Buy Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless Steel Lunch Jar

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List Price: $66.00
Sale Price: $46.91
Today's Bonus: 29% Off

It's a great "lunchbox" if you adapt your menu to it.

First the description

The lunchbox is a Thermos Jar with a non-insulated plastic top. There are four containers that fit into the jar in a specific order.

-The bottom container is a insulated bowl. It has a gasket sealed screw on top, insulated side walls and a small vent for pressure. The most insulative of the bunch it is designed for soup or other liquids

-The next container is the biggest. It has a slide and lock insulated top.

-The third container is notably smaller and has a Tupperware like pop top.

-The fourth container is smaller yet and has the same top.

You stack the containers in the jar and then clip the top on with little side clips. The whole thing then goes in a nice nylon carry bag that also has a pair of chopsticks in a narrow plastic box. There are little pockets on the side for extra sauce packets or condiments (or I-pod video's to watch while your eating lunch).

This unit is optimally designed for the Japanese style lunch. A soup, Rice, entrée and pickled/salted vegetables. Normally you'd put your soup in the bottom container, fill the middle container up with rice. Your entrée would go in the third and the veggies in the fourth. Since the soup and the rice container both have insulated tops they stay warm. The other containers are not insulated and neither is the top. This allows some heat coming off the bottom two containers to escape so that your veggies are at room temperature. Understanding this is important. Its not supposed to keep the entire meal at the same temperature. Its supposed to keep one part hot and the other part at room temperature.

I've found that in real use the soup container stays steaming hot. The stuff in the rice container stays warm (but not hot) the stuff in the top two containers heats up to room temperature, maybe a little bit more.

Naturally you don't have to use it as designed (soup/rice/entrée/veggie) but departures require a little bit adaptation and creativity. You need to balance both amounts and what you want to keep the hottest vs coolest. Also if you have access to a microwave at lunch it kind of makes this not quite as useful since you could just heat your food up there (as opposed to heating it up in the morning before you go). You could use the whole thing as a cooler (everything remains cold/cool till you heat up what you want). That might be a better way to go if your using it for the office.

The size of the room temperature containers is not large enough to handle American sized sandwiches and breads, so if your looking to take that traditional lunch box stuff this isn't the best unit for that.

If your looking to make the most of this unit you might check out some Bento Box cookbooks. They give receipies and menu sets more in line with what this is designed to handle. In particular I enjoyed the book "Bento Boxes" by Naomi Kijima

Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go

I'll cook something up out of that and thrown in a packet of instant miso soup for a Japanese style lunch.

Pros-

Compact and efficient use of spaceIt all goes in the tube, no bag full of different containers

Allows for two temperatures in the same container Allows for flexible combinations

Lots of interesting comments from your co-workers

Cons-

Cleanup is a bit of a pain Not dishwasher safe. The soup top is a little tricky at times.

Soft plastic will eventually pick up strong smells/Stains

Two temperatures in the same container Requires a little creativity, doesn't keep everything uniformly hot/cold.

Conclusion-

As long as you understand how it works and adapt it's a great product. Might encourage you to cook a bit more healthy food and eat more vegetables.

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I bought one of these not too long ago. I thought it was a little expensive,* but I can see that I will get many years of service from it.

The construction of all the components are very sturdy, and the container is very well insulated. The bag has an outside pocket that you can use to store a napkin (or teabags, as I do) and comes with a detachable shoulder strap and an attached short carrying strap. Inside the bag, along with the thermal container, is a utensil box that holds a pair of chopsticks. Everything is quality construction even the chopsticks, which have a textured surface on the business end of them making it easier for you to pick up food with them. Whoever designed this package gave it a lot of thought.

The bottom two containers are intended for holding rice and soup; the rice container has an insulated cap, allowing you can to store hot & cold items in the same container.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with this purchase and would recommend one of these to anyone who needs a lunchbox.

My only complaints (which are minor, but included here for the sake of completeness): the instructions are in Japanese (as if you needed them), and no western utensils (you can pack your own fork). But outside of that, it's a perfect product.

*Expensive? It paid for itself in 2 weeks after I bought it, I stopped eating fast food for lunch.

** It's been 2 years since I bought yet to show any sort of appreciable wear and tear. I love this thing!

*** It's now been about 5 years. Still using it, still in darn good shape.

*** It's now been about 10 years. Still using it. No appreciable wear.

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The picture doesn't show that each bowl has a lid. The two smaller bowls have snap on tuperware type lids.

The rice bowl has a thick, insulated lid but it's not airtight. Instructions say to use it only for rice as other contents may spill.

The soup bowl has a twist on lid that has a valve on it. However, the instructions say not to microwave the bowls with the lids on, so I'm not sure why the valve is there.

You're not supposed to put the pieces in the dishwasher, nor put any food directly into the outer container.

My lunch jar came with both English and Japanese instructions.

Honest reviews on Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless Steel Lunch Jar

My daughter, a high school senior who agrees with her friends that the school lunches "suck," is sold on this. She wanted to lose a few pounds, which this has helped her do despite the fact that she now eats a higher volume of food during lunch.

How? She, like all her friends, used to skip lunch and leave school famished, scarfing down the first things she could get her hands on usually high fat, high calorie junk food. This lunch box has eliminated her after-school munchies, keeping her appetite in check all day long. For the first time, she can pack hot (or cold) nutritious lunches at 6:30am, and they are still piping hot (or ice cold) when she pulls it out of her locker at 11:30. Her friends, who good-naturedly mocked her "space capsule" lunch at first, now crowd around her during lunch with their tongues hanging out, jockeying in line for her scraps. One remarked: "Your lunch container is about the same size as my water bottle, but you've got, like, a 4-course gourmet meal in there."

She's lost 10 pounds in the 2 months since she started taking her lunch in the Zojirushi jar, has gained noteriety among peers for having the "best lunches ever," has become more good-natured and less surly (better nutrition), and dances in her seat during 4th period as she waits for the bell to signal lunch period, where she can spread out her containers before her envious yet admiring friends and hold court over her "gourmet surprise" meal, trying to decide what to eat first. By her own admission, she has more energy and better concentration in class and during studies (her grades are up, by the way). She admits it's a pain to have yet one more thing to carry around in addition to her backpack (not that it wouldn't fit, but the backpack is already stuffed tight with books), but swears the payoff makes it worth the minor trouble. As a parent, it tickles me to see this self-described "laziest person on earth" hunkered over the sink at nights, lovingly and painstakingly cleaning out every container and lid (no doubt thinking ahead to the delicious and wholesome treats it will contain tomorrow).

Such a good buy, I bought another Zojirushi model better suited for my 11-year-old daughter. My kids say they will never go back to school cafeteria lunches, and have become much more nutritionally aware and involved in meal preparation. While their friends waste half their lunch period standing in line for tasteless and overprocessed entrees laden with salt, refined sugar and carbs, my kids dine on veggie chili and hot cornbread w/butter, delicious main course salads with homemade dressing, pita sandwiches and hummus, and stir fried teriyaki veggies over whole grain rice. And that's just the bottom 2 containers! The top 2 containers are perfect for fruit, tortilla chips, nuts and/or healthy desserts, all items middle and high schoolers love to eat. I'm thrilled with the product, which is solidly constructed, and which works completely as advertisied, with even better results if you preheat or pre-cool containers for 5-10 mins. We replaced the chopsticks with a plastic cutlery set, which fits nicely upright in the cloth carrier, thanks to the stretch loop on the inside.

NOTE: Like the other reviewer, I too was mildly annoyed at the Japanese-only user documentation, but then called the company at their California office (800-733-6270) and they promptly mailed/faxed English instructions. Don't even get me started on the money this saves by eliminating costly meals out and packaged foods. Excellent, excellent buy that has already paid for itself tenfold.

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We purchased the Bento box, based on the good reviews on Amazon, and initially had a good experience with it. The concept is obviously sound (with centuries of testing!), although we were concerned by the apparent flimsy security of the insulated tub "rings" on one container (the little rubber inserts for insulation). The center "plug" fell out after a few weeks use, and would not stay securely inserted thereafter. We called the manufacturer, and were curtly advised that there was NO WARRANTY on the product whatsoever! We were invited to purchase replacement plugs for nearly $3 each, plus $3 shipping, which we did, begrudgingly. We filled out a customer service feedback form online, hoping that perhaps the lack of service provided by phone was an anomaly (It's not so much the additional expenditure that bothers me, as the company's complete unwillingness to stand behind their product. That's disconcerting, to say the least).

UPDATE: The company just called and threatened legal action based on the above review...!? Way to go, customer service! I am leaving 2 stars for the product, but the company behind it gets zero stars. Purchase at your own peril, and in the knowledge that you are paying mor ethan $40 for something that will likely break, and has no warranty for anything but the large outer casing.

Buy Honeywell RTH8500D 7-Day Touchscreen Programmable Thermostat

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List Price: $129.99
Sale Price: $129.00
Today's Bonus: 1% Off

I have both the Honeywell RTH7600D (bought at Costco for around $65 and packaged there as model RCT8101A) and this Honeywell RTH8500D. Both units are very good with the one major difference being the "Vacation Hold" feature; the 8500 has it and the 7600/Costco version does not. The programming interface is different as well, however, one is not necessarily better than the other. The 7600 unit is a little easier to program whereas the 8500 offers a shortcut that allows multiple days to be programmed at once. Since you'll likely program the unit infrequently, I don't think this should necessarily be a consideration unless you are an installer of these units where time is money; then the 8500 is the unit of choice.

The Costco version for me is going back because it lacks the Vacation Hold feature. If you travel or not at home frequently, the Vacation Hold feature allows you to hold the temperature, say, at 50 degrees for 10 days while you take off for a ski trip. With this feature, once the timed Vacation Hold is over, the thermostat resumes it's normal programming schedule. So, when you arrive home, the house temperature is at a comfortable level.

The Costco version allows you to manually override the program schedule, however, you must manually remove the override as well. Therefore, when you arrive home from your ski trip, you come home to a cold house and you'll need to manually reset the thermostat and wait for the house to warm up. If this is not an important feature for you or you're are at home most of the time, go for the Costco version and save about $40.

Otherwise, the RTH8500D is an excellent unit that has worked quite well for me over the past several years.

UPDATE: We recently (May 2011) installed the RTH8500D in our bedroom. The "click" of the relay contact when the thermostat calls for activation annoys my wife who has rather sensitive hearing. I contacted Honeywell and they said the clicking sound is unavoidable at the current time and suggested insulating the back plate of the RTH8500D with 1/8" Styrofoam to deaden the relay sound. I temporarily tried a thick folded piece of clothing material and I didn't notice any difference. After reading other Honeywell thermostat reviews, the clicking sound seems to be universal across many of their thermostats. So, if considering a bedroom application, you may want test the unit to ensure it's within an acceptable noise level .

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I had trouble finding programable thermostats that would control my split system Carrier heat pump. Honeywell has the installation manuals for every one of their units online ( I spent time looking at this unit's documentation to be sure it could handle my Carrier unit. Be careful, many Honeywell and other manufacturers have units that don't handle heat pumps, and some include "call a professional" in their instructions. Setup was a cinch and the ability to program temps for four times per day for up to seven days will save me money throughout the year. It's a simple unit, seems compatible with most systems, has some neat features like "vacation hold" where you can override all the programming and set a temperature to "hold" until you reset it for programming. You could be away for an evening or a month...it would honor the "hold" setting.

There are a couple of "if this...then that" instructions, but they're really well put. I did notice a poor rating on one of Honeywell's other thermostats because one purchaser didn't realize the difference between possibilities linked with "AND" vs. "OR". "And" means EACH MUST EXIST, "Or" means ONLY ONE OF THEM SHOULD EXIST. So, although the instructions are excellent, they must be read carefully before using the unit on a more complex system, such as a heat pump.

Only thing I'm not too happy about is the very short time the backlight stays on...barely five seconds. Unfortunately, in my house, the unit is mounted in an area with little natural or ambient light. I'm sure once the screen is totally familiar to me this won't matter much. But, learning the system and setting the various "System settings" takes reading along with the Installation Guide and the screen is constantly going black. Maybe I just haven't found the setting that lets it stay on longer...

I'm not experienced with HVAC. I'm a 62 year old woman/avid home "improver" and installing this in place of the 25 year old mechanical mercury stat was very easy...maybe 30 minutes.

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I wanted a touchscreen thermostat that accepted power from the furnace system so I didn't need to replace batteries every year. (It will run off of batteries if your system does not provide 24vac power to the thermostat; many were not originally installed to do so.)

This model has practically every feature you could want in a standard thermostat. It's easy to install with a bit of careful reading and looks great on the wall. I like that you can set a temperature range (disabled by default; must set an advanced option to enable) and the unit will automatically switch between heat and cool to maintain the set range.

Each of the 7 days of the week is individually programmable with up to 4 events (wake, leave, return, sleep). It offers advanced hold modes: 1) hold override temperature until next program event; 2) hold override permanently until canceled; 3) "vacation hold" for a number of days before automatically resuming the normal program.

Another advanced feature is the "recovery" mode, where the unit learns how long it takes to heat/cool the living space and it can turn on the heater or air conditioner early so that it reaches the set temperature at the set time. Cheaper thermostats only turn on *at* the set time and then the temperature has to catch up to the program. This unit can anticipate your needs, so if you want it to be 75 degrees when you wake up at 7:35, set the wake-up event to 75 degrees at 7:35. It takes care of the rest.

Highly recommended! I have three of these in my home, one for each zone.

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I replaced a 20 year old thermostat with this model. I have a simple gas heat / air conditioner. It took me longer to find he scissors to open the box than it took to actually install. I love that is actually comes pre-programmed with suggested times and temps. In fact, I left the Monday Friday settings as it. I did however purchase the oops-plate for this unit since the older one was larger than this one. Excellent product.... quite happy.

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I have a bunch of these installed in my rental properties and my primary residence.

Unlike the VisionPRO 8000 series, these lack the ONE feature that make this more useful than a much less fancy thermostat automatic air circulation.

In addition to the "AUTO" and FAN ON", the VisionPRO model has a third option called "CIRC", which cycles just the fans periodically. This allows multiple level houses to keep consistent temperature at all levels of the house instead of the basement being cold and top floor being hot without out turning on the heat or AC.

Another drawback is that the touch screen usually goes bad in the second year. I'm not talking about the LCD breaking, but losing touch sensitivity with certain areas of the screen where you can no longer get any response from a more frequently used button such as the "hold" button.

Other minor, but important features missing on this consumer version are the following:

Lack of remote sensor support useful if your thermostat hits the Sun light and falsely runs the AC.

No option to lockout the touchpad. Most residences won't use this, but a great option for public spaces or if you are sub leasing.

Lastly, the warranty is 1 year for this item through Honeywell. The VisionPRO model has 5-year warranty, but REQUIRES installation by Honeywell HVAC dealer to get warranty service.

Recommended if you just want a fancier thermostat, but buy with Amex card for 2nd year protection. Better yet, buy the VisionPro model using Amex and deal with Amex for warranty service for the card's maximum 3 years.

--- Update ----

More of my thermostats lost the touch sensitivity, but was able to fix it by taking the case off and re-inserting the thin/flat cable that connects the screen to the main board. For some reason, this reinserting reset the touch functionality and everything returns to 100% operations.

Vornado VH110 Whole Room Vortex Heater Review

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List Price: $79.99
Sale Price: $59.00
Today's Bonus: 26% Off

Bought this heater from costco about 1 week ago to heat our 18' x 20' living room, Not only doe's it do that very well, it heats the kitchen, hallway, and closest bedroom to the living room. we are going to purchase another for the rest of the house. Our house heater went out and cant afford a new one, don't need to fix it now. I would definately recommend this heater. we had bought one of those fake fireplace heaters they look great but took it back it didn't work anywhere close to the vorando heater for a fourth of the cost.

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I recently purchased this for an office that is about 20' x 10'. When I first turned it on within 5 minutes the whole office area was heated. I had to turn down the heat to a lower heating setting (it has 3 settings) so the office area wasn't overly heated. The safety feature of automatically shutting off if it is moved or tilted is a really great feature. It would be nice if it had a remote control or a thermostat control to set a specific temperature but that shouldn't stop you in purchasing this little heating marvel. You don't need to point this heater directly at you for warmth. It takes the heated air and evenly circulates it throughout the room. I own a Vornado air circulator at home and use it during the hot summer months. It works great....that is why I purchased this product. It is basically the same Vornado air circulator only with a heater inside of it. It gets a 4 1/2 star rating from me...but Amazon ratings don't do 1/2 points.

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This is my second Vornado VH110 purchase in 6 months. I have bought electric heaters before from different manufacturers and none of them withstood the normal wear and tear as well as the test of time like these Vornado heaters. Most of the ones I got at the big superstores caught dust in the grill after about 6 months of use and ended up just giving up and dying or even starting to burn the dust and grime inside stinking up the room and causing them to sound like a small airliner is about to land. Needless to say I had to bite the bullet and buy another one, and then another one and so on. A friend turned me onto Vornado heaters. I have to say I have never seen a small size heater heat up my high ceiling room so well, yet it only feels warm to the touch. This thing is quiet and seems to be very efficient it doesn't seem to burn the element inside as hot as the other heaters, and yet circulates the air a lot better then the 2700 watt higher powered heaters sold at Walmart. I am very impressed with the engineering of these little marvels and will recommend these to my friends too.

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It is a very nice heater and I love it at first...until the exterior cracked in 30 days. I suspect is the heat that caused the plastic exterior to expand and then crack open. Now there is an rattling piece of plastic inside the heater and I stopped using it. Amazon is replacing it with a new one at no cost since it's about 30 days since I received the item. I can't imagine what Amazon would do if it broke later and I would have lost the moeny I spent on this heater. I just hope the new one will last.

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This heater works super great! I have a really drafty room in an old house, and now I can't even tell with how warm the room feels with the Vornado. It circulates the air so well that I don't feel like I have to stay near my heater to stay warm which is nice.

Dr Infrared Heater Quartz + PTC Infrared Portable Space Heater Review

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List Price: $249.99
Sale Price: $119.00
Today's Bonus: 52% Off

We bought this heater to use in our living room and kitchen/dining area. We have all baseboard heat and our heating bills are usually through the roof. This heater does a good job and we are very happy, but there are a few things to point out.

1. It is a smaller heater than you might expect. It is half the price of an eden pure...but be advised that it's about half the size of the eden pure my parents have. That said, I think I'd rather have two of these than one eden pure that way I can space them out more.

2. This thing won't heat a 1000 sq/ft area. We use it in a 250-300 sq/ft living room that has an opening to our kitchen dining room that is about 250 sq/ft. It will heat up the room and maintain when it is as cold as the 20's outside...colder than that and we need to use our baseboard w/ this heater to get it up to temp (in about 10 minutes mind you)...and then this heater will do a great job of maintaining that heat on it's own. We did this down to about 4-5 degrees(F) outside and it worked great.

3. Haven't got a clue on heating bill, but it does draw some serious current. I have blown our breaker more than once by using this heater and our vacuum on the same outlet (always forget the heater is on...see 4)

4. Heater is very quiet and you won't even realize the thing is on except for seeing the orange glow back inside of the heater.

5. The wheels are awesome. We usually heat the living room for a few hours, then wheel it into the kitchen dining room for 20 minutes, then back for a couple hours.....super easy to do as you walk by and keeps both rooms at a comfy 71-74 degrees.

Bottom line is it is a great heater. It is drawing a lot of current but probably not more than 2 baseboard heaters that we virtually don't use now.....which have their own breaker each. I'd recommend it highly as it really gives you the cozy feeling that you don't get with those heaters that heat the air....compared to this one that heats you and the objects in the room. You can really tell the difference.

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...you need to invest a little time in thinking about 1) what it is you want it to do and, 2) coming to grips with what it is actually capable of.

A lot of people buy this heater (24%) after looking at the EdenPure portable electric space heater. I am guessing that those who do are looking to save about fifty bucks over the cost of the EdenPure and believe (correctly) that it is a virtual replica of the EdenPure. And that would be just wonderful if the EdenPure portable electric space heater (and this one) lived up to the hype that surrounds it. The problem is neither one does...they are both being promoted with false premises.

In fact, some claims are pure lies. Take this one: "Testing shows, the Dr. HeaterTM has 60% more heat output compared to most other heaters on the market." Ask yourself, what testing and compared to what heaters? You should be highly suspicious anytime a claim such as this is made without reference to the actual testing. Who did the testing? When was the testing done? What heaters were tested in comparison to this one? Odds are that there was never any testing done because the claim they are making is ridiculous. Here's why: Electric heat is electric heat no matter how you slice it or dice it. The only way that a 1500 watt electric heater can have 60% more heat output than "most other heaters on the market" is if "most other heaters" are rated at 938 watts. Period. End of story. It doesn't matter how the electric heat is produced or delivered, if the wattage rating is the same then the heat output is the same.

The makers of this heater also throw around mysterious science sounding stuff like "PTC." So just what is PTC? It stands for positive temperature coefficient and that sounds pretty high tech, too, doesn't it? So what is it? It is a ceramic heating element that is designed to heat to a specific temperature and varies the wattage consumed in order to maintain that temperature. In other words, it's self regulating. That's actually a nice feature and a big improvement over the stupid light bulb in copper pipe design that is employed by the EdenPure. (EDIT: Oops, just noticed that Dr. Heater uses quartz light bulbs with a PTC element so they are nearly as dumb as EdenPure) But does it justify spending two hundred bucks (or more) on the Dr. Heater? Well that depends on what your heating goals are. Let's explore that a little more...

First of all the only way that this heater (or the EdenPure) is going to save you any money at all on your utility bill is if you change your lifestyle. If you, like most of us, live in a house with multiple rooms then you need to realize that this heater is designed to heat ONE room. And, depending on the climate in your location, that might turn out to be a pretty small room. And while this is going on the rest of the house is going to be colder, maybe a lot colder. If you can make it through the winter living in one room in your house then this might be the heater for you. Most of us, however, move about the house from room to room and we enjoy doing so in relative comfort. A portable electric space heater (regardless of brand name) is not going to heat your entire house. And if you did put an electric space heater in enough rooms to make the house comfortable you would absolutely freak out when the electric bill comes due.

Here is a little math to explain that:

Let's say that you have a 10 cent per kilowatt utility rate. Let's also say that the heater is on 50% of the time. There are 720 hours in a thirty day month so that would be 360 hours for 50% operation. 1500 watts x 360 hours is 540 kilowatt hours. Multiply that against a ten cent rate and you get 54 bucks. Think about that for a second or two: 54 bucks to heat ONE room in your house for a month. And remember, that is assuming that it's only on for half the time. What if it's on for 2/3's of the time? Or 3/4's of the time? Yikes! Not good, campers, not good at all. And holy cow, what if you live in New England where it's cold AND the electric rate is over 15 cents a KWH? Double yikes! This is why (with the exception of heat pumps) electricity based heating is your worst heating value. Always has been and always will be.

And if you do live in a place that gets really cold then this "heat one room" strategy could blow up in your face if it results in a frozen and broken water pipe in an area that you aren't heating properly. This could happen quite easily if the electric heater is in or near the same room that the whole house furnace thermostat is in.

So what's the bottom line? First of all remember that electricity is (usually but not always...see below) a terrible value in terms of heating. Then also remember that the only thing that counts with electric heaters is the wattage. The biggest electric heater that you can plug into a standard wall receptacle will be rated at 1500 watts and they all produce the same heat regardless of bogus claims made to the contrary. That is basic science. Third, ask yourself if you really want to live this way: A prisoner to the warmth in ONE room of your house. If these things are okay with you (and if you insist on spending two hundred bucks or more for the same heat that can be had for fifty bucks or less) then go for it. Just don't expect this portable electric space heater to keep your whole house comfortable (it won't) while simultaneously saving you bucket loads of money. It just isn't going to happen.

A better idea would be to invest some money in beefing up the insulation values in your home. Especially look at your floor. You would be surprised how many people live in a home (built over a ventilated crawl space) with an un-insulated floor. Take a look at sealing up cracks and crevices in exterior walls and around doors and windows where warm air leaks out and cold air can infiltrate. These fixes aren't particularly hard and after they are done they last forever. They aren't as sexy as magic electric heaters but they do work.

EDIT/UPDATE: See my comment (dated 3-7-2013 on page 15 of the comments for this review) where I discuss yet another alternative to the overpriced "magical" electric space heater, the PTHP. If you want to spend big bucks on an electrically powered heater then this is THE way to go. It's more than 100% efficient. Seriously, it really is. Best value out there for this sort of thing.

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I received the DR Heater, and so far it is AWESOME. I had another brand of heater, and it's in the basement already. Quiet isn't quite the word for this heater. I have a propane gas insert for our fireplace. I thought it had a quiet fan, until I turned the DR Heater on. The fan in the gas insert drowns out the DR Heater fan. I had to put my ear down to it to tell if it was running or not. The heat output is exactly what they clame it to be. It has twice the features as the $400.00 unit. My house is well insulated, so I am not sure how it will work for everyone else. I can tell you that I highly recommend this Heater. It's should be a money saver. This is an update. Whats nice about this heater is the two types of heat output. This heater has only one bulb in it, so when the bulb goes bad, you still have heat output. I had the bulb go out, and the company sent me a replacement bulb. I received great support from DR Heater. Will buy another one.

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I found that the heater generally does what it claims to do, except for the size of the room it is supposed to heat. We used it exclusively in our basement rec room and it had to struggle to get the room tempurature over 70 degrees running on high. Outside tempurature was normally in the mid thirties to the mid-forties. It ran very quietly, attractive and the remote system is great. The heater did not get hot, as advertised. It would probably work great in a smaller room such as a bedroom.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dr Infrared Heater Quartz + PTC Infrared Portable Space Heater

While I've only had this heater a few days, it's already become one of my most prized possessions. I've used it to heat both a fairly large area of around 500 sq ft and a single 10x12 room. I believe it may be able to replace all 5 of my 1500 watt oil filled radiator heaters. Running on "High" the electric consumption is about 1.2 Kilowatts per hour as the manufacturer says. This heater heats very evenly. For example if the heater thermometer is reading 65 degrees you can go to the far end of the heating area and get a 65 degree reading there with a digital thermometer. Another big plus it that this heater doesn't adversely affect the humidity. In the large area I started and ended with 47% humidity. In the 10x12 room I started with 47% and ended with 39%, which then recovered back to 47% after the heater shut down. As far as any beefs, it can take several hours to bring the large area up to room temperature, but once you get it there the heater will cycle on and off to keep it there.

I would like to offer a couple of pointers so that you will be able to really enjoy your infrared heater.

1. This heater is a heavy duty 110/120V device and just like your refrigerator it's needs to be on a dedicated circuit. This means that a single line needs to be run from the circuit breaker box to where this heater plugs in. This heater has a very sensitive overload switch, so if the electric line isn't a dedicated line the heater will just shut itself down after a few minutes of use when being used in "Auto Mode" or "High Manual Mode". You may be able to use it in "Low Manual Mode" if there isn't too many other electrical devices drawing current.

2. This heater should be elevated about 18 inches above the floor. As you recall from school, warm air rises. If the heater is placed at floor level then it may run for hours and never show a temperature higher than 50 degrees and never shut down. But if you elevate it you can monitor the rise in temperature visually and the heater will only run when it needs to.

Discount Princess 182666 Stainless Steel Deep Fryer with Warming Drawer

Customer Ratings:

I purchased this fryer in mid 2011 but have only used it about 10 times. I have always kept in clean and with fresh oil. Now it is only about a year later and it will not power up. I tried the reset and it just will not work. Was not worth the money in my opinion.

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I recieved the deep fryer as stated in a timely manner, and in perfect shape. I have only used it once and it was easy to use. I have not tried out the warming drawer yet.

Best Pelonis NTK15 Safe-T-Furnace Ceramic Heater Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $47.70
Sale Price: $27.99
Today's Bonus: 41% Off

This heater is an excellent choice for a small space. Because it has a fan, it would not be suitable for a TV area. And because it's not sold by Amazon, you'll have to pay shipping (but even with that, the heater is a bargain). Compared to an earlier Honeywell unit of the same size that we had, Pelonis does everything right (whereas Honeywell did everything wrong). The controls are on top (handy), the knobs are easy to dial, and the light goes out when you turn off the fan (the Honeywell's light stayed on if the unit was plugged in (huh?). Note: In the picture, the heater appears to be cream colored; it is actually white.

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i bought this for my office and it does a wonderful job for be small

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I purchased this item from Wal-Mart in Oct of 2008 when it was on sale. I am here at Amazon.com to buy a more expensive model. Not this one. This heater has only one heating ceramic, and heats up a "coil" or "folded" wiring system then the fan blows the heat into the room. This model does not put out the heat that a 4 ceramic heater will put out. This model is more costly to run than the more costly, but more efficient, models. Do not drop this model. Do not put it in an area where it may get knocked over. It is low priced for a reason. Think "seasonal puchase" if you must have it.

If you can, get the more expensive models for hotter heating over a shorter period of time. All in all, Pelonis is still the brand to get. I have/had the original Pelonis Safe-T-Furnace (4 ceramic model) since 1989. Yes 1989. It has survived that long by taking care of it, and keeping it clean. I'm here to purchase a new model to replace it. The bulky wire out of the back of the old furnace finally "cracked" and lost connection to the heating elements. I had it 20 years. Sigh ....

I would suggest the more expensive model for long term use. The model shown here was lent to a neighbor and after a while her dog knocked it over and it stopped putting out heat. The fan works though. Now I need to find a job for the dog so he can pay me back ... Anyone need a yard dug up?

Honest reviews on Pelonis NTK15 Safe-T-Furnace Ceramic Heater

Didn't use it much until recently, too late to return. Has NO tip over switch as advertised and I have cats that occasionally take great joy in tipping things over, purchased this because of the switch. It does kick out the heat, and this one is not too noisy, it rotates fine, but now the cord it getting warm, not the plug into the wall but the cord which makes me nervous to leave it on at all if I'm not right there. Would not buy this one again. At work they have a older 3yr old model and it works great that's why I picked this brand.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Pelonis NTK15 Safe-T-Furnace Ceramic Heater

We use this to get the morning chill out of our 25' travel trailer' when camping. We have found a comfortable thermostat setting and run it on low with no oscillation. It came in handy during out recent trip down the Oregon Coast where the temps we low 50's at night and low 60's and windy during the daytime.

Buy Pelonis Personal Mini Fan Forced Heater 3 Heat Settings-adjustable

Customer Ratings:

These space heaters will turn off for various reasons. I live in a leaky apartment with no heaters. This is enough to heat a small apartment like mine, but as of this morning I have absolutely had it with this heater. This is the coldest it's been this winter and I can't have this thing turning off while I'm sleeping. That's the whole reason I woke up and am writing this; I hate waking up with scratchy lungs from the freezing cold. I'm giving this product 3 stars because some of you might want a space heater that turns it's self off. I have noticed that it will turn off for the the following reasons: if it falls over onto it's face (which is great because who wants their floor to melt?), if there is anything too close in front of it, and if their is too much moisture in the air.

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I purchased this around November 2012 and it died today while burning it's plug and my wall socket. I will have to replace the wall plugs and return the heater. It was a noisy heater, yes but it did get warm. It was NOT on when it somehow started to burn on half the plug. Thank goodness I smelled burning plastic and unplugged it before any actual fire. I will not buy this brand again if I can help it.

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I have not had the problems that Moniker reports in another review. In an effort to keep down heating costs, I've decided to try space heaters this year, and so far, the Pelonis heater has worked perfectly. I've kept it on almost all the time. This does not mean that it's been pouring out heat the entire time. For much of the time, it's been idle, waiting for the temperature to dip low enough to cause the heater to come on. And it's worked perfectly.

I use this heater in a relatively small room--about 120 square feet--with small animals that I don't want exposed to too much cold at night. So far, all is great. I have two minor quibbles, but they are truly minor, at least when compared to the cost (under $20 when I bought it). The first quibble is that the thermostat is not very accurate, and there is no degree setting, meaning that I cannot set the thermostat for 74 degrees or anything like it. I have to set the thermostat by feel. The second quibble is that the fan itself is not all that strong. I've tried to use just the fan in order to test it, and let's put it this way: I don't think I'll be using this heater in the summer to try to keep cool. Still, as a heater for a small room, it's worked perfectly.

One additional note: As I write this, there is one other review, which reports that the fan shuts off if there is too much moisture in the air. I live in a dry climate, so I cannot say one way or the other whether excessive moisture presents a real problem.

Buy Honeywell RLV4305A1000/E 5-2 Day Programmable Thermostat

Customer Ratings:

I bought two of the old model, the Honeywell YRLV430A1005/U 5-2 Day Programmable Thermostat for Electric Baseboard Heating, a couple of years ago, and I was a little worried about buying this newer model before there were any reviews. I love it! It's such an improvement over the older model that now I want to replace my old ones. I had two main complaints about the old model. The first was what everyone complained about: needing a magnifying glass and a flashlight to read the display. This one has a display that lights up. I don't know if the display is actually bigger, but it's much easier to read. It says "man" instead of showing a tiny hand for manual mode.

Also, you couldn't turn the old model off. You could just turn it way down during summer. This one has a standby mode that shuts the unit off.

Other than that, it is very similar to the old model. You can program four different time settings for weekdays and then another four time settings for the weekend. I found programming to be easy, but I already knew how from the old models. The key is to hit the Program button after each time setting and only hit the arrow/return key when you're done and want to exit the program mode. I think the buttons are very intuitive.

Now my only complaint is the size. It's a little big for a thermostat, definitely much bigger than our old manual thermostats. But it's wonderful to have the heat turn on and warm up a room before I get out of bed. These seem to turn on our older baseboard heaters much faster than our old manual thermostats, which seemed to have about a twenty minute lag time before the heater even turned on and started making noise (we have some old Intertherm heaters). I just thought these heaters took that long to turn on and start putting out heat. With these thermostats, they start up immediately.

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I use this thermostat to regulate our forced fan baseboard heaters in our home. I purchased one for the living room and have recently purchased more for other rooms in the house. You can set up a program for the weekdays and a separate one for the weekends. It is nice to come home to a warm house and know I am not heating it all day for no reason. I will be installing one in my 6 month old's room this weekend. Install was a snap and very easy to do. Programming takes a little bit of figuring out... but all in all a great product. I just wish it wasn't one of the only options for forced fan baseboard heating as I feel it is expensive for what it does.

Cheap 36 inch Wall Mount Modern Space Heater Electric Fireplace Heater

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $499.00
Sale Price: $175.00
Today's Bonus: 65% Off

Fast and easy to assemble and mount. Has a sleek & sexy look to it and heats up your room in no time. Definitely one of the best on the market! I have a similar one that is a free standing floor type which works well but not nearly as sturdy built. It does have the convenience of it being out of the way on the wall it takes up floor space so this gives same benefit but having it on the wall is even better and out of the way.

Pros compared to the other ones on the market are:

Pros-

-It works great to heat any area but provides 3 different levels allows you to adjust it to what level heat you need instead of a lot of the other models just have the one level on or off switch only.

Built using real glass, metal, and rocks unlike the cheaper models that use plastic fake glass doesn't look sleek and sexy on the wall like this one does when mounted.

-This has an emergency safety shut off switch which surprisingly most don't have.

-The small easy remote control allows you to conveniently turn it on from anywhere unlike most that manually turn on and off which is a feature most don't have and you will want since its mounted up on a wall.

Cons-

-It's built well but it is heavy so it does need to be mounted to a stud or wall that you can support it like you would a flat screen TV monitor because same weight if not more than a flat screen it's size.

-Again it is heavy so shipping is more costly. (But worth it!)

I even enjoy having the lighted fire screen effect on even when I am not using the heat option with it. It's realistic and stylish look that gives the very realistic illusion of a real looking fire making it work as an interactive art piece as well!

I AM BEYOND HAPPY WITH THIS PURCHASE AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. Amazing price and you really get way more than what you pay for at this price!!!!!

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My huband bought me this for my birthday and I must say that it adds quite a relaxing feature to our room. It also gives off heat so it was great through the winter. The product is easy to install and I really enjoy having it.

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I bought this to add some depth to my Family Room. I chose this model because the rocks looked real, not knowing that they actually give you real rocks. Also installation was a breeze as long as you have a stud finder or you know where your stud is located. At least put two screws in a stud and you will be all set.

Pro's

Authentic look

Heats my Family Room/Kitchen and that is a huge space

Installation is straight forward

Cons

None

Honest reviews on 36 inch Wall Mount Modern Space Heater Electric Fireplace Heater

Easily fits in the wall. Do not use heat settings. Just install on back wall with cross support. Again do not use heat setting.

Reviews of Presto 05462 Digital ProFry Immersion-Element 9-Cup Deep Fryer

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $53.99
Today's Bonus: 23% Off

I love to deep fry food using canola oil. It's actually healthier and more certain than pan frying, especially when dealing with food that needs to be cooked thoroughly before eating, like poultry and fish.

I have a small round fryer that does a good job but it's a NIGHTMARE to clean. The oil reservoir is gritty, so everything sticks to it very well a major annoyance. It's also difficult to dump the oil without spilling.

Enter this deep fryer. So far I've got no complaints, it's very easy to fry the food, and the basket is a very nice touch that my old fryer doesn't have. One minor nitpick is the basket I just raved about; I wish it were more "mesh" than "fence". Meaning I wish the holes were a lot smaller, so it would act as an effective crumb catcher. That would make the unit a lot easier to clean, and I can see how that might get to be a problem in time. But again, it's a nitpick of mine.

Update 12/28: Ok, I've got complaints. First, the filtering is poor. It will leave the smell of fried-whatever all throughout your place. I've got an el-cheapo $40 fryer that I replaced with this, and the cheap one does a better job of containing that odor. I know this is like some industrial-type stuff so it's to be expected, but I can't keep buying Oust like this.

Secondly, I was right about wanting the mesh. I've fried a couple of times and already there's a nice brown coating on the bottom. IT bothers me, because if they just went with a mesh-style basket I wouldn't have this problem.

Third, it takes WAY too long to heat up. I'd say plan on about 10-15 minutes prep time. Hate to beat a dead horse, but el-cheapo was hot in a matter of 3-5 minutes tops.

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I've been using this fryer for about six months and so far it has worked very well. I have no other experience with fryers like this so nothing to compare it to but I do have a lot of small appliances and as far as cleaning and maintenance and storage this unit is better than most. It is easy to disassemble, clean, and to pour the oil out if you like to filter and reuse. The basket is serviceable but I've noticed some rust forming on the handle screws despite that I hand wash everything. It may not fare well in the dishwasher even though it says you can put it in there (another reviewed had a bad experience--I haven't tried it). The handle is a tad flimsy but mainly because it folds in, a nice feature, so I'm okay with that. Other than that everything is solid and well built. The basket hooks onto the rim to allow the food to drain but the bottom can still touch the oil if the unit is at the MAX oil mark. I like the fact that it holds exactly the amount of oil in a typical large jug (1 gallon) you find in the grocery store.

Features: Digital temperature control sets one of 4 fixed temperatures: 300, 325, 350, 375. A (loud) beep lets you know when preheating is done. Magnetic power plug easily detaches from back to avoid yanking on unit if something snags the cord. Built-in 30 minutes timer--just a timer--it doesn't shut off the unit or anything like that. Basket folds up for easy storage inside fryer. Easily disassembles for cleaning. Vented lid to prevent oil splatter.

Cooking: Oil heats up in a reasonable time (10-15 minutes) and allows you to prepare the food while waiting. It seems to maintain temperature well based on its own internal thermometer. I'm learning that deep frying is a bit of an art so you may have to experiment before you get that perfect, golden brown, cooked throughout result.

One final note--this unit pulls down a lot of energy so you may not be able to use other high-energy devices while this one is on (electric skillet, rice cooker, or basically anything that heats) as it will overload the breaker. Of course this will depend on your individual kitchen and, if you have this same issue, you can always work around this by using a plug on a separate circuit.

Best Deals on Presto 05462 Digital ProFry Immersion-Element 9-Cup Deep Fryer

I purchased this Presto model after some research. Why this model? First off, 1800 watts is pretty much the maximum electricity that can be handled by a household 110v outlet. More watts would need a 220v line. Next, bigger capacity of oil, say 12 cups means more oil to heat with relatively less wattage. Now, for my evaluation of the unit. The outer shiny metal container that holds the cooking pot is thin metal with some sharp edges. It could be made thicker, but that would add to the cost. Replacements from Presto are cheap. If you want a better one, have your local metal fabricator build it for you or do it yourself in a tech class. The basket is adequately sized and I have cleaned it several times including in the dishwasher with no rusting. This too can be purchased from Presto inexpensively. Also note: food can be cooked without the basket if desired. The cooking pot is heavy duty metal, will last for years and no food residue sticks to it. It is dishwasher safe, however I clean it in the sink. Oil levels are marked into the sides of the cooking pot. The lid is filtered and vented. I do not use the lid when cooking as I believe over time it will accumulate a certain amount of oils that may be difficult to clean, so I just use it when the fryer is not in use. The control panel and heating element with thermostat is an integrated unit. The electrical cord magnetically connects to the unit. This units fits well into the enclosure and pot. The digital thermostat allows temperatures in 25 degree increments from 300 to 375. Red light means heating, green light means at the selected temperature. I purchased and used a cooking thermometer for deep fryers/candy to verify the temperatures of my unit. In fact, from room temperature to 375 degrees took 18 minutes to heat the oil. I use this as prep time for my food. The temperatures were accurate and reheating after cold/cool food were submersed was quick. Now, until food is placed into the fryer, because the heating element is large, oil in say the back may be 360 degrees while oil near the front is 380 degrees. This is because of how oil convection currents work and the location of the thermostats. But when food is in the fryer, the bubbling of the cooking makes that a non-issue. I have cooked fresh calamari, fresh chicken, fresh fish, potatoes, frozen shrimp. All came out fabulously just like in a restaurant. The timer on the unit control is a big plus. I would advise to keep the control panel from splatter to place some clear plastic over it. For cleanup, I unplug, remove the basket to cool and then remove the control unit/heating element to cool. I wipe it clean with paper towel. The next morning, I remove the cooking pot and pour the oil through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to recapture my oil for additional use or discarding. Cleanup of the cooking pot and basket is easy in the sink with dish washing detergent. Food residue never sticks. Cleanup takes me 10 minutes. I you don't overload the basket with too much food, you too will enjoy excellent results.

Honest reviews on Presto 05462 Digital ProFry Immersion-Element 9-Cup Deep Fryer

I was initially quite impressed with this unit. Since I have experience using commercial deep fryers, I recognized the nice features built into this unit. 1800 watts of heating power will bring the oil up to temperature in about 15 minutes, and should be big enough to recover quickly after you slowly drop a basket of raw material into the oil. That, however, was not my experience.

After cooking two small batches of battered tenderloin nuggets, I allowed the oil to get back up to temperature, which took about eight minutes, and then dropped a basket load of steak fries. In a matter of moments the "ready" light went off, and the oil never did get back up to temperature. By the time the fries were browned enough to lift, they were pretty oily.

The real bummer, though, was after straining the oil and storing it away, I broke down the unit and placed everything except the heating unit into the dishwasher. At that point, I was satisfied enough with the performance of the fryer I would have kept it and figured a way to get around the slow recovery time on the fries.

But, later, when I opened the dishwasher to take the clean unit out and reassemble it for storage, the basket was completely rusted over! All of the other parts were just fine, but the basket was a great disappointment. So, I have returned that otherwise nice unit, and am now back on the market.

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We have used this a total of twice as of my writing this review. It looks amazing and has worked well.

While looking for a fryer I ran into a bevy of complaints and I want to address a few of those.

Odor: When you fry food, it smells. You can help prevent this by using a good oil such as peanut oil. Warning, it doesn't completely prevent the smell but it brings it down several notches in oily odorific intensity. The fryer does come with a vent built into the lid. All it is is a metal mesh one. This doesn't do a lot for filter out the odor. BUT! Most foods you cook are going to require that you leave the lid off of the fryer because of condensation built up on the lid. So, it's not going to matter if you have a HEPA filter built into the lid, when you cook, the odor is going to be there because your lid is going to be sitting on the counter.

Basket: One reviewer pointed out the relatively large holes in the basket. Well, I don't know but every fryer that I have seen has this larger mesh thing going on. Heck, even back in the day when I worked in food service our baskets had fairly large spacing between the mesh. On top of that, a lot of times depending on the size of what you are cooking for example chicken, corn dogs, donuts, etc. you won't actually use the basket.

Heat time: All I can say on this one is yeah, it takes longer to heat up than our old Fry Daddy, but it does have about 4 times the oil in it.

Temperature: So far each time we have used it, we used a candy/oil thermometer to check the temperature, and so far when it gives you the green light for cooking, it has been up to temperature.

Ok if anyone can think of anything else, I'd be happy to add it to the review.

I would definitely recommend this fryer.

UPDATE:

3/12/2013

So, we've had it for a while now and still like it well enough. I haven't tested the temp lately so I can't say if it is still reaching temp and what not, but I haven't noticed any changed in cooking quality. The one negative thing I have to say about it is that our lid has gotten warped and will not lie down flush as it should. Now, it's not that big a deal since I only use the lid to store it and not for when I am cooking, but it's a bit disappointing. Granted, it's probably my fault it got bent, possibly when I moved.