Reviews of OceanAire HPQ15-M Warmwave Oscillating Tower Ceramic Heater

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List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $39.62
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I bought 4 of these oscillating Warmwave heaters and love them. They can quickly concentrate heat on me at my desk or in the kitchen. Therefore, even when they are located in a big room, I don't have to wait for the entire room to heat up. Also, they are much safer than a quartz heater, so I can place one close to me and walk away temporarily.

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I bought this heater for my 89 yr old mother, who is always cold when she visits Colorado from her home in Florida. It was bigger than I planned on buying, but is extremely quiet! It also has a thermostat so it turns off when it gets warm enough in her bedroom. She could leave it on overnight without worrying about it getting too hot in her small room while she was sleeping. She was delighted with it.

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I wish I read more reviews before purchasing this unit. As I write I'm shivering because even at 4 feet from my chair it is quite cold in my computer room for which I purchased this inefficient unit. It was an impulse buy without doing the necessary work of research. After an hour or two it might take the chill off a room but as far as really warming it up it just pumps out lukewarm air. I borrowed a friends (different brand) this fall and it was so much more effective at warming up the space I was in. Expecting this one to work the same because the price was right was a big mistake.

It works as if half the unit is not turning on. Unfortunately I threw the box away so I'll keep it until I can replace it and then get rid of it.

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We live in the mountains and required a backup heater and this is filling the bill.

Quietly heats an average size room, quickly.

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Bought this 3 years ago for my baby's room. (the coldest room in the house) It worked great, stores well and this is the 3 winter of using it and it still works great. I am buying another one for my daughter in her basement room. It does well at heating up the whole room (bedroom) I have not used this in bigger open rooms to see how it works however it works great for smaller rooms, has the auto shut off when tipped, and also has the temp control, and shuts off when room is warm. Love this heater!

Reviews of Coleman Cable 553076607 Thermostat Wire, CL2 Solid Bare Copper

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List Price: $214.99
Sale Price: $99.94
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Better price than I could find locally at any of the big box stores or local hardware stores. Wire is good quality and arrived quickly. I recommend it.

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Cheap Lasko 5165 Digital Ceramic Tower Heater with Remote Control

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List Price: $66.69
Sale Price: $48.99
Today's Bonus: 27% Off

This heater works perfectly. Some of the other reviews on here mention specific negatives, and I suggest that those people read the fine manual. For example:

Comment: "The Thermometer is inaccurate by a few degrees in most."

Correct. If you read the instruction manual, it states that the heater will heat two degrees above the thermostat setting, then switching off. It will switch on again when the temperature falls one degree below the thermostat setting. This is actually how most thermostats work.

Comment: "The power cable is thinner than what other leading safe room heaters have."

I am not sure what this means. A power cable's gauge (thickness) will be proportional to the current (amperage) by which it is engineered to draw. The thickness of the copper wiring does not correspond to safety, and would only become a safety issue if the thickness of the wire were not rated for the current of which the appliance draws. I would hope to assume that the engineers at Lasko are well aware of the very established standards for wire gauge versus current drawn, and without wasting my time analyzing the gauge of wire and the appliance's current, I'm going to assume that it's more than adequate.

Comment: "this tower fan will not heat a large room effectively."

Correct. The appliance is rated for medium sized rooms, as stated on the packaging.

Comment (paraphrased): "The thermostat (auto-temperature) only works on high."

This is incorrect. Please read the manual. Switching from high to low is also the mechanism by which you disengage the thermostat. If you switch from high to low, or from low to high, then you simply need to push the (+) or (-) thermostat buttons to re-engage the thermostat. The thermostat functions on both high and low.

Conclusion:

This heating appliances works great, and it functions in accordance with the manual. A recommended purchase.

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Worked great all winter! Was used a supplementary heater in daughters room over finished garage. This could have heated the room all by itself. Looking forward to long durability thanks to the ceramic elements. If you like the look, features, and price.. buy it!

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Scroll down to read:

1) My ORIGINAL REVIEW of this product (at that time I gave it four stars)

2) My LATER REVIEW (dropping to three stars)

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ORIGINAL REVIEW:

The main things I LIKE about this little heater are:

* It has quiet operation, and heats up a room very fast.

* I also like the design, it's simple and easy on the eyes, and like how lightweight it is. Even a two year old could lug this around without getting tired out.

* It has an easy-carry handle built in.

* It heats quickly and the oscillating feature distributes the heat nicely. It does an efficient job of turning electrical energy into heat.

The main thing I DISLIKE about it, which I'd imagine would be a major concern in a house with pets or small children, is that it doesn't turn off when knocked over. This could be extremely hazardous. It's not an issue for me because I place it in an area where it's not going to get knocked over. But if a friend with a young boisterous child dropped over, I would unplug it first. There's also a bit of a smell to the one I just bought today when it's in use, but I expect that's because it's new and it will burn off. The old one doesn't have a smell.

I also don't like that you have to use it on full power (1500 watts) to use the thermometer feature. I don't need that much heat and don't want to blow out a circuit breaker, so I prefer using it on the 750 watt setting...but that means I don't have the thermometer option. The easy timer feature does work in both modes, so I just set it for an hour and forget it. So this isn't a deal breaker for me.

By the way, I saved over $2000 last winter by using electric heaters in the coldest weather, instead of heating with oil. (That's not a typo... I saved over two grand.) The savings come from both the fact that electricity is currently cheaper than heating oil (which gets outrageously expensive), and, using small heaters allows a person to only heat the rooms that are in use. In the winter I use the furnace in the morning for ten minutes to take the chill off of the air, and in the evening for the same reason. I have these two Lasko heaters and two oil-filled heaters, which I use in various rooms in the house to keep it warm and toasty. It is a HUGE savings over the cost of oil. The house stays warm enough that I don't need a shirt or shoes, and I'm saving a huge amount of money in the process.

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UPDATED REVIEW (November 20120

I'm changing my review from 4 stars to 3 stars.

A year after buying this model, I needed a second heater for another room, so I bought one with the same specs. Same name and model number. Should work well, right?

Wrong. The new one "looks" the same from a distance but are not identical. The new one is a little smaller and the color of the plastic casing is a little different. Evidently there was a redesign after I bought the first one, and different materials are being used.

If that was the only issue, I'd still be giving it four stars. (Last year's model still works great.) But the new one had severe problems. It worked twice, for a half hour or so each time. Then the third time I turned it on, it developed an extremely loud, obnoxious fan with a grinding sound, like the sound of a loud kitchen blender or food processor going full tilt. Not exactly a relaxing fan sound. I don't know if this is a one-time flaw, or if when Lasko did the redesign, they went with cheaper materials, like a cheap fan that would fall apart after being used one or two hours of use. Whatever --I took it back to Target, where I bought it, and got a refund.

It's a shame because the one I bought last year is still working well. But the new one got less than two hours of use out of it before going kaput.

While I can't say for sure, I suspect that the problem is that Lasko went with cheaper materials this time round. It saves them a few dollars but at the cost of consumers dealing with problems after purchasing it. Or maybe it was just a fluke and I got one with a bad fan. But it's made me cautious about buying from Lasko again.

Honest reviews on Lasko 5165 Digital Ceramic Tower Heater with Remote Control

I have two Lasko remote towers Model 5538 from 2010 or 2011 that still work without a problem. Purchased two Lasko Ceramic Heaters, Model 5165 from Target in November 2012. I paid $49.99 plus 8% tax for each device for a total of $I07.98. plugged one unit in and noticed it began to make a noise. After one week I noticed the cord began to over heat when in the HI position. It eventually overheated and melted the electrical outlet. I immediately removed the cord and contacted Target to let them know this device is defective. I will also contact Lasko via email.

This product NEEDS TO BE REMOVED from the market BEFORE IT BURNS SOMEONE'S HOME DOWN. If left unattended, the electrical outlet will overheat causing internal wiring to catch fire in homes that do not have AFCI breakers or outlets. AFCI (Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters) outlets will short the wiring before it catches fire. Most homes built prior to 2010, do not have these upgraded breaker panels or wall outlets.

I took a photos of the burnt cord, the ceramic heater, original box and the damaged outlet. Did not see a manufactured date on the product or instruction manual. I immediately contacted the store, explained the problem, then contacted Lasko. I returned the products for a full refund, as I was too scared to try the second unit and gave Lasko 7 days to respond to my email.

It took me to contact cpsc.gov or Saferproducts.gov for Lasko to leave me a message. I place several calls to reach Lasko consumer complaints. The employee did not immediately return my telephone call. When I spoke to him, he was more concerned with getting his hands on the product, asking for the telephone number to the store to have them retun those units to Lasko. Then he tried to blame me, telling me I needed to upgrade the wiring in my home to accomodate these heaters. Really? If that is the case, a warning should be clearly posted on the outside of the box advising the public that if they do not have AFCI breakers and recepticles in their home, do not use or purchase these heaters. If you buy or own this heate, "Don't let FIRE be your interior decorator."

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I Have always had good luck with Lasko heaters, especially with the remotes. This one, although it is a great heater, it rattles really badly, and I hate that. It is a brand new heater, shouldn't rattle until at least a year old :((

Buy 7Day Touch Thermostat

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This review is a comparison between the Honeywell RTH8580WF thermostat and Nest 2nd Gen thermostat, which I've spent considerable time with over the last two months.

With limited options on the market for a 7-day programmable thermostat with an intuitive user interface, a straightforward attractive minimal physical design, WiFI capabilities, and a reliable brand name, the Honeywell RTH8580WF thermostat has proven to be somewhat of a lifesaver, and in my opinion, the best bang for the buck in these categories.

The story begins in Christmas 2012 when I asked for a Nest 2nd Gen. It was beautiful, easy to use, and seemingly the clear choice for all homeowners looking to upgrade to a home thermostat "of the future." Nest is also highly attractive to homeowners such as myself who own an Apple device or two and appreciate the ability to view and edit schedules from an iPhone/iPad/computer remotely. Unfortunately, my love for Nest diminished very quickly. A call to Nest support within the first few days of ownership confirmed that the "set temp" is merely considered "a desirable ambient temperature." This means that unlike Honeywell thermostats, THE NEST HAS A 3 DEGREE +/SWING (sometimes more like 4 degrees)!! This proved to cause many problems with scheduling over the coming weeks with Nest kicking ON the heat when it was too cold (as it should), but then STOPPING the flow of heat through my central heating system 2 or 3 degrees BEFORE reaching my set temp! This major flaw proved to be the downfall of the Nest. Nearly all aspects of interacting and looking at Nest are pleasurable with a really fantastic web/iPhone interface, in addition to use of very high quality glass and metal components, which create an iconic design/interface that separates itself from the competition. However, with its 3 degree +/temperature swing from the set temp put in place by engineers to "help conserve energy and decrease annual heating/cooling costs" and no way to edit this rangy deviation from the set temp, well, then, I was forced to look elsewhere for a thermostat that is actually functional when it comes to heating/cooling my house to an accurate temperature.

After a few pleasant and helpful phone calls with Nest customer support (not a long wait to talk to someone) who ultimately could not resolve my issue at hand, I ended up returning my Nest 2nd Gen to Amazon and beginning my search for a replacement unit.

Finding a suitable unit after owning a Nest proved to be a very difficult task. At first, nothing seemed to compare! It took a couple of days to rule out thermostats by Ecobee and Venstar because the prices were high, the design was only okay, the name brands and reliability were unknown to me, and what ultimately swayed my decision was the worry of incompatibility with my basic heating/cooling system and possibly requiring a "guy" to come in and do the install for me. After my troubles with Nest, complicating things further with a messy, expensive install didn't sound appealing. I also considered the Honeywell Prestige HD but decided to keep searching for similar reasons as to those described above.

I finally landed on the Honeywell RTH8580WF. For $149 on Amazon and at The Home Depot, I was able to get all of the usability of the Nest with only a slightly compromised physical design. The readout is very large, clear, and easy to read/understand/use. Heck, similar to the Nest, I'd have to call it attractive. The touch screen works very well despite it seeming just a bit outdated compared to 21st century devices like the iPhone, but I really like that by default the unit continually glows a dim green color that can be read during the night or day and brightens up when you touch the screen to make an adjustment. This setting can be switched off so that the display is dark all the time unless the screen is touched, but who would want that?

The web interface for the Honeywell is VERY GOOD. I had very low expectations in this department, probably in view of the brand name "Honeywell," which doesn't exactly conjure up thoughts of a front runner company in the realm of Internet computing technology. For whatever reason though, it's VERY easy to use, pleasant to work with, and so far is quite reliable. The set up process to get the Honeywell thermostat on my WiFi network was a cinch.. very easy. After getting the thermostat on the wall and hooked up, it didn't take long at all to get the unit registered on Honeywell's website and start scheduling out my week from my computer.

The only problem I had was tracking down a C wire for my basic gas heating system using central forced heat/air. My old thermostat used four wires: Red, White, Yellow, and Green (R, W, Y, G). Even the Nest only required four wires to power up and run. However, it says all over the labeling of the Honeywell that a "C wire" is REQUIRED to power the unit. The first attempt at getting this thing to work with four wires was halfway successful. I jumped the green wire, (G), which runs the fan, to the C terminal on the unit to provide power. This powered the unit intermittently, but the screen would cut out and go completely black, return to green again, and then cut out again, etc. I FINALLY figured out that the blue wire wrapped around the bundle of main wires that wasn't being used is called the C wire! However, I had to go down to my heating unit in the basement and physically connect up the blue wire to the heater for it to work. It was just dangling there! So, after connecting the blue C wire to the heating unit, I connected it to the C terminal on the Honeywell thermostat and the unit has been working like a charm ever since.

My only gripe about the Honeywell is that the 7-day schedule for the week cannot be altered from the iPhone app. This is a minor inconvenience to me, as the Nest schedule can be altered from the iPhone app, but it's a minor complaint overall. The current temp can still be adjusted from the Honeywell app, etc. just fine, and the app itself has a nice interface and is quite basic to use. It even shows the current outside temp for my zip code along with the five day forecast! Nest didn't have this built into THEIR app. :D

All in all, I'd highly recommend the Honeywell RTH8580WF thermostat to any homeowner looking to upgrade to a WiFi unit. Even if you don't want or need the WiFi accessibility, the unit itself is very pleasing to look at on the wall and interact with. Honeywell customer support was very prompt, polite, and helpful when I called, matching the same great service I received with Nest.

If you can live with a loosey-goosey 3 degree +/swing from the set temp of your thermostat and want an incredibly beautiful piece of art/functionality on your wall, go for the Nest. However, if you're like me and want to be comfortable without constantly manually turning the heat on/off, go with a Honeywell unit that keeps your house within 1 degree +/of the set temp LIKE ALL THERMOSTATS SHOULD FUNCTION. I'd like to address some people's concerns that I've read in some reviews about certain thermostats constantly turning on/off too often to maintain a set temp and this being bad for the central heating unit. I have NOT noticed this to be a problem in my house. The Honeywell unit does not turn my heat on too often that I would be concerned anything is wrong. It just heats when the temp drops too low and cools when it's too high.. like a thermostat should.

Hope this helped someone out there searching for the end-all-be-all upgrade to a "smart" thermostat of the future.

EDIT (02/17/2013): Scheduling can now be done from the Honeywell iPhone app!

EDIT (06/28/2013): I've been having fairly frequent/intermittent problems connecting from an Internet browser and from my iPhone 5 over Wifi for about two months. This means that despite a solid Wifi connection I cannot make any changes to the thermostat temp or make scheduling changes. Furthermore, sometimes I make a change and think that it has successfully been submitted to the thermostat when in fact it has not, and I will receive an email 30 minutes later explaining how the change that I submitted did not go through on account of a connection error. This can be annoying when you're really hot and think the AC has been turned on but OH LOOK, NOPE, IT HASN'T!

I still really like the thermostat, but these intermittent connectivity issues are really unacceptable in a thermostat that touts in Wifi connectivity as a selling feature (I will mention that it's nice to be able to view and change the temp from anywhere over 3G/4G/LTE from iPhone without doing any sort of port forwarding or anything special...) Some people go into more detail elsewhere about the above-described connectivity problem. I assume it has to do with the unit itself malfunctioning though, because I have already reset the Wifi settings and the problem persists. I'm knocking the review on this thing down 1 star (and not more stars) because making changes from a web browser or iPhone does work a fair amount of the time, just not allllll the time.

EDIT (08/10/2013): I just tried someone's tip from the comments to fix the intermittent connectivity problems that people (including myself) have been experiencing on occasion: "If the security on your Wi-Fi router is set to a mixed security mode (WPA/WPA2), refer to your Wi-Fi router documentation to learn how to update your security to WPA2-only mode." The commenter reported good results with this, so let's hope for the best. I'm still loving this Honeywell overall and actually haven't been logging into it via my iPhone or web browser lately because I have the schedule dialed in so well, but I'm sure that will change as we move into fall and winter. I'm really hoping the connectivity problems are totally cured now! Thanks for the tip, commenter!

EDIT (10/08/2013): Haven't noticed any connectivity issues since changing my Wifi settings to WPA2-only. I've been using my iPhone 5s with the Honeywell app lately and things seem to be going smoothly. Changes to the temp, etc. that are submitted using the iPhone app appear to be getting received and executed by the thermostat, unlike before when I *thought* they were being submitted within the app and received properly by the thermostat unit when in fact they were not. I'm once again falling head over heels for this Honeywell setup now that everything is working so seamlessly again. It's back to 5 stars as far as I'm concerned!

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Most of you will purchase this Thermostat due to its Wifi capabilities, unfortunately that is the main reason you will not want to purchase. I have bought 4 of these for two homes after I tested 1 for about a one week period. Thermostats worked like a charm.....for about a two months. Gradually the Thermostats would lose connection to the Honeywell service until a point where they would only be connected for a day. If you disrupt TCP/IP communication from the sensor for a short period of time (about ten minutes) or unplug/plug back in, they start working again. Clearly a state issue on their end. Considering I bought half of the Thermostats from different vendors, have 2 different ISP for Internet, 2 different router manufactors (Cisco and Actiontec), 3 different wirelss setting (mainly to prove a point), 3 different wireless access points (Cisco, Cisco Linksys and Actiontec) , I'm thinking the issue is on the Total Connect side of this which Honeywell outsources to let you remotely access these thermostats. And to give some background on the end user here, I work for the largest Networking company in the world so I know how to do a little TCP/IP analysis. Even though all four of my sensors consistently show Lost Communication on the Honeywell website I have detailed wireshark packet captures and firewall logs clearly showing that my sensors are communicating every 10 seconds to Total Connect registered IP addresses.

Calling there Help Desk is a joke. They don't even understand how the thermostat communicates to the Total Connect website and consistently have you go through a script on how to setup wireless. Upon asking to escalate to a Tier 2 support or to esacalate from the Honeywell Tech to the Total Connect tech, I'm told that I should return the Thermostats to where I bought them. No effort was made to fix my issue and they didn't even want to look at a wireshark capture (because they didn't know what it was). Returing would be helpful except the things worked fine for about a two months and then factor two more months of getting nowhere with Honeywell, chances are one of the stores isn't taking my return. Of course I still wanted the things to work and wanted to help fix issues for the community as a whole so with some pleading I get to a manager and offer to work on my time to show the Total Connect guys how to do a network analysis. After being told to wait for a call from them the following week, here I sit two and half weeks later still waiting and taking the next step of cutting my losses and making sure none of you run into the same issues I've seen. So a week ago I emailed the Manager on the option for some kind of refund which she said she would help me with it she couldn't get it resolved with Total Connect...unfortunately that hasn't been responded to either. Hopefully I will get it after months of highlighted Red locations and Thermostat Communication Lost for all 4 of my Thermostats (see the viewer submitted pictures).

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This control unit appears to work as the manufacturer promises.

It requires minor skills to make the installation simpler. First, physical installation just follow the included guide, remove your old t-stat while taking notice of the wire placement/colors/labels, thread the wire through the base plate, mount the base, and then switch the wires to the same terminals on the new thermostat. This took no more than 10 minutes, and the thermostat was powered-up and running. You must have a system with a 24V control wire, or this will not work. If you do not know how to test for 24V, you are probably not qualified to do this install. If you know your system is newer or more modern (less than 10 years old), this install should be a very simple swap-out. You can simply take a look and see if the wires will match-up and that you have a 24V "C" wire before doing anything if you want to be sure it's a simple swap.

The unit itself It's your typical plastic thermostat. It feels relatively sturdy, but I was very careful to handle it gently while installing because the plastic case flexed and groaned a lot. Once turned-on, the touchscreen is appropriately sensitive and is easy to operate with no problems accidentally bumping other touchscreen functions. The keys are nicely spaced and easy to touch. The back-lighting is nice too not too bright, not too dim, and very easy to see in both a darkened or well-lit room.

Setting up the WiFi requires you possess some minor computer skills. The system requires connection to a wireless/WiFi network. If you've set up your WiFi router at home, connecting the Honeywell is a very similar process. You will log in to the t-stat with a computer browser, follow prompts to register with the Honeywell website, and in a few minutes, it will request an IP from your network, connect, and register itself with minimal user input required. Mine went off without any problems.

The app installed on my phone just as easily. I can log in using the credentials created during the WiFi setup, and I have control of my HVAC at home from anywhere. The Honeywell Android app works to control the system flawlessly from my cell phone (I have Verizon/Droid Razr). For now, I'm giving it 5-stars because it's fulfilled every promise it makes. If anything changes, I'll be back to edit this review. :)

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Prior to this purchase I had never installed a thermostat and had zero knowledge of HVAC systems. I spent time reading online how to determine if this thermostat worked with my existing system (my AC equipment is 20 years old so I was quite worried), and I contacted Honeywell and confirmed my wiring setup with them before purchase. Honeywell responded quickly and confirmed my existing wiring would work with this, and told me what wires to connect where to make it work.

Installation was very easy, and the only difficulties I encountered had nothing to do with the thermostat and more to do with my own wall mounting issues. I had to drill holes in our plaster wall to mount it, and drilling into old plaster always is scary as sometimes it just explodes, but I was able to install the included anchors without difficulty. Then I discovered my wires didn't have much slack to them, so I had a difficult time getting a couple of them into the wall plate because the Honeywell positioning on the wall was slightly off from where the old thermostat was installed.

Once I got the wires connected I just followed the instructions and everything has worked perfectly since then. I did have to change some of the default settings, and the system they set up, while it works, is not intuitivive to anyone -it absolutely requires the manual to make changes. I needed to configure it for my radiator heat (water/pump), and the "auto" temp control (which will switch between heat/AC to keep temp in a defined range) is not an option unless you make it available through the menus. I assume they did this not to confuse people, because even when the Auto option is available, it's still just a choice next to heat, cool, and off, so it's not as if you are FORCED to use it by enabling it.

Setting up the WiFi worked but not as smoothly as I would have hoped -I used my Macbook Pro to configure it, and the Honeywell website locked up while I was trying to finalize the setup, so I couldn't tell at first if it actually worked. It turns out it did set up correctly, but I could only tell that by looking at the thermostat and seeing that it showed a WiFi connection. Also I've noticed just when walking by the thermostat it seems to randomly at times telling me that it is connecting back to the WiFi when it should never have lost its connection. I have a fairly new and high-quality router that connects by WiFi to multiple devices, none of which just randomly lose their connections. It so far hasn't imapcted my ability to use the iPhone app, however, so I'm letting it go for now.

The iPhone app is very nice, and they just pushed out a software update for it to add functionality, including a 5-day forecast. It does NOT let you program the daily schedule, but it does let you change heat/cool/off, fan, shows you current temp and set temp, and let's you change the set temp to something else.

When you change the set temp you can make it a permanent hold, or a temporary hold to a specified time at which point it goes back to its scheduled programming at the next scheduled change. There is no vacation mode option in the app, but I honestly think it is not necessary -when you're leaving you can turn the temp up at home or via the app, and since you can change it via the app you can set it to whatever you want before coming back home. I've tested the app both over WiFi at my house and WiFi elsewhere as well as around town over AT&T, and I always connect to the thermostat within 5 seconds.

The thermostat itself does exactly what it is supposed to -it gives an accurate temperature read, it has enough customization so we can program it how we want, it looks great on the wall, and it is easy to read regardless of the ambient light. I've read mention on the Home Depot website that people didn't like the plastic feeling or that you could feel a little give when pushing on it because of how it mounts to the wall plate. Unless you buy a Nest thermostat plastic is pretty much the choice of material, and and the give is VERY slight, and I have zero concern that it is not stable on the wall.

Lastly I will say I ordered this the first day it became available on Amazon -I think because of a pricing error I received it cheaper than intended, as the day after I ordered it the price on Amazon went from $99 to $199. So apparently I got this cheaper than most/all other customers, which just adds to my satisfaction. I did contact the selling company after installation because of potential problems after installation as I thought I had a defective unit (the WiFi connection issue and one unrelated thing that ended up not the fault of the thermostat). The company was responsive to my concerns and offered to ship another one out free of charge, but I ultimately told them it was not needed as I actually don't think the unit is defective.

Overall for the price I think this is as good a thermostat as you can buy, particularly with the WiFi features and the solid quality of Honeywell behind it. It does not have all the features or awesome aesthetics of the Nest (which I almost bought), but it has enough features and a good enough appearance to satisfy 99% of customers at a significantly lower price.

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August 2013 update

I've had this for a year now and am very thankful I purchased this and not the Nest. The smartphone app now lets me control everything of real importance, and the iPad app looks great. The Nest still looks slightly cooler and more futuristic, but this one does everything perfectly, and still looks good after a year of use. I've never had a single problem connecting remotely to this thermostat, and it does a great job of the core thermostat functions. Unless you have to have the Nest aesthetics, I can't think of a reason to buy it over this product.

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Installed this with a hydronic heating system which is essentially forced air heated by water from my normal household hotwater heater. Not a common system. There was no "C" wire on the old system but was able to hook one up using an extra wire in the bundle. A key point for me was that the "C" wire is the Common or neutral wire from your 24vac transformer. I did not have a terminal in the furnace labeled "C." But simply found the neutral wire and spliced into that. It was pretty straightforward once I understood the furnace schematic on the entry panel door.

Regarding wifi connectivity I was unsuccessful using my iPad. Tried it half a dozen times. But took 5 minutes using a laptop. The thermostat creates its own little hotspot which you log into for configuration. Once you configure it the thermostat then stops acting like hotspot and logs into your home network.

The remote internet access is great, the reason I bought it. I have a vacation home where I want to remotely monitor the temp to make sure the pipes don't freeze. I can turn up the heat on the drive up and walk into a heated home. The online apps are very logical to use, nothing like most confusing programmable thermostats.

Discount Swissmar KF-77043 8-Person Classic Raclette Party Grill, Red Enamel

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List Price: $100.00
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This raclette grill is authentic and functional. For the little space it takes, you can cook a delicious dinner without using other pans. The grilled food tastes like it was cooked at a barbecue grill. The grill on top has slightly higher edges to catch any sauce or liquid from spilling. Cleans very easily. The temperature knob is great. Highly recommended.

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We just had our first day with this item... the family loved it! We had a big lunch (the traditional potatoes with cheeses & lunchmeats) then later, used it to make melty desserts like crepes, s'mores & mini tarte flambes (pre-cut toasted tortilla squares with sliced bananas & dark chocolate).

The recipe possibilities are endless. Mini-pizzas, sliders, baked pasta, etc., + the temp control is a good feature.

The product is light and pretty portable. Easy to clean and stow. Best feature I noticed right away; my family was having fun together! We're gonna keep this to ourselves awhile before we share with guests. I highly recommend!!!

Best Deals on Swissmar KF-77043 8-Person Classic Raclette Party Grill, Red Enamel

I really like the square pans, they're much easier to use than the wedge-shaped ones. Everything is coated in non stick so it cleans up like a breeze. The temperature knob is a nice touch, just watch your fuses, whenever it kicks on my lights flicker. It's a good time for when you want to say to your guests, cook it your damn'd self.

Honest reviews on Swissmar KF-77043 8-Person Classic Raclette Party Grill, Red Enamel

My husband and I were invited to our daughter's home for dinner cooked on the Raclette grill. The different foods were great and we liked the casualness of the meal as the guests relaxed and interacted with one another. It was so much fun that we decided to purchase one for ourselves. We have used it several times with relatives and friends and enjoy this type of entertaining. Our Raclette will accommodate eight people fairly well. It is super easy to clean and fun to use. Amazon had a good selection and a decent price.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Swissmar KF-77043 8-Person Classic Raclette Party Grill, Red Enamel

We were introduced to raclette by our good friends who threw a great raclette dinner party. She was using this particular one and it was so easy to use and fun that we had to get one ourselves. All of the cooking surfaces are non-stick and easy to clean, and we love the fact that you can adjust the heat on the grill--we usually keep it high early on and then turn it down later.

I was worried that we would use it a couple of times and then it would get put in the closet like so many other kitchen appliances, but we actually use it often. It's great not just for entertaining, but also if we want to make a quick meal at home more special.

White-Rodgers 850 5-1-1 Day Programmable Single Stage Thermostat Review

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List Price: $129.86
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I own a white rodgers model number 1f80-261, which appears to be the standard "programable" thermostat sold with most furnaces today. The do not have a listing for mine on amazon yet. This one similar to mine, has time and temp/temp setting on display, with all the keys concealed down below. I have had mine for 2 summers and one winter, and this thermostat saves me a bundle. It has about 4 settings a day for each of the programs,plus weekday and saturday/sunday separate days available for adjustment. My typical summer day started at 76 degrees at 6:30, then up to 82 at 8am when at work, at 4:30 I'd set it back to 76 degrees, and at 10pm 72 degrees to sleep cooler. On the weekends, I'd keep it a little more consistent, since I was here more often. If this had a plug in for a coffee machine, I'd have it set to make my coffee when I got up in the mornning.

Again I have had this for about 2 years now, and I liked it so much, I had my mother get one installed in her house because it's so easy to use. Also, one of my offices is solely equipped with these thermostats, so I get plenty of experience with them. Worth the investment

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Buy Honeywell RTH221B Basic Programmable Thermostat

Customer Ratings:

My wife and I are both retired so every day is a 'weekend day'. Most thermostats require multiple settings for different kinds of days. Good idea if you're a worker but bad idea if you're me since going on vacation etc requires MULTIPLE thermostat adjustments. Also, why pay extra for annoying unused features. This thermostat is simple, easy to install and has typical Honeywell accuracy and reliability. For me it's ideal.

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Basic programable t-stat. Works well, easy to install Honeywell is a good brand. **HOWEVER in picture on amazon the screen on it looks back-lit, but it is not lit.

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I bought this thermostat this fall from a big box home improvement store and it's paid for itself several times over in a few short months (and I paid more than the listing price on Amazon).

I had never installed a thermostat before, but it was a breeze to install. I turned off the breakers to my living room, carefully removed the old thermostat, attached two wires, installed a couple of screws (I think that I ended up drilling one new hole), and turned the power back on. Less than 15 minutes from start to finish, and I'm not the handiest gal you'll ever meet. It worked. I set it to turn down at night while we're sleeping and during the day when we're gone. I also put the plastic on the windows, but other than the new thermostat I did nothing different this year than last.

February 2008the portion of our utility bill for natural gas was $188.03. February 2009, with the average temperature just 4 degrees warmer, our natural gas bill was $88.08. We have saved at least $40 every month since I installed it. It's paid for itself several times over. It's probably the best thing I've purchased in a very long time.

Honest reviews on Honeywell RTH221B Basic Programmable Thermostat

I can't believe I waited so long to replace the old mercury bubble thermostat on my hot water heat system. I noticed a friend had a new one, so I decided it was time to do some research here at Amazon.

I wanted a vertical style to match the placement of the old one which narrowed the field considerably. I wanted a simple day/night setback and didn't need separate settings for weekends. I wanted simple controls and ease of temporary adjustment. This one fit the bill perfectly.

Installation was a breeze. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. My two-wire system connected to the Rh (Red heat) and W (White) terminals. The wires weren't that color (probably the original 90 year old wires!) so I either guessed right or, more likely, it would have worked if they were reversed since it's simply an open/close switch to activate the heater. I even reused the mounting screws from the old unit sweet! Stop by your local Dollar Store and pick up a mini screwdriver set if you don't have one.

Programming is straightforward, and again the instructions are clear. It comes preprogrammed with four periods Wake, Leave, Return, and Sleep. It's easy to adjust these to your desired time/temp. I skipped two of them completely by simply pressing the Hold button for four seconds while that period was displayed during setup. Believe me, you'll be tweaking your settings with abandon after the first run-through... it's that easy.

I love the simplicity of the display. What's the current temp? Look at the screen. You're a bit cold? Tap the up arrow once and read the setpoint; tap it again to temporarily raise the setpoint one degree, again for two degrees, etc. The unit will retain your temporary setting until the next programed change (e.g. night setback) or until you press the Run button. Going away for a couple of days? Tap in the desired setpoint and press Hold. Simply press Run again when you get home. As noted in other reviews, there is no backlight in the display.

You can download the installation and user's manual at the Honeywell website to get a peek at how it works.

Be sure to note the Configuration Menu in the installation instructions. I had to change the "Heating Cycles per Hour" setting to "3" (for my hot water system) from the default "5" setting.

What is Heating Cycles per Hour, you ask? It's a means to fine-tune the efficiency of the system's attempts to maintain your desired temperature. It's ONLY active when you're within a degree or so of the setpoint temperature. Here's how it works:

Say, your setpoint temperature is 70°. As the heater brings the room air temp up towards the setpoint, an anticipator circuit cuts off the heat at a predetermined value, say 69° to keep from overshooting your requested 70°. Ideally, the residual heat from your burner/blower/fan/radiator will gently nudge the air temp up to 70°, and all is right with the world. So far we have: temp below 69°, run heater; temp above 70°, stop heater. But what happens between 69° and 70°? What if there wasn't enough residual heat to get to 70°? Or what if your furnace isn't sized properly, or your insulation is weak, or the kids left a window open? Where's that 70° you requested?

This is where you heater starts cycling. My "Cycles per Hour" is set to 3, which means 3 twenty minute cycles each hour consisting of 10 minutes OFF, 10 minutes ON. When the air temp hit 69° the heater stopped for 10 minutes, hoping the air temp will reach the magic 70°. 10 minutes later it takes a peek at the temp... 70° or above? Great! Job done. No cycling involved. Oops only 69.3°? start up again for 10 minutes, shut down, wait 10 minutes and check again. 69.8° this time? Start up again for 10 minutes and another cycle. This time, let's say the temp hit 70° after 8 minutes of heat. Great! job done, shut off heat and stop cycling. It might overshoot to about 70.3° this time well within your comfort zone. Now, sit warm and cozy in front of the TV as the temp slowly falls from 70.3° to 69° and listen for the cycling to begin again. If you're well insulated, it's a fairly mild night, and your heater is sized properly, it might go through a cycle every couple of hours. If there's a blizzard blowing outside your poorly insulated shack, it might cycle on and off every 10 minutes, or even stay on constantly if it can't get you above 69°.

To recap: Temp below setpoint minus one: heater ON. Temp above setpoint: heater OFF. In between: cycle ON and OFF in attempt to efficiently get to setpoint without too much overshoot. Why? A heater is more efficient running longer cycles rather than rapid On/Off cycles. A heater with a lot of "thermal inertia" like my hot water system, takes a while for those warm radiators to gently get the air temperature to the desired setpoint... it needs cycles a bit longer to be efficient and effective. A rapid heat system, like an electric wall heater, will get that air temp up quickly it needs a higher cycle rate / shorter 'burn' time to stay efficient and avoid overshoots. In fact, the cycle rate for electric heat is 9: that's 9 cycles of 6.7 minutes per hour.

Air conditioning cycle/hour is fixed at 3.

One more thing: if you want the fancier model, the Honeywell TH2110D1009 is the same unit, but with backlight, 5/2 day programming, and something called "Adaptive Intelligent Recovery" which learns how fast your heater gets you to your desired temperature so that you can program it to BE at a given temperature at a given time... handy for those early morning middle-of-winter wake ups!

Be sure to properly dispose of that mercury!

Enjoy!

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I bought 2 of these units. After letting them sit on the table next to each other for a while, they displayed different temperatures, by a difference of about 3 degrees. I was surprised they were that different. I considered sending them back, but instead I used them as they were. The temperature difference seems to have worked its self out and they do their job just fine. After using one of the Lux models a few years ago, I found myself wanting the extra features that it had (another mode for weekends). The display constantly shows the current temperature but unless you hit one of the up/down buttons, will not show you what the current thermostat temperature is set to. I found this annoying as my wife is constantly changing the temp on me and I would like to know what it is currently set at. The LUX model displayed both. If I had it to do over again I would have bought a different brand, probably Lux. Also, a horizontal model would have covered the round marking that my previous thermostat left.

Reviews of La Pavoni EPC-8 Europiccola 8-Cup Lever Style Espresso Machine

Customer Ratings:

I bought one of these a couple of months ago and although it is a bit expensive it is one of the best purchases I've made in a long time. It looks great. It is so well made, it feels like it will last forever as it is so simple, no electronics to break down no plastic bits to break off. You get a huge amount of control over the way the coffee tastes, it's all in the speed of lowering the handle and the tightness of grinds. It takes a few attempts to get it right but once you've worked it out you'll never look back.

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My parents bought this about five years ago and I followed suit about a year ago. When she first bought it I thought they were crazy, but when it got there I understood why.

This machine is superb for almost any kind of coffee. Sometimes I like a strong espresso and sometimes I like a cold cafe sheccerato which is a cold coffee and is great. (To make it you simply get a shaker (like a martini shaker) and fill it with ice and a few teaspoons of sugar. Brew the coffee and while it is still very hot throw it in the shaker and shake it strongly for about a minute. The result is an ice cold frothy espresso, great for warm days forget Starbucks imitation stuff, this is much better).

As other people have said, it takes a little bit of time to get it right. Typically I've found that very thin grains are not the best to work with, something between your typical Illy coffee grain and the larger cheap grains usually works well. It take a bit to get used to, but once you start to get a hold of the whole concept it works superbly well. Frankly, even when you do a poor job the coffee is still good.

In addition, my parents have had this item for about five years and have not had a single problem. It's extremely easy to clean and if you are in a rush it's also a great machine since it loads so quickly and easily.

Also, if you are running out the door you need not wait for the water to completely heat up. You can run it after just a few minutes (of course your coffee won't be as warm, but it doesn't have to heat up completely in order to use it). For those quick out-the-door mornings, this is great. You won't have the best espresso in the world, but you'll still have one that beats just about anything.

I've been through about three [price range] machines in the last few years and they all broke or just didn't taste right. ... You have to be able to taste the difference between good and bad coffee to enjoy this machine. If you don't you probably won't enjoy this machine as much. In other words, if Folgers Instant coffee tastes good to you, move along.

It's also worth getting good coffee for this. ...

In the end, if you are looking for a high-quality product that makes high quality coffee, this is a great choice.

Best Deals on La Pavoni EPC-8 Europiccola 8-Cup Lever Style Espresso Machine

You'd better know your coffee before you even start looking at this espresso maker. It is a manual pull espresso maker, meaning there is some art and a lot of trial/error incurred when making your coffee. That said, this has produced some of the best espresso I've ever had. It's a smaller maker, and is great for someone who just wants about 4-6 espresso shots before needing to refill. (I work out of home office, so this is perfect...)

PROS:

* Small, means it doesn't take up much counter space.

* Manual Lever If you want fill control over your coffee, this is the way to go.

* More than enough steam pressure/volume to steam 12oz+ of milk.

* Solid construction. It is mostly all metal.

* Comes up to heat FAST. (About 5min with a full tank.) The head also comes up to temp quickly.

* Visible water level

* Easy clean drip tray

* Easy screw-off levers, knobs, etc easily replaceable/customizable.

CONS:

* The base is lightweight, and could be more solid. It feels cheap compared to the solid construction of the boiler/head.

* The steam nozzle does not swivel out, causing you to have to steam your milk VERY close to the boiler. (Ouch!)

* Must wait for it to cool before refilling due to steam pressure.

* The default tamp that comes with this unit SUCKS. Too small for the basket..leads to bad coffee...why, Pavoni, why?

CAVEATS:

* Not a "push button, receive coffee" type of maker. This is a pro for me, but you should be well aware that this requires finesse and patience.

* Ensure you are comfortable with servicing it yourself or OK with mailing it to a service center. This is not a throwaway item after a few years, and can be a lifetime purchase.

MUST ALSO BUY:

* 51mm Tamp. Seriously. Don't even use the one that comes with the unit. It will ruin your pulls. 51mm is the correct size.

* DEEP milk frothing container. Because of the angle and stiffness of the steam arm, you WILL spray yourself in the face if you don't have a good angle on it, and something to catch the overspray. (I use my mug, and have given up on having fancy foam.)

* Nylon brush Coffee regularly gets stuck in the area between the head and steam curtain on this unit. Clean after every use.

* Insulated espresso mugs/shotglases On bigger units, you can sit what you use to catch the coffee in on the unit to warm it up. Not so here. I use glass shotglasses that I heat up with hot water prior. (I'm cheap, ok?)

* Conical burr grinder A consistent grind is very important for this maker, as it is the difference between great coffee and awful coffee. This unit is sensitive to the grind, so once you have the right grind, it is very helpful to have that dialed-in on your grinder for every grind thereafter.

Why I rated 4/5 instead of 5/5??? Because of the craptacular plastic tamp, the inflexible steam nozzle, and the flimsy seeming base. Don't get me wrong, I would have zero issues recommending this unit highly, I think they just could have gone that extra little bit.

Honest reviews on La Pavoni EPC-8 Europiccola 8-Cup Lever Style Espresso Machine

Manual machines, without question,produce the best cup of espresso. I have owned them in the past, and recently purchased a brand new La Pavoni. The machine arrived broken. I could not even get one cup of espresso. I called thinking that La Pavoni would have me send back the machine and replace it. WRONG. I was told that this was not allowed, and the only option I had was contact one of there US Service Agents and arrange to have the machine sent to them for repair. Even then they indicated that the repair expense would be my responsibility.

At this point what do you do? So either I keep the machine as a useless decoration, or concede and try to fix it.

I tried the three numbers they provided. About 10 days have gone by, and I have called each number numerous times to no avail. You never reach a real person. Only a tape recording informing you that they would contact you as quickly as possible.

So, yes, a manual machine is the best, but La Pavoni warranty and service is horrible. If you want a manual, try a different vendor.

Don

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Simply put, this machine rocks for high quality espresso.

Once you have the technical skills down, learn the nuances of the beans you are using, and the stars align the espresso this machine can produce is as good as (or even better) than the highest end models above $6K (La Marzocca GS/3 comes to mind).

For under $1K this is the best deal available, period.

The Pro's:

1) Absolute control of the pressure. You can do everything (with pressure) that the fanciest machines are just becoming capable of such as pre-infusion, controlled variable pressure while pulling the shot, and make tweaks on the fly based on what you see coming out of the spout.

2) It is a beautiful and striking piece of kitchen equipment with a timeless design. A true conversation starter which will never go out of style.

3) It can produce the the best quality espresso possible.

The Con's:

1) Almost no temperature control, it get's hot and after that you have to "surf" the temperature as the machine's interior metal parts start to heat up. Commonly I can only pull four shots before it starts to get unrecoverable hot. There are tricks to help this, such as running the portafilter under cold water between shots, but you are always having to ride the temperature wave.

2) You can only make a few good shots in a single session due to both the temperature issue above as well as the volume of the boiler. This is not a machine appropriate for entertaining with as you won't be able to make six quality shots. However, if your guests do not have a discerning taste for coffee you could perhaps get away with it.

3) The learning curve is insanely steep due to it's 100% manual nature. It's easy to pull a shot that is as good as the swill Starbucks pulls within about a week of use. However, to learn to pull high quality shots on a consistent basis it will take over a year of practice. This can be fun as you'll probably be pulling random amazing shots within the first month if you seriously dedicate yourself to trying.

4) The portafilter is not the standard commercial size. This doesn't impact the espresso quality for most blends. What it causes a problem with is the tamp. It comes with a piece of junk tamp you should immediately throw away however to buy a new quality one is not as easy as popping down to your average coffee shop. As it has an unusual size you usually have to order it online.

5) The design of the machine leaves built up pressure in the portafilter and group-head after you've pulled a shot (if it was a good shot that was properly tamped). So when pulling out the portafilter you have to "bleed" the pressure off carefully otherwise it will "sneeze" hot coffee grounds and water all over the place. It invariably does this when you are showing the machine off to friends.

6) It gets amazingly hot. Almost all of it. Only the base remains cool but every other metal exposed metal part gets far too hot to touch quickly.

7) The steam wand is at an odd angle and hence is hard to use which is too bad as it has pretty good steam pressure.

8) Eventually, under heavy use, the seals will wear out and you'll either have to replace them yourself or send it in to one of the three shops in the nation who will replace them for you.

9) Finally, regardless of how good you get with it you won't be pulling great shots 100% of the time. I've had mine for nine years and still can only pull a good shot perhaps three out of five times. There are simply too many variables and if the grind, tamp, pressure, and temperature isn't spot on the shot will go sour. However, at least one of those shots is usually so good the sky splits open and angels sing.

Summary:

That's a long list of serious cons, but if it's truly quality espresso you are after and you are OK working for it this is the machine for you. Be sure to buy a good grinder too though.

My recommendation for beans are the very forgiving and truly delicious Counter Culture Toscano blend. Most blends will work but the Toscano is a good starter as it isn't as picky about temperature and pressure.

Reviews of VIP3000 Talking Thermostat

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List Price: $219.95
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worked well, larger buttons would be nice.voice from thermostat was easy to understand. works well for vision impaired, maybe not so well for totally blind. It will handle muti stage systems where other similar kinds won't.

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Buy O2 Cool Portable Tent Fan with Emergency Device Charger

Customer Ratings:

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Reviews of GZ550 Fireplace Blower Kit for Continental, Napoleon Fireplaces

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List Price: $215.95
Sale Price: $121.99
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Be aware of bad electrical connections. Check all wire connections before even testing the blower. However, the blower have worked very well for close to a month now, it is a silent unit and seems to be made of good quality and solid construction. I am editing my first review after I tested for like I said close to a month. In my opinion it is a good product for the price I paid. Buy with confidence.

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This product worked as expected, was easy to install, and is reasonably quiet. If you set the fan on high, it is a bit loud, but the high setting isn't necessary having the fan on a lower setting puts out plenty of heat, at least for our needs. Not much to say about how it works no surprises, which is a good thing.

As for the install make sure you have a 120v outlet already in place, preferably wired to a discreet location below the gas fireplace (in the same area where this fan will be installed), and confirm that it has power before doing the install. The fan itself should mount to some points in the back of the fireplace one is a metal tab, which the right-side of the fan slips into, and the other is a metal bolt, which the left side slips over and is then bolted down.

Another thing to note, which confused me at first: the temperature sensor, which automatically turns the fan on and off, is connected to a magnet attach that directly to the bottom of the fireplace box. I mistakenly thought that it would get too hot in that location, but other locations didn't seem to get hot enough to trigger the switch to turn on the fan.

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Six years in on a gas fireplace, a friend offers to install a fan if I can find it. Here it is. Reasonably priced, fairly easy to install (checkout the great tutorials on YouTube.). I don't know why I waited so long. This unit cost @$100 less than the one the local fireplace shop offered to special order. Quiet, not overly forceful, does a nice job of circulating warm air in a great room area about 24' x 17'. Takes the edge off the chill and supplements the furnace. Highly recommended.

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Works well. Easy to install once you figure put it is supposed to hang on a bolt at the back of the fireplace. Installation instructions were the same as what came with my fireplace and left out critical steps/info. The seller has a YouTube page with installation instructions on similar models..very helpful once you find it

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Having never owned a gas fireplace before, I was a little confused when I went to install it. I assumed that the blower was supposed to go directly in back of the lower access area, when in fact it was supposed to go on the left-hand side. I have a Napoleon BGD42.

They sent the wrong size washer and wing nut. My fireplace needed 1/4"-20 size, and i believe they sent 1/8" diameter. I called Napoleon to verify the size, and then a quick trip to the hardware store and $2 in hardware later, i was ready to install the blower. Once I realized the correct placement and had the proper hardware, it literally went in in two minutes flat, as I already had an outlet to power it with.

The thermal sensor works as specified. The variable speed controller does not fit as snuggly into the bracket as I would like, but it's not going anywhere.

Overall very satisfied by this.