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List Price: $94.95
Sale Price: $83.79
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Comments: My house is not well insulated. I have 20' ceilings downstairs, where I spend most of my evenings, and high ceilings in my upstairs office. Running the furnace during these cold winter days does little to make me feel warm and most space heaters feel too puny trying to heat such large spaces. What I needed at is known as a parabolic dish reflector heater. Despite some overly-zealous descriptions, these heaters are not space-age technology. My great-grandmother had a parabolic dish reflector heater more than 60 years ago. Due to Costco's active in-store displays every year, Presto seems to be by far the #1 model. The selling price has risen to a ridiculous 70 100 dollars for something that must only have about 5 bucks of materials in it. After reading many reviews (see rebuttals below), I decided this was the right choice despite several logical negatives.
Pros: It works. The night before I bought it I shivered and was cold to the bone. As soon as I set it up the two of us sitting about 7' apart in front of the TV felt a comfortable warmth. I stress the word comfortable. Neither too hot nor too cold. If either of us moved a few feet out of the "zone" we immediately noticed we were much colder. This is exactly how parabolic dish heaters work ... they focus ALL of their energy into a relatively narrow cone of heat directed at the people who need to be heated. They are NOT intended to heat entire rooms or houses. Perfect for a small group of people and/or pets sitting in front of a TV (think fireplace, the effect is very similar) or someone working at a desk. At this the Presto (and likely other similar brands) absolutely excel. What makes the Presto different from some of the other brands is that it uses a very traditional heater coil like in an old-fashioned toaster. It is exactly the same technology my great-grandmother's heater used back in the 1950's. Some other models use a halogen bulb like a desk lamp. They are blinding to look at and the bulb burns out every few months. The Presto's coils produce only a soft reddish glow.
Cons: It does not tilt up and down. I can live with it not oscillating from side to side, but the fixed angle is just plain wrong and can't be changed. fixed angle seems to defeat the idea of a focused cone of heat. I think only a 10 percent range would be far better than none at all. The next item is one that confounds almost everyone ... why put a nightlight into the base of a space heater? It simply does not make sense. You can take the bulb out, which many people say they do, but why is it there in the first place? The heater is also just a bit too lightweight. As a heater with the potential of tipping over you would think it would weigh at least as much as a table fan. Presto totally missed the boat on this, thinking for some reason that a very LOUD buzzer if the unit is tipped would be a better idea. Some people hate the buzzer. Personally I think I would rather have it annoy me than start a fire, but a better base design would also not be so bad.
Rebuttals: It seems the #1 complaint is that the Presto Heat Dish does not heat their entire room (or house). This is NOT a whole-house or whole-room heater. It is a specialized heater that is designed and intended to focus an intense amount of heat in a very pinpointed direction and the lowest possible energy use. It will also cause a rise in overall room temperature, but that is NOT the intent or design of a parabolic dish reflector heater. Used properly, this type of heater is nothing short of amazing. Why heat the WHOLE room (like my 20' ceilinged living room) when we are sitting in a small area in front of the TV? As far as the night-light, I agree Presto is totally weird in that area but if you hate it, pull the bulb out and enjoy the heat. The manufacturer states in the instructions that you can replace the bulb with a standard Christmas tree bulb. A dark blue bulb actually looks quite attractive. Another negative comment I have seen is that the unit does not have a carrying handle. Reality is that the carrying handle is the thing on the back that is labeled "carrying handle" and clearly pointed out in the instruction manual as a carrying handle. Other review errors state that it points upward at a 60 degree angle. It really points upward at about 15 degrees, about right for someone sitting in a normal chair.
Summary: It rates a fairly solid 5 despite the fact that the first one I bought had a thermostat knob that did absolutely nothing. No matter where I set it, the thing operated continuously on high. Even if I turned it off, the heater was still on non-stop on high. An obvious defect (what are the chances?). I cringe when I read reviewers that say they got a lemon and will NEVER buy anything from that manufacturer. I can't believe a major brand name is junk just because of one bad apple. Update: The unit was instantly replaced and the new one's thermostat works as it should.
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"Point Anywhere" is very misleading. As-sold unit MUST be placed in a low spot below the "target". It is ONLY capable of heating at 60 degree angle upward. It is too light to be stable, way too easy to knock over. I think out of the box it is unsafe. I have made modifications to mine.
I see this thing in BJ's and Costco all the time, mounted up high on a shelf pointed down, and the kiosk says "Directional Heat! Point Instant Heat Anywhere You Want It!"
So you open up the box and right there in the WARNING is Do not mount on shelf. Do not point downward. Which is exactly what the Presto demo stands do in the store..? They mount the heater on a high shelf and point it down at the customers. Do you think it would be wise to put this on the floor in the store the way it MUST be used at home? You would think that was unsafe, kids would mess with it, people would inevitably trip over it or kick it over.. So the Presto demonstration display disables the safety shutoff switch and does exactly what the instructions say not to do, mounting it high, pointing it down. You'd think that might be one way of using it, since it says "Point Anywhere". False advertising?
The unit HAS to go below you pointed up. Pretty much that means it has to be on the floor. Instructions also say do not use near dogs, cats, children, curtains, furniture etc.. In other words, do not use in typical household environment. Our dog knocked it over frequently because it's just stupid-easy to knock over. Imagine a large standard 3-speed desk fan, only you can just ever so lightly bump into it and it topples over. It's featherlight, unevenly proportioned and topheavy, a trip hazard, and has no base weight AT ALL to stabilize it.
I bought this to warm my dad while he sits at his computer or watches television, intending to place it safely on a clear bureau or dresser to provide ambient heat. Best I can do now is stick it on the floor and bake the tops of his knees. As it was out of the box in our case, it was useless.
There is a large spring-loaded switch under the base, it's easily bypassed. You can do it with scotch tape. NOT RECOMMENDED, but this allows you to point it "anywhere" including a down-angle as the in-store demo clearly does. I built an angled wooden platform, put a brick inside it to add weight, and screwed the heater down. Now I can aim it where I want, and it doesn't fall over. Problem solved.
Aside from the fact you can't really aim it where you want it, it does everything else you'd expect it to. Doesn't get too hot to the touch, provides EXCELLENT heat in the target zone, and saves you a lot of money by quickly and consistently heating a particular spot rather than trying to heat an entire area. Just don't trip over it.
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I've been having this product for almost 2 years now. It was designed to direct heat to a small area. Unfortunately I did not find the HeatDish a good heater even for keeping a single person warm. If you direct it towards you, you'll be burning so much, even through your clothing, that it actually hurts. You move just a bit farther, and you'll feel very little warm sensation. What usually happens is that one side of mine is burning, while my other side is totally cold.
The heat coming out of this HeatDish is very focused to a small area. You will instantly start feeling the heat, in fact so much heat that it literally burns you. At the same time, other areas of the room will remain cold for a long time. Since the HeatDish doesn't have a fan, it absolutely doesn't help evenly distributing the heat. If you need to heat the entire room, you should be able to find a much better heater, one that oscillates (rotates the heating grille) and uses a fan.
The HeatDish is entirely silent while it's on. However, it has a fairly loud rattling noise when it turns on -and in the low setting, it does turn on and off every 15 seconds or so. It is a bit hard to sleep hearing the heater clicking. It's very bright, too: The entire parabola dish lights up, making the room as bright as daylight. I occasionally need a heater that can keep my bedroom warm for the night, for the case the central heater goes wrong, and this is not the right equipment for that.
There's no way of setting the temperature with the HeatDish. You can adjust its power from low to high, but it has little to do with keeping a preset temperature, even approximately. In most cases it's too hot in the evening and very cold by the morning. If there's no one to occasionally adjust the temperature, it will not be very comfortable. For example, it doesn't work well for me as a night-time heater. It doesn't have a timer either.
My HeatDish went wrong after less than 2 years of very occasional use (I normally use central heating, a gas furnace). It no longer turns off, it always heats at its maximum power, so I can no longer leave it alone. You should not draw any conclusions from this -things go wrong sometimes. When it was working, it was regulating the temperature by periodically turning the ceramic element on and off. When it's on, it is very, very hot. There was never a way to lower the actual power of the heating element.
Safety: If the HeatDish is not entirely horizontal, it instantly makes an exceptionally loud alarming sound. You can not possibly tip it over without noticing it. In fact, it is nearly impossible to move this heater around while it's on without sounding its alarm.
Verdict: If you need an instant heater that makes a tiny area of the room super hot in no time, it does the job. It does a dissatisfying job at distributing the heat, even to a small area like a sofa, or automatically keeping a preset temperature.
Honest reviews on Presto HeatDish - Parabolic Electric Heater
I bought the Presto heatdish because my house furnace has a issue and one side of the house is not working. I have a few larger portable heaters but they just dont do a good job, even the ones with a fan don't put out the heat you would expect out of a 1,500 watt heater. The Presto is great, heat is instant, covers a large area(approx 8 foot wide by 15 foot). I am sitting currently 15 feet away and can feel the heat, I don't have my house furnace on now and it is 30 degrees outside and I am very comfortable and area I am in is probably 70 degrees or more using just this heater. I have it in a corner of my living room(is 20x20) and works perfect letting you sit far enough away to get the wide area heat and not overheat. I do have to watch my dog, she tries to lay right in front of it and worries me since it does get very intense close to the heater. It is very lightweight and at first I didn't think it was in the box, I'd say it weights under a pound. It had the light which I have no use for, but would make a great thing to use outside if you have a motorhome and want to keep the chill off and have a light at the same time. Overall it is a great product, instant heat and uses slot less power than normal portable heaters.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Presto HeatDish - Parabolic Electric Heater
The Presto HeatDish does exactly as described. My observations are:
1) The heat is very strong and directional.
2) Great if you and your significant other are opposites. My heatdish is directed at my wife while I prefer cooler temperatures.
3) The nightlight cannot be turned off. You must remove the bulb if you don't want it on.
4) The heat dish does not have a carrying handle on the back if you want to move it.
5) The heat dish is in a fixed position so you have to set it in the exact position to direct the heat where you want it. It would have been very nice if it could tilt up and down.
6) This does not have an "OFF" switch. To turn it off, you have to unplug it.
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