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I've been heating with this stove in Northern MI for two years and for the price it heats as well as stoves that cost three times as much. I should know, my parents both heat with Lopi stoves that are quite pricey in their 2 houses both similar in size to ours. While it doesn't heat the full 1700 sq ft of our house, it keeps the core area around the stove nice and warm and spreads at least a reasonable amount of heat throughout the house to knock off the chill in the distant areas. I would suggest burning only nicely seasoned hardwood in this stove as softwood and even softer hardwoods don't put out the heat. We burn red oak exclusively and can keep the core of our home, which is a 1930's farmhouse, between 65-75 even on bitterly cold winter days. One final suggestion, make sure you follow the chimney guidelines to the letter and install the minimum of 15 ft of chimney above the stove as if you cut corners with it the stove will not draft correctly and won't heat up to it's intended levels. I'd recommend this stove to anyone who wants a good, solid wood stove at a good price.
Showing posts with label rheem pool heaters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rheem pool heaters. Show all posts
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Reviews of Vogelzang TR003 Highlander EPA Wood Stove
Where do I begin? This heater is no heater at all. We bought it when our 30 year old wood heater became a hazard. Ordered it from our local lumber company. It does not heat 100sq. ft. much less 600 to 1000. The stay clear glass immediately became covered with soot and within one week the "Z" bar, baffle support fell out. Unable to get a response from the company during the holidays, we continued to try to heat with it. After a couple weeks, they finally called us back, and told us the airflow was affected due to the bar being out, and to just pop it back in. Finally got it back in, only to find it still did not heat well. After about three weeks it is out again. Just fell out while heater was in use. Not being loaded or wood being moved at all. I opened the door to find it lying in the opening. Am in the process to see if I have any recourse or any possibility of a refund!
Friday, October 10, 2014
Review of Frigidaire FRA10EHT2 10,000 BTU Through-the-Wall Room Air
List Price: $599.99
Sale Price: $519.99
Today's Bonus: 13% Off
I bought this to replace a failed unit in an addition to my house. This room is not on the ductwork for the central A/C, so it needs its own unit.
This model is slightly wider than my old unit, so I also replaced the sleeve (EA108T). This is a through-the-wall mount and requires a sleeve, though if there is an existing sleeve and it's large enough, you can use that. The unit comes with a new grill for the back of the sleeve, and various foam pieces to apply to the sleeve to make the unit fit. Note that you must remove any existing grill or plate from the back of the sleeve.
Mounting the sleeve in the wall is the hard part; the A/C itself just slides in. Both the A/C and heat work fine.
As with any heavy item, it's prone to being damaged by the delivery company. Inspect it carefully and file a complaint if it's damaged. The box for mine had some dings in it, but the unit itself was fine.
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We ordered this for a renovated garage apartment. I thought it was like most air conditioning units. The fan runs constantly, but the compressor kicks on when needed. This unit does not do this, the fan turns off and on along with the compressor. The off and on is VERY annoying while either sleeping or watching TV. It is a CONSTANT battle of the noise. I would not purchase this item if you do either of these in the same room.Best Deals for Frigidaire FRA10EHT2 10,000 BTU Through-the-Wall Room Air
Had one issue: Power cable to the blower fan was loose and hanging into fan blades. Took cover off to and reattached cable with cable ties. The factory cable hook is very poorly made and will not hold cable during shipping. Unit is quiet and heats/cools well.Honest reviews on Frigidaire FRA10EHT2 10,000 BTU Through-the-Wall Room Air
This requires a 250v 20amp fuse and dedicated circuit. The plug is NEMA 6-20, which has one flat vertical, one flat horizontal and one round prong. The outlet has to match in both configuration and volt/amp. I happen to have a 20amp fuse/circuit even though the old air conditioner was using a 15 amp plug/outlet, so I can change the outlet without any issues but I got lucky. If I had a fuse/dedicated circuit that was 15 amp I would be calling an electrician to replace it.I ordered two of these, one arrived too damaged to install very poorly handled. It is packed correctly, someone just plain dropped it on the far back corner of the unit and that took all of the weight. Ruined it through the styrofoam packing. They are taking "48-72 hours" to decide if I should get a replacement, which translates into 6-9 working days or around two weeks. In the meantime, that particular room is not inhabitable.
The second unit runs fine, and it comes with a remote which I was not expecting, but the water collects in a pool in the bottom pan and you hear water dripping throughout use. There is no apparent drain so it has nowhere to go. Dripping water is not a favorite sound of mine. I have combed through the manufacturer's documentation and can't find any reference to how the water should drain out, except that the unit has to be slanted back so that water flows in that direction.
People have been making and selling room air conditioners for quite a while now. You'd think they would have this all down by now.
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This air conditioner was easy to install. It works great and cools our entire master bedroom, bathroom, and the adjoining room.Friday, July 25, 2014
Review of Dyson AM05 Hot + Cool Fan Heater
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program
I have been intrigued with the Dyson Hot + Cool Fan Heater for a few years. I remember checking one out at a big box housewares store and was just thinking how interesting the design was but equally amazed at how high the price was. The design was certainlly clever and modern but it was not clear to me whether the performance could equal the expecatation and cost. I finally have a Dyson Hot + Cool thanks to the Amazon Vine program and I've been putting it through some serious testing and usage. My video review will cover most of my thoughts but I"ll highlight some of my thoughts here. After using it for nearly a year in both cold and hot conditions I am able to say it is NOT very effective as a fan and marginally more effective as a heater.
Let me be clear about one thing, the device name is totally misleading. It is called "Hot + Cool Fan Heater". It is NOT a cooler. It does not cool air whatsoever. An air conditioner cools air. This is not an air conditioner... it is a fan and it is not very effective as a fan because the air flow is simply too weak to be effective. Additionally it is very loud during operation.
I do like the look of this heater/fan. It's very modern and futuristic. Its slim design will enable it to be put in some otherwise tight spaces and will also look quite modern and elicit many comments, I'm sure.
The actual performance is poor. As a heater, it works pretty well, but only in a smaller square foot area. Since the head can oscillate back and forth, it sill distribute a warm flow of air fairly effectively in smaller rooms. Normally the thermostat in my house is set to 62 degrees during the overnight. I set the Dyson Hot + Cool downstairs in the living room. The entire downstairs area is approx. 900 sq feet but but has a relatively open floor plan so about 3/4 of that square footage could essentially be considered one room. The Dyson managed to keep the temperature right aroun 68 degrees all night long. The Dyson temperature had been set to 70 and as far as I know, it never attained 70 degrees. I'm pretty sure it ran continously all night long. I thought that being able to maintain a 68 degree temperature in that size space was pretty good though since it's still winter where I live and if the heater had not been on, it would have dropped to 62 degrees inside. If a smaller room were being used, it would heat the room to a higher temperature.
As a "cooling" fan, I was not impressed. There is simply not enough velocity or volume of air to be very effective as a fan. Not only that, but the Dyson is loud especially when the fan is operating at its highest setting. At the low setting it's not that loud, but then it's much less effective too. So to get a significant fan effect, you have to turn the speed up to a level much higher than "low."
I do like that the fan oscillates and also tilts. Howver, in my use of the fan, there was a significant amount of wobble in the head of the unit when it was tilted and oscillating. In fact at one point the unit almost vibrated or wobbled itself off the edge of the counter it was sitting on while I was out of the room. I could not believe my eyes. When the head is straight up with no forward or backward inclination, it's fine.
The remote is useful and magnetically attaches itself to the top of the head when not in use. But in my video you will notice at one point the remote slides off the top when I tilt the unit so the magnet is not as strong as it should be to hold the remote securely.
If you are a design forward kind of person or just admire the "genius" of Dyson, this fan will probably appeal to you. It's more flash than function in my opinion. If you're thinking that for the price it's got to be one incredibly effective fan and heater, you'd be mistaken. For the price, it's one awesome looking piece of equipment, but performance is not so hot (no pun intended.)
For my money, I"d rather buy a seperate floor standing fan, or box fan, that can really push some air and at significantly less cost. The Dyson can't even compare.
As a heater, it's pretty cool (sorry again, no pun intended) but again, expensive. I have a small, square, ceramic heater that is very quiet and effective. I think it cost around $40-50.
One worry I have and that I can't address until I've used this for a much longer time, is how much dust will collect in the air intake holes on the lower section of the unit. I've had other devices with similar looking holes and over time you get this very fine and hard to remove collection of dust buildup that would also reduce air flow. Internally dust might build up somewhere too. I have no idea how that would affect the already mediocre performance... or how to clean it. And the air output venturi would also collect dust over time and have to be cleaned.
I guess the Dyson and me aren't a good fit. It's cool looking as heck but I just don't think it lives up to my expectations of performance for something that costs this much. I can see this fitting in to certain decors really well though. And its slim design does enable it to fit in what would otherwise be tight spaces for other more conventional fans/heaters.
UPDATE: 6/3/2013 Having used this over the winter and now during some really hot weather, I'm reducing my rating to 2-stars. For the price, this just doesn't provide a commensurate level of performance. I would not recommend unless you just want to make a fashion statement but don't really care so much about effective cooling or rock-solid mechanical performance.
1. I am saving $300 per month on heating because the coldest member of the household is now warm enough and not using the whole house forced air heater to cook everyone.
2. It warms up a 15' x 15' bedroom fast about 90 seconds fast.
3. The cats and dogs and children never get near any moving parts that might injure them there are no moving parts.
4. There is no risk to anyone touching the heater it does not get hot to the touch.
5. It is quiet on low it is silent on high it is barely audible.
6. It is working all day and all night everyday for 8 months and has not crapped out.
7. It looks terrific. I redecorated and the style and beauty of the device adds to the modern design.
8. The remote control works perfectly.
9. It is enduring some rough handling amongst family members and guests and pets without busting.
10. It will get the room as warm as anyone wants to get the room. If someone doesn't feel well and wants it at 90F then it will deliver.
11. The animals are not afraid of it.
This is the best three hundred bucks I spent in the past six months. I am overjoyed that I took a chance and purchased this awesome heater despite the negative reviews. We are enjoying this heater, benefiting from this heater and I still love to marvel at its elegant engineering innovative design. So happy. Seriously pleased.
12. It's July and I have to add this fan cools. I don't understand how it blows cool air on a hot day but it does. There is no cooling component but the air from the Dyson is at least 10 degrees (F) than the rest of the room. Very refreshing.
8 months of daily use and we LOVE the dyson. And it looks great. I give it a wipe every so often because the air inputs attract dust. That's it for maintenance. I would love more well engineered products. It saved our household a lot of money during the winter. I will take a look at the heating bills one day and share how much. I really don't like many products, and I don't review most what I purchase. I haven't found a flaw yet.
On the design... For such a sexy form factor, I do not know why on earth they would have a black electrical cord for the white/silver fan... I would be willing to bet that everyone that chooses the white/silver fan would prefer a white or grey electrical cord.
On the performance... The "cool mode" simply blows air and doesn't actually cool. The product description and product packaging are incredibly vague (I suspect intentionally) about what the cooling function actually is. After using it for a while, I didn't notice it actually cooling the air at all, so I decided to run a test. I measured the temperature in my room with a precise thermometer. I then put the Dyson in "cool mode" blowing air directly onto the thermometer from around 2 feet away. The temperature did not changenot even by a fraction of a degree.
The fan has 10 wind speed settings1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. When set to 10, I find the fan quite loud actually. That is, loud compared to my $45 Lasko Pedestal Fan (that also oscillates and came with a remote!). Also, compared to my Lasko the Dyson wind power is significantly less. The Dyson at 10 is comparable to Lasko at medium. The Dyson also has a much smaller "wind target region" compared to the Lasko which is less effective. The oscillation function works well and the fan can be tilted up or down. Note, the magnetic remote usually falls off when tilting in either directiona slight annoyance and a detail you would expect to be covered given the price of the fan. If you like cool yourself in bed, you'll likely need to place it on a small table as it is too short to reach a bed, even when tilted.
In "heat mode," I did notice a slight burning smell on first use, but it quickly went away and did not return on subsequent uses. The heating works quite well and in a test, it brought the temperate of my bedroom from 62 degrees to 72 degrees in around 20 minutes when set to 10 and with oscillation turned on. In my living room, the "heat mode" consistently blew my fuse when used while watching the television (it didn't in cool mode though).
Overall, this Dyson is less performant than both fans and heaters that can cost less than $50. Unless money isn't an issue and you care more about the visual appeal of the fan than how well it works, this just isn't a good buy.
We currently live in a spacious one-floor apartment in the outskirts of Chicago. As of now, it's the tail end of winter here, but, as we've only been in the apartment less than a year, this was our first winter in the new pad. The apartment itself is great, but it's in a very old building with very little updates throughout the years.
The room in which I keep my office is one of those updates, as it seems it's an addition. As such, it doesn't have heating in there, so it can get very cold at times, especially when my wife closes the door during the day. I like to stay up at night on my computer or reading in there, so having the cold doesn't help.
Okay, so on to the heater. When I had the opportunity to order this heater, I jumped on it without hesitation, knowing exactly where I'll be using it. My wife bought a Dyson vacuum, and I like the design of it, though I think it's clunky. So the fan/heater was something to which I greatly looked forward.
When it arrived, the box was very simplistically designed and easy to remove the heater from. You only really have to assemble the base onto it, and that's it. Batteries are included, and the heavy-duty cord is more than long enough for my use. The instructions aren't really necessary, as you can figure out how to operate it from the get-go. The only two things I took away from them were that I can tilt the fan itself to have it pointing down or up, and that upon turning it on I have to wait for it to complete a cycle to figure out the temperature of the room. That's it.
At first use, I wasn't thoroughly impressed with it. I thought it would remain constantly on, though I've figured out later that it sets itself at the room temperature, much like an A/C. Since I really wanted it to aim at my feet, which get the coldest, I was disappointed as my feet were still slightly cold, especially when the heater went idle. But then I messed around with it.
The included remote (which can attach itself to the unit via magnets) is spot on the controls on the unit itself. There's the on button, oscillation, power level, and temperature. The stronger the power, the more it'll blow out, useful if you have it in a bigger room. Upon raising the temperature and the power level, as well as tilting it lower, I was able to get how I wanted it the next night, and my feet were great, let alone the rest of my body and room. Oh, and silly me left the door to the rest of the apartment open, which didn't help control the temperature within my office. Thanks to my wife for pointing out that glaring flaw.
In the end, I am pretty happy with the Dyson heater/cooler. The only real issue I have is with the price. I told my wife I was going to give it four stars, docking one for the price. I feel like the price should be around $150, honestly. But I don't know all that goes into making a device like this, as well as the included features. My wife agreed, but explained that Dyson is a higher-end brand; once she saw the magnetized remote, however, she said I should give it five stars--she thought it was the coolest thing ever. Oh, her...
It's great, and I'm glad I can finally stay comfortable in my office in late winter nights.
***UPDATE 03/03/13***
After a little less than a week of using this product, I'm afraid I have to change my review. I'm not sure if I received a faulty product or what, but I will contact Dyson for support in any case. I tried looking up support on their website, but since this specific model is still very nascent in the public world, there was no help I could find for AM05.
As you read before my update, I use this fan/heater for my office in the back of my apartment, which gets really cold in the winter. As of this writing, it's 20F outside. Since there is no heating in my office, I cannot imagine it is warmer than 77F--the temperature at which my Dyson is set, and it's not running at all. After the second day of use, I noticed that my heater didn't start at the last temperature at which I had it. "Okay," thought I, "it may be that it's a bit warmer tonight." I raised it a few notches and...nothing. I initially had it at 65F the first couple nights, and by the third night it didn't start warming up till I had it at 75F.
So the next couple nights were the same, and I tried unplugging and plugging the thing, which didn't do any help. The unit doesn't start working unless I raise it more, and right now it's at 77F and it's still idle. "Is it really 77 in here?" I asked my wife. "No, that's impossible," she replied. "It's freezing in here."
So, I will contact Dyson and update as needed. It's a shame, because when the unit *is* working, it's awesome.
***UPDATE 03/08/13***
Dyson sure enough emailed me back, and they requested I mail them the product I have for a replacement or repair.
I'll update again when I get another or my current one fixed.
***UPDATE 05/16/13***
I finally had a chance to send my "defective" product, and promptly received a replacement.
So far so good. The one I have now seems to be fine, and has read the temperature sort of accurately. Though it's now much warmer out here in Chicago (70Fs), I'll be updating this review at the end of the year once it gets colder again and I can properly utilize the heating feature.
The cooling fan is fine, though you have to set it really low for it to switch to blue. It's able to blow enough cool air into my little office to the point where I'm comfortable without cranking the A/C. (Though I really don't need to do that yet as it's not immensely hot out for now.)
In simple terms, it is WAY too noisy, to the point that I no longer use it, and therefore have wasted my $300+.... so disappointing for a Dyson product to be so poorly designed.
I have been intrigued with the Dyson Hot + Cool Fan Heater for a few years. I remember checking one out at a big box housewares store and was just thinking how interesting the design was but equally amazed at how high the price was. The design was certainlly clever and modern but it was not clear to me whether the performance could equal the expecatation and cost. I finally have a Dyson Hot + Cool thanks to the Amazon Vine program and I've been putting it through some serious testing and usage. My video review will cover most of my thoughts but I"ll highlight some of my thoughts here. After using it for nearly a year in both cold and hot conditions I am able to say it is NOT very effective as a fan and marginally more effective as a heater.
Let me be clear about one thing, the device name is totally misleading. It is called "Hot + Cool Fan Heater". It is NOT a cooler. It does not cool air whatsoever. An air conditioner cools air. This is not an air conditioner... it is a fan and it is not very effective as a fan because the air flow is simply too weak to be effective. Additionally it is very loud during operation.
I do like the look of this heater/fan. It's very modern and futuristic. Its slim design will enable it to be put in some otherwise tight spaces and will also look quite modern and elicit many comments, I'm sure.
The actual performance is poor. As a heater, it works pretty well, but only in a smaller square foot area. Since the head can oscillate back and forth, it sill distribute a warm flow of air fairly effectively in smaller rooms. Normally the thermostat in my house is set to 62 degrees during the overnight. I set the Dyson Hot + Cool downstairs in the living room. The entire downstairs area is approx. 900 sq feet but but has a relatively open floor plan so about 3/4 of that square footage could essentially be considered one room. The Dyson managed to keep the temperature right aroun 68 degrees all night long. The Dyson temperature had been set to 70 and as far as I know, it never attained 70 degrees. I'm pretty sure it ran continously all night long. I thought that being able to maintain a 68 degree temperature in that size space was pretty good though since it's still winter where I live and if the heater had not been on, it would have dropped to 62 degrees inside. If a smaller room were being used, it would heat the room to a higher temperature.
As a "cooling" fan, I was not impressed. There is simply not enough velocity or volume of air to be very effective as a fan. Not only that, but the Dyson is loud especially when the fan is operating at its highest setting. At the low setting it's not that loud, but then it's much less effective too. So to get a significant fan effect, you have to turn the speed up to a level much higher than "low."
I do like that the fan oscillates and also tilts. Howver, in my use of the fan, there was a significant amount of wobble in the head of the unit when it was tilted and oscillating. In fact at one point the unit almost vibrated or wobbled itself off the edge of the counter it was sitting on while I was out of the room. I could not believe my eyes. When the head is straight up with no forward or backward inclination, it's fine.
The remote is useful and magnetically attaches itself to the top of the head when not in use. But in my video you will notice at one point the remote slides off the top when I tilt the unit so the magnet is not as strong as it should be to hold the remote securely.
If you are a design forward kind of person or just admire the "genius" of Dyson, this fan will probably appeal to you. It's more flash than function in my opinion. If you're thinking that for the price it's got to be one incredibly effective fan and heater, you'd be mistaken. For the price, it's one awesome looking piece of equipment, but performance is not so hot (no pun intended.)
For my money, I"d rather buy a seperate floor standing fan, or box fan, that can really push some air and at significantly less cost. The Dyson can't even compare.
As a heater, it's pretty cool (sorry again, no pun intended) but again, expensive. I have a small, square, ceramic heater that is very quiet and effective. I think it cost around $40-50.
One worry I have and that I can't address until I've used this for a much longer time, is how much dust will collect in the air intake holes on the lower section of the unit. I've had other devices with similar looking holes and over time you get this very fine and hard to remove collection of dust buildup that would also reduce air flow. Internally dust might build up somewhere too. I have no idea how that would affect the already mediocre performance... or how to clean it. And the air output venturi would also collect dust over time and have to be cleaned.
I guess the Dyson and me aren't a good fit. It's cool looking as heck but I just don't think it lives up to my expectations of performance for something that costs this much. I can see this fitting in to certain decors really well though. And its slim design does enable it to fit in what would otherwise be tight spaces for other more conventional fans/heaters.
UPDATE: 6/3/2013 Having used this over the winter and now during some really hot weather, I'm reducing my rating to 2-stars. For the price, this just doesn't provide a commensurate level of performance. I would not recommend unless you just want to make a fashion statement but don't really care so much about effective cooling or rock-solid mechanical performance.
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There are so many reasons why I love the Dyson Hot + Cool Fan Heater:1. I am saving $300 per month on heating because the coldest member of the household is now warm enough and not using the whole house forced air heater to cook everyone.
2. It warms up a 15' x 15' bedroom fast about 90 seconds fast.
3. The cats and dogs and children never get near any moving parts that might injure them there are no moving parts.
4. There is no risk to anyone touching the heater it does not get hot to the touch.
5. It is quiet on low it is silent on high it is barely audible.
6. It is working all day and all night everyday for 8 months and has not crapped out.
7. It looks terrific. I redecorated and the style and beauty of the device adds to the modern design.
8. The remote control works perfectly.
9. It is enduring some rough handling amongst family members and guests and pets without busting.
10. It will get the room as warm as anyone wants to get the room. If someone doesn't feel well and wants it at 90F then it will deliver.
11. The animals are not afraid of it.
This is the best three hundred bucks I spent in the past six months. I am overjoyed that I took a chance and purchased this awesome heater despite the negative reviews. We are enjoying this heater, benefiting from this heater and I still love to marvel at its elegant engineering innovative design. So happy. Seriously pleased.
12. It's July and I have to add this fan cools. I don't understand how it blows cool air on a hot day but it does. There is no cooling component but the air from the Dyson is at least 10 degrees (F) than the rest of the room. Very refreshing.
8 months of daily use and we LOVE the dyson. And it looks great. I give it a wipe every so often because the air inputs attract dust. That's it for maintenance. I would love more well engineered products. It saved our household a lot of money during the winter. I will take a look at the heating bills one day and share how much. I really don't like many products, and I don't review most what I purchase. I haven't found a flaw yet.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I'll give it to Dyson... They've taken a very boring household appliance and made it sexy and cool. The design of the AM05 is super slick, elegant and very futuristic. But at $400, a cool design is not enough; to justify the price point it needs to drastically outperform standard fans and space heat by orders of magnitude. Sadly, it doesn't even come close. The packaging is quite minimal and the only assembly required is to pop the fan in the base which takes a few seconds.On the design... For such a sexy form factor, I do not know why on earth they would have a black electrical cord for the white/silver fan... I would be willing to bet that everyone that chooses the white/silver fan would prefer a white or grey electrical cord.
On the performance... The "cool mode" simply blows air and doesn't actually cool. The product description and product packaging are incredibly vague (I suspect intentionally) about what the cooling function actually is. After using it for a while, I didn't notice it actually cooling the air at all, so I decided to run a test. I measured the temperature in my room with a precise thermometer. I then put the Dyson in "cool mode" blowing air directly onto the thermometer from around 2 feet away. The temperature did not changenot even by a fraction of a degree.
The fan has 10 wind speed settings1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. When set to 10, I find the fan quite loud actually. That is, loud compared to my $45 Lasko Pedestal Fan (that also oscillates and came with a remote!). Also, compared to my Lasko the Dyson wind power is significantly less. The Dyson at 10 is comparable to Lasko at medium. The Dyson also has a much smaller "wind target region" compared to the Lasko which is less effective. The oscillation function works well and the fan can be tilted up or down. Note, the magnetic remote usually falls off when tilting in either directiona slight annoyance and a detail you would expect to be covered given the price of the fan. If you like cool yourself in bed, you'll likely need to place it on a small table as it is too short to reach a bed, even when tilted.
In "heat mode," I did notice a slight burning smell on first use, but it quickly went away and did not return on subsequent uses. The heating works quite well and in a test, it brought the temperate of my bedroom from 62 degrees to 72 degrees in around 20 minutes when set to 10 and with oscillation turned on. In my living room, the "heat mode" consistently blew my fuse when used while watching the television (it didn't in cool mode though).
Overall, this Dyson is less performant than both fans and heaters that can cost less than $50. Unless money isn't an issue and you care more about the visual appeal of the fan than how well it works, this just isn't a good buy.
Honest reviews on Dyson AM05 Hot + Cool Fan Heater
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program SEE BELOW FOR UPDATESWe currently live in a spacious one-floor apartment in the outskirts of Chicago. As of now, it's the tail end of winter here, but, as we've only been in the apartment less than a year, this was our first winter in the new pad. The apartment itself is great, but it's in a very old building with very little updates throughout the years.
The room in which I keep my office is one of those updates, as it seems it's an addition. As such, it doesn't have heating in there, so it can get very cold at times, especially when my wife closes the door during the day. I like to stay up at night on my computer or reading in there, so having the cold doesn't help.
Okay, so on to the heater. When I had the opportunity to order this heater, I jumped on it without hesitation, knowing exactly where I'll be using it. My wife bought a Dyson vacuum, and I like the design of it, though I think it's clunky. So the fan/heater was something to which I greatly looked forward.
When it arrived, the box was very simplistically designed and easy to remove the heater from. You only really have to assemble the base onto it, and that's it. Batteries are included, and the heavy-duty cord is more than long enough for my use. The instructions aren't really necessary, as you can figure out how to operate it from the get-go. The only two things I took away from them were that I can tilt the fan itself to have it pointing down or up, and that upon turning it on I have to wait for it to complete a cycle to figure out the temperature of the room. That's it.
At first use, I wasn't thoroughly impressed with it. I thought it would remain constantly on, though I've figured out later that it sets itself at the room temperature, much like an A/C. Since I really wanted it to aim at my feet, which get the coldest, I was disappointed as my feet were still slightly cold, especially when the heater went idle. But then I messed around with it.
The included remote (which can attach itself to the unit via magnets) is spot on the controls on the unit itself. There's the on button, oscillation, power level, and temperature. The stronger the power, the more it'll blow out, useful if you have it in a bigger room. Upon raising the temperature and the power level, as well as tilting it lower, I was able to get how I wanted it the next night, and my feet were great, let alone the rest of my body and room. Oh, and silly me left the door to the rest of the apartment open, which didn't help control the temperature within my office. Thanks to my wife for pointing out that glaring flaw.
In the end, I am pretty happy with the Dyson heater/cooler. The only real issue I have is with the price. I told my wife I was going to give it four stars, docking one for the price. I feel like the price should be around $150, honestly. But I don't know all that goes into making a device like this, as well as the included features. My wife agreed, but explained that Dyson is a higher-end brand; once she saw the magnetized remote, however, she said I should give it five stars--she thought it was the coolest thing ever. Oh, her...
It's great, and I'm glad I can finally stay comfortable in my office in late winter nights.
***UPDATE 03/03/13***
After a little less than a week of using this product, I'm afraid I have to change my review. I'm not sure if I received a faulty product or what, but I will contact Dyson for support in any case. I tried looking up support on their website, but since this specific model is still very nascent in the public world, there was no help I could find for AM05.
As you read before my update, I use this fan/heater for my office in the back of my apartment, which gets really cold in the winter. As of this writing, it's 20F outside. Since there is no heating in my office, I cannot imagine it is warmer than 77F--the temperature at which my Dyson is set, and it's not running at all. After the second day of use, I noticed that my heater didn't start at the last temperature at which I had it. "Okay," thought I, "it may be that it's a bit warmer tonight." I raised it a few notches and...nothing. I initially had it at 65F the first couple nights, and by the third night it didn't start warming up till I had it at 75F.
So the next couple nights were the same, and I tried unplugging and plugging the thing, which didn't do any help. The unit doesn't start working unless I raise it more, and right now it's at 77F and it's still idle. "Is it really 77 in here?" I asked my wife. "No, that's impossible," she replied. "It's freezing in here."
So, I will contact Dyson and update as needed. It's a shame, because when the unit *is* working, it's awesome.
***UPDATE 03/08/13***
Dyson sure enough emailed me back, and they requested I mail them the product I have for a replacement or repair.
I'll update again when I get another or my current one fixed.
***UPDATE 05/16/13***
I finally had a chance to send my "defective" product, and promptly received a replacement.
So far so good. The one I have now seems to be fine, and has read the temperature sort of accurately. Though it's now much warmer out here in Chicago (70Fs), I'll be updating this review at the end of the year once it gets colder again and I can properly utilize the heating feature.
The cooling fan is fine, though you have to set it really low for it to switch to blue. It's able to blow enough cool air into my little office to the point where I'm comfortable without cranking the A/C. (Though I really don't need to do that yet as it's not immensely hot out for now.)
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I'm a fan of Dyson, but not of the Dyson fan.In simple terms, it is WAY too noisy, to the point that I no longer use it, and therefore have wasted my $300+.... so disappointing for a Dyson product to be so poorly designed.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Discount Spt Dual-Zone Thermo-Electric Wine Cooler with Heating, 18-Bottles
List Price: $242.00
Sale Price: $199.00
Today's Bonus: 18% Off
While looking for a reasonably priced small capacity wine cooler, decided to give this one a try.
The touch panel controls and temperature control mechanisms are unreliable and I first noticed touch panel strangeness after setting it up. The touch panel was initially non functional but with some fidgeting and taps to the top door hinge and realizing there is a wiring harness under the hinge cover, the touch panel worked but remained somewhat tempermental.
The unit appears to have gotten the temperatures mixed up and ended up activating the heater to heat the wine to a nice toasty temperature of over 85 degrees. I had a separate fridge thermometer to monitor after some initial temperature variances and an overheating incident related to a power outage. Two corks popped with such great force that the door popped open and spilled wine all over the floor.
When the unit worked it was fine and temperature was cool at the 45 and 55 degree settings. However, the unit ended up overheating or activating it's heater function and cooked the wine TWICE... no more going back to amazon after 2 weeks. Look elsewhere as now I am running triage on the 18 bottles of wine to see if they are still drinkable after a cook cycle... A lesson learned while getting into the hobby of wine drinking/storage/enjoyment.
Better luck to all.
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The unit vents out to the sides, not out the back. When you try to build a cabinet around the wine cooler, it will not reach desired temperatures due to insufficient ventilation. The units measurements in the advertisement on Amazon were also incorrect. It said it was 13" deep and 22 inches wide. Actually, it is 13 inches wide and 22 inches deep. I contacted Amazon by phone and let them know of this discrepancy.Best Deals for Spt Dual-Zone Thermo-Electric Wine Cooler with Heating, 18-Bottles
Bought this to supplement a much larger wine refrigerator out in our garage that is only used for reds...this one is for the modest number of whites that we have on hand at any given time. It looks nice in our kitchen and is very quiet. It can hold 44 degrees in the upper compartment and maintain a 10 degree difference between compartments, with the caveat that the thermoelectric cooling cannot attain a temperature that is more than 30 degrees below ambient. What that means is that this fridge is not for use in a garage that can get to 100F+, as the wines would then get above 70F (I haven't tested the heating capability, but assume it is much more capable). There were no instructions for attaching the handle, but even I was able to figure that out. :-)Honest reviews on Spt Dual-Zone Thermo-Electric Wine Cooler with Heating, 18-Bottles
Bottom line: Do not buy this cooler. It's not worth it. The quality is horrible and it will break before a year is over.If you still want to know why I feel this way: The top part of this "cooler" stopped working in January. I got the unit in October. The top portion "claims" to be able to cool to 44 degrees so I placed my white wine on top and the red wine on the bottom. I set the temperature to 47 but noticed recently that it was 60. Then it climbed to 70. And today was a whopping 77 degrees! It's February (read cold) and not even that warm in my house. My house is at 70 which means that the "cooler" is actually heating my wine. *horrifying* It's less of a wine cooler and more of a wine baker.
In regards to getting it fixed/replaced: The return window from Amazon has closed. They directed me to Home Depot who fulfilled the order. Home Depot did nothing to help me other than transfer me to other phone numbers/associates. The total time on hold/wait exceeded 1 hour. I finally got a hold of SPT. Their phone number is 1.800.330.0388. My problem is exacerbated by the fact that this was a gift from my wedding registry. So I had to hound my gift giver for the order information. Now SPT wants me to drive the fridge to their warehouse so they can inspect and possibly replace. Will post updates.
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So I got this product and it makes a loud buzzing noise and the digital display does not work. Up to this point I have never had a problem with electronic products ordered through Amazon but I guess there is a first for everything. If you are looking for a headache and what is clearly inferior manufacturing, go with this product. Otherwise, stay away from this one...Sunday, July 13, 2014
Review of Log Basket in Brass Plated
List Price: $66.99
Sale Price: $57.32
Today's Bonus: 14% Off
I ordered this item because it was lauded as better and heavier duty than others on Amazon that look very similar. It was more than twice the price. It's much lighter than I expected--really thin and lightweight. I would NOT recommend this product. I also ordered several other Minuteman Int. items and have been disappointed with them as well. They're all lightweight and cheap--but cost more than most other brands on Amazon. There is another basket that looks just like it for less than half the price, but I ordered this one because I thought it would be sturdier. It came with a bright gold "Made in China" sticker and it certainly lived up to the stereotype of cheap imitation products. I know that some quality products are imported from China, but this one is one of the reasons for the negative stereotype. Don't waste your money. This one is extremely over-priced.
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I rolled the dice (I don't like to buy items with no other reviews, but it is sturdy and looks great! Pay attention to the measurements. Its small, but if you wanted small (like I did), then you can't go wrong with this thing!Sunday, July 6, 2014
Best Lasko #5397 Ceramic Pedestal Heater with Remote Control Deals
List Price: $71.99
Sale Price: $45.92
Today's Bonus: 36% Off
I researched for a long time before purchasing this Lasko heater last winter. I bought one and ran a test for a month to see if A)the heater would heat up a rather large living room, and B)whether my electric bill would go down. So, with my heat pump thermostat set on 65, we used this unit in our living area all last winter. Our electric bill was drastically lower! In fact, I liked the heater so much that I bought my daughter one, just to help her save money too.
Best points on the heater are the remote control, the oscillation, and the pedestal which better evenly distributes the heat. We bought 2 more smaller Lasko heaters from Amazon to basically heat up every room where we need heat this winter...and I guarantee that our electric bill will still be lower than merely using the heat pump alone. I had no idea that the heat pump ate up so much power.
Great heater!
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Did not heat as well as we thought it would. The heater kept cutting off before it reached the temperature we set for.Best Deals for Lasko #5397 Ceramic Pedestal Heater with Remote Control
works great for a room and not having to crank up the central air, the auto mode works great although recommend using ceiling fan to circulate air or you get hot spotsHonest reviews on Lasko #5397 Ceramic Pedestal Heater with Remote Control
I did a lot of research and shopping around for a space heater and was not disappointed with this. It's provided excellent heat for a large room.The digital remote is great so you can see the temp without having to walk across the room. The timer feature can be used in automatic mode as well so I set the temperature and have it shut off after a couple hours.
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Nice heater. Easy to assemble. The remote is nice too. It has a digital temperature display. Timer, height and decent power, given the price.Saturday, June 21, 2014
Reviews of Pentair 471424 Standard Flow Valve Complete Assembly Replacement
List Price: $174.90
Sale Price: $74.14
Today's Bonus: 58% Off
Perfect fit and exact match to the original except better. My original was so deteriorated from flow friction and chemicals that I am surprised by the quality , it was really good. Almost to pretty to use.The part arrived and was slightly different than the original. It fit the heater perfectly and my heater was back in working order in no time.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Discount Sengoku CTN-110 KeroHeat 10,000 BTU Portable Radiant Kerosene
List Price: $109.99
Sale Price: $99.99
Today's Bonus: 9% Off
Bought this heater through Northern tool. It functions well and really puts out the heat. It's a small unit and really easy to move around the house where heating is needed. I like the removable fuel tank and the ignition system.
Smells just a little bit upon start up and shutdown, but other that that, it really burns clean and almost odor free. Use only fresh K1 kerosene in this heater, dry burn the wick once every 5 tanks of fuel and the wick should last you 3-4 heating seasons. Just make sure your kerosene does not have water in it. A trick I learned a long time ago is to add 1/2 tsb of ISO-HEET fuel line deicer and water remover to each gallon of kerosene. The Iso-HEET alcohol will absorb any water and burn it off without messing up the wicks ability to wick up the kerosene.
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Got it for $89 bucks + shipping from Amazon. Arrived, very timely. Does everything it says it does, but gives off a fair amount of fumes. Would work great for a garage, workshop, or emergency use, but can't see how you can use it "semi-regularly" in your house. A carbon monoxide detector is a must. It's "fair". Update: After the initial break-in period, there's no smell at all. My CO detector says "zero". Heats my entire 1 bedroom apartment great. I recommend this heater. Next time, I'll be more patient when reviewing something!Best Deals for Sengoku CTN-110 KeroHeat 10,000 BTU Portable Radiant Kerosene
REally a reliable heater. Mine burns all night without a problem. Starts eazy and love the new no break started plug instead of the little wire that brakes on most ignighters. Burn wick time is cut in 1/2.You can't fill tank without putting it out first-real saftey feature. No kero smell during, after burning. or shutting off. Miles knows his stuff, we all know who miles is by now.Honest reviews on Sengoku CTN-110 KeroHeat 10,000 BTU Portable Radiant Kerosene
I purchased this heater as a backup in case power is off for a extended time.I purchased kerosene at a local gas station, undyed was $4 a gal. (here in TN.) Local WMart sells kero for $10 a gal.
I like the removable tank, seems well made. filled it up, let sit for about a hr. (per instructions) and lit it up outside to burn off any residues. brought it in and adjusted flame to lowest setting, no flames on top.
the heater puts off a nice amount of heat, for it's size. and no stinky smells like heaters I used many years ago. I like it!
I'll post a pic of what my cat thinks about it.
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You don't see many of these heaters anymore these days. I grew up with three Aladdins in my family. Two still work after 32 yrs at my parents place. But no stoves or parts are made anymore. It's really a shame.In my home, I used a small Enviroheat 11000BTU kerosene heater. A combination of the hand crank and impossible wick replacement finally lead it to the junk heap. And this is the only modern "floor model" kerosene stove I've seen. You'll find three different manufacturers all put their name on this same model stove. Sengoku is actually the original maker....all other just import it and put their brand sticker on it.
When you first fill up the cartridge tank, you will notice a dark oil already inside there. This is normal and mixes with kerosene fine. I assume it's just something to keep the tank from drawing in moisture as it sits for long periods.
Be sure to let the first full cartridge tank set for about an hour. This lets the wick soak up the kerosene fully and evenly for the first time. The igniting method is just great. I've used the round crank on older heaters all my life. This simple "lever" style igniter is just great. Push the slider all the way down, you'll hear a buzz and see the stove ignite. Then simply let go. The slider will return the the "high" position. A slight push up and the flame will go 1/4" down to the "low" position.
It puts out quite a lot of heat. Moreso than my previous 11000 BTU I think. But now this leads me to the only "drawback" of this stove. If you've had experience with kerosene heaters, you'll know that some have a blower built in. Other models like the Alladin could be outfitted with an external blower attatched to the top of the stove. The Sengoku doesn't come with any internal blower. I had planned on using one such external blower on it. But just below the top "shelf" of the heater, just above the lamp, there's some kind of metal (carbon?) plate. This plate dampens most of the heat going to the top of the heater.
Now, on one hand this is good. Keeps all the heat coming from the front of the heater. And while the top is still hot,it won't melt your skin off if you touch it like older heaters would. But the major drawback is an external blower, putting a fan behind the unit, or anything else like that has little effect. But nowhere does the manufacturer say that you should put accessories or blowers on their unit. Nor do they claim to have an internal blower. So this "drawback" is more about my general expectations than a fault of the product itself.
The backside of the heater is cool. The sides are even touchable, although the front edge of the sides are a little warm. But from the handles back, you're cool to the touch. I would be careful not to put this in a "tight" place. At least leave a little room on the sides. It really just begs to be pushed up against the wall and between your furniture b/c it's only about as wide as a surround sound receiver. But do be careful with your placement.
It has a manufacturer's warranty and contact information card is the first thing you see when you open the box. Every part number is found inside the manual. I know Ace carries the wick for this heater b/c they sell this heater with a different brand name for 20 bucks more. I'm not sure how the part numbers match up, but they definitely have it. Search Ace's website for kerosene heaters and you'll see this one.
The manual also has very detailed info on wick maintenance so please read it. It needs to be done with every new wick at least a few times, or you'll have to change it every season. So far I'm very pleased with it's performance and price.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Reviews of Optimus F8502 Black 12 Fan Twin Head Universal
My son bought this fan several years ago. I loved it but couldn't find it any were. Until Amazon. Now I finally have the fan I've been wanting. Love the duel fans gives off lots of air and it so quiet.
Phil R.
Fort Worth, Texas
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I'm quite pleased with my order of the Optimus F8502 twin head fan. It arrived quickly and it was well-packaged. The simple assembly of it only took me a few short minutes. And during the recent triple digit days here in Texas and the humid nights, my new Optimus fan worked like a breeze. No pun intended.Phil R.
Fort Worth, Texas
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