Friday, August 22, 2014

Lasko 5521 Ceramic Tower Heater Review

Lasko 5521 Ceramic Tower Heater
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
List Price: $61.99
Sale Price: $49.99
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I had a particular heating problem. I have a spa room built outside the house over an old cement patio about 6 feet from my back door, so it does not have access to the central heat. The room is not insulated, and has about 1/3 glass windows so I can look out into the yard while in the tub. I'm telling you all this so you will understand that the area is not easily heated. It is used for only short periods of time, so I didn't want to heat it 24/7. Without heating, the room is probably only 4 degrees warmer than the outdoor temperature.

In very cold weather, without a supplemental source of heat, I simply cannot abide undressing in 40° or less, even if the spa itself is nice and warm. So I bought a series of inexpensive heaters, none of which would do anything except heat the few feet around the heater. Then I saw the Laslo which said it had a "push" system to get the heat into the room. Having no idea what the "push" entailed, I bought it, knowing I could return this heater, as I'd done with the previous two, if it did not fill my needs. But I did not need to return it. It works for my purpose.

The unit is attractive, is tall and narrow so can fit into a small area, yet throw out heat sufficient to allow me to undress, use the spa, and re-dress in comfort. Then I turn it off. (I preheat the room easily using the digital brightly lit, large LCD thermostat which shows the ambient temperature, and moves up as the room heats. This a.m. the room started at 43° and now, after 15 minutes, it is up to 50° already. If I open the lid of the spa it will heat even more rapidly, of course). The room contains 3 exercise machines, also, so we can now exercise in comfort, as well. I have no need for the remote control which comes with the unit since I'm either in water or on a machine while using it.

I highly recommend this heater.

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The heater work well in that it heats the room by several degrees (starting at 69) in just a few minutes. We used it last night for the first time in our 14'x15'x8' bedroom and after some experimentation put the thermostat at 75 degrees. The instructions say that in the automatic mode the unit will radiate heat until 77 degrees is reached and shut off at 74 degrees. It does shut off when the LED indicates the room temp. at 74 and stays on until 76 degrees (not 77). However, there is a disconnect between the digital thermometer in my room and the one on the heater. My digital thermometer indicates a low of 71.4 F. and a high of 75.4 F. I'm willing to live with that and the trick is to not be concerned about what's on the LED of the heater but what is the actual temperature of your room. I've never seen any heater's temp readout be accurate. Will exchanging it matter? I don't know, but if the room were to become too cold or hot during a given cycle I would exchange it. There seems to be no such thing as a perfect heater, so compromises need to be made. I find it confusing that there are about seven Lasko heaters within the same price range but numbered differently so I was not able to determine which one would best for my needs. I got this one because it was the only Lasko they had at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

I think the heater is worth a try. The fan on high is not very loud, although you can readily hear it. I'm a light sleeper and I had no problem going to sleep with it on. It's a lot less noisy that the top-rated Vornado I own. Heaters with no fans don't distribute the heat very well so that was not an option for me; I knew there would be some noise with any fan. Would I buy this heater again? Yes, knowing what I know now, and I will follow up if my experience changes over the next several days.

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This will be my 3rd winter with this heater. I live in a cabin, (yes literally a cabin), but it is insulated and is small enough that it doesn't have a furnace. I use this heater in my main living space. It stays on all winter once the temperature begins to drop below freezing and has worked really well.

Efficiency

This heater does a good job of maintaining a comfortable living temperature. I set the temperature as I would a thermostat adjusting it to around 60 when I am going to be gone a long time, and raising it when I am home. I did find that if let the ambient temperature get two low while I am away, it will take the heater a long time to warm up the entire place, so I have a second smaller space heater that I use intermittently just to offset any excessive winter chill.

Thermostat Accuracy:

The digital thermostat is fairly accurate once the heat is circulated throughout the room , however, when it first turns on there may be up to a five degree difference in temperature based on how far away you are from the heater. When I return home I usually se the thermostat a few degrees higher than my target temperature and turn it down after I have been home awhile. I have another thermostat on the opposite side of the room, as well as a ceiling fan and have found that after about 20 minutes or so the ambient temperature evens out.

Cost vs other heat sources

This heater produces a LOT of heat and so will use a lot of electricity if run continuously as I do. For comparison I had been paying hundreds of dollars to heat my apartment when I had gas but running this heater as my sole heat source (on high) will cost me between 40 and $100 per month depending on how cold it is. We had a month last year where it was regularly 14 to 30 degrees below zero for more than two weeks and this heater kept me warm, but it added about $100 to my electric bill. So if you have a primary heat source other than this one, remember to turn it down as low as possible, and to block off unused areas or you will counteract any savings this powerful little heater might provide.

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This ceramic space heater has two fan speeds. Both speeds are quiet considering their blowing strength. The heater can oscillate, moving about 45 angle degrees back and forth on its little lower section; this is very smooth, not jumpy like some cheap oscillating fans. The room temperature is displayed normally on a very bright LED readout that shows the set temperature once you go to set the built-in thermostat. All the buttons are easy to access and give a light beep for confirmation. You can turn oscillation on or off, set high or low fan speed, set temperature, or use an automatic shutoff timer up to 8 hours. Looks great, with a great fit and finish.

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This unit is used in an uninsulated hallway to take the chill off, thaw out boots and clothes, and keep the cold draft out of the house. The heater has a small remote (line of sight only) and is programble for both high/low, rotation, temp, and timer operation or any combination there of. (yup you can run it on low setting in auto mode with the temp set)

The unit cycles to maintain a temp in auto mode by going 2 degrees over and under your set temp. So if you have it set to say 60 it will turn on at 58 and off at 62. I like this feature as it runs less overall. The rotation feature is smooth and quite, like the fan. The only loud thing on it is the thermostat, it makes an audible click like a bottle cap pop when the unit cycles on and off. Did not bother me but thought I would mention it. This thing puts out a lot of heat for its size and I was really amazed at how small it was, tucks in a corner nicely. Its perfect for an office, small bedroom (10x10), hallway or porch...

I monitored this unit with a Kill-a-watt power meter and @ .22cents per kw this unit is running about $24 per month to heat an uninsulated hallway in in old victorian home. We have it set @ 62 deg and the unit cycles on as needed. TO give you an idea its been about 25-30deg outside and the hallway befor the heater was 44 deg on average, colder overnight. So its raising the temp about 18deg for us ...huge diffrence...and worth it.

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