal Fridge/Warmer - 7L Capacity Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $54.95
Sale Price: $43.99
Today's Bonus: 20% Off

Bought this item through Amazon which they shipped 7 Jun 2012. Today 20 Aug 2012 I phoned the Wagan Corp to let them know that their item was faulty. I went on to explain that the DC adaptor cord was faulty and the fridge would not work, they said the cords that came with the item are not coverd by their warranty. The warranty in the manual did not disqualify any thing being exempt from the warranty. Would suggest not buying from a company which does not stand behind their products as shipped.

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We just used this item on a two week trip. Our purpose was to keep some medication cool and have cool water. It worked on both counts within minutes the inside is cool. Remember to unplug it at night. It apparently only took about six hours to drain an Explorer battery. (It was still cool inside in the morning.) Lesson learned. These things cool to about 40 degrees below ambient, so in an air conditioned car it worked great. During short stops (up to two hours) we left it on and even though the inside car temp got to 100F the cooler was able to maintain a good cool environment. For what it is, and for the power it draws (45 watts or so?) it does the trick. It's not a refrigerator it's a cooler and for that it saved us from having to buy ice on the trip. I'm very happy with it. If the unit had more insulation is world be less useful because it would take up two much room in the car the size was just right for our needs.

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This cooler works very well when you put pre-chilled items in it. It has no problem keeping cold things cold (at least in the moderate temperatures I've used in it, so far).

It works OK with things that are room temperature IF you're willing to wait long enough for it.

I used it on a trip where I put leftovers from a restaurant in the cooler and plugged it in overnight at the hotel. In the morning everything was chilled. Cooled, not icy cold, but definitely a safe temp. It was probably about 7 hours, maybe 8.

When I got it I experimented with putting 6 cans of beer at room temp. in the cooler and leaving it overnight to see how cold they would be in the morning (not that I was planning to DRINK them in the morning, I just figured that beer would be something that is actually important to serve cold, not warm).

For the first test I somehow flipped the switch from "cooler" to "warmer" and didn't notice it. I SHOULD have noticed it because when in "cooler" mode the fan is on, the fan does not run in "warmer" mode. While this test obviously failed the "can it chill room temperature beer test," I did discover a few things. One, the "warmer" mode works really well and will warm up your beer so much that it will explode out of the cans while they are still in the cooler and make a great big mess. Two, it's very easy to accidentally switch into "warmer" mode. Three, whenever it's plugged in and the fan is not on, assume it is in "warmer" mode. Four, hot beer makes a nasty breakfast drink,

For the second "can it chill room temperature beer test" I made sure that it was in "cooler" mode, which is easy to do by ensuring you can hear the fan running. The beer was colder in the morning and certainly drinkable. (Did I drink it in the morning, or did I wait until at least noon?) Was it like the icy sensation depicted in beer commercials? No, but it was way better than the aforementioned hot beer.

Because keeping beer cold is so enjoyable, I also conducted a test where the 6 cans were started at refrigerator temperature and remained nicely so after a night on the "cooler" setting.

Here are some tips to success with this cooler (from my experience, you don't need any tips to make this work well as a warmer).

Most importantly, you have to buy an AC to DC adpater like the Wagan 5 Amp AC to 12V DC Power Adapter or similar. It needs to be 5 amps or more. You can NOT use one of those little wall wart style cigarette lighter adapters. You don't need it if you're ONLY going to use it in your car (with the car running!!!). You will find your car battery completely dead and perhaps damaged from over-discharge in the morning if you try to leave it plugged into your vehicle over-night.

It does seem to help to pre-chill the cooler for 20-30 minutes before putting stuff in it. I don't think this is completely necessary if you will be putting stuff in that is already cold and leaving it powered on while in transport. If you're going to put in room temperature stuff, then I think pre-chilling is a good idea.

The cooling (and I suppose heating) element of the cooler is in the bottom of the storage area. You can easily see it in the product photos. It's the lighter colored area on the inside in the photo where you're looking down into the open cooler from above. It would probably make more sense to have the cooling element on the TOP so that the coldness would come down onto the beer, or food. That wouldn't work so well for warming, but let me remind you how gross it is to drink hot beer. Anyways, that's how it is. To improve the efficiency, I always place a napkin or plastic bag over the top of the beer, or food, to make the cooling area smaller and more isolated. I can't say for certain that this makes a difference, but it probably does help a little. It's also useful to have a napkin around, because by the time you get to finishing that sixth beer, you'll probably have spilled a little on yourself.

The manual says not to use ice in conjunction with the cooler. I don't know why not. I haven't done this yet, but I think it's a good idea. On it's own without power, it is still an insulated, "sealed" container (maybe not super good insulation, but better than a paper bag). Put a bowl of ice on the kitchen counter and a bowl of ice your refrigerator. Which melts first? Right. So using ice (or probably better to use Blue Ice or similar) should help to keep things colder in warmer outside temperatures and/or lengthen the effective cooling time of the ice or ice substitute. I don't care what the manual says here. I'm using some ice packs on my next long usage, even if that means I can only fit in 5 cans of beer at a time (actually, it does hold 9 regular cans just fine, but just in case you want to also have some food).

MAKE SURE IT'S ON "COOLER" MODE!!! If you don't, it won't work as a cooler, and may in fact actually be on "warmer" mode, which might be bad!

Lastly, don't expect miracles from this little thing. Tasking it with cooling a 6 pack from room temperature is not really fair. Liquids can absorb and retain way too much energy before you notice a real change in temperature, especially for drinking. If you can, try to pre-chill your beer in some cold water for a little while, like a stream, or cold water from the tap, or wrapped in wet towels to use evaporative cooling. Then put in the cooler.

I can think of very few instances where you would want to use this as a warmer, but in case you do, it can do it, and do it very well. I guess they include that function because it's just as easy to make it work that way once the thermoelectric system is in place. I dunno. I think it's weird (and annoyingly easy to cook your beer).

The other biggest complaint I've seen in the other reviews is the noise level. All of the noise comes from the fan. The thermoelectric cooling/heating itself is silent. There is no fan for the "warmer" mode and you would never know it's on until you start hearing your beer cans explode in the middle of the night and wonder what the heck that strange sound is and where it is coming from and why your room smells like a dive bar. The "cooler" mode needs the fan to blow the hot air away from the heat sink. Yes, you can hear it in a hotel room. Yes, it's sorta loud. Is it terribly annoyingly loud? Not really. It's white noise. Really bothering you? Put it in the closet and close the door.

I also take advantage of the air discharge from the fan to keep the AC-to-DC adapter cool. Determine where the most air is being blown out and place the little box for the adapter in the air stream. The little adapter box does get warm, especially after several hours and this helps to keep it reasonably cooled off. Also the plug where you connect the adapter to the power cord (the male/female cigarette lighter adapter pieces) gets a little warm, too, so I also place this in the fan discharge area.

The only thing that really concerns me is the hinges for the door appear a little weak, but so far so good and I'll just continue to be careful about them.

Overall, I'd recommend this product as long as you temper your expectations (get it? "temper?") and follow the tips I noted above.

---

Update:

FYI, the CLA power cord is just over 6 feet long. Plenty long enough to reach from the front console to the back seat area (but not the rear cargo area of an SUV).

Another update: Overall it seems pretty durable. I manage to drop it from about waist height, loaded with food, onto a hard surface. It showed no signs of damage and still works just fine. Of course, food weighs less than beer, so I can't say that the results would have been the same had it been loaded with beer. But really, if you make a habit of dropping your beer, you've got different issues.

Honest reviews on Wagan 2577 Personal Fridge/Warmer - 7L Capacity

I bought this cooler for a family road trip. Just before we left I filled it with 6 bottles of orange juice from the fridge the night before and put them inside. They were still nice and cool when we drank them. There was still plenty of room for yogurt, string cheese and apples for the kids. I love how it helps us save money and eat better by bringing our own healthy snacks from home instead of stopping for fast food when the kids get hungry. The cup holders are a nice addition too.

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My wife and I had to make a 5 hour trip to a neighboring state to visit family. We had medication that needs to be kept refrigerated and at the hotel/motel we were staying at over the weekend, they did not offer a fridge in the room. So instead of getting a cooler and playing the "dump and refill the ice" game, I opted to purchase this product. As some other users have pointed out, this is a cooler, not an actual fridge. Perhaps calling the product a "personal fridge" could be misleading. The price was decent, compared to some others out there and it does keep things cool (have not yet tried the warmer). Our jeep had a cigarette lighter plugin that still pumped out power when the jeep was turned off, so in short instances where we had to stop for dinner/lunch, the cooler kept on working. One thing to note in the instructions, it does say not to leave it plugged in that way and make sure you unplug it before starting the vehicle again this little cooler does suck some battery power.

I ended up having to buy a converter to be able to plug the power into the wall socket from a cigarette lighter. DO NOT USE the converters that are used for cell phones! They do not output enough amps. I made this mistake and it melted the converter that was plugged into the wall. Wagan does sell a converter that is made this product. Since I was already in the middle of my trip, I bought a similar converter from the local W-mart and picked up a Coleman branded converter. It worked and the cooler kept the meds cool for the next 2 days without incident. For what I bought it to do, it did the job well. The only cons to this product is that the product looks and feels a little cheaply made and labels that are placed in the front of the switches, looked like it was (crookedly) placed there by a child. Other than that it is a decent product.