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Bionaire BCH3620-U Ceramic Compact Heater Product BCH3620-U Key FeaturesType CompactPower Source ElectricHeating Element Cer...

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The foyer/waiting area is about 10 by 20 feet. One wall is a vast, porous sea of glass; vertical blinds and large posters do nothing to stop the transgressing seepage of frigid air, an air that chills parents, students, and teachers alike to the very marrow of their bones. Closing the door separating the foyer from our inner sanctum gives some relief to those within, but worsens the brutal temperature in the outer room. The glacier-like foyer has been an insufferable rite of winter for past six years; futile efforts have done little to alleviate the frosty atmosphere. Save for their chattering teeth, the huddled masses shiver silently in their heavy parkas and mittens like poor souls waiting to board the train to a Siberian Gulag.

As is my custom I arrived fifteen minutes early for work. When I opened the door and entered, pulling my scarf tighter, reminding myself not to make eye contact with the frozen entries sitting inside, and hoping not to slip on the ice, an utter and absolute transformation of the foyer’s atmosphere was apparent. I heard conversation, even laughter, saw young children hatless and mittenless, and even dared to grasp the inside doorknob with my bare hand with no ill consequences. As my eyes wildly scanned the room for the source of this magic, they found something new under a table against the back wall, a smoothly oscillating wonder with Cyclopean red eye and digital numbers spreading welcome warmth to all corners of our foyer. Soon I was to learn the name of our warm-hearted benefactor, Mr. Bionaire BCH 3620

Numbers and Stuff

Mr. Bionaire is a handsome space heater standing 22 inches tall and a slim 10 inches wide. He rests on a nearly square base measuring 8 by nine inches.

He weighs only 7.3 pounds, but that’s on the heavy side for a space heater.

Mr. Bionaire has a 16 hour on/off timer and four level safety protection.

He operates on 1500 watts and 12.5 amps.

There are four button controls on an oval panel: mode button, oscillation button, temp/timer up button, and temp/timer down button.

Features

Power light illuminates with high visibility when the unit is on.

Has a tip over shut off feature

Automatic overheat shut off

Can be operated with are remote control unit

A thermally protected motor protects the fan motor and prevents overheating.

Cool touch plastic housing and flame resistant V2 rated plastics

Tested beyond UL standards

Soft grip carry handle

Multiple heat settings

Contoured tower design

Wide area oscillation

Precision digital temperature settings

Large grill area

Display shows room and set temperatures, power level, and timer function.

Room temperature is displayed even when heater is off.

The Pudding

We’ve placed space heaters in our waiting area before, but none of them made much of a difference in the temperature. The drone of the heater fan may have had some minor psychological effect on those within earshot. Though it by no means resembles a sauna or tropical clime, our foyer is now bearable, almost comfortable. Those who enter now expecting the conditions of a walk in freezer immediately notice a welcome difference in comfort level.

The heater’s target temperature is set at 70 degrees, and occasionally it reaches that level and cycles off. We like having the temperature of the room displayed even when the heater is in suspended mode. Another nice feature is that the front grill doesn’t get dangerously, burn-level hot. Several youngsters came in the other day still flush from some sledding. Using their wits, they removed their socks and hung them over the heater grill to dry for a couple minutes. This is not a recommended use of the heater, but it was done safely and the socks did become less damp.

When the heater is turned on in the morning, it usually only takes 30 minutes to take the chill out of the air in our problem room.

This Bionaire model has an automatic tip over shut off feature. The sensors weren’t sensitive enough to initiate shut off when I lifted and slightly tilted the heater. Other heaters I’ve had are much more sensitive, and casual bumps and movement can trigger a shut off.

Unlike my recently deceased Honeywell heater, the temperature reading on this heater is fairly accurate. When the preset temperature is reached, the fan will run for 30 seconds without heat to ensure an accurate and consistent temperature reading.

We haven’t used the remote unit for this heater and probably never will. For our situation it is an unnecessary item and will live out its days lying on a shelf alone and unwanted.

A small portion of the grill directly in front of the ceramic heating element does get hot to the touch. Though the rest of the surface area can be touched safely, care should be taken when handling this heater.

So far we all think Mr. Bionaire BCH 3620 is a winner and are thrilled by his addition to our staff.

UPDATE I sometimes tutor in a small 12 by 8 room with a 12 foot ceiling. Since nobody was using it, I fired up the Bionaire in our little room. The room registered 64 degrees when I turned the heater on. Within 15 minutes we had reached 80 and I had to turn the heater off.

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