Optimus H-5210 Infrared Quartz Radiant Heater
by Optimus
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List Price: Our Price: $16.99 You Save: $13.00 (43%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Optimus H-5210 Infrared Quartz Radiant Heater
Customer Review: IR Heater Review
Summary: 5 Stars
This little heater is a jewel. A great solution for anyone who would enjoy saving money on the old heating bill. I brought one of my new little heaters to school to show some of the teachers. We think this could help arthritis and maybe fibromyalgia .... They all agreed this is an awesome little heater...One co worker immediately ordered two heaters like the above...
I think the best thing I like is the way the heat penetrates in to the bone. Lately my legs can get chilled and goes into charlie horses. Since using the heater the muscle spasms have disappeared. I purchased 3 of these as well as a 1500 watt digi sun heater and 3000 watt digi sun. I put up away the 3000watt heater into a closet for emergencies... and I am using the 1500watt with the (2) quartz are keeping our house in the mid 70's... in the 30-40 degree temps. My house is about 1900 sq foot one floor brick home on conrete. I can not wait until the electric bill comes in to see if there's a difference.
***UPDATE**** I bought 4 more after using it less than 2 weeks. Bought them as gifts to those who either need to watch bills or good benefits on seniors legs... the feel is amazing. Check viewer ratings on IR heaters before buying anything but this model... bare basic in IR Heater but amazing product....
****Update**** 2 1/2months later-- Do you wonder if I still love em?.. YES... One coworker saved 268.00 propane bill cause now she uses (3) of these heaters instead. Her electric bill was 3.00 less after using these heaters the whole month instead of her propane heaters. Our bill was $100.00 less last month using only this IR heating...but then we are using a 1500 watt & these 3 Optimus heaters....Awesome produce!!!
****UPDATE**** about... 4months later --- They are all still working great. I have purchased about 13 for other friends or family... besides my own purchase and no one's had problems since /w their amazon purchase. PS... my coworker above.... is thrilled to tell others .... although her electric bill this month was up.... worst coldspell in our history almost... her electric bill was 50.00 higher... buttttt she saved another 268.00 refill on her propane .... thus she's saved at awww you know.... ((Look a squirrel))) there's only 3 kinda folks in this world... those that can count...and those that can't... ttfn
Totally happy with purchase, cost, energy efficent, and quiet IR Heating System.
Customer Review: Quiet Heat - like sitting in front of a fire
Summary: 5 Stars
I like the fact that it doesn't exceed 800 watts and can function at 400 watts. Its running at 50% power right now to my left at a safe distance and it is toasty warm. It is 23F outside on 12-4-10 in Northern Ohio and 63F in the rest of this room and I am very, very comfortable.
I'm thinking of getting a second unit for use on another floor.
Very quiet with immediate heat. No fan so you don't have to listen to that constant noise as with other heaters.
Now the type of heat you get immediately is like sitting in front of a fire. I choose to mention this because fires won't heat your back immediately if you are facing it. Placed at the side it will of course heat the side facing the unit. Ultimately the heat will rise and heat a room for it will radiate off of you or chairs, tables etc.
Safety: Caution is needed with small children and maybe the elderly. But there are precautions you can take to mitigate problems. Turn it off when you leave the room; locate it in an area with you between it and a person/animal at risk. It is hot to the touch and could burn someone. At 400Watts it is close to having 3 150W light bulbs running and touching one of those would burn you as well. Though a metal screen prevents touching the tubes. It does have a tip over post protruding from the bottom.
We have been using quartz heaters for close to 30 years as supplemental heat in rooms that we occupy for comfort. Last night it was in the living room, right now it is running in the kitchen. Our older heaters lasted for 3 to 30 years. Something eventually goes wrong. One tube will die or the control will fail stuck on 2 tubes or only one tube. Some were built with switches and some with dials. Some had dials. Both types fail eventually for the units would overheat. Plugs would get mushy with those 1500W units and need to be replaced. The dial type would make noise as it cycled down and powered back up.
This Optimus unit appears well-built and well designed. With its lower power consumption I think it will last quite awhile for the unit will be less likely to overheat.
Customer Review: Nice Heater
Summary: 4 Stars
I have a Holmes quartz heater (see my review) that I compared this to and the heat output feels the same. This means that even though the Optimus uses less watts, it easily compares to the larger 1500w heater. But the Holmes uses less power then rated (1125w high, 570w low). The electrical draw for the Optimus is reading 370w low, 716w high so it's actually using less power then listed as well. IT HAS NO FAN so it's completely SILENT. I don't recommend it for a large bedroom. Quartz were meant to heat the person in front rather then the entire room.
Since this model doesn't have a fan it'll probably be even LESS effective at heating a room. The quartz elements don't rattle while heating up. Another thing about the elements is they're yellow instead of the usual glass tubes with a coil inside. They put off a soft orange glow in the dark (softer then my holmes) on high, while low still loses to the Holmes because the Holmes model lowers both elements to a faint orange glow. But the Optimus isn't super bright either since it shuts off the bottom element.
My reason for a 4 rating is because it could've used a thermostat and maybe a timer. Also the heaters tip-over switch is on the bottom. This could be a problem for some if you tend to place it on uneven surfaces or simply picking it up to move. The housing feels a little...lacking. The area around heating elements seems to be made of a thin steel while the sides are plastic. The grill is some kind of steel that is hot to the touch of course. The heater appears white in the stock photos, but is actually a light gray.
Overall: It's great for quick heat at work, school or wherever you may need quiet warmth. But can it withstand the test of time...?
Customer Review: Good little Heater.
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my ceramic heaters went bad, so it was time to look for a new one. I decided on this one because of price, type, and also energy used. It was a good price at under 30 bucks. Radiant heat, heats objects that then give off the heat, and not just heat the air. This is both good and bad, as anything too close is going to get VERY HOT. Keep ALL THINGS away from it. Read the instructions. The back of the unit gets hot too, but 8 inches away from the back everything is normal temp. Sides too. Also the top gets hot, and the heat rises. At 800 watts max, it is about half the wattage of regular heaters. Even my old ceramic heater was 1500 on high, so I save a little when using it.
Not too bad. On low, 400 watts, it will heat, or maintain temperature fairly well. The unit is VERY QUIET. Does not have a noisy fan blowing air.
I have had and used the unit now for one month and I think it is very good. I use it in the garage when working out, and in my bedroom. The heat from the unit goes up as well as out, so it hits the ceiling and moves down, filling the room with a gentle heat. Just keep everything 3feet away from the front and all will be well.
I tried using it in the living room one morning and it took several hours to raise the temp up about 4 degrees. So this is really a SMALL ROOM heater, where the heat is going to build. Or an area where you are close to it.
It has over temp shut off and a tip-over switch on the bottom for safety. It has the control on the right side but then there was no room to put the control on the front as there would be no room and would get hot. So, I don't mind.
A Good Deal All-round.
Customer Review: Just what I needed!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am so happy I found this heater! I did not have high expectations for so little money, but I was pleasantly surprised by the output at the 400 watt setting. If you buy this with the impression it will heat a very cold room, you will be disappointed, but if you buy it to keep a room warm once it is up to a comfortable temperature it works great. If the room is cold and you put it three feet away you will constantly have to move the heater or turn yourself as you feel like you are inside a one sided toaster. I live in a triple wide mobile home that unlike my house ( a rental ) the mobile home has single pane windows and not the thickest insulation. The heating costs are almost triple that of my home. However, I found that if I warmed up the mobile home to a comfortable temperature and was willing to close myself off in a room, I could easily turn the house heater off and use the Optimus infrared heater to keep any bedroom warm. Aiming at you from about 5 feet away is best if you are feeling cold, but it will slowly heat my 14 X 22 den up a degree or two over several hours. Of course it will depend upon the temp outside, but our ( Templeton CA - halfway between SF and LA ) 6 AM temps are almost always around freezing in the winter even if we manage an hour or two at 60 to 70 in the afternoon. My only minor gripe is the stupid rotating 400/800/Off/800/400/OFF knob. Unless the room is well lit you can't tell where OFF is and the writing is on the side, not on the face of the knob. Overall, I am impressed for the heat it delivers. Almost every other heater I found was 750/1500w, cost more and I doubt they would do much better at their low setting.