Another in Delonghi's Line of Safe, Effective Radiator Heaters
Written: Jan 14 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Silent, exceptionally comfortable, even heat, built-in timer, safest heater on the market
Cons: Timer does not have override button or switch
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for the safest heater on the market, and the most efficient, comfortable heat you can get, look no further than the Delonghi MG15T.
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| cowboyind's Full Review: DeLonghi MG15 Oil Filled Electric Radiator Heater |
With any electrical appliance, there is always some risk, and heaters in particular have a bad reputation for starting fires. With its electric radiators, Delonghi has taken a product that can be very dangerous and made it just about foolproof. And in the process, they've created one of the safest, most efficient, effective heaters you can get.
I now own three Delonghi radiators; the MG15T is one I purchased most recently. Why three? Because my house is equipped with electric baseboard heat, and using these radiators instead of the permanently-installed baseboard heaters is proving to be a very significant energy saver. The oldest Delonghi radiator is 10 years old, and it's worked perfectly winter after winter for all of those years, and the second one is six years old, with a similarly flawless record of service.
The MG15T is very similar to Delonghi's other radiators, but there are a few significant differences: First, this radiator employs a somewhat different design, which is said to allow it to transfer heat to the air more quickly. In roughly a week of using this heater, I am finding this claim to be true: This unit does raise a room's temperature more quickly than the other radiators I have. This is an advantage, but it does not mean that this radiator is more efficient than the others; those simply retain heat longer after being shut off. In the end, you get all the heat you pay for either way.
One other very useful feature is an integral timer. This is the primary reason I chose the MG15T instead of simply buying another standard Delonghi radiator. The timer has 96 tabs which can be moved inward or outward, with each tab representing 15 minutes of heater operation. If all 96 tabs are inward, the heater will operate constantly, and for every tab moved outward, the heater will shut off for 15 minutes.
I have used this feature for about a week now, and I really appreciate it. For one thing, it's a big energy saver. Instead of allowing the heater to run in the bedroom all night, and turning it off when I get up, I have it shut off an hour or so before I get up. This saves energy, yet the room is still warm from the residual heat left in the oil that is contained within the radiator. So it's almost like I'm getting an hour or so of "free" heat every day.
(It's not really free, of course, because you pay for that heat during the time the unit takes to warm up its oil. But the fact is, I am saving roughly 1.5 kilowatt-hours every single day by using that heat while I'm still at home, instead of shutting the heater off and then having it still give off heat for an hour after I leave for work.)
The timer works very accurately, turning the heater on or off at pretty much exactly the time that has been set. My only criticism of the timer feature is that there is no "override" button or switch. If you have the heater running on a timed program, as I do, and you want to override that and have it run all the time (such as I do on a day when I'm home from work), you have to manually move all the tabs on the timer wheel to the "on" positions. Then, when you want to return to a timed program, you have to reset them all. An override button or switch would be a lot easier.
The MG15T is equipped with a variable thermostat with numbers ranging from "anti-freeze" (a picture of a snowflake) to six. According to the MG15T's owner's manual, the anti-freeze feature will maintain a room temperature of roughly 5 degrees C (40 degrees F). As its name implies, the purpose of this feature is to prevent temperatures in an area from dropping below freezing, which would prevent pipes and other things from freezing and sustaining damage.
On the other end of the scale, the highest setting on the thermostat, "6," will keep your room warmer than you could ever want it. I have found that the "4" setting will hold a room at a comfortable 73 or 74 degrees. Obviously this could vary depending on the size of the room and other factors.
Even though the thermostat is not calibrated in degrees, you can use it to hold a room temperature very accurately. All you need to do is start out with the thermostat set to "6," and turn on both heating elements (see below). Once the room has reached a comfortable temperature, slowly rotate the thermostat downward until you hear the thermostat click. Now the heater is pre-set to hold that temperature, and it will do so very accurately. With this radiator on the job, your room temperature will be very constant. Any variations are too small to detect. What better heat could you ask for?
As mentioned above, there are two heating element switches on the side of the heater, above the timer. One heating element is a "low" wattage element (600 watts), another is a "medium" wattage element (900 watts), and with both elements on, you have a "high" wattage setting (1500 watts). Personally, I find little reason to use the lower wattage settings, since you already have the thermostat to regulate the room temperature, and it will cycle both elements on or off based on the room temperature.
However, some users may wish to turn on a single element (either the 600 w or the 900 w) if the room is small. This would minimize any temperature swings. (However, the heater should not be used in a room smaller than 4 square meters -- about 36 square feet -- according to the unit's instructions.) Another potential use of a single element could be to permit the heater to be used on a household circuit that already has other significant loads on it. In this case, the heater's full 1500 watts could cause the circuit breaker to trip or the fuse to blow. This could be prevented by using just one of the elements rather than both.
The unit's operation is completely silent, save for the occasional faint click of the thermostat as it cycles the elements on or off to maintain the room temperature you have set.
Above I mentioned that I use these radiators to save energy compared to my permanently-installed baseboard heaters. That seems hard to imagine, since both are forms of electric resistance heating. However, I have found that these heaters actually will heat a room using fewer watts, and less running time, than baseboard heaters. I attribute this to the fact that the baseboard heaters are screwed directly to the wall, and they as a result lose heat through their rear panels.
These heaters are just about foolproof when it comes to safety. While they become very warm during operation, they will not burn you if you touch them. (Their surface temperature is about 160 degrees, which is too warm to comfortably leave your hand against, but not hot enough to cause a burn as long as the contact time is short.) Their surface temperature is also well below the ignition points of almost all foreseeable household items. These heaters are without a doubt the safest portable electric heaters you can get.
The only safety concern can come in the area of the electrical circuit they're plugged into. Make sure, as mentioned above, that you do not plug the heater into a circuit that already has heavy loads running on it -- such as other heaters or big kitchen appliances -- or else you'll be tripping breakers or blowing fuses like crazy. Also, make sure the outlet you plug the heater into is in very good shape -- mainly that it holds the heater's plug tightly. If you can jiggle the plug around in the outlet or it seems loose or can easily fall out, you need to replace the receptacle (very cheap) or use a different one. A poorly fitting plug will cause heat to develop at the receptacle.
Finally, do not use extension cords, power strips, multi-outlet adapters, or any other "cheater" type devices to plug this heater in. It's equipped with a high-quality, rubber coated line cord, and this needs to go directly into the outlet. If you use an extension cord or power strip, it very likely will not be rated for enough wattage to meet the needs of this heater as well as everything else you may plug into it.
As I mentioned above, the MG15T is another in Delonghi's line of fantastic radiators. These are the gold standard as far as household electric heaters, so if you're looking for a heater that's not only the safest you can get but also the one that'll make you the most comfortable, look no further.
Recommended:
Yes
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cowboyind
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Location: Indiana
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