Heaters Reviews

When I first used the heater, there was an odor in the air that give me an headache. I don't know what chemical they used to induce such an odor, but it nauseated me. I experienced this using DeLonghi SafeHeat heater. Both were made in China.

Well, had I been able to get the wheels to stay on and turn on the heater, I might have a better review, but alas.

very happy with heater,computer room in corner of house says colder than rest of house.heater on low keeps room quite warm.fast delivery.

I drove for an hour with the cooler plugged in, and it did not get any cooler inside. It might keep frozen things from fully thawing, but a regular plastic cooler would do it too. Not worth the money.

Received the cooler - it works fine.
Couple things to watch out for - no manual in the box.
That is odd - toothbrush comes with one..
AC adapter - shown on the web site - not in the box.
There is word 'optional' on the box near the picture.
No phone number or any other indication on how to order it.
Not the best shopping experience.

this is an awsome peice of work the person who thought of this is a genious and i would like to thank him/her because i have perchased this product and it has lasted a long time all the other ones that i have bought have broken in a weeks period of time.

usually, "reconditioned" includes a functional product, with the dirt removed, having the parts screwed back together, and a box with directions - at the least- but that was too much to ask for here.
For a lot less money, you can buy a bic lighter- and it will stay lit longer.

I think it would be valuable to a potential customer to know the condition of the reconditioned buddy heater.

I received my Factory-Reconditioned Mr. Heater MH9BR Portable Buddy Heater for $$$ less than a new one and it came in perfect, like new condition. I would have never known it to be a Factory-Reconditioned product if it wasn't for the sticker on the box.

Just a really poor heater and when you send it back you are charged very high return fee by Amazon. Buy at a local store, returns are a ripoff at AMAZON.

I purchased the Soleus Air 1500-Watt Oil Radiator because I wanted a silent heat source for my bedroom, a heat source which would keep my bedroom warm and not disrupt my sleep. The Soleus radiator turned out to be a poor choice.

The radiator is quiet. It doesn't use any fans. The radiator's thermostat audibly clicks when turning the radiator's heat on and off, but the periodic clicking is not loud. The clicks do not disrupt my sleep.

Sadly, the radiator does not put out an adequate amount of heat. In the master bedroom, where the radiator is located, one might get a one or two-degree increase in temperature after operating the radiator for an hour, or more. I've tried placing the radiator three feet from my bed, which is the minimum distance from furniture specified in the operator's manual. I still couldn't detect any appreciable heat from the radiator.

If you're looking for a good space heater, keep looking! This radiator is not up to the task!

This is an excellent heater. I live in Colorado and have been using the unit in the master bedroom. Very satisfying, warms the room quickly at position 1: 600 Watt. Have not had a need yet to use it in position 2: 1500 Watts. Clean, quiet, excellent!

First of all I will say their customer service is good but as for the product I'm quite disappointed. In fairness some of this applies to all of these portable A/C's because of their design.

1) The BTU rating for these products are grossly misleading. From what I can gather, one problem is that the compressor and internal components that cool also generate heat so it heats and cools at the same time. That's why probably a 5k btu window unit will probably cool about the same but cost you a fraction of the price.

2) Particular to the Alen is a pump that will pump the condesation out through a hose. Which sounded enticing to me but boy was I wrong. In my application, it was slightly off balance. I put a level in it and the bubble was most in the lines. Anyway, I let the unit run all night and to my delight in the morning, water was coming out of the bottom of the unit and the floor was drenched with water. I would imagine about 4 gallons worth. Now the environment is unique which I will point out later, so I took it out of the truck and put it in a 20x20 insulated garage. For kicks I had a door mat about 1/8" think and I put two of the wheels on it and left two off and to my surprise I got about the same level readin here. Also, not when I went to pick it up out of the truck and move it, it drenched me so cancel any thoughts about moving this thing. Maybe rolling on hard wood floors but the slightest tip or if you ever think you might want to use it on a different level, I wouldn't recommend it unless you don't mind you and everything around it getting wet.

3) Based on number one, I purchased mine through Webstores.com and they rated this thing at a five and indicated it cooled on par with most 12k btu portables. Not so, or at least not in my experience. I tried a 10k Everstar unit from Home Depot before this one and I'd be surprised if the Alen cools as good as the Everstar.

4) My environment, I'm trying to find a cooling alternative for large trucks. Going by the literature, I would have thought something rated at 10k btus would have no problem cooling a semi-insulated 70 sq foot area. Well, don't get your hopes up.

My first test was to put it in about 3pm here in Charlotte, NC. Temp in the truck was about 93 with outside temp about 89. The compressor wouldn't even come on. I'm not sure this was specific to the Alen because I had a similiar problem with the everstar but it was 100+ when I first tested the Everstar. What I found is I had to leave the units running over night and when the temp naturally came down on it's on, the compressors would come on. I couldn't really test the Alen today because of the levelness problem and the water not pumping out. But with the everstar, the temp in the truck was around 92 degrees on a 97 degree day. Not you have to keep in mind that the front windwos do allow sunlight in.

My thoughts for these portables would be as alternatives for RV's, or trailers converted for racing, or possibly in tents for camping and such. If that's what you are thinking of purchasing one of these items for, I would strongly suggest purchasing one from a store in which you can return it. Home Depot, some of them carry the everstar and the Maytag. Pep Boys to my understanding carries the Sunpentown but I'm not sure of their return policy.

If you are thinking of one of these for the houes, you have to have a window or cut some sort of hole for the exhaust so in my opinion you'd be better off buying a window unit for a fraction of the cost.

The concepts of these units are sound good in theory and I desparately wish they would work but unfortunately with my experience, I have to say the severly fall short and are priced way to high for what they are.

Again, I want to iterate that the people I've spoke with at Alen are top notch. So I did put some consideration in the wording of this review because I was kind of conflicting bashing a good companies product. But on the other hand, I've spent a lot of time researching these things and it's frustrated when you get a product that is broke or doesn't perform to what you are led to believe, you get stuck with having to pay for return shipping on these things which isn't cheap. With that cost alone, you could almost purchase a window unit.

This air conditioner has a few problems. Read on, though! It is rather noisy, probably due to the pump feature. Also, there is a plug at the bottom that is easily broken (and easily replaced.) BUT! BUT! Pay attention to a company that 1. Listens to suggestions for improvement 2. Works with consumers and their dealers for total satisfaction 3. Has and aims to please and make their products "user friendly." Their new model which will be out next year should reflect total upgrades of any present problems that one might have. The a/c works awesomely! It's just a bit noisy for the bedroom and has no "library quiet" or night setting. This suggestion was heard and sent to R&D too!
I am impressed! Next year check out their newest addition to the portable air conditioner market which will be coming out. Presently, many would be very pleased with this very powerful model, especially if you have carpeted flooring (carpet would muffle much sound) and need to cool a large area. I love the remote control feature and heat option. I love the choice of drip or pump to drain water. Pump will pump water 12 feet! Find that on another air conditioner! Good luck! It is powerful, cools immediately, and one awesome product even with flaws. Congratulations to this customer friendly company and a great product! Bow and applause to Alen Technologies! Their portable air conditioner reflects technologies years ahead of other similar products. Comparing features reveals this. I spent several months researching air conditioners and portable air conditioners, their features, customer service of various companies. I consider that I am well educated in this area after so much hours of research. (Reminder: Portable air conditioners often make more noise than window models. This is a "given" for which many consumers are not aware. Because it is "inside," it must be stronger in order to cool the heat it creates because it is IN the room, not outside the window.)

The HCH5822-U space heating unit we purchased looked and operated poorly. The digital thermostat was wildly inacurate per an indepentant thermometer in the same room, often not turning off the unit until the room temp was 8-10 degrees warmer than intended. The buttons were "sticky" and not always responsive.

There are far superior alternatives to this heater in this price range.

The unit isn't of the best quality construction and runs very loudly. I think there are better choices out there for the price.

I bought this and brought it home, set it up and turned it on. I went downstairs and thought that someone was doing constriction outside. One of the fans continually droned and vibrated; causing so much noise I could not use it. I thought it was a fluke so I sent a message to Holmes which they did not respond to. I returned it and replaced it with another identical model. I set it up and turned it on and was satisfied. I went to bed only to wake up to it turning off and on and from high to low. I looked at the display and it was alternating from a humidity level of 40 all the way to 75, and all numbers between. Also it was randomly cycling between all levels of power. I turned the unit off and went back to bed. To my surprise it turned itself back on and again cycled through different power levels and modes. Stay away from this model and I am not impressed with the lack of customer service from Holmes.

The poorly balanced fan motors in this unit cause it to vibrate, shake and buzz to the point where it is useless at any speed above the lowest setting. Even then it causes a buzz that resonates through the floors and walls of the house. E-mails to the manufacturer have gone unanswered.

Other poor design features:
- the unit does not shut off when the tanks are empty so it continues to waste electricity until you notice that they are empty
- it becomes confused when on the automatic settings. If you set it at 40% humidity, for example, it will repeatedly turn on and off as it approaches that humidity level

It does work, however, in that it is effective at adding humidity to the air. On the low setting (again, due to the noise and vibration I can't use medium or high settings)I need to fill it daily which means it's pumping a decent amount of moisture into the air. There are many other brands that do it much better, though.

I use the unit on the first floor of my home. On the second floor I have an Emerson 13-gallon unit which is a far better design and does not have any of the aforementioned flaws.

Frankly I am suprised at all the negative reviews.
I am lucky I did not see them before I bought this unit.

I do find the unit fairly loud on high and medium power but no louder then I would have expected in comparing to other humidifiers (I own 4 - this being the largest)

On low power I find it quiet enough so I can stand right next to it and talk on the phone, and it does not bother my TV watching.
Also on low power this humidifier still humidifies great, infact I found I did not need my other humidifiers on other floors, as it seems to be humidifying my first 2 floors (about 2200 sf) to my satisfaction. (This winter has been unusualy warm though)

This unit is sleek and compact for a full house humidifier.

Another thing I really like is that I bought this humidifier beginning of this winter season and I have not had to change the filters yet - still running strong, I expected to have to change filters monthly, so this was a nice bonus - of course it all depends on your local water quality.

A comment about Holmes customer support, another warm mist humidifier that I bought last season broke, I called Holmes and they imidiately offered to replace it once I described the problems to them, they sent me a brand new unit for a $10 shipping fee which I find is very fair. Infact since I no longer liked the warm mist, I asked them to send me an equivalent cost model that was cold mist and that is what they did.

I purchased one of these. It never lit. I later learned it was subject to a recall. Anyway, customer service was very effecient at providing a return code to return it for replacement. However, there never was any replacement. So my experience was that I spent a significant sum of money for something that never worked and now looks like money just thrown away.

I'd recommend dealing with a local merchant who will take your return AND provide a replacement.

Heater Recall
4/1/05 2:05:34 PM
Mr. Heater recalls 55,000 Big Buddy and Tough Buddy portable propane heaters. The valve can leak and pose a fire hazard. Only model number MH18B heaters are recalled. They are either black with yellow accents or light gray with red accents around the burner tiles. September-December 2004 for $120 - $149. Get a replacement at 1-800-385-2605 or www.regcen.com/heaterrecall. Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission

I've been fumbling, stumbling, and bumbling along trying to obtain the "right" combination of MR HEATER items to allow me to use their BIG BUDDY product. I strongly suggest that you decide on which heater you want, then go to www.mrheater.com and pull up the web page for that heater. Find the FAQ section for that heater. Read through the "problems" very closely. You will find there are valid reasons for those problems to occur. MR HEATER explains and provides solutions to those problems in the FAQ. One thing, in my humble opinion, is missing in the descriptions ~ If you are using larger than 20-lb tanks, you may need a "regulator" to control the pressure from the tank to your heater or other small appliance. Check with MR HEATER Tech Support before you run into problems. Be patient and be very clear about your setup. Everyone I have contacted has been very helpful and responsive to my questions. MR HEATER also provides information on the SAFETY RECALL situation with a possible solution on what to do with replacing a faulty heater.

This is the Worst product***** anyone could Ever purchase...I bought 2 and there is little or no heat***** the fan is very low power**** and I will never buy any Windchaser Product Again...

I can't believe it's rated @ 1500 watts - even at maximum , you can barely feel any heat coming from it. I left it on for 2 hours @ max settings and the thermometer in my bedroom remains unchanged! Also, the fan motor is pretty loud and never shuts off, like on my previous heaters. Where's all that 1500W of electricity going?

Well, as far as I am concerned, this heater works. I have had it for over a year - no problems. It is light, easy to move around from space to space. It is safe and economical, no worries about lighting things on fire like many other space heaters. The room seems to heat up appreciably in less than a half hour.

For the 1500W of power that it draws this provides about the amount of warmth that a vaccum cleaner provides by friction on a carpet. Quite pointless.

Wow, what a fine example of terrible engineering. The only control is a knob that ranges from OFF to SUPER. To set the thermostat, you turn the knob to the SUPER setting. When the room reaches a comfortable level, you slowly turn the thermostat down until the heater goes off. This is the point at which the thermostat setting equals the room temp. At this setting, the thermostat will automatically turn on and off to maintain the selected temp.
This design sets the stage for a frustrating user experience:
- By design, you must turn the thermostat to the highest setting, then WAIT FOR THE ROOM TO HEAT UP before fiddling with the knob until the unit clicks off, at which point you end up turning it up a bit until it clicks on (if it does). Its like trying to adjust your home's thermostat in the dark...just show me where to set the dial for 68 degrees and let me get on with my day.
- when the heater is working as designed, it turns on for 30-60 seconds, turns off for 10-90 seconds, then repeats the cycle relentlessly and unpredictably until you unplug it, let it cool, box it back up, and send it back.

I want a refund, reimbursement for lost productivity, and an ice cream sandwich.

While this little heater creates heat it isnt what I wanted at all. First of all I realized that it has no safety features. If it tips over unto the rug, it just keeps going! A real fire hazard. Also also the front heat control knob says "off" you cant really turn it off without pulling the plug out of the wall, rather inconvenient. And as one of the reviewers mentioned its a real drain on a circuit, throwing the circuit breaker in the first day of use. Last year I bought a Pelonis for less and it was far better.