Just ran across a two-page spread in the Sunday paper for the Heat Surge Roll ‘n Glow portable electric fireplace which set off a red flag alert in my blog-addled mind. The company HeatSurge, LLC has a website amishfireplaces.com where you can enter a code to presumably get 2 free heating units during this special offer by purchasing the accompanying Amish-made mantle, you just have to respond within a 1-800-ripmeoff-ish 48 hours.
The headline for the ad reads “Amish man’s new miracle idea helps home heat bills hit rock bottom” which would indicate that an Amish man (traditional Amish sects disavow the use of electricity, phones and mechanized stuff) invented this product. The small print states that the heating technology itself was actually invented by an “engineering genius” in China. The Amish are making the handcrafted wooden mantle. Some consumers have taken issue with the company’s claims, with the most comprehensive evaluation appearing on Yahoo! Answers here.
The other claim in the ads is that the unit consumes less electricity than an electric coffee-maker (I believe that is if they are on for the same amount of time) while producing over 5000 BTU’s of heat and that you can save amazing amounts of cash on your home heating bill by moving the unit from room to room. (The Paul Harvey endorsed, EdenPure, makes similar claims). In both cases, though, turning the heat down in the rooms you’re not currently in, is not normal home owner behavior. ConsumerReports.org has a post on space heaters and lower heating bills. The Heat Surge units do appear to create a nice fireplace-like appearance, don’t require a chimney or flue, and can be rolled around the home. Checkout ConsumerSearch.com or pick-up the October Consumer Reports for a closer look at space heater ratings.
A better way to conserve heat might be to add some insulation to your home and get programmable thermostats that can regulate your home heating by zone and time to enable you to turn the heat down when you’re not home or in a particular room. Do your research before jumping to throw money at a ‘miracle’ offer that appears to be too good to be true. Also consider safety issues concerning space heaters. Portable space heaters cause thousands of home fires each year.
Anyone who has purchased one of these units or done additional research on the Heat Surge product, please chime in.
Related: Space Heater Alternatives to Heat Surge and Heat Surge Update
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My husband purchased on of these with out telling me after I did research I called the next day and cancelled the order. I then received a phone call from customer service telling me that they would need to talk to my husband since it was in his name.
I told them he was out of town for 10 days, and could not call them. They were to bad we can’t discuss this with you it is are policy.
I then called my credit card company, and they said since the card is in both names I should wait for the process to go through, and then call them back and they would take care of it for me.
What a joke this company is. Don’t buy read all the reviews as I did.
Customer service guy was very rude…
ur amish fireplace still heats but the flame picture went out. How can I fix this? Thanks!
Our neighbor who raises pigs was using a spot in our barn for a sow and piglets. He was using one of these units to keep the pigs warm this past winter. He left the unit in our barn after the pigs were sold and thank goodness he did. We are behind on our propane bill from LAST winter and the company has put a lock on our tank. When it got cold my husband cleaned up the unit and brought in into our house to use for heat until we can get the propane bill caught up. We’ve been using it for several weeks now and we love it. We have an old two story farm house (approx. 1800 square feet) and one unit keeps the entire downstairs toasty warm. We are considering getting another unit for the upstairs and using them to heat as an alternative to propane. I didn’t realize how expensive they are but when we get some extra money we will get another one. It’s been a godsend and we are very happy with it. This unit sat in a barn for months without any protection from the elements and it works fine. It’s very quiet AND attractive. We love it.
Regards.
I bought one of these fireplace/heaters 2 years ago and absolutely love it. It puts out warm/cozy heat and has worked perfectly for 2 years.
My Mother purchased the Amish Fireplace last year. She absolutely loves it she has a double wide mobile home this fireplace heated all but back bedroom. Toasty Warm. And she loves a very warm house.
Since then she has purchased another for her bedroom. Which she doesnt use often but it is their for exstremly cold winter days.
I now have purchased one. It was a scratch and dent offer so purchase price was cut in half. I LOVE IT. And have already cut my heating cost in half. I dont know how anyone can say these dont work.
I just received my heatsurge, plugged it in, set it on low and the temperature raised by 4 degrees 67 to 71 in 1 & 1/2 hours. I have a LARGE living room that goes into a kitchen and a dining room and I am surprised at how comfortable all these areas became. I didnt need to sit wrapped up with a blanket. I had ordered the heatsurge and then after ordering read reviews. WOW! Those were some mixed reveiws which made me regret ordering it. I have no regrets as of yet. I’ll review again after I receive my first electric bill.
need a fuse link for a model
ADL-2000M-X 2007.11 who can i contact for this part. This unit belongs to my elderly mother and fother. Please help.
thanks
fred
I purchased the heatsurge for a heating source in my small 15 x 15 cottage in Maine. The only heat I get from that thing is if I sit directly in front of it. I have it on continuously for the past week and still can’t get warm. I’m sending it back today. What a ripoff.
Lmao, Is this a joke? The commercial is retarted, and so is the product. What kind of dumbasses do you guys have to be to buy this? Put some clothes on, Or buy an actual fireplace.
I bought two and used one in my sewing room all last winter. It is a large room–converted double garage. It stayed good and warm last year but now the remote won’t turn it up to high so it is not blowing the heat.
The claims on this site alone are such a contrast that it appears that SOMEONE is lying. Either the thing warms the room – or it DOESN’T. There is no inbetween on this product. I wouldn’t put it passed the Heat Surge’s competitor to be posting some of the bad comments – and Heat Surge to be posting the good ones. Nothing here that’s helpful to a consumer.
I love mine! We bought 2. 1 for our house and 1 for parents trailer. Warms our LR and Dining area (approx. 20 x 40) several degrees in no time and can distribute through home by turning on heating system fan. Heats the whole trailer several degrees also in no time. It’s beatiful. We use as a back up to take the chill off when we’re home. Tested how much elec. it really uses and it was approx. 1 KWH, so cost depends on your electric co. charge per KWH. Also how well your home is insulated. obviously if it’s 30 deg. outside and your home is poorly insulated, it’s not going to heat your whole home to a comfortable temp. Common sense pervails.
For Robert Englund with the lights out, pull off bottom metal plate (held by magnets). check to make sure the bulbs are tight, or they may be blown. You can replace them with a chandelier bulb, small socket, not over 40 watts.
Just got mine, so efficacy I cannot comment on just yet; however, I love it and the fact you can run it for just the fireplace look with no heat.
For the Jeff, posting on 10/20, if you are going to insult peoples’ intelligence, perhaps you should then learn how to spell ‘retarded’ prior to posting … just a thought.
For Wanda, posting 10/22, that which looks like venting on the front right pulls down and your manual contols/buttons are behind there with no remote needed.
I purchased one of these a year ago,it worked well for that year,we used it alot but the heating element quit.Now I’m trying to find a new heating element. No savings here,pretty expensive unit,could have a half tank of propane instead.Typical Chinese junk.
I agree with voodooyoudo!!! Who ever it was that posted this page was NOT Legit!! Sounded like someone was blow smoke!! Maybe they should try it before complaining! OH and Omish need to make an income also!! Times are hard for every one! This post was just mean! Try it before you complain!
i work for the company and this is not something they are trying to rip anyone off or even lie about them being made by amish craftsmen bc the mantles actually are. the heaters do work good but can be a little costly to run for long periods, and purchase all together. and as far as other space heaters and infrared heaters go this is prob a better investment just bc of the amount of use you would actually get out of this unit. and if u really want a heat surge then obviously there are cheaper ways to get them online, i.e. ebay/craigslist with free shipping, remotes and longer warranties…but either way just my opinion from someone inside who hears ppl calling our reps all day thinking they are actually 100% free
We purchased two Heat Surge units, and one arrived inoperatable. It was returned for repair, but went down after the warranty expired. The company does not repair units out of warranty, but advised “any local electric fireplace dealer can make repairs.” Guess what? None do! So, we are stuck with an unrepairable — and very expensive — door stop. FTC complaint being filed.
This is ridiculous. The commercial says it doesn’t raise your electricity bill, yet it will cost only 9 cents an hour. That adds up to over 60 dollars a month. This must be some kind of joke.
I purchased one of these heaters over a year ago (never took out of the box) and then gave it to my son for his new house. He used it for one night and then it would not heat. The fan, lights, etc.,all work. Today we found out the the heat element has a defect. I called customer service and they told me that the parts were made in another country (China), and to take it to a small appliance repair shop to be fixed, since the warranty was expired. Does anyone out there know where I can get a replacement heat element for this heater? Thanks much.
I do not own one of these. But from their marketing practices it seems shady to say the least. As far to the reducing power bill part of it. I have a bit of a theory of why this unit can claim this. We all know that a heating element type system is very inefficient. But if you buy the heat surge and use it, and turn your thermostat down and actually “roll” the unit to what room you are in. I can see this helping your power bill but any spaceheater could provide this.
I’m going to order one to test in our labs and will post a more conclusive review after testing I will also test the money back part of their claim as well.
On and additional note, my company has developed a system that uses hydrogen created on demand to heat water just as a large boiler unit works. But we have it a in spaceheater size. We are going through the UL and CE red tape now hopeful to launch by jan 1 2010 in UK first. But it will draw 700 watts and heat 1600 sq ft. Price: TBA but less than $600.
I HAVE ALREADY SEEN THESE UNITS IN ACTION IN TWO HUGE HOMES AND 50 CENT PER MONTH EXTRA ON YOUR ELECTRIC IS CORRECT. ONE LADY I KNOW HAS 2 IN HER HUGE FARM HOME AND THEY ARE SO WARM AND SHE SHOWED ME HER ELECTRIC BILLS AND THEY WERE THE SAME AS HER SUMMER BILLS AND SHE HAS HAD THEM FOR 3 YEARS NOW AND WOULD NEVER PART FROM THEM. I AM GOING TO BUY 1, MY SON IS BUYING ONE, AND A FRIEND IS GOING TO BUY 2. I DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU ALL COME OFF SAYING THE THINGS YOU SAY BECAUSE THIS COMPANY STANDS BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. YOU LIKE TO PAY HIGH ELECTRIC BILLS….I DON’T.
Couple of replies.
Lin -
Yeah really, someone is going to go to the work of showing you their electric bills to convince you its a good deal. First of all, it is normal that electrical bills are higher in the summer. All AC units use electricity and most heating units use natural gas. My winter bill for electricity is 20% of my peak summer bill.
Others -
Look you already have a rep from a working for this company. It easy to believe the company is stacking the deck with false positive reviews.
Finally -
Wow, lots of trailers mentions – makes me wonder. “There’s a sucker born every minute and “many of Dem Got Trailers.”" How many of you bought the fake safe with rolls of pennies and nickels too.
To the genius who mentioned that this item carries the “Good Housekeeping Seal.”
You like most consumers don’t seem to realize that Good Housekeeping will take money to slap their seal on a item. It is the same with JD Power and associates and numerous other “seals of approval.” In fact, JD Powers whole business is to rate and charge for the right to be “JD Power approved.”
Talk about unethical – one hand promotes and the other collects the cash.
I bought one of the units last year. I did not get to use it much then, but I have been using it this year to heat up the room for my newborn. It works wonders. It heats up quickly and makes the room cozy for nursing and changing the baby.
As for the electricity, I have not checked on it, but I feel that the value of the safety and the quick warmth for my purposes make the unit well worth it.
Was reading this ad because I was considering buy one of these for my daughter for Christmas, she has a rather large home and the electric bills are really high in the winter. But what struck me the most about this site was the complete “ignorance and rudeness” of people who think someone would respect their opinion after reading their post. Examples: Calling people “retarted” (which is actually spelled “retarded” because of their opinions. And the worse one that stated “Wow, lots of trailers mentions – makes me wonder. “There’s a sucker born every minute and “many of Dem Got Trailers.”” How many of you bought the fake safe with rolls of pennies and nickels too.” Suckers are not people who chose trailers to live in, but those who chose to made fun of “dem” because of their living accomodations are definitely “ignorant fools”. Having the funds to live in a large site built home does not make one more intelligent than other people. This site did not help me much in my decision on buy the heater, but it did disappoint me in the rudeness that is so sadly common in this country today.