De’Longhi Radiant Heater, 1500W Electric, TRH0715

This purchase replaces a twenty year old version of essentially the same heater for which parts are no longer available. I use the heater to heat a large bedroom. There is no other heat source in the room. The low setting keeps the room comfortable and at an even temperature from Fall through early Spring. I find these heaters to be more economical than base board heaters. I have two other twenty years old models of the heater which are still going strong!!

My furnace needs servicing and won’t heat the air. It’s February and we’re having our annual cold snap in south Texas.
I read through the reviews and read through the horror stories of ruptured heaters spraying hot oil and thermostats failing so the unit won’t heat up, etc. I decided to give it a try anyway because the space heater I was using had a loud fan and, being the type that blows air over heated coils, was drying the air out so badly that I was getting nose bleeds at night.
I have to say, while I think there have been some quality control issues for other shoppers, the unit I received is all it’s advertised to be. So far, I’ve had absolutely NO issues at all. I read about the “new electronic” smell so I first turned it on in the garage. I noticed a VERY FAINT electrical appliance smell like you get when you first turn on your iron. Nothing pungent at all and almost undetectable. I literally had to put my face down and sniff the radiator fins to detect it. I let the radiator heat up in the garage for 20 minutes to off-gas any little odors.
PRO TIP: Before you fire this up for the first time after getting it out of the box, be sure to completely vacuum it off. I noticed several, very small styrofoam balls on the unit from the packaging. If you don’t get those off before you heat the unit, it will certainly give off a nasty odor as the styrofoam burns.
I had no issues with the plug getting hot, no issues with odor, no issue with it not heating up, no issues with it heating up the control panel where you touch it, no issues with noise. No issues at all SO FAR. Mine doesn’t even make the ticks and drips noises as the oil heats up. The only sound this makes at all is the occasional click as the thermostat turns on and off. I’ve used this for 2 nights so far and it has worked flawlessly.
If you run a small quiet fan behind it, it will heat up a room faster.
PRO TIP: Another thing that helps is to run a humidifier in the room. The humidity helps to hold heat in the air, and it will feel more evenly dispersed. Rather than just being warm by the heater, the moisture will help spread the heat throughout the room.
I was actually planning on returning this because I wasn’t sure I’d be worth the money. Now, I’m thinking about buying a second one to put in my daughter’s room.

Funciona muy bien calienta la sala comedor ayuda a mantener una temperatura agradable y lo apagas pero el calor se queda un rato

Have owned a heater just like this one for over five years now. It will not burn you, or a child, but gets very warm. With a box fan running quietly on low next to it to keep air moving over it, can keep three rooms relatively warm all night in coastal NC with one of these. It will drop into the teens here sometimes at night.

Feel safe with this heater for it would be hard to accidentally start a fire with it. Just ordered another one for I am going to let my LP gas provider have their tank back as soon as I use most of the fuel in it. Then, purchase my own LP tank. It’s cheaper to use this along with my heat pump instead of just the heat pump alone. With LP heat for backup, Stay cozy no matter how cold it gets or if the power grid should fail.

Update: Do not understand the negative reviews outlining so many problems. Received my second oil filled heater, tested it for many hours and found it to work fine just like the one I have been using for many years now. Have owned many types of electric heaters. Like these oil filled units the best. Do not mind leaving my home with one running but it is definitely best to turn all portable heaters off when unattended. It has an overload/high temp automatic safety shutoff for safety. Use a 15 amp power strip on them with a 15 amp circuit breaker for extra safety.

Feburary 13, 2010: Both of my electric oil filled heaters are working fine as usual. Have had no problems at all with either of them. It’s currently snowing outside tonight. Am using nothing but my two oil filled electric heaters with fans running quietly next to them to keep my home cozy- have shorts on. Propane prices are currently right high around here. Have plenty of propane gas on hand if the power grid should fail. My older model heat pump is not all that energy efficient. Like these cozy and quiet little heaters. Got another electric bill today. It was much lower than I thought it would be using these heaters with the thermostat on them set at a reasonable level.

Have popped plenty of 15 amp fuses and tripped breakers with 1500 watt portable electric heaters over the years. Especially in my motorhome. You can use a long, heavy duty, 12 guage extension cord with it on a 20 amp circuit- no problem. Don’t use anything lighter than a short 14 guage cord. Personally, will not be using a 14 guage extension cord, of any length, with a load like this. Have spare fuses on hand unless you have circuit breakers or are using a 20 amp circuit. It’s a pretty heavy load for a 15 amp circuit.

Dec. 7, 2010: Am again using my two trusty oil filled heaters with box fans quietly running on low next to them to keep my house warm. An Artic blast has hit early this year. It’s cold outside. Have five smoke alarms in my home for safety. Am just wearing shorts as usual. One good thing about these heaters for me is that I can sit a stock pot, tea kettle or whatever on top of them in order to quickly get more moisture into the air. Just don’t let any water spill onto the control unit side of the heater. Be forewarned that if you use a fan to increase the heat output and move more air through these heaters, you’ll keep the heater cooler and thermostat energized putting out more heat in your home. Therefore, it’ll use more energy unless the thermostat is set on a really low setting.

March 2012: Have gotten through another Winter with these same two oil filled heaters, saving significant money on energy in the process. Am quite fond of these two heaters. Feel safe with them and late model ionization AND PHOTOELECTRIC smoke alarms throughout my home. Photoelectric smoke sensors are important to detect slow smoldering fires before the fumes get you. If paper or something similar falls aganist the bottom of one of these heaters, it’s just no big deal. Being able to use one with a stock pot of water on top of it to get more moisture in the air makes a big difference. Higher indoor humidity- at least 40% is MUCH better for the respiratory system in the Winter. When the water is gone, I can soon tell without even looking to see if it is empty. The water gets warm but not too hot to be hazardous to anyone. Just keep the water away from the control unit side of the heater.