When our large, no name oil heater went I needed to replace it with something. We finished out basement and it tends to be cold downstairs even with heating ducts. I bought the Pelonis Fan Forced Heater Model HB-215T.

Why this one?

As I stood in Wal-Mart overwhelmed by the number of heaters available, I started talking to another shopper who gave me some information. I was still standing there 10 minutes later when an employee came back and gave me additional information. The shopper and I were both a bit baffled as to why someone would buy a large radiator type heater, especially when it was 2 or 3 times the amount of money, when we could buy a small one that can be easily carried.

About this heater:

This Pelonis Fan Forced Heater is simple to use and it seems safe. You have to be very careful with any type of heater you use. We are warned to keep items that are combustible at least 3 feet away and of course, it isn’t intended for bathrooms where it can fall into the toilet or tub. I bought another one that is even smaller for the new camper we don’t have yet, but this one is small enough. It is 9 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches wide and 12 inches high. It has a handle on the top that makes it so easy to carry. The handle isn’t as wide as other handles I have seen on products- it has an opening of about 1-1/4 inches but it is large enough for most hands to fit into. It weighs 5 pounds and with the handle it is light enough for almost anyone to carry.

Personally I don’t care what color it is, but if you do, it is a very, very light gray – in fact it looks almost off white, but it is called cool gray. It has two simple knobs. One controls the thermostat with a long knob that easily moves from minimum to maximum. The other control has the off, fan, low, medium and high adjustments to control how much power you want. There are three levels of power: 600, 900 & 1500 Watts. Now this is the really interesting part I learned. All these heaters are 1500 watts so that is why I couldn’t figure out why I would buy what I consider to be a large, fairly unsightly radiator, when I could buy this cute little heater. The clerk really didn’t know. He tried to tell me he thought that the bigger one warmed up quicker and since it was larger heated a bigger space, but that doesn’t make sense. 1500 watts is 1500 watts no matter how you slice it. I bought two of them by the way.

There is also a power light on the front to let you know that it is on. This is not a noisy heater, but that is one big difference between this fan heater and the radiator oil one that I had. That, of course, made no noise. Since this runs by a fan, I do hear the fan blowing. It is soft, though, and until I wrote this review, I wasn’t even aware of the noise. That, though, is something to consider if you are using it in a place that has to be silent for some reason.

However another nice feature of this is that when the room reaches a comfortable temperature, I turn the thermostat control (the knob that says min and max) until the heater turns off. The heater turns off but the power light remains on. This is the point at which the thermostat setting equals the room temperature. At this setting, the thermostat will automatically turn the heater on and off to maintain the temperature I selected. For example, I had it on the floor across the room but brought it to my desk to do this review. It had warmed up the room in just a few minutes (I don’t know what the clerk was talking about. This heater warms up quickly.) and I was hot. When I brought it to my desk, of course, I was even warmer because it was closer to me so I lowered the thermostat and that’s where it stayed until the room got cool again and then it turned on. When it is “off” it is silent, so the soft noise that I mentioned does not have to be going all the time.

My new Pelonis also has a Thermal Cut-Off Overheat Protection System that shuts the unit off if it overheats for some reason.

The fan setting on one of the knob doesn’t blow hot air. It is used if you just want to keep the air that has been blown in kept fresh.

Cleaning the unit:

I have not had to do that yet since it is recommended only once during the “operating season.” Basically it is just suggested that after it is turned off, a dry cloth should be used to clean just the outside surfaces of the heater. No cleaning agents or detergents should be used and it should be stored in a cool, dry place.

In addition it has been factory lubricated for life and will not need any more lubrication.

Other specs:

Voltage: 120V, 60 Hz
Current: Maximum continuous draw: 12.5 amps
Output: 5200 BTU’s

There is a one-year limited warranty.

www.pelonis.com.

My final thoughts:

I can’t find anything wrong with this unit. It is small enough to put under my desk. The third one I bought that I said was smaller works also, but I really like the carry handle on this one. The rooms downstairs are 12 feet by 20 feet and one of these units in each room on high warms the room just fine. My office is small – 9 feet by 10 feet- and I had it on low until I turned it down to the maintenance level. I really think I got a great buy and a great little heater. I doubted myself even after I got these home that maybe I should have bought a much larger, more expensive oil heater, but I am glad I didn’t.

Although it is made of plastic, this is the hardest plastic I have encountered. I can't say it is indestructible. But you can stand on it and it won't budge.

Feel free to leave me a comment or ask a question.



Recommended: Yes