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: 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: 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.Customer Review: Hot Stuff
Summary: 5 Stars
The heater is simplicity personified to set up. If you can plug something in and turn a knob, you can use this appliance. Our heater sits securely on a glasstop table on the screened porch. The directions suggest unplugging the heater when it's not in use. Not wanting to plug and unplug the heater multiple times a day, I connected it to a surge protector so it can be turned on or off with the simple switch of a button on the surge protector.
What about heat? The heat is indeed almost instant and intense. It's designed to warm the person sitting near it, not an entire room, and it does excel at this function. Sit in front of this baby, and you'll warm up quickly even on a chilly evening. We've tested the Optimus on the screened porch and inside and it works superbly for both applications. Just don't expect this hot wonder to warm an entire room, except for maybe a small bathroom (not supposed to use it in the bathroom) or a closet or nook. The Optimus would be a good choice for someone spending hours in a stationary position, such as at a desk or in a chair watching shows on the Potato Channel.
Our other space heaters have a "low" setting using 850 or 1000 watts and a high setting using 1500 watts. That's a lot of juice. The Optimus puts out good heat at 400W with only one bulb functioning and even more at the 800W setting on which both glowing bulbs operate.
So far we are very pleased with this little space heater. You'd be hard pressed to find a better bargain.
Customer Review: Big heat in a slim, silent package
Summary: 5 Stars
Purchased this heater for a bathroom and utility room that are connected by a doorway. The floor and part of the walls are ceramic tile. These rooms are on an outside north wall and the central heating just doesn't keep them comfortable during the short winter we have here in Louisiana. The total area that needs heat is 10' x 24'.
The Optimus H-5210 is exactly what we've been needing. On the low (400 watt) setting, only one of the quartz bulbs comes on. You can feel the heat within seconds, and full warmth within a minute or two. If we close the bathroom door (we put the heater in the bathroom), the room is heated to 80 in ten minutes or so. We have chosen to use the heater on high (800 watt) and leave the door between the bathroom and utility room open. In about an hour, there was a warm & comfy feel to the entire area.
Because the Optimus H-5210 does not have a fan trying to pull air into the unit, you can set it right up against a wall and out of the way. It only comes out about 4 inches! Don't let the lack of a fan turn you away though, because you can feel the radiant heat at least 6-7 ft. away.
The very best thing about this little heater? Total silence. That means a lot in a small area. We are very pleased with both the look and performance of the Optimus H-5210 and will buy another and put it away as a backup. Great, low price too!