Friday, February 1, 2008

Are Edenpure and SunTwin Heaters a Scam?


Like many of you, I received a convincing brochure about a cutting edge space heater that will pay for itself in one winter season with it's savings in electricity.

Like you, I was skeptical. I live in an older poorly insulated house so the benefits listed in the Edenpure and SunTwin brochure looked enticing.

The story was that some guy accidently laid a piece of cured copper near a heat sorce, then noticed that the cured copper continued to give off a soothing even heat even after the other heat source was extinquished. This man got his inventor cap on and decided to create a self contained portable heater with his new discovery.

He added quartz heating lamps inside a box that pointed to cured copper plates that would absorb their radient heat, then a fan would blow air past those plates, thus creating an even heat source with better efficiency thus saving the consumer money.

Is this true? I studied it a few days and read other people's thoughts on the product on the net and decided to go ahead and buy a couple of them because I like space heaters that direct a concentration of heat in my direction like when I'm in my office chair. I don't like to heat the whole house if I don't have to. I get cold feet in the winter so I like to be able to direct my heat in a precise way.

I bought one for $450 that carried the name SunTwin. This heater is super quiet and creates a cozy flow of lovely warm air. This heater is encased in a beautiful chassis of hardwood like furniture and it had wheels to slide it to where I wanted it's heat. It also has a handheld remote controlled thermostat.

The shocking surprise
: the portable heater gave all the benefits short one, I couldn't back up their claims of energy cost savings. In fact, my electricity bill went up 15% from the previous year, even though we are having a mild winter in South Carolina in January of 2008. I can in no way support that this unit will pay for itself in one season. Sometimes, I only ran these Edenpure and SunTwin heaters without kicking in my whole house heat pump.

I will say that I like the heaters for other reasons. They are quiet, especially the SunTwin that is encased in wood, like furniture. The smaller Edenpure, that is boxed in plastic is almost twice as loud, but that works out fine for my bedroom creating white noise while I sleep. The other one, I keep in the den and it really fits in the decor.

The positive claims that I can support are that it gives a soft warm heat that over time will fill up a room with an even heat as compared to space heaters whose coils glow red hot and force out super hot air that rises to the ceiling immediately.

When I point the heaters directly at me, they don't make me yawn with sleepiness like ceramic and resistance heaters do that I buy at Wal-Mart. The theory is that the common heaters that glow red hot actually destroy oxygen in the air so that you immediately get sleepy in front of traditional space heaters. I do agree with this.

Another big selling point is their safety. I never have a fear with these SunTwin and Edenpure heaters causing a fire. In fact, I can pick them up anywhere and not get burned. The heating elements are deep within so not even a pet or child could knock them over to create a fire as far as I can see. I love that since I have 3 pets inside my house and I have always feared a fire with traditional space heaters that glow with red coils.

So, my evaluation of these SunTwin and Edenpure quartz heaters with cured copper internal plates is mostly positive, but I don't think they will pay for themselves as claimed in one season, but they do provide a beautiful comforting heat source. Even though I didn't save money, I do enjoy their heat. The heat they provide is a more even soft safe heat that doesn't make me sleepy when I sit close to them. In fact, I have one blowing at my back as I type this in my office in January.

I think the closest thing to the type of heat that these unique heaters are the oil filled radiator heaters that you can get at Wal-Mart. The reason I say that it that they don't burn the air with red glowing coils and they softly heat the room over a period of time through convection.

Bottom line for me on Edenpure and SunTwin quartz heaters- they produce a wonderful quality of heat and are considerably safer to use, especially around pets, but they have a 750 watt rating right on the smaller one and a 1500 watt rating on the SunTwin, so they probably won't pay for themselves in one season. So, if the safety features and the even heating without making you sleepy are worth it to you, then you'll love these space heaters. If you're just trying to save money, then I'd think twice.

2009 - a Year Later-

Now, I'm into my second season with the Edenpure and Sun Twin heaters. I still enjoy the quality of heat with both of them. They have proven safe and my cat sleeps on top of both of them often so they seem to be safer than those $30 to $60 ceramic space heaters that I used to use. Neither of these two heaters would be easy to knock over. I dare say that I don't believe either will ever get knocked over in my lifetime.

I still don't see any energy savings.

The larger Sun Twin for about $450 remains my favorite, but I started the season shipping it back to the company that sold it to me for repairs. I asked them specifically to replace the thermostat and said I'd even pay for it. The heater only had about 20 more days left to it's warranty when they mailed me a shipping label which they paid for. I went to UPS and shipped it off and about a week later it was returned to me. The invoice said free repair. The action they took was oiling the fan because it had a slow fan. I was ticked off! Why does a fan need oiling after one season anyway? Also, if it didn't fix the problem, then I was out of warranty.

To my surprise, they were correct and the heater has worked flawlessly for two months of constant use.

My 2009 bottom line is that they are wonderful heaters, but don't save you any money. If you like the other qualities enough to pay a premium, then they may be for you.

The qualities of heat they claim are:

-safer heaters- heating element run cooler and are deeper in the unit
-don't dry out the air because they don't get as hot
-don't take out oxygen from the air because they don't burn oxygen like coiled units
-they more evenly disperse the heat throughout the room because the heated air stays lower

I do like them, but I tend to buy expensive things for myself as I'm single with no kids. I've got $750 tied up in these heaters, so that would prohibit most reasonable households from buying them.
Here is an excellent review of them by Consumer Reports:
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/11/edenpure-heater.html


My Take in 2011:

I bought my first infrared heaters in 2007 and now here are my latest thoughts...

Ha, your "no one really cares" comment was my favorite in our thread. You're probably right.
As you can see, I put up this blog post on February 8th, 2008, so that tells you I bought my first Edenpure and SunTwin heaters in the Fall of 2007. We are now in our 4th winter season with the heaters so I feel I have some valid perspective on them.

I got a very expensive brochure from Edenpure probably around September of 2007 and the heaters looked and sounded awesome, but even their cheapest heater was 5 times the price of a WalMart resistance coil heater from Holmes, so I threw it in the trash.

The next day I pulled it out of the trash because I couldn't stop thinking about their claim that the heater would pay for itself in one season, so I reread the brochure and ordered their cheapest model. I liked it and used it in my bedroom. It made a soft rushing white noise that I found excellent for sleeping through barking dogs outside.

Then, I decided I wanted one for my den where my TV was so I ordered the larger SunTwin with a wooden cabinet. This larger and more powerful unit was actually much quieter so I pointed it right at me while I was watching TV. I loved it. Even my cat loved it becuase she would often sleep on top of it while it was running. I say I loved it, but I was ticked off when the power bill came. I could see no difference in power savings even though I thought I followed their instuctions to turn the central heat down in the rest of your house a few degrees and to use the infrared heaters in the room you were actually in. I don't know how well I did this because I'm cold natured, but my power bills were exactly the same as the previous year. I felt scammed, so by February of 2008 later that Winter I put up this post mostly in anger.

I continued to use the heaters and found that the other benefits of the heaters were accurate even though I doubted the savings claim.

The WalMart heaters and the Edenpure both said 1500 watts on the labels so I decided that they used the same amount of power, period. In fact, if turning your heat down a bit in the rest of the house and using the heaters primarily in the rooms you were in would save power, then the same technique could be used to save power with the WalMart heater, so I felt duped and was a bit mad at myself for falling for their slick brochure. My dad was an Air Force jet fighter pilot (number one in his class of 60 others) and a Hydrolic Engineer with a brilliant mind and he taught me to think things through when it came to products like this. My dad had me taking things apart and fixing them from an early age. We even had these 'build it yourself' products from Heathkit, so I was exposed to electronics at an early age. I watched my dad work for 3 weeks putting together our home stereo by soldering all the pieces to a circuit board. Later, when I was 16, we did a complete overhaul of my car's engine. It ran like a top.

Anyway, it was a cold winter so I kept using the heaters with no power savings and I started appreciating the other qualities they talked about in the brochure that didn't refer to power savings.
Here are the other claims they made that I found true:

1. Safety: my pets had overturned my cheap heaters from WalMart several times and I was terrified to leave them on especially if I went outside to work in my shop or went on a quick trip to the store. My house is a wooden frame house and in fact two of the rooms are log cabins from the 1840s, so I'm very concerned about safety.

I believe these heaters are absolutely safer than resistance coil heaters because they don't reach flammable levels even inside the heater. If the heaters were turned over, I'm confident they wouldn't start a fire even if the blower was directed right at paper or cloth. They have an automatic shutoff too when tipped over (which is VERY hard to do because of their weight and wide stance.)That's a big plus when you've got 3 pets in the house. My cat often slept on top of the SunTwin when I was watching TV in the den. You could touch any part of the heater from the outside without burning yourself so I appreciated this feature.

2. They don't dry the air. I've always had sensitive dry eyes so I've had to point fans or heaters away from my direction to keep them from drying my eyes out therefore I couldn't get the intimate warmth from other heaters by pointing them right at me. I had no problem with my eyes or nasal passages pointing these infrared heaters directly at me so they really helped to keep me warm when it was 14 degrees outside in a drafty house.

3. They don't burn oxygen from the air. To be honest, I have no way of testing if these or other heaters take oxygen from the air. I suppose that if the resistance coil heaters run so hot they can start a fire, they could alter the O2 in the air, but I'm just not sure.
I do know that the cheap heaters make me yawn and I get sleepy if I'm in front of them. It's possible that this is a result of reduced oxygen. I do not get sleepy in front of the infrared heaters which is a great plus since I make my living on a computer and I often have them directed right at me while I'm working.

3. They heat up a room more evenly. I have no way of testing this but I saw a infrared video online showing that resistance coil heaters put out heat and it then goes straight to the ceiling in one concentrated spot as where the infrared heaters heated the whole room more evenly therefore having less cold spots. This is probably true.

4. Caster wheels make them easy to move from room to room. The smaller Edenpure doesn't have these, but the SunTwin has very good wheels that roll over most anything. It's not a big deal, but they are convenient because I reposition my SunTwin constantly.

5. Remote controls: my two newest infrared heater have handheld remotes that operate all the features of the last two of the four that I own. This is a great convenience for me not having to get up to change a setting.


Now, for the things I don't like:

1. Expensive: no question about it, the heaters cost more and I can't say they don't pay for themselves as stated in the flashy Edenpure brochure.

2. Bulb replacement: the EdenPure and the SunTwin heaters do need to have the bulbs replaced every few years. My cheaper Edenpure has never needed a bulb replacement, but the SunTwin has had two bulbs replaced after the 3rd years of use. The bulbs also have glass surrounding them so I suppose they could be fragile under some circumstances.

3. Maintenance: after the first year, my SunTwin would start and run with heat for 15 minutes, then when it cycled, it wouldn't come back on. It was still under warranty from the reseller, so they sent me a free shipping label and fixed it for free (the dealer did this, not Edenpure or SunTwin). I was mad when they said that they simply oiled the fan due to what they called 'slow fan'. It did work for the rest of the season, but then the next year it did the same thing when it went out of warranty. I told them they should have replaced the fan and not cut corners by simply oiling it. This year, I had the fan replaced and two of the bulbs replaced. To be fair, my Honeywell resistance coil heater I keep in the bathroom is doing the same thing.

4. Requires about 3 more minutes to start warming a room and for the fan to kick in. There is a delay for the fan to start while it's waiting for the heating elements to warm up). I don't use the infrared heaters in the bathroom because the resistance heaters warm my tiny bathroom quicker also if the steamy showers affect the electronics, then I'd rather lose a cheap heater than an expensive one.
As you can see, once I get wound up, I can go on and on.

I was building a website for an Italian manufacturer of auto accessories which led to a tip on another company that needed a website. This year (2011) I had an offer to build a website for a newer ceramic infrared heater company based out of Columbia, SC. I asked to have two of their heaters as part of the exchange. I got the EcoSunTec 2-in-1 IAP 1000 and the EcoSunTec 3-in-1 IMAP 1000 as part of the deal. They even offered to fix my SunTwin in their service center for free. They replaced the fan and two bulbs. That worked out well for me because I do like this unit in my den while I'm watching TV because it's so quiet and looks great with the wood cabinet that matches my furniture.
I built the website at: www.Eco-Sun-Tec.com.

Both heaters will work as fans in the warmer months to cool me down and as heaters when it's cool. The IMAP 3-in-1 has a humidifier that's supposed to make one feel warmer for less power used which I think is a step in the right direction. It's like a sauna lite. This also helps your skin from drying out as well as your nasal passages and eyes. Both units have a remote control that I love so I can sleep with a cool room under the blankets, yet click the remote to warm the room a few minutes before I jump out of my bed using the remote from across the room.

Both EcoSunTec units have air purification year round. The 2-in-1 even has a PCO titanium system which kills airborne viruses, fungus and bacteria while deodorizing the room. It even kills the H1N1 virus.

I haven't started selling them, but if I like them, I will talk with the owners about doing so. I will continue to tell my likes and dislikes openly, but I will say that I like them better than the Edenpure and the SunTwin heaters as they don't have remote controls, a humidifier or air purification in the models I own.

Another thing I like about the EcoSunTec heaters is they use a ceramic infrared heating element rather the the fragile bulbs which I suspect will last longer and be less fragile, though they don't make that claim.

So, once again, my take on these is they are superior heaters compared to resistance coil heaters if you appreciate the features I listed above, but I don't suspect they will save most people money. Of all the heaters, I think the EcoSunTec 3-in-1 might save you a tad bit of money because of the humidifier making you feel warmer for less power drain.

As far as commenter below named alank44 (he said he didn't like anything made in China):  he called the Chinese, Chinks, I think that is unfair. I'm not wild about their government, but the people are fine and their products are among the best in the world. 40 years ago, one could be critical, but now their electronics are world class (though, they have had bad standards in allowing toxins in food for humans and pets).  I'm not crazy about our government either as they are passing laws and regulations to be more like the Chinese government.

I challenged Alan to name a product that the United States made that is better than what China produces. He never answered, he just called them Chinks.

I have some awesome friends from China living here in the US. They have a great restaurant which I frequent. They always invite me to their Chinese New Year parties every year for a decade and ask me to bring only myself. I made a video of one of those occassions here: www.creativevadohd.com/creative-labs/creative-vado-high-def-test-in-low-light/.

82 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Glen,

Thanks for posting a comparison for us on these two heaters. We just bought our first EdenPure,but I was wondering if the SunTwin used the same technology, which question you answered.

I would comment on the promised "energy savings" to point out that the energy they refer to is not so much electricity, but the expense related to burning fuels like propane, natural gas, fuel oil.

Our old rented house uses a fuel oil furnace, and when we saw the price double this winter and a friend told us she loved her EdenPure, we bought one. She says to have backup on extremely cold days, setting your central heat on 60F, but so far, we haven't had to do that.

Another thing they mention is not to use this type heater in high humidity rooms (bath, pool), so we have a small plugin as well.

Roberto M. said...

They are a scam, plain and simple. For 400 dollars, plus the increased electricity bill, you might as well get a new furnace for the whole house.
My elderly neighbor fell for this, and I had to help her return it, which was a hassle as they don't want to lose their 700% profit. There are other heaters that cost one fifth of the EdenPure, with little fans to disperse the heat, just like the EdenPure. Just take a look at this one, and you will see what I am talking about. And this is just one example.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting a comparison for us on these two heaters. They are sca, plain and simple.

The SunTwin Heaters are "Big Brothers" to the Eden PURE Infrared Heaters (as heard on PAUL HARVEY News). Same insides, just different cabinets, from the same company - Suarez Corporation in North Canton, Ohio. The SunTwin has a wood cabinet and costs a few dollars more... The Eden PURE has a poly-propylene cabinet.

Anonymous said...

A good friend bought an Edenpure about 2 years ago, touting the energy-savings claims. I tried to point out that all space heaters, because of the science behind them, put out the same amount of heat per dollar spent. I knew the claims could not be true. I just saw an Edenpure TV commercial, and they were very slippery about the way they made their claims, and they appealed to people's better nature to mislead them. Unethical is the nicest word I have for it.

Brian Cox
HVAC Contractor

energyguy said...

Any mechanical engineer or person familiar with thermodynamics would agree with this blunt assessment:"
I worked at an electric company for 25 year answering questions about “new” “miracle” electric heaters. they all say they are the most efficient electric heaters in the world. well they are. that’s because every electric heater in the world converts a kilo-watt hour of electricity into 3413 BTUs. period. can’t do better or worse. a 1500 watt heater is a 1500 watt heater. you can buy them for $12 or wrap a mantel around them, call them a miracle, install cool looking fake flames and charge $400. 1500 watts= 1.5 kilo-watts. 1.5 x 3413= 5119 BTU produced by a 1500 watt heater. all 1500 watt heaters. the cost depends on your local rate of electricity, not a national average. If you pay 10 cents per kwh, then a 1500 watt heater will cost you 15 cents per hour. period."

energyguy said...

Any mechanical engineer or person with an understanding of thermodynamics would agree with this blunt assessment: "
I worked at an electric company for 25 year answering questions about “new” “miracle” electric heaters. they all say they are the most efficient electric heaters in the world. well they are. that’s because every electric heater in the world converts a kilo-watt hour of electricity into 3413 BTUs. period. can’t do better or worse. a 1500 watt heater is a 1500 watt heater. you can buy them for $12 or wrap a mantel around them, call them a miracle, install cool looking fake flames and charge $400. 1500 watts= 1.5 kilo-watts. 1.5 x 3413= 5119 BTU produced by a 1500 watt heater. all 1500 watt heaters. the cost depends on your local rate of electricity, not a national average. If you pay 10 cents per kwh, then a 1500 watt heater will cost you 15 cents per hour. period."

Anonymous said...

Well said energyguy.

I could plug in 15 100 watt light bulbs and heat the house just as good as with this fancy EdenPure heater.

To maintain a room to a given temperature requires a given number of BTUs per hour. The number increases as the outside temperature decreases, and it doesn't matter where the BTUs (whether from oil, wood, electricity, or gas) are coming from it still requires the same amount.

Creating diffuse heat from electricity is wasteful and expensive (because coal and nuclear power plants that create most of the electricity we use do so using heat cycles (The Rankine Cycle, to be technical) and they throw away more energy as "waste heat" than they convert into electricity - more energy goes up the cooling towers than into the power grid). The only way electric heaters are a deal is if you use them to keep one room warm while turning down the central heat.

Anonymous said...

I thought I would pick apart the "The qualities of heat they claim are:"

1. "The heating element runs cooler". If it did how could it heat the room?

2. "Don't dry out the air, because they don't get as hot." Again, if it doesn't get as hot, how does it heat the room? As far as drying out the air, only a dehumidifier will do that, not a heater.

3. "Don't take out oxygen from the air because they don't burn oxygen like coiled units" If this were the case, then why after all the years that electric heaters have been sold that there has never been a warning, not to place them in an enclosed room without proper ventilation.

4. "They more evenly disperse the heat throughout the room because the heated air stays lower." The heated air stays lower....WOW, that must be some special heat, because I thought ALL heat rose, no matter what the source.

If they were straight forward on the product, without all the distracting words and statements, then it would be more believable. But they can't do that because they really have nothing special to sell, just an overpriced electric heater in a pretty box.

Unknown said...

Eden PURE is not some new and revolutionary product, it’s been around for years. I first encountered it 30 years ago at a RV Mobile Home show a the university of Notre Dame, marketed by a company out of Peoria Illinois. We explored the possibility of distributing the heater then called The Infer Molecular Heater, and was invited to visit the companies headquarters in Illinois. They had a very impressive facility to demonstrate the heater and a very slick sales pitch, but they did not manufacture the unit but contracted out the manufacturing. With few exceptions it was identical to the Eden PURE but had 4 inferred lights and a steel plate with nails welded on inside.
Before we committed to a distributorship we ordered 25 heaters to run our own tests. To say the heaters were a failure was a gross under statement. In a cold home four heaters ran for three days and raised the temperature only 2 degrees. They would maintain 70 degrees in a small room that had been heated to 70 degrees but would not increase the temperature. After conferring with a teaching Ph’d Professor of physics at a major university who explained that the light bulbs and a small fan would accomplish the same results at a fraction of the cost. After running over 15 tests, of witch only 2 showed any mediocre positive results, it was our conclusion that a $30 of the shelf heater would accomplish equal results. The consensus of all of our people involved in the testing was that it was a well packaged and promoted high priced fraud.

Brad @ Elite Pool & Spas said...

To Glen ...and just about everyone else on this page:

I see alot of comments on here about the EdenPure heaters, but I have not read even one from a knowledgeable source. By that, I mean one that knows how and why they work. I will lay my cards on the table: I am a retailer of spas, pools, Infared Saunas, ...and infared heaters. I sell 2 different brands and EdenPure is one of them. I, like you, was terribly skeptical of the product. There were too many and too great of claims; They just couldn't be true!

However, our specialty is repairing and refurbishing the spas and saunas that we sell. I have a fantastic technician who takes everything apart and figures out how they work. We ordered one of these heaters and tested it and dissected it before we sold it. After all, in business, reputation is everything. We were suprised to find out that the majority of the claims were true (with only a little marketing spin). They are quite a bit more efficienct than furnaces and space heaters (Roughly 5000 BTU's @ $.13 per hour in my area). And since they do not "burn" anything, there is no loss in oxygen or humidity. As Glen said, it is a very comfortable heat that spreads much more evenly around a room or house (That's the humidity part) and doesn't make you sleepy (that's the oxygen part).

That said, I did figure out that there was a problem with these heaters: People's perception of them! These are NOT miracle boxes. They are meant to be used in conjuction with your furnace, not as a direct replacement. They work to get your furnace's thermostat to stay off for longer periods of time. If you take one home and turn off your furnace, ...you will be cold. If you use it as a space heater, you just spent too much for a space heater. My recommendation: Turn it on, and leave it on from mid-fall to mid-spring. Every BTU that you get from that unit will be cheaper than what you get from your furnace.

If used properly, I can attest to many people, including myself, saving money on their heating bills. (Remember, that means electric AND gas!)

Unknown said...

I really appreciate everyone's comments. I always dread Winters because I'd rather sweat than shiver, so heaters are a big deal to me.

Now in my 3rd season with 1 SunTwin and 1 Edenpure, I'd have to say that I enjoy them. I live in a house that goes back to 1840. I think they are very expensive up front and I do dread when my bulbs burn out, but I enjoy the cozy heat that comes from them.

Like Brad said, if you use them as directed, then you only use them in the rooms where the people are and let the rest of the house go a little cooler, it could save on your power bill, but I don't think it saves enough to pay for the heaters even after 3 years of use.

I still perfer the SunTwin in the beautiful wood furniture case with wonderful wheels. It puts out way more heat and it is MUCH more quiet. I point it right at me while I watch my big screen TV and the fan noise doesn't bother me at all.

All in all, I feel the same way as I did in my second year of owning them...they give wonderful auxilary heat, but I doubt they save any money for most owners.

Phu-Bai said...

My uncle bought a Sun Twin heater and never opened the carton. He went to a nursing home so I "inherited" the heater. Boy, I'm glad I did not buy this thing!
I will admit it looks nice - it has a nice wooden cabinet, nice colored lights which display the thermostat setting. It even comes with a remote control which turns the unit off and on, and also adjusts the thermostat up or down.
I find it does no better than the two smaller ceramic heaters I've owned for years.
Yes, it will save on gas, or wood, because you are running up your electric bill instead! Also, if you run this heater in your great room, or wherever your main home thermostat is, the rest of the house will get stone cold!
I can't believe people pay hundreds of dollars for this heater! You'd be better off installing gas logs that are 98% efficient @50,000 BTUs.
I also frown on the marketing scheme, and the brilliant Chinese man who made the "discovery".

Anonymous said...

Most of you people are missing the point, they are not going to save you money on Electricity, they use electricity for petes sake. Where they save you money is in the gas, oil, propane, you would have otherwise used. They are a supplemental heat source, to be used with a main heat source, to allow the main heat source to not be used as much.

Unknown said...

I'm bummed...as I'm getting into the winter season in 2009, my SunTwin only runs for 5 minutes, then it shuts off.

This is the same problem I had last year while it was under warranty. They said it was slow fan and simply oiled it. It worked fine all last winter after the oiling.

Honestly, just go to Wal-Mart and buy a oil filled radiator heater and you'll get the same gentle heat as this thing and save yourself money.

It will take longer to heat up the room, but it's the same quality of heat.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Glen for the detailed review. And thanks to all those who commented on it. I saw the ad on the back of the Sunday Paper's comics page...with Bob Villa pimping it. That made me suspicious as anything on the back page of the comics must be a scam...LOL. But evidently there are merits to these heaters. But having read it all, I think I will pass...and do the Walmart trip.

Unknown said...

Hey thanks. I'm all for inventions, but I think if you pointed a tiny fan towards one of those Wal-Mart oil filled radiator heaters for $50, you'd get very similar results.

The outside of the radiator never glows red hot, so there is zero chance of it consuming the oxygen in the air.

I haven't seen any claims that infrared heat is more efficent that resistance heat. My claim is that the constant replacing of infrared bulbs and the problems with the fan in my unit, it's just too expensive in comparison.

To date, I've paid about $650 buying the Edenpure and SunTwin heaters three winters ago, but I've never saved that in power.

Anyone that knows better, feel free to prove me wrong as I have no vested interest. I need heat like anyone else as I prefer to sweat than shiver, but I've shown there are significant drawbacks to these infrared heaters from my perspective as an owner.

Unknown said...

I see that I've said in a past post that I've got $750 in these heaters and now I've said $650. I don't really remember exactly obviously as it's been 3 years since I bought them, but I think the SunTwin was around $400 to $450 and the smaller plastic cased Edenpure was between $200 and $250. I paid full retail.

Anonymous said...

Cured copper? Copper is copper. The only thing that you can do to copper is change the grain size. I worked in the lab at Trane for many years and I can tell you point blank that this is a lot of garbage. I wrote to Edenpure and asked what this magic copper is. They won't reply except to put you on their mailing list. Buy a cheap infrared heater at Menards. Infrared is infrared.

Unknown said...

I opened up my SunTwin heater last night. I was surprised the copper plates surrounding the lamps were so thin.

My unit would run for 10 minutes, then turn off. I oiled the fan like they did last year under warranty and it worked. Weird.

Anonymous said...

Shame on Bob Vila, he starts out talking about the heat you loose through your unsealed duct work and than instead of giving you an answer like use Mastic Sealnt to seal most of those ducts he gives you EdenPure! How does using more electricity save you money? It doesn't! Does it save you money to seal all those leaky ducts with Mastic? Yes!This is what he should be endorsing http://www.rcdmastics.com/

Anonymous said...

I WILL PUT MY $29 DOLLAR OIL FILLED HEATER UP AGAINST ANY OF THESE SCAMS!

HVAC Master said...

In my area natural gas costs $.89 per therm. A therm will produce 100,000 BTU of heat. if you have a 90% effcient furnace that means it cost you $.89 for 90,000 BTU.

Also in my area a it is $.08 for a KWH. 1 KWH will produce 3,413 BTU. This means it takes 26.37 KWH to produce 90,000 BTU. If you do the math natural gas is $.89 per 90,000 Btu, and electric heat is $2.11 per 90,000 BTU.

It dosen't matter how you run your new Edenpure heater, or sun heater it will cost you more money than natural gas. In my area a 90% natural gas furnace is 137% more effcient than any electric heater. plain and simple they are a scam.

Anonymous said...

You wrote: "The theory is that the common heaters that glow red hot actually destroy oxygen in the air so that you immediately get sleepy in front of traditional space heaters. I do agree with this."

Destroy the oxygen in the air? I've got news for you: impossible! Oxygen may be consumed by fire - a chemical reaction - but oxygen can't be "destroyed" by heating it.

Furthermore, Edenpures claims that other heaters "dry out" the air are equally ludicrous. If I put a wet towel in the clothes drier, heat is applied to dry it, but this works by evaporating the water - driving it INTO the air. To dry out air by heating it, where would the moisture be driven to? Unless you're seeing a little puddle of water form under your space heater, it isn't "drying out" the air.

Matthew Freeman said...

I found this website helpful with questions that I had on the eden pure unit

Unknown said...

Hey Matthew, you're welcome. Thanks for leaving a comment.

I'm halfway through the Winter season, January of 2010 and my wood cased SunTwin worked from time to time. I don't know what's wrong with it, but it's been unreliable this season.

Last year, I mailed it back while it was under warranty and they said they oiled the fan. I had a feeling the problem wasn't fixed.

The EdenPure is still working and I've never had a problem with it.

Anonymous said...

There are several of this type of heater on the market. This link has a feature comparison www.rewci.com/sunaire1500.html In 2008 I bought the Sun Aire and I run it to stay warm when my heatpump struggles in below 32 temps. Seems safer that the walmart ones.
Perhaps I should replace my 1994 heatpump next.

Anonymous said...

You should have consulted an engineer before you wrote a really silly thing: "Resistance heaters consume the oxygen of the air". No heat can consume oxygen -- only a combustion, which is a chemical reaction. What you feel is the fact that all heaters reduce the relative humidity of the air = they make it dryer. The higher the temperature, the dryer the air will be. Your lungs and the inner parts of your nose will complain about this. By heating the air to a lower temperature, the quatz lamps don't dry it as much. They also save a little bit of energy (higher temperature will cause higher inefficiencies) but it will be barely noticeable in your electrical bill.
Joseph N.

Unknown said...

Joseph, you have left one of the best comments since I put up this blog post.

It took you to point out that oxygen can only be altered through combustion, not by merely heating the air. Bravo! I should have know that.

Where does the humidity go when you heat a room? It seems like it would remain in the ambient air.

UPDATE: My Sun Twin heater stopped working again half way through the Winter of 2009/2010. They factory authorized dealer didn't fix the problem last year. They diagnosed the problem as "slow fan," and simply oiled it. Then, a month later, I had the same problem and now it won't work.

I've had it with them!

johnH said...

You should have stuck with your heat pump. Mine gives me 11,640 BTUs @ 47 degrees F outside temp, and 8,530 BTU's @ 17 degrees F outside temp. That is at least 250% more efficient than the infra-red heaters. So at 17 degrees outside temp I am still getting 2.5 times more heat with my heat pump than you would get with your space heater. The other benefit is that I have even heat throughout the house. The balance point of my house is 15.5 degrees F outside temp. That is the temp that I need supplementary heat.

Unknown said...

I have to admit. I'm a bit frustrated with my SunTwin.

I'm intersted in installing a furnace outside and somehow routing that heat into the inside of the house. I could load it up with wood without having the mess of carrying logs on the inside of the house.

Bob said...

Brad @ Elite Pool & Spas said...

To Glen ...and just about everyone else on this page:

I see alot of comments on here about the EdenPure heaters, but I have not read even one from a knowledgeable source. By that, I mean one that knows how and why they work.


Hey Brad,

What makes you a reliable source? You sell the heaters. With that said, you have a bias opinion. I feel the energyguy is a very reliable source with more knowledge on the subject. He works or worked at a power company who is in the business of selling kilowatt hours. Because these heaters consume kilowatt hours, he has no reason to bash them besides being honest about them. I too work at a power company. I am also a Master Electrician. There is no doubt that these heaters can save money when comparing to other fuels sources, depending on fuel costs, but they cant save anymore than a $30 Walmart heater of the same output size. What's funny is all the, so called, positive aspects of the Eden Pure heaters are rated very low by consumer reports, such as safety, temperature control, noise and ease of use.

Unknown said...

On a scale of 1 to 10--I give the Sun Twin heater by EdenPure a ZERO! I bought one for $450 in 2007. I put it in a secon home that we visited once per year in the winter. The heater was turned on about 4 times. The fifth time, I heard a big "CRACK" noise. No more heat ever came out of the heater again. Warranty? Oh, well, despite the fact that they got me to buy the thing by telling me that if it broke, I could just ship it back and they would repair it, they now claim that it is out of warranty. I can pay them $119--25% of the cost of the heater--to repair it whereupon they will now give me a 90 day warranty. On an hourly basis, my Sun Twin cost me almost $15 per hour to run.

Now tell me again about the energy savings.....!

Unknown said...

K, I can see why you're disappointed in their heaters!

Sabrina said...

I live in Idaho so it gets really cold here in the winter. My home has been heated with a pellet stove for about 5 years now. We were having trouble with the back part of the house being heated from the pellet stove that runs in the front part of the house. We purchased a Edenpure last year and we couldn't be happier. We had about a $10.00 increase in our power bill from running the Edenpure. We are buying us another one this year.
I don't know where all these other people live that have left negative comments concerning Edenpure saying it doesn't work. That is simply not true in my experience. The Edenpure is extremely more efficient than any oil filled heater from Walmart...which is what we were using before the Edenpure.
The Edenpure is worth every penny!

Unknown said...

Hi Sabrina,

I agree with you that the EdenPure puts out lovely heat.

I dread Winters and would rather sweat than shiver any day; therefore I was willing to purchase 3 of these infrared heaters: EdenPure, SunTwin and now this year, I'm trying another newer brand called EcoSunTec. You see, I do love these heaters; however, you'll see why people are having challenges with them below, not to mention, they're expensive.

The beef people are having with the heaters is the claim that they pay for themselves in one season as if the heaters were more efficient. They simply are not.

In order for them to make the claim that you can save money, they say you have to turn down the heat everywhere else in your house and only use the EdenPure in the room you are in. That would be true for any heater, thus I think minds that analyze this claim scientically are frustrated by their advertising.

The quality of heat that comes from the EdenPure is lovely. I bought the wood cased larger SunTwin with wheels and it is perfect to have next to me when I watch TV because it runs so quietly. I'm disappointed that when I sent it back, all they did was oil the fan saying it had a slow fan. Now, this year, the fan doesn't even work and it's out of warranty.

Thank you for your positive comments about these heaters. I too enjoy them. The maintenance is a bit more than I would like as you have to replace the bulbs.

God Bless You This Winter, May You Stay Warm,

Glen

Unknown said...

What is the cost in replacing the infrared bulbs, and how often do they need replacing?

Unknown said...

Great question Rachalle.

I've never had to replace mine, but another webite says this:

"The bulbs are rated to last 5 – 7,000 hours and cost around $10 each to replace."

This can be found at:

http://worldvillage.com/edenpure-heater-whats-not-to-like

Stay Warm! Glen

Unknown said...

Thanks! I'm really riding the fence on getting one of these. I've read a lot of reviews and the jury seems to be split. I guess I'll wait for now. Thanks for all the info!

Unknown said...

I just ordered an EdenPure. I live in a small cape cod home (approx. 1100 sq. ft.) in Northern Kentucky. Our energy company charges about 8 cents for a kWh. I am hoping to keep my furnace at 60 this winter and try the zone heating by carrying the heater from living room to bedroom each night. Wish me luck!

Ron said...

Have two EdenPure's for about four years now. We have an oil furnace with forced air. While the increase in the electric bill is significant, it still was cheaper than paying the high oil prices. It has saved us a substantial amount of money over these four years. So in light of that they have payed for themselves within a two year span. We only paid $347 apiece for ours.

Unknown said...

Just got my Eden Pure Gen4 heater. Plugged it in at 7pm on an interior wall facing exterior walls. I can already feel the difference in my small cape cod home. Even upstairs I can feel a difference. Outside is currently 41 degrees and my thermostat (currently off) is registering 71 degrees. Rip off? I'll wait until I see my next energy bill before I decide as for right now I am very happy with the warmth.

Anonymous said...

Edenpure and Suntwin claims aside; I think (or at least my internet diagnosis is) you may have a fan failure in your suntwin that caused the heater to shut down so it would not overheat. There probably is an internal emergency cutoff for high temps.
If the fan is not working, it is probably a good thing that the heater shut off so it doesn't overheat/burn your house down.
The company was really cheap to not replace the fan, oiling was a stop-gap measure that they had to know would only last long enough to make it through the end of your warranty.
If I were you, I'd take it apart and see what kind of fan it takes and replace it with a higher quality fan.

Anonymous said...

I know that all electric space heaters are near 100% efficient and the EdenPure is as well. The heat that all heaters produce is measured in BTU's. A 1000 watt heater will produce about the same amount of heat as ten 100 watt light bulbs. 10 light bulbs produce about 3410 BYU's of heat. A 1000 watt EdenPure heater produces about 3410 BTU's of heat. If you buy a $29 1000 watt heater it will produce the same amount of heat as a 1000 watt $429 EdenPure. I would suggest that you buy the $29 heater and send me the extra $400.

Annie said...

I fell for the scam and bought an Edenpure. Worked fairly well for two years then quit. Of course just after the warranty period. The coumpany sent me information on repair shops, but no shop sells the parts needed. So if you buy highly inflated parts, you still have a machine that might work and probably won't. Got a cheapie from the hardward store.

Joe said...

My cousin just bought an eden pure and when he told me what he paid for a space heater I did a search and found this blog.

I believe they're a scam. Anyone who wants to see what it truly costs to use it should buy a device called a Kill-a-Watt. Plug it into the wall outlet and plug your heater into the kill-a-watt. I have one and it helped me figure out that my old dehumidifier was costing a LOT in electricity. You input the price per kilowatt and it will keep a running total on how much it's costing to run per hour/day/month.

Listen to HVAC Master. He understands and has done the math of gas versus electric heat. The only thing he didn't mention was the cost of electricity that the furnace uses when you consider the computer, inducer motor, and fan motor all running together. That's one thing that no one ever mentions when talking about efficiency of gas heat.

Brad said they cost him $.13/hr to run. If it's always running that comes to $93.60/month just for that heater which obviously can't heat an entire home.

That said, I do use a space heater in the bathroom for those cold mornings before the house is warm and in my computer room when my feet are cold but both are temporary. I think space heaters have their place, but one of them is not to run constantly so the gas furnace runs less.

Eddie W, Lexington SC said...

Wow< all the BS about how good they are and I've found that in one month my Sun Twin has a mind of its own. Starts on its own, shuts down on its own, whatever it likes to do. Call the vendor and they say the remote from my TV does this. Nice. Time for a BBB letter and a note to my small claims attorney. Unplug them folks. Only way to put it to sleep.

Mike said...

Some infrared heaters are absolutely worth the money, and some aren't. While the technology itself provides an efficient means of heating a home, some brands have not perfected their infrared heater models as of yet.

Unknown said...

Hey Mike, I just got a couple more of them myself. I like them. I got mine from http://www.Eco-Sun-Tec.com.

They use ceramic infrared heat rather than those fragile bulbs. They both have remote contols, air purification and one has humidification to make you feel warmer while using less electricity. I love 'em.

I'll write more about them later in the regular post above.

Anonymous said...

i have 2 of these heaters and i am going to trash them .they work but not much heat comes out of them .
these heaters are a true ripoff .
if you turn them upside down it's reads made in CHINA

Anonymous said...

if you look on the bottom it reads
MADE IN CHINA ..thats all that needs to be said to trash them ...i had 2 and i did trash them both..junk exspensive junk

Unknown said...

Sounds like you've got an axe to grind with China for reasons beyond the heaters. I hear you.

However, it's undeniable that China and the other Asian countries make better products than any country in the world (iPhones and other high tech products, for example). I would say Germany is in a close second. Then, there is a tiny fraction of people in America that lead the world in ideas like Steve Jobs.

Unions and the something for nothing mentality of Americans have destoyed our standards.

I would put up that small fraction of American inventors up against any country in the world. In fact, I'm confident the United states is the best in the world when it comes to innovation and inventions, but manufacturing is on it's deathbed.

Before you throw away any heaters, please call me. I'll be glad to take them off your hands because they have some qualities that are superior to many other portable space heaters. For example, they are much safer than common coil resistance heaters sold at WalMart.

I must admit there is an exception with oil filled radiator heaters because they have no moving parts and they don't reach combustible temperatures on the outside of the units. If you've got time to heaat a room, I still think they are the best economical alternative to the infrared heaters.

Anonymous said...

can't you just fess up and admit you took people for a ride also called screwed the people..

Unknown said...

I've never sold a heater in my life. Since you missed that one, you've lost all credibility with me. You jump to conclusions and this causes you to have a lack of discernment. Your belief system has destroyed your ability to analyze with objectivity.

You are wrong on two things:

1. Your assumption that I sell heaters
2. You say China makes inferior products.

I can't think of anything we build better than China. We might have a lead in aeronautics, but that's now coming to an end because Jeffrey Immelt of GE is taking our jet technology to China to open up factories.

Therefore, that will leave one thing the US does better than any other country...Hollywood movies.

Now, to make you feel better, I'm going to start selling heaters because you've inspired me and I will continue to tell the public openly, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Anonymous said...

no one really cares .
so if you don't sell these heaters or have anything to do with them why are you defending the chinks

Unknown said...

Alan, you never answered my question about what products the USA makes that are better than what the Chinese produce.

I have made my reply to you up in the main body of the original post above in the section titled:

My Take in 2011.

Anonymous said...

They have the new Edenpure at Costco and it's only $289 and has a 5 year warranty. I bought it and we'll see.

Unknown said...

My guess is you'll like your new heater. I've got an EcoSunTec ceramic infrared heater pointing right at me as I type.

I didn't know they were selling them at WalMart, thanks.

Unknown said...

Oops, sorry, you didn't say WalMart, you said Costco.

Exercise and Nutrition Tips said...

The ridiculous cost of home heating oil and the profit sucking greedy ceo's that will do everything posssible to keep the price high has me looking for alternatives like eden pure. I rather pay a bit more for electricity than give it to the oil tycoons that are ripping us off.

Unknown said...

I hear ya.

I've got 3 fireplaces that I haven't been using, but after $470 a month heating bills, I think I'll be firing them up this winter!

CJ from Colo Spgs, CO said...

Goodday, I have to say before I purchase anything I research it. Best Price isn't always best deal anymore is paying more hoping that price dictates quality. So here I am 7 hours later..and no better off than I was before. However, I smartened up and ran down to my office to see what model we have been using for years. It is a Sun-Twin 1500 made in 2005. It is now 2011n and I have great luck with quality. I have never had to have it repaired for bulbs, fans or anything. Unfortunately, it appears that Edenpur makes it now and their quality and customer service from what I am reading is less than reasonable. This is kind of like the company Cover-It Portable Garages. They were taken over by Shelter Logic and the quality of Shelter Logic is poor at best. Ok, so what does all this mean? I am going to try the EcoSunTec and you can be rest assured that I will provide feedback. Oh and by the way, to the man, I am not going to call a gentleman...I am not happy that everything thing that I purchase is made in china, but until American's wake up and smell the roses...China is where ALL of our consumer products will be coming from. By the way I have been laid off twice in 2 years. Whos fault is it? I don't know, maybe we should have not discounted Ross Perot for President. He was a was a successful business man. Anyhoo..

Unknown said...

CJ, thanks for your thoughts.

I've got both of this year's models of EcoSunTec products, the 3-in-1 IMAP 1000 and the 2-in-1 IAP 1000. Both are working fine; however, this is the first season I've tried them. I like all the extras like remote control, air purification and one has a humidifier. I think one thing that really sets them apart is the heating element is a ceramic infrared heating elemenet which I don't think is as fragile as the Edenpure and SunTwin bulbs. I tried to get EcoSunTec to say this on their site, but they don't have the stats to back up my hunch yet, but I'm happy to suggest it.

My bottom of the line Edenpure has never had a problem. My SunTwin in a wooden cabinet is very nice and quiet but I've had several maintenance issues with it including the replacement of several bulbs and fan. Neither have remotes like the EcoSunTec.

Let me know how it goes. Have a toasty Winter!

Unknown said...

Oh, one more thing to save money...this year, I'm actually keeping the rest of the house a little cooler at about 68 degrees and I'm now closing the doors to the room I'm in while running the infrared heaters. In the past, I've kept the rest of the house too warm to really see any savings, but this year I'm following the instructions because last January, my power bill was $470. Yikes!

Joe said...

I kind of voided my warranty and I need to replace a few bulbs in my sun-twin Gen3. Is there any website that has a walkthrough, DYI, on how to do that?

Unknown said...

Ha, I spent 3 hours trying to get into my SunTwin to "oil my fan". It's so well connected to the steel frame that I never was able to have access to the fan intimately. I feel for you. I ended up spraying the fan from a distance which didn't help it.

One of the owners of EcoSunTec offered to repair my SunTwin, so I didn't have to tear mine up. They ended up replacing the fan and they said 3 bulbs had also burned out so they replaced those too.

I know there are service centers that will work on the SunTwin. I did a Google search for: 'SunTwin heater service center'and saw some. Next time I talk with Paul Harman at EcoSunTec, I'll ask him if he has any suggestions where we can get info on DIY service.

Anonymous said...

There is and will never be a savings with an electric heater. Whether it's a 10 dollar or a 500 dollar heater that consumes X watts, it will always put out X watts worth of total heat. period. Reason, electric heaters are always 100%ish efficient. Even the light, motor friction, or noise they give off eventually becomes heat. The only way to "save" money with an electric heater is to turn the heat down in the rest of the house to 60 and heat one room to 68 for example. I worked for a utility company for years. The "savings" claim is a scam. Heating with oil, gas or whatever isn't too much more or less environmentally friendly. Electricity is made with coal or gas too, usually.

Usually electric heat is 3-5 times more expensive than heat produced with natural gas. Why you ask? Gas is piped to your house at very little loss of gas. Only the holes in the pipe lower it's efficiency. Then you have this 85 to 95% efficient furnace that burns it. Electricity on the other hand starts as burning coal or natural gas. It turns a generator, travels through miles of equipment and power lines that introduce resistence and thermal inneficencies. At your house, it has ~35% of the energy that the coal or gas did. That's why electricity is more expensive per BTU than burning the gas at your house directly. It's basic economics and physics.

Unknown said...

Very objective and accurate points.

I agree.

Volodymyr Zbarazky said...

That's right. You cannot beat basic rule of physics saying that energy does not come from nowhere, and does not disappear to nowhere. If you have 5000 BTU, you can comfortably heat a space around 100-200 sq.ft with outside temperature of 20-30 F and typical insulation. To EVENLY heat a typical house of 1500 sq.Ft, you will need around 30.000 to 50.000 BTU, So, 6 to 10 heaters of 5000 BTU each... It does nor really matter what type of heat source is used: gas, electric, oil, wood, solar, wind etc. to produce those BTUs. You still need them.

Any typical portable electric space heater of 1000-2000 W will produce exactly the same amount of heat as EdenPure. Those watts exactly represent the energy you will get. Go to the Home Depot, Lowe's, Cosco etc., and choose the heater out of couple of dozens designs they have there. Price? From $15 to the cheapest electric coil and fan garage heater (which I wound NOT recommend as it actually burns oxygen in the air), to $250 fancy infrared "wood stove-looking" (electric, of course) heater.

My personal choice - an oil-filled radiator, with the price tag of around $40 to $60. It has exactly the same power of 1000 to 2000 Watts as everything else including EdenPure. Why oil-filled? First of all, because it is silent. Second, it does not have any fan that blows hot air into your room, along with all dust and mites that you inhale, getting allergies and respiratory problems. And third, it provides soft radiant heat that EVENLY spread around the room. Yes, it is not as fast as any heater with a blower, however having that even heat is much more comfortable and healthy. And it is VERY safe.

Infrared heaters are efficient and fast, and can also be a good choice for fast zone heating as they have fans (with all the consequences I mentioned above).

In any case, you can reach the exactly the same result with what EdenPure promises, for a fraction of the cost. Nothing wrong with EdenPure technology, it is credible, and the heater is as good as any other similar purpose heater (I only have hard time accepting its "ancient" design). The problem lays, as always, in Sales and Marketing (or Greed and Misleading), that makes EdenPure a hype from the cost vs.value point of view.

Volodymyr Zbarazky
Seattle, WA
vzbarazky@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Volodymyr, great points. I'm a fan of oil filled electric radiators also. They don't warm a room as fast as heaters with fans, but they are safe, quiet and reliable.

My newest infrared heaters have air purification, so it actually removes dust. One of them deodorizes and kills bacteria, fungi and viruses, so I do appreciate those features.

Stay warm in the Seattle area, the coldest months of the year are yet to come...usually January and February here in South Carolina.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the consensus that Eden Pure is a scam. Not a totally useless product, just an overpriced, over-hyped one. The notion that any electric heater, from WallMart or any other place could deplete the oxygen in a room is ludicrous unless part of it actually burns, in which case, it won't last long. It is possible for a device that heats the air to cause the room to seem dry; just the expansion reduces the amount of moisture per cubic inch; the higher air temperature may also dry out one's sinuses and accelerate condensation on cold surfaces (if they drain, this will remove some moisture from the air). Any radiant heater is less likely to do this than a convection or fan-forced one; EdenPure is midway between these two models, so it's not likely to be any better than the best you could buy at HomeDepot. It's hard to imagine anyone with gas saving money with an electric heater, unless they're cooped up in a tiny room while the heat is nearly off in all the others. With oil heat, the chance for some real savings are greater. If you must use a space heater, get the best one you can find at WallMart or HomeDepot. I saw a radiator-type one recently that was filled with air, rather than oil; that's one potential fire hazard out of the way. Whatever you buy, steer away from models with lots of plastic; you don't want to find out how well it's fireproofed. An all-metal model might make your furniture burn if you keep it too close, but it won't burst into flames by itself.

Anonymous said...

One followup, I just ran into this story:

http://www.vbattorneys.com/blog/texas-woman-sues-after-defective-space-heater-allegedly-causes-house-fire.cfm

For anyone who owns an Eden Pure heater, it's worth following this. It may be a fluke, could even be a hoax, but if it's not, it will hardly be the first time this has happened. Just about every type of heater has been has some safety-related recall. Even the safest looking ones seem to have problems; I remember a CU story with a photo of a Delongi oil-filled heater with flames literally shooting out of it; turned out I owned one of the recalled models (great heater, but if was starting to smell like a diesel truck). During this fall's NE hurricane, I borrowed a cheap Sunbeam heater from a friend, the switch was not only totally fried, but it was rated for 6A, less than half what the heater drew. I have to disagree with Glen on the quality of goods from China. Sure, they make plenty of fine stuff, but when they make crap, it's really crappy crap. Even GM (not exactly synonymous with quality in recent decades) had to lower their standards when they did business there, according to one executive ex-pat. I'm sure that will all improve as they develop, the way it did in Japan and Korea, but for now I'm wary.

PS: Anyone reading this should probably be looking for creative ways to improve the insulation in the room in question. It can easily be more cost effective than any heat source. Even supposedly well-insulated houses usually have a few gaping lapses in their insulation; a cold spot here, leak there. It's often surprisingly cheap to cut a hole in the wall and stuff enough fiberglass to block the currents that are cooling it. Another source of trouble spots is any place where drywall is cut around a fixture or under a piece of trim. I found and caulked all of mine a couple of summers ago when I tried putting an exhaust fan in the window and got an sinus attack from all the dust being sucked out of the walls. Another potential opportunity to save without spending a lot is by adding glazing to existing windows. It's easier than it sounds, try Googling "double glazing old windows".

Unknown said...

Not sure why you chose to be anonymous, but you make good points.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the link to the story and lawsuit of a woman's home being burnt down with the alleged faulty heater. I don't know the full story but I think it's worth noting.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a genius but I am a MIT graduate in electrical engineering, I'll make it simple the EdenPure might not be a scam but an inexpensive electric oil heater, radiator type at aprox. $40.00 will heat allot more for allot less money.

Bill Menning

Unknown said...

Thanks Bill, my guess is that the heat output is tied closely to the wattage used. If price is the only concern, I agree with you. I'm fond of oil filled radiators as they are silent and have no moving parts and they don't glow red reducing the risk of fire.

Anonymous said...

I would contact the manufacturers direct if you have any questions or concerns. 1-800-839-0966

Anonymous said...

I love these heaters. I have 3, two Eden pure and a sun Twin. I keep two in our house and one heats our apartment. We have used them 3 seasons going on 4th.I figure soon they may need bulbs,so far have done a splendid job. No humidifyers but they dont put out that dry itchy heat that the vehicles heaters or our furnace did so I use way less lotion. I have completely not used the furnace unless the temps go below 30 degrees for a few days straight then occasionally the furnace kicks on but rarely, then I can feel drying in skin again. Electricity is about the same as with using furnace maybe just a tad bit cheaper. But I love how the room is warm all over we heat 1800 square ft with 2. I really want to try another cheaper one to see if they work as well. I need a spare in case the others need repair soon.I like the sun twin the most. It is awesome. Wood case and it dont cycle on and off until it is hot and ready to throw out heat. My edenpure will cycle cool air even when the heat isnt coming out. Some people dont like that. Anyway I love the heaters. Best heaters I ever used. Sunshine

Anonymous said...

PURE SNAKE OIL!!!

As an Electrical engineer, I get aked ALOT about the heaters

And all that I can say is PT Barnum
would be proud of the carnival hucksters that pedal these pieces of junk!!

ANY electric space heater will lower your bill IF you turn your thermostat down and stay in the room with the heater!!

I have a 25 year old ceramic cube heater I paid $19.95 for that does EVERYTHING that these $400 dollar
SNAKE OIL boxes do!!

Janet said...

Hi Glen. I also have the Sun Twin and Edenpure heaters. The larger Sun Twin is shutting off like yours did. I want to oil the fan. Can you tell me what kind of oil to use and how do I get to the fan. Thanks.

Unknown said...

Hi Janet, I got my Sun Twin heater fixed last year and it only lasted through the season. This year, I'm back to the same challenges.

I'm pretty mechanical and I took about an hour to get inside the heater, yet the way they have built it makes it extremely difficult to get to the fan, I never was successful at oiling the fan myself. I had to send it off for repair again.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Thanks for the reviews. I had two of these heaters but do not remember the brand. They perished in my house fire. They did not cause it. I need to purchase a couple more but want to make sure they restart automatically after a power failure. The ones I had were not digital. Can you please tell me if any of these will restart when the electricity comes back on.

thanks..George

Unknown said...

George, I called the owner of EcoSunTec and he said there is an industry trend to make the heaters so they won't turn the heat back on after a power outage as a safety feature.

However, he said if you call him, he'll work at locating a couple that do what you desire. His name is Paul Harman, you can call him at: 803-319-4836 or email him on his contact page: http://www.eco-sun-tec.com/contact-us/