La Crosse Technology TX6U Wireless Temperature Sensor for 433 MHz Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.95
Sale Price: $19.21
Today's Bonus: 4% Off

Very disappointed with the lifespan of the LaCrosse remote sensor. The original I received with the weather station failed after four months, and a replacement I purchased lasted about as long. I like my LaCrosse weather station a lot and have had no problems with the main unit, but I don't want to purchase a new remote unit three or four times a year.

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This was the 3rd of three remotes I've had linked to a La Crosse clock/thermometer unit. The first fell and broke, but the second and third units simply failed. While they worked, the range on the units was very poor. I had difficulty at times in getting a signal within 8 ft. through a window in line of sight with the remote. As nice as it is to have a remote temperature sensor, La Crosse doesn't seem to be able to provide reliable products for that purpose.

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The specs on this unit are +/2 degrees "under normal conditions". That probably means "at room temperature." At winter temps, freezing and below, this unit is over 5 degrees off. La Crosse more or less admits to this on their web site. The saddest thing is that the LaCrosse base stations display outside temperatures to 1/10th of a degree for a sensor that is +/2 degrees at best and generally not even that close.

Honest reviews on La Crosse Technology TX6U Wireless Temperature Sensor for 433 MHz

I have owned two of the outdoor LaCrosse Wireless Temperature sensors. Both have failed within the first 1.5 years. When the sensor goes out, you will not see the outside temperature on the indoor display. I will NOT purchase another LaCrosse unit.

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Although I like the base station, the TX6U remote is a costly product in that you have to spend $15+ every year for a new one. They are very unreliable. I just wish La Crosse would engineer these things to last.

Generac 5635 Cold Weather Kit for 10 kW to 20 kW Air-Cooled Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $299.00
Sale Price: $250.41
Today's Bonus: 16% Off

After Hurricane Irene I had professionally installed a Generac Guardian 20KW generator, which I have reviewed on Amazon.

Generac sells two accessories for conditions where the generator is exposed to below freezing temperatures for a prolonged period: (1) a battery warmer, which is called the cold weather kit, and (2) an engine block heater, which is called the extreme cold weather kit. Just as your car won't start if you have a dead battery or frozen engine block, neither will this generator.

Note: You can install the battery warmer without also installing the engine block heater, but not vice versa.

I had both installed by the same contractor who installed the generator.

I am glad that I installed this product because this winter the temperatures in my area have been abnormally cold (single digits for a week). I got an alarm on my remote monitor (another useful accessory, which I have reviewed on Amazon) to inspect the battery. Fortunately it was okay; the bitter cold had triggered the alarm just to have someone check the battery. My contractor had to reset something on the generator, and then the alarm stopped flashing.

I have no doubt that without this item I could have wound up with a dead battery in my generator.

Bottom line: If you live in an area where the winters are cold, you should really get the battery warmer and engine block heater. With installation my cost for both was $425.

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Sunpentown RF-322W 3.2 cu. ft. Double Door Refrigerator with Energy Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $319.00
Sale Price: $233.00
Today's Bonus: 27% Off

This SPT refrigerator/freezer is not inexpensive. It is a high price food killer. I went through a year of mysteriously having spoiled milk and bad food. As it turns out the coldest the refrigerator will go is 56 degrees and the freezer is 45 degrees. What a waste of money.

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This fridge is cute and functional. I give it 4 stars because fridges this size usually don't support auto defrosting. If you have a big family, I would still recommend a big one that is equipped with auto defrosting.

Buy Stonegate FP100709 Electric Fireplace

Customer Ratings:

We use in our central Florida enclosed lanai area to take chill off a winter morning. Looks like a more expensive unit except for one small log. A challenge to assemble. A couple pieces required drilling and instructions on which screws to use were not real clear. Tough to line up last few screws. Best buy amongst all reviewed though.

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Reviews of Pipe Heating Cable - 31060 60Ft. Ul Pipe Heat Cable

Customer Ratings:

Purchased to use with the water hose on our fifth wheel trailer when we had to spend a period of time in freezing weather, this heat tape not only kept our water supply flowing, it produced enough heat to slightly warm the water. Normally we would have purchased a shorter length for campground use but we were parked a distance from a water supply making a longer heat tape necessary. It worked very well when used with foam insulation tubing and we would consider buying a shorter length for use when staying at campgrounds during short spells of cold snaps.

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Ambient Weather WS-1171 Wireless Advanced Weather Station Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $79.99
Sale Price: $39.99
Today's Bonus: 50% Off

I am somewhat knowledgeable about weather stations and I found that for under $40 the Ambient Weather WS-1170 is a great buy. I found that temperature, humidity, and barometer all had accurate readings. It uses a frequency of 433MHz that doesn't interfere my other wireless stuff.

I made a video review if you want to see it.

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AT LAST, an indoor-outdoor weather station that is simple to set up, easy to re-program if you choose, easy to read, and reliable. And it costs much less than the other brands that I tried and discarded. I tried a Lacrosse wireless weather station and ended up throwing it out. It was an engineering nightmare whose set-up was so complicated and counter-intuitive that it was impossible without the instructions. And it needed to be set-up anew everytime you changed the batteries. Heaven help you if you lost the instructions! The Oregon weather station required specialized tools. I have a lot of optical equipment with screwdrivers of all kinds and sizes, but none worked. I sent the Oregon station back. The set-up of the Ambient is simple and intuitive, with almost everything being done for you. All you need is a standard philips screwdriver. Basically, insert the batteries and it does the rest. Re-setting is simple. The Ambient display is also clear and easy to read. Not so the Lacrosse. Others make the same complaint about the Oregon. The Ambient weather station actually works, and that tells you everything you need to know. The fact that it is much cheaper, delivery is timely, Ambient keeps you informed about the packgage's whereabouts, and confirms delivery are all pleasant extras. Good to find a company at last that treats customers as if they actually matter.

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Overall, a good buy, and at a good price ($30). I agree with the preceding Reviewers about most things, but not all. I am generally very happy with the WS-1170 Unit, but I did not find it so intuitive to set up, and had a couple of problems following the fairly complete, but tiny-print user Guide. One was that I had to guess at the number to enter to set my Time Zone for the Clock (I think I guessed -9 for the Pacific Time Zone -and I lucked out). The other one related to setting the date it was clear (in retrospect), but just not intuitive to me at the time. I did not fuss with any of the many Alarms settings.

The unit clearly displays everything you want to know about your Inside & Outdoor Weather, tendencies & time. I find that if I prop it up completely vertically (the built-in Stand is set to hold it at an angle), the display info looks darker and is much easier to read (to me anyway).

I had big discrepancies between my In & Outdoor Humidity readings when I kept the Outdoor Sensor and the Display Unit indoors to try to validate the readings. I figured that everything should be the same as long as I kept a 10 foot separation between the Units in the same Room. Not so. Apparently, Humidity is a tough one, and also varies between Indoors and Outdoors.

I also set the Ambient beside my older, and much larger, La Crosse Weather Station to compare results, and they were very close. I agree with the others that the La Crosse Units are a "bear" (term substituted) to deal with for both setup and when the batteries need to be replaced, but (unlike the other Reviewers) otherwise I have been very satisfied with my La Crosse.

I was very impressed with Ambient's excellent, fast delivery of the Unit, and even more impressed with the support from them both via E-mail and by Phone. For starters, it's been a long time since I've been told that I was a "valued Customer", and Reviewer Mele confirms that finding also. Ambient's Ed persevered (promptly and helpfully) with me through several E-mails and a Phone contact even offering to replace the Unit--which I declined.

I told him that Outdoor Humidity was the least of the information I wanted about the Outdoors, and the other 3 Measurements were validated as correct. The Heinz variety of other Settings and Alarms don't really interest me much, so I did not bother with them and cannot report. I also noticed that the Barometer is more responsive to changes than my La Crosse Unit, but have to admit that sometimes I'd like to know the Wind speed. Well, for 30 bucks, why not? But overall, it has more than I need, and I am another buyer who really likes it!

Update: 9/21/10 Highly recommend downloading the Manual available at their Web Site. At the very least it contains the Table for adjusting your Time Zone which is missing from the Manual in the Box. My Wild Guess turned out to be off by 1 Time Zone. Also it gives you a chance to get a larger Print version.

Honest reviews on Ambient Weather WS-1171 Wireless Advanced Weather Station

This is my first experience with Ambient Weather products and I have been extremely satisfied. The indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity, and pressure readings have been consistently accurate. Setting up the outdoor sensor was straightforward and went exactly according to the instructions. (sensor placed about 30ft from the unit)

The atomic time took a day or so to sync initially but has been working consistently since then.

A minor issue was the screws for the sensor mount were not the greatest (heads stripped while mounting) and I replaced them with some of my own, but that was my fault for being impatient and not predrilling the mounting holes.

As far as day-to-day performance goes, I have been checking temperature, humidity, and pressure against nearby (a few blocks away) weather underground readings on a daily basis and it tracks extremely well.

Humidity is probably the most variable. As indicated in the instructions, the humidity can be off at the high end (above 85% or so) but I dont consider this to be a big deal since the only time that occurs is when there is actual precipitation. Under conditions of near or actual precipitation, I find it can be off by around 10% in the 70-80% range, but this is measured against weather underground readings which are likely to be subject to local variation during actual precipitation anyway, so I cant really determine the actual inaccuracy of the sensor under those conditions.

The low end seems pretty good. Right now it is getting very cold and dry in the northeast and the difference in personal comfort between 15% and 30% indoor humidity is pretty significant, so having accurate report in that range has been very useful.

Temperature both indoor and outdoor has been spot on. I have another indoor temperature/clock unit (La Crosse Wt-8005U-B) and it is within about 0.2 degrees. When I initially set it up I noticed a discrepancy of about 1.5 degrees F and was a bit concerned, but I realized that I was comparing against the temperature reading from the La Crosse unit across the room. When I brought them together they were consistent and I realized that the difference was real and I actually had a significant temperature gradient in the room due to a nearby outside door. Score one for the WS-1170.

As for pressure, there is a relative pressure adjustment that needs to be made on setup to account for local altitude, but after that it has been very accurate, again as measured against weather underground values (within about 0.1%)

Some people have complained about the pressure tracking graph, but I like it. I have the unit mounted on a highly visible kitchen wall that gets a lot of nearby traffic and the animated graph is not the slightest bit distracting, but I imagine that is a matter of personal tastes.

A pleasant surprise has been the basic weather prediction feature that has been unexpectedly accurate. I wouldnt rely on it over more comprehensive meteorological predictions, but it has been fun to see how well it does based on simple pressure changes. If I had to use it in a pinch, say at a cabin without internet access, I would be about 70% confident that the predictions would be right to within a day or two.

Even the storm alert feature works well (although it is generally telling you something that you could have deduced by just sticking your head out the door)

Overall, I would highly recommend this. Great price, great product. It performs as advertised and has managed to even exceed my expectations.

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I'm not exactly a weatherphile, but I like to know where the barometer is headed, and what the humidity levels are outdoors. It seemed like all of the weather stations in this price range only told me indoor humidity, which I could not care less about. This one does exactly what I need it to do, and looks nice on the wall. Numbers are large enough to read easily. I recommend watching the video review another user posted, because I hadn't realized the pressure chart at the bottom constantly reanimated itself. It isn't a problem, but you should be aware of it in case you plan to mount it somewhere that a scrolling graph might be distracting.

I also like that the outdoor sensor has a digital readout of temp and humidity, so if you're just outdoors and curious, you can take a look instead of going inside.

Review of Mr. Heater 30,000 BTU Natural Gas Blue Flame Vent Free Heater

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $342.62
Sale Price: $248.84
Today's Bonus: 27% Off

First off, I got this nat gas heater at the end of November of 2010 for a 17'x 22' finished basement room with a 7' drop ceiling. I live in the Northeast so we get pretty cold winters here. This heater was purchased for a secondary back up heating system in the event of a power failure however, I use it daily and love it. My initial concerns before the unit was installed: plumbing gas pipe, ventless emmissions, CO2, odors and function(s). I'll address all the concerns as best I can.

-Plumbing gas pipe: Don't do it yourself, hire a professional, you'll sleep a lot sounder, a small price to pay for safety (it'll pay for itself in the long run anyway)

-Ventless Emissions: I researched here and there and everywhere, this camp is split from what I can see, some say there is and some say there isn't any, I don't know. The next thing I cover may or may not be related to this.

-CO2 and odors: I installed $40 Kidde CO2 detector 12 feet away from the heater and it still reads 0 all the time (I was expecting 5-7 ppm but I got 0, that's great). Now onto, the odors, yes there are odors, I'll admit that when I first fired this unit up I was greatly impressed with the heat output but wasn't at all happy about the smell. It was a chemical smell, which after the heater stopped running the smell soon went away within a minute or two. I would masked the odor with an air freshener when the heater ran and it was fine. It has since been a month and a half now and the heater has ran frequently on a daily basis and the odor/smell is virtually gone. A relief to say the least. I do smell it briefly at start up sometimes but that's only for a second or two. I think it was the paint/parts burning off that new heater smell so to speak.

-Function(s): Although it looks like there is, there isn't a digital thermostat, It's a 1 through 5 dial type which runs the duration of how long the heater runs with some internal temp setting (ex. setting 1 = 68-72 degrees). Flame height is the same always, temp dial does not regulate height. Flame is not like pictured, it's better, it looks like what's on your stove top. Flame is a nice blue, at start up I get orange streaks, I found out that's its only dust in the air, it goes away in about 15-25 min. The fan, basically is useless, poor design, could be a lot better, I don't use it. I have a 10" Honeywell table top swivel fan blowing across the heater, left to right, it's even with the top of the unit to circulate the heat in a circle around the room. My unit is not wall mounted, it is free standing on carpet, carpet does get warm to the touch but never hot. No electric required (unless you use the fan), the spark igniter runs on a AA battery (supplied), there is no pilot when it's off.

So how well does it work? Well, Freaking Amazing!!! It's instant heat!!! To get an idea of the heat output, if you have a gas stove, turn all stove top burners on at the same time, don't run the vent, put your hands near the vent away from the flame. I have 4 burners on my stove and that is what is feels like for me. The burner is this unit is about 16" long. At setting 1, once my room is warmed up, the heater runs for a minute or two then knocks off, it'll do this 3-4 times an hour. As for energy savings, I can already see it, I used to use a electric ceramic tower heater to heat (pointed at me) the room at $50+ a month more on the electric bill, that's no more and the whole room is toasty and to boot my gas usage went down slightly compared to the previous year at this time. Win, win, win.

Pro's:

Heat, heat and more heat. Instant heat.

Energy savings (it will pay for itself)

CO2 not an issue in my setup of a basement room

Looks it looks nice as a unit alone and when its running.

Con's:

Blower fan, useless

Dial temp gauge No digital temp setting (it would be a great feature and for setting lower temps too)

Odor goes away over time with use

There ya go I hope this helps you.

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The only glitch on this heater is the picture of a digital reading on amazon's site. The heater came in with a sticker where the digital reading should have been. Set up was easy, I had a guy at lowes plumbing dept help me with the parts. Make sure and buy the leak checker fluid and watch for bubbles. I also used a flexible coil they use for gas stoves and dryers. The flexible hose also has a built in union so you don't have to install one. The heater works really well with a cracked window or overhead fan on to keep humidity down. The room heats up fast but does have some cool spots. It's ok for what we are using it for. There is an odor and will go away in time. The odor is not natural gas but the heater itself burning off impurities. The built in thermostat works well shutting on & off the heat on its own. I would suggest getting a cheap digital thermometer to help you regulate the heat.

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After a few power outages last winter, we purchased this heater today and installed it. Wow! It adequately heats our living room and kitchen and if the downstairs bathroom door is left open, covers that as well. Better yet, with it running, our furnace has yet to kick on with the thermostat set at 68 (it's 37 outside right now with a wind chill of 30).

The only con I can think of is that the blower really isn't very efficient. We are using a small pole fan behind the unit to distribute the warm air more evenly, although a ceiling fan would do the same if you have one.

Definitely well worth the purchase price. We were debating whether to get this one or a different non-vented natural gas heater with logs and "flames" but decided for $100 less, we could do without the esthetics and stick with pure function.

Honest reviews on Mr. Heater 30,000 BTU Natural Gas Blue Flame Vent Free Heater

Model # IR30NGT uses a simple thermostatic control,Turns burner off or on.Burner is always on full burn when on. Model # BF30NGT uses a different thermostatic control,This model modulates the flame size,control knob can be set to any level between 1 and 5 ,setting 5 will cause the burner to stay on. Setting # 1 has a verry low flame,setting #2 and #3 put out a nice comfortable heat supply.Amazon sent me the BF model,I also have the BF20NGT,both operate the same.I used the Mr. Heater 12 foot hose assembly # F273720 to hook up the heaters ,Fan is switched off,on,auto. The fan on these units work OK. They wont blow you'r hat off but they do incress the air flow. These heaters preforme as advertised,Happy and warm in Pa.

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It does a nice job, I bought it to be back-up heat if the power goes out. I wish it had a thermostat that had a lower setting as it kicks on around 66 to 68 but it still does a great job. I have not used the fan but where it is set-up in my house the fan is not needed.

Cheap Suncourt TW108 ThruWall Room to Room Fan 8"

Customer Ratings:

This fan moves more air than many others. The cost was acceptable and it operates with a standard plug which fits into 110v receptacle which is the same as a lamp. I have to look at it to see if it is still working because it is so quiet. With a step stool, I can feel the warm air coming from the heated room.

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I recently purchased and installed this to move the hot air from my pellet stove . I cut a hole in the top of the wall in the living room and into the staircase to get the second floor. This fan is very well made and has two speeds. I find it to work very well and it is not very loud. I highly recommend it!

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I used to seeing products that are built cheaply, but this one is not. It was easy to install. The noise level is acceptable. It moves as much air as what I needed. Good product.

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This fan was quieter than expected and the two speed options were a bonus. I used this to vent an entertainment center cabinet housing AV equipment. This coupled with a thermo controlled receptacle worked perfect.

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Fan works great. It moves alot of air for an 8 inch fan. Install would have been very easy if not for having solid 2 inch by 6 inch walls. But that was on my part not the fans. Once I got the holes cut, it went in very easily and secured to walls with no problems. Some say that on high the fan is too loud but I don't even notice it in my living room when on that setting. Using it to primarily push heat up my stairs from the living room where we use our fireplace most of the time and it warms the upstairs hall and rooms pretty well. Would highly recommend this fan.

Sunbeam Comforter Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $329.34
Sale Price: $131.33
Today's Bonus: 60% Off

I've had the full size and the twin size and the king size of this comforter. I can tell you, you will never have a more wonderful experience with an electric blanket/comforter than with this big fluffy, warm and totally cozy comforter. Like sleeping in a warm cloud, not a wired up toaster oven. BUT, unless you have access to a huge commercial washer, the twin size is the biggest one you will be able to wash at home. I have heard of people using duvet covers with these and not washing the comforter itself for years at a time, but, ew, I couldn't do that. I have tried washing these in top loaders and front loaders but nope, the full and the queen/king will not fit. Just be aware of that drawback before ordering. I really hate for anyone to miss out on the sleeping experience you will have with the Sunbeam electric comforter, though, so at least get a twin size and try it out.

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It's nice a big & fluffy Comforter/electric blanket.

The set up is easy, (preheat off/on, auto-heat off/on, set timers on back switch)

I decided on getting a electric blanket during the last "cold snap) I looked at many and for the price, size & quality this was the best.

(2nd day ship is a good idea if u don't want to wait.)

It does have the "standard wiring", I was hoping it would be the "new " invisi-wires(2x smaller),but because it is so big and fluffy it's really not necessary.

My boyfriend love's it! I would prefer it to heat up a little quicker. (so I have a chance to get nice and warm before my "blanket/bed hog" gets in! Does anyone have an Idea to keep one's blankets on one's person's side of the bed that really does work? I have already gone though most of "the gamet" suggestions welcome!)

I read the review that it's too big to wash...well I'll "cross that bridge" after the winter season. I did put my duvet cover over it.(I'm thinking in the spring on one of those unsually warm days, I'll hang it on the line and see if the hose and some "arm grease" will do the trick...it says " machine wash" let u know how that turns out!

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I'm 100% satisfied ... excellent product! above my expectations

I use king size, the fabric is comfortable and the temperature controls work individually so satisfactory. the only problem I found was the absence of an battery for the clock in case of an electrical power failure.

Honest reviews on Sunbeam Comforter

I love this Comforter I turn it on 3 when i go to bed and I never get cold. It also really soft.

Buy Honeywell 1,500-Watt All Metal Heater #HZ-2110

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $39.97
Today's Bonus: 43% Off

This is a pretty good, little, electric heater. It's in an all-metal case. It has a non-detented thermostat. The detented power knob (Off, Fan only, I. (less power), II., III. (more power)) works much like opening a prescription pill bottle. The plastic, hinged handle is nice, too. I tested the tip over feature while moving it on the floor, and it works well! The whole unit shuts off if it's even a little out of plumb.

"Sparky," as I named him, gets pretty hot. The fan blows at what I'll call a slow to medium rate--sufficient to circulate the air and quite quiet. The thermostat works well, too.

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Well made,works effectively, quiet and I now own three. Purchased one, liked it so much purchased two more. The design is safe as well. Different settings. Fan Heater......... very quiet. No plastic odor and toxic fumes. I say it's certainly a buy

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Bought this heater at my local hardware store before reading these reviews. Sounds like they either work or they don't. My didn't. I brought it home, took it out to the garage (about 35º F out there today), plugged it in and waited about an hour to see if it would warm up. Despite being on the highest setting and having the thermostat on it cranked, the heater barely put out any heat. It was level and stable, but the only heat I could feel from it was from about two inches away, and that felt like a hair dryer on the lowest setting (and that's being generous).

I returned it. I'm sure some of these heaters really get the job done, but I can't imagine that mine was functioning properly, and it sounds like a common problem. Light came on, fan whirred away (a little) but barely any heat came out. My halogen work light put out more heat at three feet away. Find another heater.

Honest reviews on Honeywell 1,500-Watt All Metal Heater #HZ-2110

I took a chance on this heater because of the January 2010 review that said it had no toxic fumes. But the one I just received (in September 2012) was so smelly, without even being plugged in and heating up, that I quickly repacked it and returned it. (Since the return was not because of damage or any error by Amazon, return shipping costs of $10.99 were deducted from my refund.)

If you could bottle this heater's odors you might label it "Eau de Service Station". The rubbery cord smelled especially strong to me, like new tires. These are smells that I know from experience never air out or burn off.

This is sad, especially if the product has changed that much since 2010. Many people who buy an all-metal heater are trying to avoid inhaling toxic fumes and have serious health reasons for doing so.

I've been getting by with Markel 198TE all-metal portable heaters, which used to have minimum smell, but in recent years the new ones are smellier and break down quickly. In desperation I just keep getting them replaced on warranty through a local store. And searching for something better.

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I was so happy with this heater, at first.

It had good heat output, was incredibly quiet, and produced no chemical odor after a couple hours of use.

However, within two weeks, it stopped working. Even the fan won't come on. The only sign of life is the indicator light.

Sigh.

Cheap Braeburn Model 2000NC 1 Heat/1 Cool Tamper Proof Programmable

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $69.93
Sale Price: $49.95
Today's Bonus: 29% Off

I know landlords want things like this for their rentals but I have family that keep changing the temperature but not help paying the heat bill. So this solved the problem nicely. :)

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Buy EdgeStar Ultra Compact 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner - White

Customer Ratings:

We just had a record-breaking heat wave. I live in a poorly-insulated house that becomes hot in 85-degree weather, and we hit 100. (Just north of Seattle, WA.) This A/C did a great job of cooling two small rooms (cool one room, move the A/C to another room, cool that one, then back again, for about a week).

Some observations:

1. You MUST vent a portable A/C out a window or into a drop-ceiling, or you just pump the hot air back into the room.

2. Portables seem to work better when elevated (hot air rises, so this helps keep the "convection effect" going by getting closer to the hot air).

3. It's a little noisy. Adding rubber gasket material to the vents reduces the noise a lot by damping the vibrations.

4. An A/C's BTU rating must match the room size, or the unit simply won't work right. This is true of all A/Cs, and seems to be somewhat critical for portables.

5. It acts as a dehumidifier, which means that you have to drain the water tank regularly or the unit will shut off until you do. (An indicator light tells you when you need to drain the tank.)

So, for those who need to cool small rooms, I think this is a good buy. It has been for me.

----------------------------

Follow-Up on Aug 28, 2009:

----------------------------

I just put the a/c into the garage to store until next year. This thing worked beautifully in the small rooms, but I didn't try it in any of the larger rooms.

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Follow-Up on Aug 31, 2010:

----------------------------

I just put it into the garage to store until next year. This year I used it in one of the larger rooms because I installed a window a/c in the smaller room, and it did a decent job of keeping the place cool. So far I've had two seasons of trouble-free cooling, so I'd say I got my money's worth. I may buy one more next year for my studio.

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So, I live in a studio. Not very big at all. You would think this air conditioner would be able to handle keeping it cool. Well, not so much.

Regardless of how low I set it, or how long I kept it running, it kept my studio at 78 degrees. It was actually a better deal to shut it off, open the windows/door and let the air circulate. It actually got cooler in there once I did that.

Moreover, the hose you connect to the window vent is an eye sore, and isn't flexible enough to let your place the unit somewhere convenient. So you end up having to leave the A/C unit in the middle of the room instead of neatly in a corner or against the wall because the vent hose doesn't allow otherwise.

This is pretty much the worse purchase I have made in a LONG time. Worse of all, it doesn't even make sense for me to return it. The seller charges as 12% "re-stocking fee". Moreover, I would need to carry the huge 70+lbs box up and down stairs to get it back to my work so UPS can pick it up. The box is very flimsy once you remove the nylon ribbons that it comes sealed with, and doesn't really allow you to transport it without spending some money on repackaging.

So yeah, I'm stuck with a $300 70+lbs paper weight. Good times.

[EDITED 07/30]: So I was contacted by the seller (CompactApplience) and their conclusion was that my studio was too big for the 8,000 BTU rating. They actually let me return just the A/C unit without having to worry about packing all the awkwardly-shaped pieces, and reimbursed me for everything, including shipping. Although I've decided NOT to try a different unit with a greater BTU rating, I'm leaving this review here so that hopefully people looking into buying this or any other unit are aware of the importance of considering the size of the room you're trying to cool down when you choose the unit BTU. I was remotely aware of that, but didn't look too much into it, and you saw what happened... Luckily for me, the seller handled the situation superbly well. A happy ending, after all. :)

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PROS

about as small and light (50lbs) as they get

comes with remote

comes with window kit

powerful fan

thermostat

very little assembly/packaging

CONS

no accessible drain pan

machine itself only had power button (no controls)

loud

OVERVIEW

I live in a 300sq foot studio with a 15 foot ceiling and a south-facing bay window. My apartment gets hot when it's sunny and is almost always damp/humid. I got the Koldfront because it was the only unit that would fit in my available surface area: on top of my kitchen cabinets. I already had ducting running through my cabinets to vent my over-range microwave, so I popped the Koldfront on top of my cabinet and tied the exhaust into my existing duct work.

It takes the Koldfront about 5-7 minutes to cool my apartment down to habitable from digustingly hot. Technically, I think my space is supposed to be a little too big for this machine, but having it blow cold air across my ceiling seems to do a good job of displacing all the hot air, and since it's located high up, it should be sucking warm air out as it cools the condensers.

I ran this machine for a couple of days at ground level and was less than excited about it's potential, I could actually feel a temperature differential about two feet off the ground between cold and hot air. But moving it closer to my ceiling made all the difference. When it was on the floor, all it did was move air and maybe cool a little bit. Now that it's at ceiling height I'm actually getting chilly.

FAN SPEED

There are three fan speeds: high is pretty loud, and low is still relatively loud. I've gotten used to it pretty quickly though, it pretty much acts as white noise, dampening external sounds.

MODES

AC, Dehumidifier, and Fan are the available mode settings for this machine. I'm happy about these options since you won't always need/want the condensers coming on and off, and you can dehumidify when it's cold out without turning on the AC.

WATER RESERVOIR

The koldfront is supposed to vent humidity out through the ducting, but has a water resevoir for high humidity situations. Unlike some machines, the reservoir isn't a bucket that you can remove from the machine. To drain the reservoir, you have to pull out a little plug at the bottom of the AC, which is about two inches off the ground. That doesn't give you much room to maneuver a drain pan. Fortunately, at 50LBS, it's not too heavy to put in the bathtub and let drain there. The lack of an accessible reservoir is a definite con though. Apparently the Koldfront is made to be able to hard-wire a drain, so that may be an option for some. I ran my machine on and off for a couple of days in San Francisco and it drained something like a cup of water. I don't know the total size of the reservoir, but the drain indicator lite hadn't turned on yet before I drained it.

THERMOSTAT

I've read some reviews complaining of an inaccurate thermostat on the KOLDFRONT, but mine seems to be about spot on.

REMOTE AND LCD PANEL

Don't lose the remote, or if you do, hope you had your Koldfront set exactly how you want to have it because there's no way to change settings without the remote. The remote itself is pretty intuitive, with power, up, down, mode, fan speed, Celsius/Fahrenheit, timer, and cancel buttons. And it comes with batteries. The LCD panel reads the ambient temperature in either Celsius or Fahrenheit until you press the up or down button on the remote, in which case it reads your preset temperature preference. There's a blue/green/yellow LED that indicates whether you're in AC/dehumidifier/ or fan mode, respectively. The information on the LCD is large enough to read from several feed away.

ASSEMBLY

Like most appliances, the Koldfront came with a cardboard cover over the packaging and plastic ties keeping it on. You just cut the ties and lift the cardboard cover off the machine. Inside, there's just a couple pieces of Styrofoam, the AC, and the window kit, plastic duct, instructions, remote, and two AAA batteries for the remote. The AC itself doesn't require any assembly, aside from plugging the duct in. The drain plug on mine had popped out, so I just twisted it back into place. There's a little more involved in assembling the window kit, but the instructions are pretty good on how to get that together. All you need (if your window is the right size) is a phillips head screw driver. The window kit is held into place by the weight of your window and doesn't need to be screwed into the window frame at all.

CONCLUSION

Overall, I'm happy with my Kodlfront. Mine arrived fully functional out of the box, and raising it to ceiling height has made it a lean, mean studio-cooling machine. It's a little bit bigger than I had guessed from the picture, but it's still smaller than most, and fit where I needed it to. It's loud, but inexpensive and has a built in thermostat and remote. Draining it is going to be a hassle, since I've moved it out of easy reach, but there's nothing else on the market that would have worked for me, so four stars for working properly, but not five, because of the lack of controls on the machine, the lack of a removable reservoir, and the loudness of the fan.

Honest reviews on EdgeStar Ultra Compact 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner - White

Listen up, everyone!

When buying an air conditioner you MUST make sure that your room is the adequate size for the unit that you are buying. It seems that a lot of negative reviews are due to the following: Too much room, too little BTUs. It is the same with gas mileage on a car. You can't expect to get 35 mpg highway while driving 70 mph with a fully loaded car. However, most portable air conditioners overrated their cooling power by 50% (see a Kid's review). So, when you buy an AC always buy 50% more BTUs than is recommended (8,000 BTU recommended unit should be 12,000 BTU). With that said I would recommend this Koldfront AC unit.

Pros:

Very portable and lightweight

Low noise

Easy to use controls

Price

Has a timer

Compact

Cons:

Will only cool a small room/area

Needs to be drained (DON'T believe what the instructions state)

Should be set on a table or set higher than the drain hose

Does not do a good cooling job when it is humid

So, if you have a small area to cool, live in a low humidity area and want a QUIET portable AC under $300 then this is the one for you.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for EdgeStar Ultra Compact 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner - White

I bought the Koldfront 8000BTU portable AC unit to cool a small, 150 sq ft drum room in my garage. I live in South Florida, so it does get a quite hot and humid. The room itself is completely isolated from the garage, but if not cooled, it gets up into the 90's in there. I built the room and installed an exhaust vent and PVC drainage line for the AC unit. The first unit I owned ran ~12 hours a day (off at night) and worked well for about 12 months. It maintained a dry, cool (~70-72deg) environment for my drums. Then, it stopped cooling the air. The fan worked, but no cool air and no condenser water. I called the company, and though very responsive on the phone, said the unit was out of warranty. So... I purchased a second one for about $260. This one worked fine on the same settings for about 6 months before the same thing happened. I may be stressing this unit, but 6 months? Come on... If you need this unit for long term cooling, I recommend going with something more robust. Otherwise, it probably works fine for limited applications. Hope this helps.

Discount 10 Sq Foot SunTouch Mat Kit contains one 2 x 5 Ft mat, a

Customer Ratings:

Was undergoing a gut renovation, and bought this for below the new bathroom floors. Inevitably, we went to install it about a month past when it was supposed to be installed! Nature of the renovation beast I guess. And we had bought the wrong size to top it off. We had a return (bought the wrong size initially) and even though it was past the return date, was able to return with the company.

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If you are not an expert bathroom builder, this kit is just right for you. I was hesitant to install this mat in our bathroom. I was afraid of cutting the mat on accident, and although I am sure the company's warnings are justified, I did not feel we were ever at the risk of ruining the mat when installing it. The end result is a comfortably warm basement bathroom floor!!

Ups: -Price: it is comparably cheaper getting this kit than purchasing the pieces at lowes/home depot/tile shop

-Don't need to be an expert

Downs: the mat only comes in squares/rectangles, so you cannot hit every corner of the floor as you can when you use the wire system.

-Fishing the wire on the wall to install the thermostat is not as easy as I would like it to be.

Cheap Dr Infrared Heater, DR988 5600W Portable Industrial Heater

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $149.99
Sale Price: $126.22
Today's Bonus: 16% Off

I've tried 3 different types of 240 volt heaters, ultimately throwing one of them into the trash can, and relegating the 2nd one to heat our living room, if needed. In summary, only the 988 could satisfy my requirements. The other heaters simply did not move enough air to be effective, and because of the low air flow they also got very hot. One was so bad that I wouldn't use it at night, and the other is never used at high power unless we are physically in the room to keep an eye on it.

Let's face it 240 volt heaters are high wattage heaters. When you turn one on, it is going to get hot. 19,000 BtuH is a LOT of heat to dissipate. 19,000 BtuH is nearly the equivalent of 4 "standard" space heaters! We live in an old house of wooden construction. Having a 5,600 watt box sitting on the floor scares me to death that is an enormous amount of heat concentrated into a very small container.

Where the 988 excels is in the design and the CFM of the fan. It moves a tremendous amount of air, and does so very quietly. At nearly 360 CFM, it blows a LOT of warm air vs. a little amount of very hot air. The heater is a straight-through design, and moves air very efficiently. I would not recommend it for small spaces, due to its ability to move so much air. I also would not recommend it as a typical "space" heater for the same reason. This heater is designed to heat "long range" and it does so perfectly.

The 988 moves almost 360 CFM of air. If you place your hand in front of it, you will only feel warmth, and the unit never gets hot enough to cause a burn or create a safety hazard. Yet it can heat better than any other heater I've ever owned.

My application is somewhat unusual. The heater maintains a bird loft, measuring 12x28 feet. The 28 feet is a very long "throw" for any heater or fan. In addition, the heater must operate 24/7 without personal supervision, so it cannot run hot. The air in the loft isn't clean, and clogs nearly any heater I try. The 988 is straight-forward, and I can clean it with a blow gun in just a few seconds, twice a year.

This is a distinctivly unusual heater. Due to the volume of air that it moves, you don't get the instant gratification of lesser heaters. Rather than sitting in front of a 1500 W "furnace" and getting just your legs warm, this heater provides just warm air, but across great distances. My first perception was that it wasn't doing much! But over time (and distance) there's nothing else that can touch it. As I said before, my building is 28 feet long! It took me nearly 4 years to find an electric heater that could handle a long and narrow building without spending high hundreds of dollars.

Don't be fooled by advertising hype. Regardless of what it is called, or how it generates heat, the numbers don't vary. A BTU is a BTU, and a BTU per watt isn't going to vary, either; there's no getting around that fact. You can buy any flavor of heater you want, but the numbers are always the same. How the resultant heat is distibuted is the key! Quartz, "Infrared" and on and on are ALL the same the number of Btu's per watt doesn't vary. So be careful!

I operate my 988 from a remote thermostat. Most often, the only way I can tell if it is running is to put my hand in front of it. It is VERY quiet, yet it services a 28 foot long building without difficulty. There are no hot spots, the building always feels the same from one end to the other.

We used to rely on propane, with dual heaters in the loft. Either of the heaters could easily outperform the 988 in terms of heat output, but even with multiple fans running we still had frozen water and all sorts of frozen floor problems. Due to the 988's air flow, all of those problems are gone. No cold spots, no frozen water, and no drafts a perfect solution. (Indeed, we even have some chickens that will fly up to the heater and sleep in front of it. The lesser heaters would give us "roasted chicken", but the 988 just keeps them happy!)

I would buy this heater again in an instant. It isn't pretty and it won't fit into a small corner. It is red and sticks out like a sore thumb. And it moves a lot of just "warm" air, safely.

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I purchased this heater to warm up my garage. It is 240 volt so it will require special wiring. My garage is 22x22 and has 2 9' garage doors. This heater will do the job with little effort. I set the thermostat at 50% and it keeps the garage at 72 degrees. The fan is slightly loud but who cares in a garage. For it's purpose, I would rate it at a 5+ on a scale of 5. I purchased this in mid Janurary of 2012 and have had no problems.

Best Deals on Dr Infrared Heater, DR988 5600W Portable Industrial Heater

I have a one and a half story home in KCMO this little heater puts out enough warmth for the original parts of my 90+ year old home with plaster walls. I have not even turned on my furnance and it is keeping us warm. My friend did the wiring for the heater and connected it to a breaker box. It is heating 600 sq feet to a toasty temp and the 2 bedrooms are comfortable enough.

Honest reviews on Dr Infrared Heater, DR988 5600W Portable Industrial Heater

Have a 650 sq ft garage/workshop that was too cold to work in. This heater brings it up to 60+ degrees within 20 minutes while the outside temperature is 40 degrees or less. Haven't gotten my electric bill since installing the heater yet, but whatever it turns out to be, it will be worth it. My days are productive again.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dr Infrared Heater, DR988 5600W Portable Industrial Heater

I have a 500sq Ft garage that I have used this heater to heat. We are now below freezing and it is still working well. It blows out nice hot air but not so hot that it would burn you if you placed your hand right in front. The element does not glow red like some other heaters of this type yet it heats the room quite quickly in the morning then keeps it warm all day. The red switch is for the fan and is auto or on. In auto it turns the fan on when heat is required. The fan is a bit loud but it does not run all the time and is off far more than it is on in my application. The knob is the temperature adjustment. It works OK and once set does not have to be changed until it is turned off. I find I put the knob in about the three quarters of full scale to maintain a comfortable 70 degrees. The price is just right for what it does and how it works. One improvement would be a delay in the fan so the warm air would continue to blow when the demand is reached, instead the fan and the element turn off at the same time which is a bit of a waste of heat. While not cool to the touch when running it is not hot either. Glad I got it.