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Holmes Products BH3955-U Bionaire Utility Heater Key FeaturesType Utility / PortableFeatures Timer, Thermostat, Wheels, Carrying Handle Miscel...

Holmes Products BSH3850-U Bionaire Utility Heater Key FeaturesType Utility / PortablePower Source ElectricFeatures Timer Safety Features ...

“BIONAIRE silent WHOLE ROOM heater” is what the box proclaims, along with a warning that “due to constant design and quality improvements, the appliance inside may look slightly different from the picture on the box.”

It looks exactly the same to me. I don’t know whether to feel up-to-date or left behind after this comparison.

Getting back to the official billing, despite the screaming caps, I have strong doubts about the “whole room” heating. Without a fan and radiating a good deal of heat up instead of out (and knowing that heat rises without being sent that way!) I’d have stressed the “silent.” No fan, no fan noise — unlike my laptop which blows hot air sideways and which I use to keep my left hand warm.

I live where it never freezes outside. I can’t imagine this heater keeping a room warm during a Minnesota winter, even though insulation there is better than in coastal California.

Nonetheless, the heater does put out heat. It makes the electric meter visibly run faster, even on low.(I assume 1500 watts is on high.)

It also produces the electric heat smell, though less so than our inefficient electric wall heaters.

OK, so it turns watts into therms. That’s it’s function. It has a number of good features (functionalities) beyond that.

First off, the casing does not get hot or melt. “Cool plastic” seems hyperbole, but no one is going to get burned touching it (in contrast to radiators of yore).

Second, it automatically shuts off if tipped over. By those seem especially important features for anyone with toddlers about (or pets on the loose).

It is lightweight and portable. “Weighs up to 50% less than oil filled heaters” (besides missing the hyphen that should be in oil-filled) is a curious claim. How could a heater without oil NOT weigh less than one filled with oil? That cavil out of the way (writing epinions makes me look more closely at claims made by manufacturers!), it is easy to carry and with a prominent handle and two wheels, can be rolled easily from place to place, too.

To me a thermostat has calibrations to temperature. The “adjustable thermostat” has eight settings (plus a second “on” button to increase the output. In Bionaire’s view, this is “eight-level safety protection.”

And there is an automatic turn-off if the unit overheats. This provides peace of mind when one remembers having left it running or warming up a room other than where one is.

I don’t know what the “UL standards” that it tests beyond area, or for that matter what V-rated plastics are, but “flame resistant” is good (even missing its hyphen.

And it is true that it has a “high[-] visibility power light,” though I am far from sure that this is desirable. I think that my house is overly illuminated by appliance lights and digital clocks.

Given my irritation at beeping appliances, a plus is that the Bionaire doesn’t beep and doesn’t have a clock.

The heater has a 5-year guarantee, though using it requires taking it back to where it was bough (, finding the receipt) and a $12.50 shipping and handling charge.

Rated 120 volts, 12.5 amps. 60HZ.

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