A previous reviewer said it senses the temperature from a remote location. I would like to add that it activates the main thermostat as well from this remote location.
I have several rentals and I use this in conjunction with the 9851i thermostat. I pay the heat. I can mount the temp sensor in an apartment, then mount the thermostat in the basement where tenants do NOT have access. I can see the temp in the apt without ever having to disturb the tenants then make adjustments from the basement accordingly.
The sensor uses cheap doorbell wire to send signal to the main thermo.
I also use three of these in a three plex, one in each apt. connected to a rotary three position switch next to the thermostat. If a particular tenant thinks its cute to leave a window open in the middle of the winter and unnecessarily trigger heat from the furnace...then I switch the switch to a different apt to another sensor of a tenant who keeps their windows closed. The offending tenant no longer triggers the furnace, but instead gets cold till they shut their darn window. And the other tenants do not burn up because the furnace is running too much from the cold air hitting it from the dummies apt....plus I save money.
Every year I get different tenants with different heat/cold sensitivities, so being able to easily switch which apt controls the furnace at any given time...is a major victory for me.
BTW... a lot of Landlords are too cheap to pay the heat. I actually make MORE money that way, as I am able to charge the higher rents associated with a heat included unit. Controlling the usage is the key!
My tenants are never cold. I keep it at a temp that everyone is happy and use dampers in the basement ducts to direct more flow to apts where the tenants are cold sensitive, and direct less to those that like it a bit colder.
Control and distribution.
14 years as a landlord with not ONE eviction. How did I get so darn lucky?Senses temperature pretty accurately and when used in conjunction with a RobertShaw programmable thermostat, it provides remote readings from a different location.
Showing posts with label internet programmable thermostat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet programmable thermostat. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Bionaire BW2300 Twin Window Fan with Remote Control Review
You are in luck today.
This is a direct comparison review between the three most popular currently available twin window fans:
Bionaire BW2300 Twin Window Fan with Remote Control
Holmes HAWF2043 Twin Window Fan
Honeywell HW-628 Enviracaire Twin Window Fan
If you are interested in purchasing any of those widow fans, read on...
I didn't intend to have to do this review because I didn't intend to purchase more than one of these fans. I can tell you now that all of these fans are super cheaply designed and built and none of these fans are perfect, but in my opinion, one is worse than the others.
Holmes HAWF2043 Twin Window Fan: my rating 3 of 5 stars
I first purchased the Holmes HAWF2043 unit. It was lightweight and fit the window nicely although I had trouble with the extender which is located on the right side. The locks for the extender are located on the right side along the top and bottom edge of the fan, which is supremely stupid because as soon as you place the fan in your window frame and put weight on it, the bottom lock locks and you can not move the extender. I mean, what rocket scientist thought of this? So you have to unlock the locks before you place the unit in the window AND keep weight off the bottom lock until you have the extender adjusted to where you want it. This is not easy. And the lock mechanisms can be difficult to move. At the time, I could not imagine anything worse, but I was wrong as I found out with the extenders on the Honeywell unit, which I will go into in the next paragraph. This Holmes unit has the best placement of the power cord which is in the lower left corner... the location is high enough as not to interfere with the bottom of the window frame. This unit has two speeds, high and low. The controls are easy to operate. In fact, there is only one button and two switches. The button cycles through the high and low manual speed settings and then though the automatic temperature presets which are at 60, 65, 70, 75 & 80 degrees fahrenheit. If you set it at one of the temperature presets, the unit will turn off once the room reaches that temperature. It seemed to work although I did not have the opportunity to see how accurate that function is. The two switches set the direction of the fans to either intake or exhaust which can be done on each fan independently, so you could have one fan on intake and the other on exhaust for quickly exchanging room air with fresh air. This unit has 8.5 inch fans and they are relatively quiet at both speeds, naturally high is louder than low, but don't expect silence. I own a Kill-A-Watt P3 energy meter and this unit used 46 watts on low and 63 watts on high. I would have been happy with this unit except that two days into using it, the right fan started working intermittently. Of course, that is unacceptable. Returning. I give this fan 3 out of 5 stars because I feel that if you get a good one you'll be happy with it, but don't expect anything great. FYI: Holmes is a division of Sunbeam.
Honeywell HW-628 Enviracaire Twin Window Fan: my rating 2 of 5 stars
So with the right fan not working correctly on the Homes, I ordered the Honeywell HW-628. As soon as I saw it, I knew I was not going to be happy with it. For one thing, the unit has 7 inch fans compared with 8.5 inch on the Holmes. So in order to move as much air, the fans would have to run much faster and the unit will be much louder. Time to install... I previously mentioned that the extenders on the Holmes were poorly designed, but the extenders on this were MUCH worse. First of all, this unit has two shorter extenders on both the right and left sides instead of one longer extender like the Holmes has. Second, the four extender locks are, get this, located on the BACK of the unit, the side facing out the window! How are you supposed to set those? It was impossible for me. I ended up jamming the extenders into the window frame in order to keep them extended. Okay, so I finally get the unit in the window and turned it on. I found out immediately that my thoughts about the smaller fans, higher fan speed and noise were true. This thing is LOUD. Super loud. And buzzy. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it is downright unruly. There is no chance you would use this in a bedroom even on low speed. The controls were easy to use although not completely intuitive. There are three speeds available on each fan, low, high and super high. You have to set each fan separately, which I think is stupid. I cannot imagine a scenario where I would want one fan on high and another fan on low, etc. The temperature setting dial is also extremely stupid. There are no temperature markings. According to the manual, you are supposed to keep the unit on until the room reaches a temperature that you like and then turn the dial back until the unit cycles off. Seriously? Each fan has its own direction switch for either intake or exhaust. The power cord is located on the bottom center of the front of the unit and its mounted too low so that it interferes with the bottom of my window frame. Who is designing these things? The one feature it had which I liked was that the grilles were directional and could be rotated to direct air in a 360 degree arc. On the power consumption front, this unit used twice the power as the Holmes! 97 watts on low, 109 watts on high and 120 watts on super high. My unit was defective in that the switches for the right fan are wired incorrectly such that low is high and high is low, but super high is still super high... odd. Returning. Due to the noise level, I would not recommend this unit. I cannot understand how it has 4 of 5 stars and as of today, 262 reviews. Incomprehensible.
Bionaire BW2300 Twin Window Fan with Remote Control: my rating 4 of 5 stars
So after the poor experience with the Honeywell (They put their name on that piece of junk? They are a defense contractor!), I purchased the Bionaire BW2300 hoping for better luck. First thing I noticed was the similarity between this unit and the Holmes. That is because they are both made by the same company. Bionaire, like Holmes, is Sunbeam. It has the same right side extender locks as the Holmes, but after the experience with the unusable rear locks on the Honeywell, I was happy to see them! One unwelcome difference is that the power cord is located on the bottom center of the front like it is on the Honeywell, and its also too low like it is on the Honeywell. I mounted the unit in window fairly quickly and turned it on. Its got three speeds, low, medium and high. It uses 8.5 inch fans like the Holmes and it is relatively quiet, although I think it may be ever so slightly louder than the Holmes on high. The controls are all electronic and it has an electronic temperature readout and thermostat. It is very easy to use. Simply choose a fan speed and put the unit into intake, exhaust or one fan on intake and the other on exhaust (air exchange mode). You can use it either in manual mode where there is no temperature control or you can set a temperature for the unit to reach and then turn off (automatic mode). This is easy to do using the simple up and down buttons to the right of the large temperature readout or you can use the remote control. Once you set it, it will remember your settings if you turn it off as long as you don't unplug it. The remote control works well and it allows you to control all of the fan's features and functions remotely: on/off, fan speed, air direction, temperature and to toggle between automatic and manual mode. Finally, there is a button to change the brightness of the temperature readout, although you cannot completely turn it off. The power usage was similar to the Holmes. The Kill-A-Watt read 43 watts on low, 49 watts on medium and 64 watts on high. Unlike the most popular review for this unit, my temperature probe was located in its proper track and it seems to work well. I've been using it for three weeks now without issue and so this is the keeper. 4 of 5 stars for this. Its not perfect, but in my opinion, its the best of the three.
Just remember that with any window fan, one of the most important things is setting up a ventilation route.
In order for a window fan to be most effective, you have to have a second open window for either:
drawing in fresh air if you put the fan in exhaust mode.
or
exhausting room air if you put the fan in intake mode.
If you don't have a second open window for either mode, you'll either create a vacuum or pressure balloon, respectively and either way, you'll not be moving much air which is what a fan is all about in addition, you'll be overheating and likely killing the fan's motors. The second open window can be in another room or on another floor or it could be a screen door, but you need an unobstructed, open source of fresh air with the fan on exhaust or an equally open window for air to exhaust through if you put the fan on intake mode.
Of course, you could use the fan on exchange mode where one fan pushes air in and the other exhausts, but this is not ideal as my observation is that this mode is not nearly as efficient the other two.
Also remember that the outside temperature rules everything. In order for a fan to cool a room, in my experience, the outside temperature needs to be at least ten degrees cooler than the inside temp, or it needs to be falling, like it typically does at night. If the outside temperature is about the same as inside or warmer, then you'll not be cooled off by a fan. Humidity counts, too. High humidity = bad.
The window fan works well for me in the evenings/nights where the outside air temperature drops 10 or 15 degrees but the inside air temperature would stay high, even with all the windows wide open as often happens without any significant wind or breeze. With the fan on and with the windows and doors set up correctly, the upstairs bedrooms stay within three or four degrees of the outside temp for me without having to turn the air conditioning on in the spring and fall. I find intake mode most effective for me. And again, remember that the daily effectiveness of any window fan will depend a lot on the outside temperature and humidity level.
As far as these fans are concerned, I would say either get the Holmes HAWF2043 or the Bionaire BW2300, but stay far away from the Honeywell HW-628. Good luck!
UPDATE July 6th, 2012:
I've had the Bionaire BW2300 for just over three years now. It's holding up quite well. I use it all the time and it works as well today after three years of use as it did when it was brand new out of the box. The remote control and the full temperature controls are nice! I'm very happy with it. Its one of the best things I've ever purchased.
Sure enough I plugged it in and the temp started rising, went up to HI and stayed there. Other than that the fan was great. Quiet, strong, the remote worked good. I went back to the store and saw that the display model was doing the same thing. I couldn't believe that they would design the unit in such a way that the circuits would heat up the thermometer. I figured that some poor kid in the factory had missed a step in the assembly process.
Last night I took it apart and found the thermometer wire. It was laying across the circuit board. All I did was move the wire thermometer away from the circuit board and when I put it back together and plugged it in, it worked like it should have in the first place. Took less than 20 minutes to fix it.
Bionaire Quality Control really slipped on this one. 5 stars for a good product, minus one for the trouble.
If you want to fix it here is how I did it, but if you break yours I accept no responsibility. The instructions state "Do NOT attempt to repair or adjust any electrical or mechanical functions on this unit. Doing so will void the warranty."
UN-PLUG THE FAN. Unscrewed all the screws in the back (7 total I think). Then use a flat-head screw driver to open it from the side that doesn't have the built in extender. I couldn't figure out how to open it all the way but was able to open it about 35 degrees, like a clam, and remove the plastic cover that shields the circuits. The thermometer is the white plastic wire that is only attached to the circuit board on one end, not the round metal thing with a hole in the middle, that is the speaker. I stretched the thermometer wire out to the side, away from the circuit board and the put it back together.
It also has an Automatic mode that controls the fan's operation until the desired temperature is reached. This feature is not ideal since it will have the fan starting and stopping every 2-3 minutes when the temperature rises back to above the desired temperature.
Altogether, I am very satisfied with this fan, even though I do not use the Automatic feature. It is exceptionnaly quiet I find and the air flow features get the job done in no time.
Having read the reviews prior to making the purchase, I made the mistake of assuming that the poor design and assembly would have been corrected since almost three years had passed since "Wayne-in-Seattle" first posted his problem with the thermostat back on August 30, 2004.Bionaire can rest assured that this will be the LAST of their products I will ever purchase!
Correcting the problem is fairly simple; all you need to do is reposition the temperature sensing wire inside the control panel so the heat generated inside does not influence the temperature sensor. The only tool you will need will be a small Phillips had screwdriver.
Remove the seven screws on the back of the unit. You will not be able to completely remove the back panel unless you can figure out how to do so without breaking the accordion expansion panel on the right side of the unit. You will however be able to separate the back from the front enough to remove the control panel cover inside(no screws involved). Once inside you will see two white wires that are connected to the circuit board. One of those wires is approximately 3 inches long and is only connected to the board on one end; the other end hangs freely; this is the temperature sensing wire. The last inch of this wire has also been stripped of its coating and taped.
Carefully reposition the the wire toward the top of the unit, pulling it taut so that no part of it touches the circuit board, taping it if necessary (approximately 1.25 inches will stick out when you're done).
Replace the control panel cover, screw the unit back together and you are DONE! The next time you turn it on the temperature indicator will be displaying a more realistic value.
NOISE: There are three speeds. Low and medium are fairly quiet. High is louder.
AIRFLOW DIRECTION: There are three optionsBOTH IN, BOTH OUT or EXCHANGE (one fan in, one fan out). The only mode that really cools the room is BOTH IN, but it works well (it works even better if you open the bedroom door so there is no resistance to airflow).
SETUP: installation was easy, but note that I have a narrow window that slides up and down. Apparently, it fits "double-hung, vertical slider, and casement windows 24 to 37 inches wide." For windows that slide sideways, the manual indicates to set the fan vertically in the window opening, with the left side down (ostensibly because the fins on the left are fixed/hard, while the fins on the right are retractable/accordion type).
I recommend this product. The only caveat is that I have only had it for a few days, so I have no idea if it will be durable. The five year warranty gives some comfort.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 UPDATE: it's been eight years (i.e., three years past the warranty expiration) and it still works fine. So, thumbs up for durability as well. One caveatit does pull a lot of dust, etc., in from the outside. I wedged a 14x24x1 air filter in front of it, which does affect airflow, but does wonders in reducing the amount of dust, etc., pulled-in. I would recommend the fiberglass strand type filters over the pleated fabric type filters.
This is a direct comparison review between the three most popular currently available twin window fans:
Bionaire BW2300 Twin Window Fan with Remote Control
Holmes HAWF2043 Twin Window Fan
Honeywell HW-628 Enviracaire Twin Window Fan
If you are interested in purchasing any of those widow fans, read on...
I didn't intend to have to do this review because I didn't intend to purchase more than one of these fans. I can tell you now that all of these fans are super cheaply designed and built and none of these fans are perfect, but in my opinion, one is worse than the others.
Holmes HAWF2043 Twin Window Fan: my rating 3 of 5 stars
I first purchased the Holmes HAWF2043 unit. It was lightweight and fit the window nicely although I had trouble with the extender which is located on the right side. The locks for the extender are located on the right side along the top and bottom edge of the fan, which is supremely stupid because as soon as you place the fan in your window frame and put weight on it, the bottom lock locks and you can not move the extender. I mean, what rocket scientist thought of this? So you have to unlock the locks before you place the unit in the window AND keep weight off the bottom lock until you have the extender adjusted to where you want it. This is not easy. And the lock mechanisms can be difficult to move. At the time, I could not imagine anything worse, but I was wrong as I found out with the extenders on the Honeywell unit, which I will go into in the next paragraph. This Holmes unit has the best placement of the power cord which is in the lower left corner... the location is high enough as not to interfere with the bottom of the window frame. This unit has two speeds, high and low. The controls are easy to operate. In fact, there is only one button and two switches. The button cycles through the high and low manual speed settings and then though the automatic temperature presets which are at 60, 65, 70, 75 & 80 degrees fahrenheit. If you set it at one of the temperature presets, the unit will turn off once the room reaches that temperature. It seemed to work although I did not have the opportunity to see how accurate that function is. The two switches set the direction of the fans to either intake or exhaust which can be done on each fan independently, so you could have one fan on intake and the other on exhaust for quickly exchanging room air with fresh air. This unit has 8.5 inch fans and they are relatively quiet at both speeds, naturally high is louder than low, but don't expect silence. I own a Kill-A-Watt P3 energy meter and this unit used 46 watts on low and 63 watts on high. I would have been happy with this unit except that two days into using it, the right fan started working intermittently. Of course, that is unacceptable. Returning. I give this fan 3 out of 5 stars because I feel that if you get a good one you'll be happy with it, but don't expect anything great. FYI: Holmes is a division of Sunbeam.
Honeywell HW-628 Enviracaire Twin Window Fan: my rating 2 of 5 stars
So with the right fan not working correctly on the Homes, I ordered the Honeywell HW-628. As soon as I saw it, I knew I was not going to be happy with it. For one thing, the unit has 7 inch fans compared with 8.5 inch on the Holmes. So in order to move as much air, the fans would have to run much faster and the unit will be much louder. Time to install... I previously mentioned that the extenders on the Holmes were poorly designed, but the extenders on this were MUCH worse. First of all, this unit has two shorter extenders on both the right and left sides instead of one longer extender like the Holmes has. Second, the four extender locks are, get this, located on the BACK of the unit, the side facing out the window! How are you supposed to set those? It was impossible for me. I ended up jamming the extenders into the window frame in order to keep them extended. Okay, so I finally get the unit in the window and turned it on. I found out immediately that my thoughts about the smaller fans, higher fan speed and noise were true. This thing is LOUD. Super loud. And buzzy. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it is downright unruly. There is no chance you would use this in a bedroom even on low speed. The controls were easy to use although not completely intuitive. There are three speeds available on each fan, low, high and super high. You have to set each fan separately, which I think is stupid. I cannot imagine a scenario where I would want one fan on high and another fan on low, etc. The temperature setting dial is also extremely stupid. There are no temperature markings. According to the manual, you are supposed to keep the unit on until the room reaches a temperature that you like and then turn the dial back until the unit cycles off. Seriously? Each fan has its own direction switch for either intake or exhaust. The power cord is located on the bottom center of the front of the unit and its mounted too low so that it interferes with the bottom of my window frame. Who is designing these things? The one feature it had which I liked was that the grilles were directional and could be rotated to direct air in a 360 degree arc. On the power consumption front, this unit used twice the power as the Holmes! 97 watts on low, 109 watts on high and 120 watts on super high. My unit was defective in that the switches for the right fan are wired incorrectly such that low is high and high is low, but super high is still super high... odd. Returning. Due to the noise level, I would not recommend this unit. I cannot understand how it has 4 of 5 stars and as of today, 262 reviews. Incomprehensible.
Bionaire BW2300 Twin Window Fan with Remote Control: my rating 4 of 5 stars
So after the poor experience with the Honeywell (They put their name on that piece of junk? They are a defense contractor!), I purchased the Bionaire BW2300 hoping for better luck. First thing I noticed was the similarity between this unit and the Holmes. That is because they are both made by the same company. Bionaire, like Holmes, is Sunbeam. It has the same right side extender locks as the Holmes, but after the experience with the unusable rear locks on the Honeywell, I was happy to see them! One unwelcome difference is that the power cord is located on the bottom center of the front like it is on the Honeywell, and its also too low like it is on the Honeywell. I mounted the unit in window fairly quickly and turned it on. Its got three speeds, low, medium and high. It uses 8.5 inch fans like the Holmes and it is relatively quiet, although I think it may be ever so slightly louder than the Holmes on high. The controls are all electronic and it has an electronic temperature readout and thermostat. It is very easy to use. Simply choose a fan speed and put the unit into intake, exhaust or one fan on intake and the other on exhaust (air exchange mode). You can use it either in manual mode where there is no temperature control or you can set a temperature for the unit to reach and then turn off (automatic mode). This is easy to do using the simple up and down buttons to the right of the large temperature readout or you can use the remote control. Once you set it, it will remember your settings if you turn it off as long as you don't unplug it. The remote control works well and it allows you to control all of the fan's features and functions remotely: on/off, fan speed, air direction, temperature and to toggle between automatic and manual mode. Finally, there is a button to change the brightness of the temperature readout, although you cannot completely turn it off. The power usage was similar to the Holmes. The Kill-A-Watt read 43 watts on low, 49 watts on medium and 64 watts on high. Unlike the most popular review for this unit, my temperature probe was located in its proper track and it seems to work well. I've been using it for three weeks now without issue and so this is the keeper. 4 of 5 stars for this. Its not perfect, but in my opinion, its the best of the three.
Just remember that with any window fan, one of the most important things is setting up a ventilation route.
In order for a window fan to be most effective, you have to have a second open window for either:
drawing in fresh air if you put the fan in exhaust mode.
or
exhausting room air if you put the fan in intake mode.
If you don't have a second open window for either mode, you'll either create a vacuum or pressure balloon, respectively and either way, you'll not be moving much air which is what a fan is all about in addition, you'll be overheating and likely killing the fan's motors. The second open window can be in another room or on another floor or it could be a screen door, but you need an unobstructed, open source of fresh air with the fan on exhaust or an equally open window for air to exhaust through if you put the fan on intake mode.
Of course, you could use the fan on exchange mode where one fan pushes air in and the other exhausts, but this is not ideal as my observation is that this mode is not nearly as efficient the other two.
Also remember that the outside temperature rules everything. In order for a fan to cool a room, in my experience, the outside temperature needs to be at least ten degrees cooler than the inside temp, or it needs to be falling, like it typically does at night. If the outside temperature is about the same as inside or warmer, then you'll not be cooled off by a fan. Humidity counts, too. High humidity = bad.
The window fan works well for me in the evenings/nights where the outside air temperature drops 10 or 15 degrees but the inside air temperature would stay high, even with all the windows wide open as often happens without any significant wind or breeze. With the fan on and with the windows and doors set up correctly, the upstairs bedrooms stay within three or four degrees of the outside temp for me without having to turn the air conditioning on in the spring and fall. I find intake mode most effective for me. And again, remember that the daily effectiveness of any window fan will depend a lot on the outside temperature and humidity level.
As far as these fans are concerned, I would say either get the Holmes HAWF2043 or the Bionaire BW2300, but stay far away from the Honeywell HW-628. Good luck!
UPDATE July 6th, 2012:
I've had the Bionaire BW2300 for just over three years now. It's holding up quite well. I use it all the time and it works as well today after three years of use as it did when it was brand new out of the box. The remote control and the full temperature controls are nice! I'm very happy with it. Its one of the best things I've ever purchased.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
We got this fan a few months ago. I read the reviews and was concerned about the temp gauge not working but for the price I gave it a shot anyway. I asked the sales man about the return rate for the produce and he said that not a one had been returned (I didn't really believe him but went ahead with the purchase anyway).Sure enough I plugged it in and the temp started rising, went up to HI and stayed there. Other than that the fan was great. Quiet, strong, the remote worked good. I went back to the store and saw that the display model was doing the same thing. I couldn't believe that they would design the unit in such a way that the circuits would heat up the thermometer. I figured that some poor kid in the factory had missed a step in the assembly process.
Last night I took it apart and found the thermometer wire. It was laying across the circuit board. All I did was move the wire thermometer away from the circuit board and when I put it back together and plugged it in, it worked like it should have in the first place. Took less than 20 minutes to fix it.
Bionaire Quality Control really slipped on this one. 5 stars for a good product, minus one for the trouble.
If you want to fix it here is how I did it, but if you break yours I accept no responsibility. The instructions state "Do NOT attempt to repair or adjust any electrical or mechanical functions on this unit. Doing so will void the warranty."
UN-PLUG THE FAN. Unscrewed all the screws in the back (7 total I think). Then use a flat-head screw driver to open it from the side that doesn't have the built in extender. I couldn't figure out how to open it all the way but was able to open it about 35 degrees, like a clam, and remove the plastic cover that shields the circuits. The thermometer is the white plastic wire that is only attached to the circuit board on one end, not the round metal thing with a hole in the middle, that is the speaker. I stretched the thermometer wire out to the side, away from the circuit board and the put it back together.
Best Deals on Bionaire BW2300 Twin Window Fan with Remote Control
This fan is of great value. It will quietly refresh your room during a warm summer night, allowing you to sleep and benefit from air circulation in those houses where there is no central air conditionning. It has 3 speeds and 3 air flow settings (In, Out, Exchange: one fan works in and the other out to exchange the room's air with the outside air) to rapidly get the room to the desired confort level.It also has an Automatic mode that controls the fan's operation until the desired temperature is reached. This feature is not ideal since it will have the fan starting and stopping every 2-3 minutes when the temperature rises back to above the desired temperature.
Altogether, I am very satisfied with this fan, even though I do not use the Automatic feature. It is exceptionnaly quiet I find and the air flow features get the job done in no time.
Honest reviews on Bionaire BW2300 Twin Window Fan with Remote Control
I, like several others who have purchased this fan experienced the same problem with the thermostat. From the moment I turned it on the temperature indicator continued to rise (instead of decline) even though it was 65° outside and 75° inside.Having read the reviews prior to making the purchase, I made the mistake of assuming that the poor design and assembly would have been corrected since almost three years had passed since "Wayne-in-Seattle" first posted his problem with the thermostat back on August 30, 2004.Bionaire can rest assured that this will be the LAST of their products I will ever purchase!
Correcting the problem is fairly simple; all you need to do is reposition the temperature sensing wire inside the control panel so the heat generated inside does not influence the temperature sensor. The only tool you will need will be a small Phillips had screwdriver.
Remove the seven screws on the back of the unit. You will not be able to completely remove the back panel unless you can figure out how to do so without breaking the accordion expansion panel on the right side of the unit. You will however be able to separate the back from the front enough to remove the control panel cover inside(no screws involved). Once inside you will see two white wires that are connected to the circuit board. One of those wires is approximately 3 inches long and is only connected to the board on one end; the other end hangs freely; this is the temperature sensing wire. The last inch of this wire has also been stripped of its coating and taped.
Carefully reposition the the wire toward the top of the unit, pulling it taut so that no part of it touches the circuit board, taping it if necessary (approximately 1.25 inches will stick out when you're done).
Replace the control panel cover, screw the unit back together and you are DONE! The next time you turn it on the temperature indicator will be displaying a more realistic value.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Bionaire BW2300 Twin Window Fan with Remote Control
I live in Orange County, California, near the beach, so the air is generally cool outside. The sun warms the inside of the house, so the trick is getting the cool air into the warm house. This fan is great for that.NOISE: There are three speeds. Low and medium are fairly quiet. High is louder.
AIRFLOW DIRECTION: There are three optionsBOTH IN, BOTH OUT or EXCHANGE (one fan in, one fan out). The only mode that really cools the room is BOTH IN, but it works well (it works even better if you open the bedroom door so there is no resistance to airflow).
SETUP: installation was easy, but note that I have a narrow window that slides up and down. Apparently, it fits "double-hung, vertical slider, and casement windows 24 to 37 inches wide." For windows that slide sideways, the manual indicates to set the fan vertically in the window opening, with the left side down (ostensibly because the fins on the left are fixed/hard, while the fins on the right are retractable/accordion type).
I recommend this product. The only caveat is that I have only had it for a few days, so I have no idea if it will be durable. The five year warranty gives some comfort.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 UPDATE: it's been eight years (i.e., three years past the warranty expiration) and it still works fine. So, thumbs up for durability as well. One caveatit does pull a lot of dust, etc., in from the outside. I wedged a 14x24x1 air filter in front of it, which does affect airflow, but does wonders in reducing the amount of dust, etc., pulled-in. I would recommend the fiberglass strand type filters over the pleated fabric type filters.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Review of Lasko 6435 Designer Series Ceramic Oscillating Heater with Remote
only 3 stars, because of this design flaw issue:
I like it, and it's not blowing my circuit breaker when it's in the HIGH setting, in the room I need it in, so I'm not going to return it.
Others may not be so lucky due to an inexplicable design decision:
I really HATE that when you turn it to LOW setting, you CANNOT USE THE THERMOSTAT!!!
As soon as you select a thermostat "temperature", it automatically switches from LOW to HIGH power, and could then trip a typically overloaded circuit breaker.
If you MUST use the low setting because of your homes wiring, your only choice to keep it from running continuously, is to use the TIMER feature.(minimum 1 hour)
I've had many heaters, and NONE with a thermostat behaves this way in low setting!!
(Including the same brand cheaper LASKO 754200 ceramic heater that I also bought.) Inexplicable.
I've got some areas of the house that I'll blow the circuit breaker if I use the HIGH setting.
(14AWG wiring, with 15A breakers, and some are pretty heavily loaded already. The kind of "cheap" barely acceptable wiring many new houses have in them.)
I won't buy an electic heater unless it has both a high(1500 watts) and low(usually ~750W, but this one says 900W) setting, plus a thermostat to keep it from running constantly.
If you are buying this heater and MUST use it in the LOW setting in some areas, then you'll want to buy something else.
On the PLUS side, the designers got a lot right:
1. (my Wife likes it) looks good in a living room (smaller than I had pictured, that's a good thing).
2. AIRFLOW: Very quiet. It has a vertical "Squirrel cage" type blower. One fan speed.
(No "Blower only" mode.)
The description tries to make it sound like it's got a powerful blowerno, I wouldn't call it that.
but it does have better airflow than I've seen in many other ceramic style heaters with regular fan.
Note: does NOT have an air-filter to keep dust out of the blower or heat elements.
The air intake is in back, and air is then sucked into top and bottom of squirrel cage fan. The air entry is at least 6" above floor, so that somewhat reduces dust intake.
(any heater with no filter usually means taking them apart every couple years to clear out the dust buildup, or see reduced airflow/performance, and earlier failure. It's rare to find a heater with filter.)
3. HEAT: Standard maximum 1500 Watts=5118 BTU/hr.. Plenty to warm us up 5 feet away, and to warm a small room, especially as a supplemental heater.
I'm using it in large open room with very high ceiling, but I can certainly tell it's warmer when I walk back there from colder adjacent front entry area. We're using it more for area heating within the room, while sitting watching TV.
4. Looks like ~40 degree arc swivel, which is enough to get both sides of a person, and to help circulate air in room. (first one I've had with swivel, so don't know how that compares with other brands)
5. TIMER: settable from 1 to 7 hour, in one hour increments.
We use the timer(LOW or high) along with the thermostat(HI only!!), since we'd keep forgetting to turn it off when done in the room (it's quiet, to my ears anyway).
6. Controls: The buttons on top mean I don't have to bend so low if I don't have the remote control in my hand, and the settings are easy to see.
On the other hand, that also makes it harder to tell (when sitting down) what setting is chosen when using the remote control. (The Infrared remote control has no indicators showing current setting)
The remote controls: ON/OFF; Hi/Lo temp; Swivel on/off; temp setting: one press for each temp change cycles through 60 deg to 85deg, in 5 deg increments(HIGH temp ONLY!!); TIMER: each press cycles from 1 to 7 hour, in 1 hour increment, with top display of "4,2,1", so you must add the numbers to figure the total time)
It has a ~6Ft power cord with two prong polarized plug.
Who would have thought you could have made a functional, inexpensive, thermostatically-controlled, heater, attractive? Well Lasko must have, because they've done it. I purchased this heater for my mother who lives in our finished basement (I don't want anyone thinking I have my mom living in an "unfinished" basement, under the stairs, or anything like that). The oscillating feature is nicely integrated in the design as it pivots along the top band of the metal support structure. It has a bright, red, LED that shines through the bottom of the heating grill so you can easily see that the unit is on. It puts out a good amount of heat and is every bit as effective as the DeLonghi units I own in other parts of my house. So, overall, I'm happy with it. Let me lay out the Pros and Cons for you.
Pros:
Attractive crackle surface along the skin of the unit.
Heavy base provides sturdy support to keep the unit from tipping.
Nice size makes it easily unobtrusive.
Very quiet.
Ready to use right out of the box.
Cons:
Remote is a bit difficult use. It has icons only which are rubber-lifted and all black. They are a bit difficult to see unless you tilt the remote in the light to get contrast from the raised surface.
Thermostat is restricted to five-degree increments. My other DeLonghi units allow full-degree adjustment.
No tip-turn-off feature if you tend to get a bit rowdy in your heated room.
We have only had the unit for about a week. As time goes by, I will provide any additional information that I feel is relevant to this review. I certainly recommend this product. If this review was helpful to you, please say so. Thanks!
UPDATE: I just got off the phone with LaskoProducts who told me that this particular heater does not have a tip shut-off feature. They told me that if the unit were to tip, it would most likely overheat and then the thermal protection would kick in. I don't think I would want to count on the thermal overload protection to protect from a tip-over. If I just HAD to have this heater, I would probably just strap one of the bracket legs to a stationary object or clamp it to the floor. It's pretty stable but it's certainly not "untippable."
I wanted to see how the heater would respond if it tipped over so I tipped it, last night. It did not turn off. It just laid there like a tipped-over R2-D2, rotating back and forth. I didn't wait around to see if it would overheat and shut off. I have two other oscillating heaters in my home in my kid's bedrooms that are made by DeLonghi and they have the tip-over shut-off feature. As a matter of fact, you can't even pick them up without them shutting off. I bought them a few years ago at Costco but couldn't find an identical product when I bought the decorative heater from Amazon.com. If tipping is not your concern, this is still a great heater.
I like it, and it's not blowing my circuit breaker when it's in the HIGH setting, in the room I need it in, so I'm not going to return it.
Others may not be so lucky due to an inexplicable design decision:
I really HATE that when you turn it to LOW setting, you CANNOT USE THE THERMOSTAT!!!
As soon as you select a thermostat "temperature", it automatically switches from LOW to HIGH power, and could then trip a typically overloaded circuit breaker.
If you MUST use the low setting because of your homes wiring, your only choice to keep it from running continuously, is to use the TIMER feature.(minimum 1 hour)
I've had many heaters, and NONE with a thermostat behaves this way in low setting!!
(Including the same brand cheaper LASKO 754200 ceramic heater that I also bought.) Inexplicable.
I've got some areas of the house that I'll blow the circuit breaker if I use the HIGH setting.
(14AWG wiring, with 15A breakers, and some are pretty heavily loaded already. The kind of "cheap" barely acceptable wiring many new houses have in them.)
I won't buy an electic heater unless it has both a high(1500 watts) and low(usually ~750W, but this one says 900W) setting, plus a thermostat to keep it from running constantly.
If you are buying this heater and MUST use it in the LOW setting in some areas, then you'll want to buy something else.
On the PLUS side, the designers got a lot right:
1. (my Wife likes it) looks good in a living room (smaller than I had pictured, that's a good thing).
2. AIRFLOW: Very quiet. It has a vertical "Squirrel cage" type blower. One fan speed.
(No "Blower only" mode.)
The description tries to make it sound like it's got a powerful blowerno, I wouldn't call it that.
but it does have better airflow than I've seen in many other ceramic style heaters with regular fan.
Note: does NOT have an air-filter to keep dust out of the blower or heat elements.
The air intake is in back, and air is then sucked into top and bottom of squirrel cage fan. The air entry is at least 6" above floor, so that somewhat reduces dust intake.
(any heater with no filter usually means taking them apart every couple years to clear out the dust buildup, or see reduced airflow/performance, and earlier failure. It's rare to find a heater with filter.)
3. HEAT: Standard maximum 1500 Watts=5118 BTU/hr.. Plenty to warm us up 5 feet away, and to warm a small room, especially as a supplemental heater.
I'm using it in large open room with very high ceiling, but I can certainly tell it's warmer when I walk back there from colder adjacent front entry area. We're using it more for area heating within the room, while sitting watching TV.
4. Looks like ~40 degree arc swivel, which is enough to get both sides of a person, and to help circulate air in room. (first one I've had with swivel, so don't know how that compares with other brands)
5. TIMER: settable from 1 to 7 hour, in one hour increments.
We use the timer(LOW or high) along with the thermostat(HI only!!), since we'd keep forgetting to turn it off when done in the room (it's quiet, to my ears anyway).
6. Controls: The buttons on top mean I don't have to bend so low if I don't have the remote control in my hand, and the settings are easy to see.
On the other hand, that also makes it harder to tell (when sitting down) what setting is chosen when using the remote control. (The Infrared remote control has no indicators showing current setting)
The remote controls: ON/OFF; Hi/Lo temp; Swivel on/off; temp setting: one press for each temp change cycles through 60 deg to 85deg, in 5 deg increments(HIGH temp ONLY!!); TIMER: each press cycles from 1 to 7 hour, in 1 hour increment, with top display of "4,2,1", so you must add the numbers to figure the total time)
It has a ~6Ft power cord with two prong polarized plug.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I am very VERY pleased with this purchase! Big thanks to the woman who actually suggested this product in a review I was reading about another I was going to purchase. A little unit that seriously kicks out the heat. I use it for an open area den-there is a draft from main home entry on cold nights. I sit it between door and lounging area. No more cold air is felt across the floor and even warms up the den area. Had thought the remote was an unnecessary perk -not anymore! Extremely pleased with this unit.Best Deals on Lasko 6435 Designer Series Ceramic Oscillating Heater with Remote
So I live in a small (I mean small less than 400 sq ft-YIKES!) cottage. I can not swing my cat. It's ALL electric and my PG&E bill is bananas WITHOUT using the heat. So I suffered in the cold until my sister told me she had a lasko floor heater. I wasn't impressed when I saw it (not this one) but I honestly didn't care because I was tired of freezing to death with layers of clothes on. It's murder trying to get going in the morning (skipping showers cause it's too cold :(-C'mon!!). I saw this Lasko and was super excited. It LOOKED interesting, better than my sisters, well on the internet picture anyway. If you have ever lived in a small place you have to know ANYTHING you add to the decor, grows 5 times it's original size. I didn't want a contraption in the middle of my place. Well I'm here to tell you I in fact received it and was instantly satisfied with it's appearance. It's rather elegant as elegant as you can get being a heater and made of plastic. The base is metal and the tower is "i wanna look like stone" and does a fairly good job of it...unless your sitting on top of it and analyzing it. So for appearance for what it is made of and the look it is trying to pull off: 5 stars. Good job Lasko. Now, as far as heating, it's freaking NOT freezing in here anymore I am happy to say. This thing is really great. I love to be warm so I put it on 75 degrees and I am cozy as a bug in about 5 minutes(room ~ 200 sqft) You have many choices. For temp: 60,65.70,75,80,85 then max. There's a timer for it to go off after 1-7 hours. It can oscillate though I don't use this. One persons review stated it made his e-bill go up I don't know but I don't need to find out. My latest PG&E bill is unremarkable (super excited!!) but I've only had it a month so I'm a bit nervous about a surprise huge PG&E bill next month. So this thing looks great and works great for what you pay. It's light weight so I bring it to which ever room I'm inmy whopping choice of basically two. I'm giving 5 stars because it's all I expectednice looking to blend in a small cottage without sticking out like a sore thumb and also does what it sets out to doheats so well it makes me fall asleep :) Oh, it also comes with a remote control which I find wicked funny. I guess only because I simply have no use for it but thank you Lasko. Get off your couch people!! HA. Good Luck to you.Honest reviews on Lasko 6435 Designer Series Ceramic Oscillating Heater with Remote
This review can also apply to the 6410 model which, according to Lasko Products, only differs in color.Who would have thought you could have made a functional, inexpensive, thermostatically-controlled, heater, attractive? Well Lasko must have, because they've done it. I purchased this heater for my mother who lives in our finished basement (I don't want anyone thinking I have my mom living in an "unfinished" basement, under the stairs, or anything like that). The oscillating feature is nicely integrated in the design as it pivots along the top band of the metal support structure. It has a bright, red, LED that shines through the bottom of the heating grill so you can easily see that the unit is on. It puts out a good amount of heat and is every bit as effective as the DeLonghi units I own in other parts of my house. So, overall, I'm happy with it. Let me lay out the Pros and Cons for you.
Pros:
Attractive crackle surface along the skin of the unit.
Heavy base provides sturdy support to keep the unit from tipping.
Nice size makes it easily unobtrusive.
Very quiet.
Ready to use right out of the box.
Cons:
Remote is a bit difficult use. It has icons only which are rubber-lifted and all black. They are a bit difficult to see unless you tilt the remote in the light to get contrast from the raised surface.
Thermostat is restricted to five-degree increments. My other DeLonghi units allow full-degree adjustment.
No tip-turn-off feature if you tend to get a bit rowdy in your heated room.
We have only had the unit for about a week. As time goes by, I will provide any additional information that I feel is relevant to this review. I certainly recommend this product. If this review was helpful to you, please say so. Thanks!
UPDATE: I just got off the phone with LaskoProducts who told me that this particular heater does not have a tip shut-off feature. They told me that if the unit were to tip, it would most likely overheat and then the thermal protection would kick in. I don't think I would want to count on the thermal overload protection to protect from a tip-over. If I just HAD to have this heater, I would probably just strap one of the bracket legs to a stationary object or clamp it to the floor. It's pretty stable but it's certainly not "untippable."
I wanted to see how the heater would respond if it tipped over so I tipped it, last night. It did not turn off. It just laid there like a tipped-over R2-D2, rotating back and forth. I didn't wait around to see if it would overheat and shut off. I have two other oscillating heaters in my home in my kid's bedrooms that are made by DeLonghi and they have the tip-over shut-off feature. As a matter of fact, you can't even pick them up without them shutting off. I bought them a few years ago at Costco but couldn't find an identical product when I bought the decorative heater from Amazon.com. If tipping is not your concern, this is still a great heater.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lasko 6435 Designer Series Ceramic Oscillating Heater with Remote
This is a great little heater. Our house is quite drafty, but this heater really makes a difference. It is also very attractive. The ability to set temps, timers, and power level make this a very versatile device. I was really amazed at the amount of heat it puts out! I highly recommend this heater.Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Best Refrigerator/Freezer Thermometer w/Alarm (-50°c-70°C) () Deals
(January 5, 2010) Got one of these a few years back as we had a couple of experiences with the basement refrigerator door left ajar and later failure (no alarm feature). Have been very happy with it, except that the alarm is not very loud. Seems to be a common comment on other alarm thermometers.
One feature that pulls me to this particular model (besides matching the one I already have) is the "buffered" probe. The bottle of glycol averages the temperature measurements a bit so that short durations with the door open don't cause a spike and alarm.
The probe wire is small enough to not cause a problem of air/humidity leakage through magnetic door seals.
By the way, the description may not be clear: the alarm can be disabled via a slide switch on the back.
It is somewhat unfortunate that this is not offered as a dual fridge/freezer meter.
Am adding 3 of these to my wish list for upcoming birthday for additional fridge/freezers.
At the time of this review, I see the same thermometer on Amazon with 2 different brand names (VWR, Fisher Scientific) for sale by 3rd parties only. So the brand and sellers may change over time. If so, look for the probe in the green bottle and the "Traceable" label above the LCD display. Price is around $50.
(March 25, 2012) Did get the 3 additionals in spring 2010. Very happy with all, and I think all are still running on their original battery.
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Plastic-Traceable-Refrigerator-Thermometer/dp/B0069TGQPY/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1373208369&sr=8-14&keywords=refrigerator+thermometer.
I keep temperature-dependent medications in our medical office (one medication $3000 so I was looking for an alarmed system to replace the bottle-probe that I had to open the refrigerator to check). The cable has plenty of length to run from the inside back of my refrigerator to the monitor I attached to the outside of the fridge; the cable is very thin/flat so there isn't an air leak. I securely fastened the monitor using 3M strips in a very visible location so I see it frequently. It was easy to set the alarm parameters (2-6 degrees) then I tested it and found the alarm to work very accurately. There were many other, much more costly options; the was reasonably priced and does the job perfectly!
One feature that pulls me to this particular model (besides matching the one I already have) is the "buffered" probe. The bottle of glycol averages the temperature measurements a bit so that short durations with the door open don't cause a spike and alarm.
The probe wire is small enough to not cause a problem of air/humidity leakage through magnetic door seals.
By the way, the description may not be clear: the alarm can be disabled via a slide switch on the back.
It is somewhat unfortunate that this is not offered as a dual fridge/freezer meter.
Am adding 3 of these to my wish list for upcoming birthday for additional fridge/freezers.
At the time of this review, I see the same thermometer on Amazon with 2 different brand names (VWR, Fisher Scientific) for sale by 3rd parties only. So the brand and sellers may change over time. If so, look for the probe in the green bottle and the "Traceable" label above the LCD display. Price is around $50.
(March 25, 2012) Did get the 3 additionals in spring 2010. Very happy with all, and I think all are still running on their original battery.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
This is an easy to use and program thermometer for refrigerator/freezer. The cord is long enough to make it easy to place the base unit where needed. I had difficulty ataching the bottle to the inside of my freezer the double stick tape did not stick due to condensation. I suggest that a small holder to for the bottle that would clip to the shelving.Best Deals on Refrigerator/Freezer Thermometer w/Alarm (-50°c-70°C) ()
This picture is NOT the product I received! but what I received was what I needed:http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Plastic-Traceable-Refrigerator-Thermometer/dp/B0069TGQPY/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1373208369&sr=8-14&keywords=refrigerator+thermometer.
I keep temperature-dependent medications in our medical office (one medication $3000 so I was looking for an alarmed system to replace the bottle-probe that I had to open the refrigerator to check). The cable has plenty of length to run from the inside back of my refrigerator to the monitor I attached to the outside of the fridge; the cable is very thin/flat so there isn't an air leak. I securely fastened the monitor using 3M strips in a very visible location so I see it frequently. It was easy to set the alarm parameters (2-6 degrees) then I tested it and found the alarm to work very accurately. There were many other, much more costly options; the was reasonably priced and does the job perfectly!
Friday, July 4, 2014
Review of Attic Fan Replacement Motor
List Price: $89.95
Sale Price: $56.00
Today's Bonus: 38% Off
This motor is identical to the Lomanco motor I was replacing but is more expensive. Even the part numbers are identical. The only difference is that this motor is more expensive.
I was hoping it would be a better motor since the thermal protector in my Lomanco motor burned out and it uses sleeve bearings.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
This motor works as a replacement, but has the same steel sleeve bearings as the original that will require regular lubrication (yearly, at least) to keep them from seizing and burning out the thermal fuse. The problem is, you have to disassemble the fan to had a couple drops of oil to the motor bearings.Best Deals on Attic Fan Replacement Motor
Broan Attic Fan (340, 343, 350, 353) Replacement Motor # 97009316Having removed our 9-year old Broan attic fan for a remodeling project, it was obvious that the fan blade didn't turn as easily as when it was new. However, rather than buy a replacement motor, I simply cleaned the bearings on the old one. Some notes:
Our fan's motor has a 3-prong cord plugged into a dedicated receptacle next to it, which simplified removing the unit. We have 3 attic fans and I always install a short heavy-duty extension cord on the fan and mount a receptacle nearby to simplify maintenance.
Removed the fan blade and unloosened two of the three bolts that held the motor clamp tight.
Removed the two screws that held the thermostat on the fan frame and removed the motor & thermostat together.
Removed the nuts and bolts that hold the 2 halves of the motor housing together.
Separated the motor casing ends the armature then comes out easily, along with the front motor casing.
Since the long shaft was rusted beyond where the fan attaches, I used a bench mounted wire wheel to de-rust it. A rusted shaft won't slide out of the front bearing.
Slid the front motor casing, which contains the front sleeve bearing, off the armature shaft.
Thoroughly cleaned the gunk on the shaft at the bearing locations using a paper towel with paint thinner, along with steel wool. The front shaft on my motor was coated with what looked like tar, which can happen to oil that's repeatedly over-heated. This "tar" retards motor RPM's, making the fan less efficient. Eventually, if it slows the motor enough, a tar build-up could result in a burned out motor. The rear bearing area was much cleaner.
Cleaned the inside of the sleeve bearings.
Oiled the sleeve bearings on their insides and the shaft where it touches the bearings, with synthetic motor oil, since it's slicker and has a higher operating temperature range, than refined oil.
Reassembled the unit mounting the motor so that the shaft was at a right angle to the fan housing. The fan turned much easier by hand than it did before. Electrified the fan for a test run before re-installation, to ensure proper operation.
Summary:
I've disassembled many motors and this is the first one with STEEL versus bronze, sleeve bearings. Broan probably saves two bucks per motor by using the cheaper steel sleeve bearings, and the end result is a motor won't last as long as it would if bronze bearings were used. (I.e., the bearings gum up, at which point, most people would replace the motor.) The steel sleeve bearings are so hard that the motor shaft showed some wear at the front bearing area this is something I haven't seen with bronze bearings, since bronze is not hard enough to wear down a steel shaft.
This "repair" costs nothing and took about 30 minutes. There's no reason it couldn't be repeated as needed.
One star off for Broan using cheaper bearings.
Honest reviews on Attic Fan Replacement Motor
The original motor in the fan lasted for nearly 14 years. My hope is the new motor lasts a similar period of time. Only time will tell.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Attic Fan Replacement Motor
My old fan was making all sorts of noise and finally just burned out. I ordered this one, installed it and it runs effectively and quietly. I am guessing I will have to replace it in 7 to 10 years but it is what it is.Friday, June 13, 2014
Reviews of Delonghi BG24 Perfecto Indoor Grill
List Price: $112.00
Sale Price: $59.95
Today's Bonus: 46% Off
I am very satisfied with this grill; I have also given it as a gift to a relative who also loves it and uses it frequently.
Some of the problems described here (not hot enough, etc.), in my opinion, stem from improper use. Like any grill, you have to let it warm up, before plopping quarter pound hamburgers on it. My daughter over-cooked chicken breasts on it(they looked great (grill lines, etc.) but they were dry)--so the comments here about the heating element not working are simply not true.
I love the glass top that contains spattering; I also line the bottom of the grill (when cooking) with aluminum foil to make clean up easier. The grill itself is something of a pain to clean, but I put mine in the dishwasher and it comes out great.
This grill performs very well, but you have to allow sufficient time for the heating element to get the grill hot and choose the correct heat settings in connection with what you are cooking--not exactly rocket science, but judging from the reviews here, some people obviously find this challenging.
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I got this grill about a week ago and I love it. First of all the cooking area is BIG.. and wonderful so that you can really cook. I also love how you can adjust the heat setting depending on what you are cooking instead of like my former George where it was 1 temp was supposed to cook all ( which burnt the outside of thick pieces of meat and chicken breast and left the inside way underdone)I also love how the fat drips down immediatly into the tray. On my George ( a big one) the fat would come sort of off one burger and then run into the other burger and stay there without ever going into the tray thing. Clean up is alot easier than George because I can stick all of it except the temp control into the sink or dishwasher to wash. I also like the lid that keeps the food from drying out while cooking and warm before it is served. I will admit it is not as fast as George but honestly the quality of food I cook is so much better b/c it has been cooked right and not just fast. This grill IMO is much more similar to cooking on an outside grill and the taste is better for it. I highly reccomed this product over it's competition, there is no comparrison! Move over George, YOU GO GRILL!Best Deals on Delonghi BG24 Perfecto Indoor Grill
I just received this item today. It is fabulous. I made boneless chicken breasts with a marinade consisting of 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup dijon, 1/4 cup melted butter, and 1/4 teaspoon of curry. I followed the directions to use the grill explicitly. I coated the grill very lightly with olive oil. I put some water in the tray and there was no smoke at all. I turned the heat up to 5 (the highest setting) for 10 minutes to preheat and kept the grill covered while it was heating. I poked holes in the chicken and basted them with the marinade. I put the chicken on the grill setting high for 3 minutes on each side, uncovered. Every time I turned the chicken I basted with more marinade. The chicken seared beautifully with grill markings on both sides. After 6 minutes on high, I lowered the grill to between 3 and 4, basted again, and covered for 6 minutes. I then flipped the chicken again, basted and cooked for another 6 minutes. They came out so delicious, juicy, moist it was amazing. Chicken like this usually comes out dry but this was juicy and tender and the marinade which was a recipe I got from the internet was terrific. My kids both enjoyed it. Both are VERY picky eaters. I read all the reviews on this site and agonized over this purchase worrying about what was said in the negative reviews. I am not a cook at all. I am just learning but I followed the directions and I cannot reproduce ANY of the negative experiences stated here. It was also easy to clean. I followed someone's advice that said to place wet paper towels on the grill and then wipe it down with the paper towels. Just like that reviewer, my grill came out perfectly clean, as if it had come right out of the box. I hope this review helps someone. I may never grill outdoors again this was so easy and quick and was such a great experience. I would give it 10 stars if I could.Honest reviews on Delonghi BG24 Perfecto Indoor Grill
I've had this grill for about 2 years now but I've only used it about four times. After using it the last time I noticed blistering of the grill non-stick coating (Teflon?). I was able to scratch this off in a few places with my fingernail to verify if the coating was blistering or if these spots were just imperfections underneath. I wasn't pleasantly surprised to find that the blistering came off easily and that this could be in my food the next time I use it (healthy grilling!). I had many flects of coating on the table after running my fingernail over the blisters exposing the bare metal of the grill.I therefore cannot recommend this product to anyone. By the way, I've only used a soapy sponge to clean the grill and never used metalic utensils on in while cooking. The "blistering" of the teflon tells me that the metal of the grill was not primed correctly before the coating was applied. Has this happened to anyone else? Before I throw this grill away I'm going to try to contact the manufacturer and see if they can replace the grill element seeing how this looks like a manufacturing defect.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Delonghi BG24 Perfecto Indoor Grill
I have had my grill for a week, we've cooked lean steaks on it, pork chops, and the other night we cooked hamburgers on it. This is my first indoor grill so when one review mentioned the "George Foreman" grill was a bit faster, I was amazed I thought the Delonghi cooked pretty fast!! Clean up was really easy and one MUST remember to preheat it. I gather some have not. And as to smoking I haven't had any but then I buy lean meats and put water in the bottom if I think the food will drip a lot of fat. Fat dripping into the large tray in the bottom is what burns and causes the smoke. I've only used water once, with the hamburgers (no smoking). This really is a great grill and large enough to be more than satisfying (actual cooking space is 15"x11"). Ease and comfort of use is amazing. I highly recommend it!Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Cheap "R.H. Peterson CHASG10-24-15P - 24"" Ventless Charred Aged Split
The RH Peterson G10-24-15P gas logs are beautiful. It has adjustable flames with a remote control thermostat. The Thermostat is the coolest. You can set the temp on the digital thermostat and it will keep you house nice and cozy. Simply, the nicest set of logs on the market.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Dimplex Cheshire Media Console with 25 Inch Self-trimming Electric Review
This baby is big; 200lbs, heavy and solid, as it should be. The fire place is very realistic and hypnotic, as expected.
Be careful when sliding the fireplace into the cabinet it may scratch or ding the wood trim, but they thoughtfully included a felt tip touch-up pen just in case you make a ding or two. I did and the pen works just fine,
It is made to fit nicely into a corner location, if one chooses that.
Not too difficult to assemble, just take your time. Screw everything tight with a phillips head driver especially the four weird bolts that connect the top piece with the base. This is a very clever concealed construction technique that I have never seen before , but very effective. Two people would be a great help putting it together, as I said it's heavy. A great product, highly recommended, we love it.
As for a TV stand, it is very heavy duty and very heavy in weight too. It has no problem holding my 70lb TV and probably could hold heavier, but I think most flat screens weigh less and less so likely no issues. The instructions were also easy to follow and assembly was fast. The only negative is that the top shelf is attached with lightweight cam bolts, so if you tried to lift it by the top shelf I think it would break off. That may be obvious to you, but for me, I always grab the top to move things around, so I'm glad I thought about it instead of learning the hard way.
Lastly, the "Component shelf" is very small. This may not be an issue if you have the newer "micro-slim" components, but if you have the older electronics in big rectangle black metal boxes, you will only be able to fit one thing on the shelf.
Overall a great looking and working unit.
I was very pleasantly pleased with the media console.
It was solid wood beautifully finished and assembled without any trouble (about an hour).
It is heavy being solid wood, but can be moved fairly easily by one person.
It was delivered to my garage and I unpacked it there and carried the pieces in.
Very happy with the look. The heater is very low BTU but I was not looking for for a heater, just the look.
The remote works well and the heater can be turned off independently if you want.
My wife is happy so I am happy!
Be careful when sliding the fireplace into the cabinet it may scratch or ding the wood trim, but they thoughtfully included a felt tip touch-up pen just in case you make a ding or two. I did and the pen works just fine,
It is made to fit nicely into a corner location, if one chooses that.
Not too difficult to assemble, just take your time. Screw everything tight with a phillips head driver especially the four weird bolts that connect the top piece with the base. This is a very clever concealed construction technique that I have never seen before , but very effective. Two people would be a great help putting it together, as I said it's heavy. A great product, highly recommended, we love it.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
Our shipment was received on the day promised with a phone call a couple days ahead from the shipping company confirming delivery. Wonderful... My husband was a little overwhelmed taking all the parts out but I suggested we start little but within a 1/2 hour we had it finished. Wonderful... We moved it into our spot plugged it in and began to enjoy the ambiance of a fireplace. Wonderful... The simulated flame and the glass beads looking like ambers burning. Wonderful... I highly recommend...Best Deals on Dimplex Cheshire Media Console with 25 Inch Self-trimming Electric
As others have said, the heat is not strong, but I didn't need or expect much here in Florida. In reality, if it put out any more heat it would be too much, so if you just want a little heat in one room, this is great and even saves money since you won't have to turn on the Central heat just to get the one room up a couple of degrees. The other thing that is impressive is the Flame-box. It looks really nice and does seem like a real fire, but I would not refer to it as a "fireplace". it really doesn't look like a fireplace but rather like some type of gas fire rising from a bed of golden glass embers. Don't get me wrong it looks great, but unlike the picture, the output is white and golden yellow with no red in the "flames" or "embers".As for a TV stand, it is very heavy duty and very heavy in weight too. It has no problem holding my 70lb TV and probably could hold heavier, but I think most flat screens weigh less and less so likely no issues. The instructions were also easy to follow and assembly was fast. The only negative is that the top shelf is attached with lightweight cam bolts, so if you tried to lift it by the top shelf I think it would break off. That may be obvious to you, but for me, I always grab the top to move things around, so I'm glad I thought about it instead of learning the hard way.
Lastly, the "Component shelf" is very small. This may not be an issue if you have the newer "micro-slim" components, but if you have the older electronics in big rectangle black metal boxes, you will only be able to fit one thing on the shelf.
Overall a great looking and working unit.
Honest reviews on Dimplex Cheshire Media Console with 25 Inch Self-trimming Electric
We received the console in one box. Wasn't too hard to remove items. Maybe 9 pieces in all. Only took maybe 45 minutes to set up. My wife loves it. 3 bags of crushed glass was included to place where the logs would have been. Looks great. Looks like a gas fireplace. Very quiet too.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dimplex Cheshire Media Console with 25 Inch Self-trimming Electric
Focused on this brand because of Dimplex's reputation with electric fireplaces.I was very pleasantly pleased with the media console.
It was solid wood beautifully finished and assembled without any trouble (about an hour).
It is heavy being solid wood, but can be moved fairly easily by one person.
It was delivered to my garage and I unpacked it there and carried the pieces in.
Very happy with the look. The heater is very low BTU but I was not looking for for a heater, just the look.
The remote works well and the heater can be turned off independently if you want.
My wife is happy so I am happy!
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
SunStatPro Programmble Floor Heating Thermostat 120/240 Dual Review
List Price: $165.00
Sale Price: $139.00
Today's Bonus: 16% Off
Product is cheaply made and unreliable. My first thermostat did not work right out of the box. Two weeks for delivery of second one. It lasted one month, then the GFCI trip failed. Now waiting for the third one. All under warranty, but where's the quality control? Not in this product.SunStatPro Programmble Floor Heating Thermostat 120/240 Dual Voltage GFCI with Network capability
Friday, November 1, 2013
Buy O2 Cool Portable Tent Fan with Emergency Device Charger
This is a great example of a wonderful product that I'd normally be thrilled about, except that it has one fatal flaw...
As for me, I like O2 products, and have known about them for years. They generally are one of THE best names in battery-powered fans. I've owned a few of their fans before, and have been very pleased with them, which is why I thought I'd try this one out, even though it's a bit pricier than the rest.
For starters, I love the concept a decent sized fan that can push alot of air, yet is designed to be light enough to hang from the fabric ceiling of your tent. Now, every battery powered fan that I've owned (a total of 6) that has had any real UMPH has required the exact same compliment of batters: 8xD. Eight D batteries are HEAVY, so the idea of making a battery fan with gusto so that it was light enough to hang from a tent ceiling has been kinda a fantasy until now. The way they do it is they have a nice light fan with a fairly long cord that hangs down and attaches to a battery pack that sits on the floor. The idea seems alittle strange at first, but it really solves the problem nicely. They give you an on/off control on both the fan and the battery pack itself, which is also nice, since you can keep the controller right next to your bed. They also give you a second cord so you can plug it into a regular AC power outlet, which is useless for me, but still another nice touch.
The fan itself feels very light and, I daresay, a bit flimsy; but I forgive them for that and you should too, because having the fan portion be as light as possible is the whole point. As light as the fan portion is, it still seems well made. They've also given you THREE different ways to mount the thing: by a simple hook, by neodymium magnet (the strongest of magnets, for attaching it to a metal surface), or by magnet plate (which lets you fix it to a fabric surface, like a tent ceiling). Again, they were really trying to think of everything here. No small amount of thought went into the design, and I gotta give them props for that.
Where the product falls flat is the design of the battery pack and specifically, its closure. For the most part, I like the battery pack, as it's more than "a bunch of batteries in a box," and has a couple nice little features to it. But the problem is that the closure for the battery compartment does NOT close tightly. That particular part wasn't designed well, and if the closure is just a tiny bit loose, or not properly seated the contacts do not touch the batteries inside of it, and the fan simply does NOT power on. So essentially, I had the same experience as one of the other reviewers the fan worked with the AC cord, but appeared lifeless when used with the DC battery pack. The only difference is that I figured out what was going wrong, and when I squeezed the battery closure very tightly with my hand, viola! the fan started to run.
When the fan does run, it moves a good amount of air every bit as much as you'll get any other battery fan to deliver. But who wants to deal with a product that's so finicky?! The weak, poorly designed battery pack closure makes the whole product pretty unreliable. If I took some extra care, I might be able to get it to work for awhile, but with this kind of problem fresh out of the box a problem that can squarely defeat its whole functioning how long a life can I realistically expect this product to have for me? Filled with doubt about whether or not this thing will see me through even one sweaty camping trip without it being a pain in the ass, and with little confidence that it will last me more than a few trips before the closure breaks completely, I must return it for a refund and hope that O2 releases an improved version at some point in the future.
Dear O2: Please don't give up! You obviously put alot of thought into this product, and if you fix the battery pack closure so that it would seat properly and work reliably, your fan would be damn near perfect. Not only would I rebuy the improved model, I'd give it 5 big stars. But as it stands, I'm sorry to say that this one major defect is a deal-breaker for me.
The whole package includes the fan, battery canister, ac and dc adapters. First, the fan. Very light, slightly flimsy (that's the price one pays for lightness) but definitely nothing to get concerned about, just be careful not to drop it. The neck extends and rotates around, not much to be said here. Oh, and there is the OFF LOW and HIGH switch positions. There are 3 ways to set the fan up. First, the clip on the neck can be attached to a string or other object. Second, the magnetic plate (which is super strong) can be put outside the tent and the fan is secured from the inside of the tent. The last way is to attach the magnetic plate to the base and stand upright on the ground or table. I don't see much need for the AC cable but I suppose it might come in handy. The DC is used to plug into the canister.
The canister is light until you put the batteries into it. One reason I like this is because it allows me to turn off the fan right before a go to sleep, and I don't have to get up to turn the fan off. There was a problem though. The canister features a dial so you can adjust the fan's speed. For some reason, all I got was ON and OFF, not in between. Not too big, but it would of been nice. Now the only thing I can do is have the fan on "low" or "high" by hitting the switch on the side of the fan. Oh well.
(Update note a very helpful person told me that this dial is actually a temperature dial so the fan will automatically adjust based on temperature. Nifty...)
Yes I have read the other reviews, the connection problem. The battery rack (or whatever you call it) much go precisely into some holes, and then the cap must be put on properly. Mine is nice and tight and works fine. Word of warning: study the battery pack and read the instructions, you can get messed up.
I'm a Boyscout who has to go to summer camp every year for a week in June. The temperature can easily reach 100 degrees here in the south and the humidity is super high. I sleep in a canvas army tent and have gone through countless numbers of fans in my search for coolness. I really trust this fan and I have had no other fan like it. Yes, It hasn't had the test of camp yet, but this really looks like it's going to hold me through.
Update three years later.
I've used this fan excessively over the past three years and it still works wonderfully. I haven't experienced any problems whatsoever with the reliability. My only complaints would be that the battery pack is heavy once you put in all eight of those D batteries and those things aren't only heavy they're expensive too. I don't know how long they last (in hours) but after a full week of heavy use every day I can notice that the fan slows down a bit... which is actually pretty impressive. Anyway, it's a great fan. Buy it. Better than any other fans my friends bring. (At least in my opinion) Defiantly worth the money I spent.
The battery pack should take 8 D cell batteries and allow the fan to be operated by sticking the 12V plug into it, but mine did not work. The batteries were aligned according to the markings and the batteries were brand new, but no matter what setting for the dial I tried, or any fudging, shaking, taking apart and re-assembling, the fan would not come on. Because 8 D cell batteries are not very cheap, I will be using it with a rechargeable 12V power supply anyway, so I just threw the battery pack in the trash and kept the fan.
As for me, I like O2 products, and have known about them for years. They generally are one of THE best names in battery-powered fans. I've owned a few of their fans before, and have been very pleased with them, which is why I thought I'd try this one out, even though it's a bit pricier than the rest.
For starters, I love the concept a decent sized fan that can push alot of air, yet is designed to be light enough to hang from the fabric ceiling of your tent. Now, every battery powered fan that I've owned (a total of 6) that has had any real UMPH has required the exact same compliment of batters: 8xD. Eight D batteries are HEAVY, so the idea of making a battery fan with gusto so that it was light enough to hang from a tent ceiling has been kinda a fantasy until now. The way they do it is they have a nice light fan with a fairly long cord that hangs down and attaches to a battery pack that sits on the floor. The idea seems alittle strange at first, but it really solves the problem nicely. They give you an on/off control on both the fan and the battery pack itself, which is also nice, since you can keep the controller right next to your bed. They also give you a second cord so you can plug it into a regular AC power outlet, which is useless for me, but still another nice touch.
The fan itself feels very light and, I daresay, a bit flimsy; but I forgive them for that and you should too, because having the fan portion be as light as possible is the whole point. As light as the fan portion is, it still seems well made. They've also given you THREE different ways to mount the thing: by a simple hook, by neodymium magnet (the strongest of magnets, for attaching it to a metal surface), or by magnet plate (which lets you fix it to a fabric surface, like a tent ceiling). Again, they were really trying to think of everything here. No small amount of thought went into the design, and I gotta give them props for that.
Where the product falls flat is the design of the battery pack and specifically, its closure. For the most part, I like the battery pack, as it's more than "a bunch of batteries in a box," and has a couple nice little features to it. But the problem is that the closure for the battery compartment does NOT close tightly. That particular part wasn't designed well, and if the closure is just a tiny bit loose, or not properly seated the contacts do not touch the batteries inside of it, and the fan simply does NOT power on. So essentially, I had the same experience as one of the other reviewers the fan worked with the AC cord, but appeared lifeless when used with the DC battery pack. The only difference is that I figured out what was going wrong, and when I squeezed the battery closure very tightly with my hand, viola! the fan started to run.
When the fan does run, it moves a good amount of air every bit as much as you'll get any other battery fan to deliver. But who wants to deal with a product that's so finicky?! The weak, poorly designed battery pack closure makes the whole product pretty unreliable. If I took some extra care, I might be able to get it to work for awhile, but with this kind of problem fresh out of the box a problem that can squarely defeat its whole functioning how long a life can I realistically expect this product to have for me? Filled with doubt about whether or not this thing will see me through even one sweaty camping trip without it being a pain in the ass, and with little confidence that it will last me more than a few trips before the closure breaks completely, I must return it for a refund and hope that O2 releases an improved version at some point in the future.
Dear O2: Please don't give up! You obviously put alot of thought into this product, and if you fix the battery pack closure so that it would seat properly and work reliably, your fan would be damn near perfect. Not only would I rebuy the improved model, I'd give it 5 big stars. But as it stands, I'm sorry to say that this one major defect is a deal-breaker for me.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
The Portable Canopy/Tent Fan is a great idea that delivers. A lot of fans that are strong enough to move any air around must be ground fan, or a fan that is willing to drop a few batteries (and power) that can hang from the tent top. This fan solves that problem. Leaving the batteries on that ground greatly reduces the weight, so it can hang easily from the tent by the clip, or the strong magnetic plate.The whole package includes the fan, battery canister, ac and dc adapters. First, the fan. Very light, slightly flimsy (that's the price one pays for lightness) but definitely nothing to get concerned about, just be careful not to drop it. The neck extends and rotates around, not much to be said here. Oh, and there is the OFF LOW and HIGH switch positions. There are 3 ways to set the fan up. First, the clip on the neck can be attached to a string or other object. Second, the magnetic plate (which is super strong) can be put outside the tent and the fan is secured from the inside of the tent. The last way is to attach the magnetic plate to the base and stand upright on the ground or table. I don't see much need for the AC cable but I suppose it might come in handy. The DC is used to plug into the canister.
The canister is light until you put the batteries into it. One reason I like this is because it allows me to turn off the fan right before a go to sleep, and I don't have to get up to turn the fan off. There was a problem though. The canister features a dial so you can adjust the fan's speed. For some reason, all I got was ON and OFF, not in between. Not too big, but it would of been nice. Now the only thing I can do is have the fan on "low" or "high" by hitting the switch on the side of the fan. Oh well.
(Update note a very helpful person told me that this dial is actually a temperature dial so the fan will automatically adjust based on temperature. Nifty...)
Yes I have read the other reviews, the connection problem. The battery rack (or whatever you call it) much go precisely into some holes, and then the cap must be put on properly. Mine is nice and tight and works fine. Word of warning: study the battery pack and read the instructions, you can get messed up.
I'm a Boyscout who has to go to summer camp every year for a week in June. The temperature can easily reach 100 degrees here in the south and the humidity is super high. I sleep in a canvas army tent and have gone through countless numbers of fans in my search for coolness. I really trust this fan and I have had no other fan like it. Yes, It hasn't had the test of camp yet, but this really looks like it's going to hold me through.
Update three years later.
I've used this fan excessively over the past three years and it still works wonderfully. I haven't experienced any problems whatsoever with the reliability. My only complaints would be that the battery pack is heavy once you put in all eight of those D batteries and those things aren't only heavy they're expensive too. I don't know how long they last (in hours) but after a full week of heavy use every day I can notice that the fan slows down a bit... which is actually pretty impressive. Anyway, it's a great fan. Buy it. Better than any other fans my friends bring. (At least in my opinion) Defiantly worth the money I spent.
Best Deals on O2 Cool Portable Tent Fan with Emergency Device Charger
I bought this fan last minute for our car camping trip actually on the way to the National Park. I was glad we got it, it actually moved quite a bit of air which helped dry out the wet floor of our eureka 2 room tent that got blown door side up during a thunderstorm while hiking. The cord also stretched pretty far, allowing me to run the fan from the minivan parked in the campsite. The fan is lightweight and efficient, and I actually dropped it breaking a small piece, the fan still ran fine. But to attest to excellent customer service, o2 cool actually mailed me a replacement piece. Not too many companies are able to do that anymore, something to think about when comparing this product to one from other companies.Honest reviews on O2 Cool Portable Tent Fan with Emergency Device Charger
This fan is the perfect strength to keep air moving in our tent on a hot day without blowing things around. I like that the power pack sits on the floor to make the fan itself lighter & easier to move around. Also love that the battery pack can be used to power other things that have that car power adapter. We used it on one camping trip intermittantly (fan only) for about 6 hrs and haven't replace the batteries yet.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for O2 Cool Portable Tent Fan with Emergency Device Charger
The fan is nice, gives out a good airflow. While moving less air than what a wall socket powered metal fan does, it was more than what I expected from a 10 inch 12V powered fan. It has a low and high speed setting, and we used it at the low speed setting. The fan comes with a separate cord: One end plugs into the fan, the other end has the standard 12V car cigarette lighter plug. When plugged into a working 12V source, the fan works great, is light and very easy to mount with the strong magnet plate. It turned warm nights in the tent into a bearable ones for us.The battery pack should take 8 D cell batteries and allow the fan to be operated by sticking the 12V plug into it, but mine did not work. The batteries were aligned according to the markings and the batteries were brand new, but no matter what setting for the dial I tried, or any fudging, shaking, taking apart and re-assembling, the fan would not come on. Because 8 D cell batteries are not very cheap, I will be using it with a rechargeable 12V power supply anyway, so I just threw the battery pack in the trash and kept the fan.
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