Menu
For Business Write a review File a complaint
iHeater

iHeater review: False claim's 26

S
Author of the review
8:10 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

(Original post on amazon.com) Re post now that the numbers have come in.

In 2008 I used 41 billed therms in natural gas for heating, in 2009 I used 42 (I know the cost has gone up) in 2008 I paid $60.59 this was with the house open, 1 room shut off. This year only 1 room is open to the heat the others 3 rooms the doors are closed and the kitchen has a blanket over the door. In 2009 I paid $66.77. The electrical bill. In 2008 I used 396 KWH at a cost of $36.65 this February to dates billing 705 KWH at $73.52. My electric bill doubled with only 1, 144 square foot room to heat using this iHeater. AGAIN DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY. I under stand what is being said by those who KNOW about these things, the issues is the company is misleading consumers and we have no recourse making this a expensive lesson! In times like this / any time the company should be held to accountable for misleading consumers! BUYER BE WARE

I did a search pre purchase and I didn't find the sites I'm finding now. Guess I didn't use the right wording or wasn't angry enough to find the number of complaint out there.

Sheela Virginia

View 0 more photos
Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

26 comments
Add a comment
S
S
sae316
US
Jan 08, 2010 5:44 am EST

It is obvious that most do not understand how to use these types of heaters. You must turn down your thermostat in the house. If you do not turn your thermostat down you will not save money. You must heat the room your are in with the heater. Sheela Virginia obviously did not do this as you can see that she used MORE gas in 2009 than 2008. It is called Zone Heating and here is how:
1. Turn Thermostat down to around 60 degrees
2. Place heater in room that you are going to use the most
3. Turn heater on and allow 45 minutes to 1 hour
4. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS with heater, place in room with back facing an INSIDE WALL (this is what the heater I bought states to do.)
5. Enjoy toasty warm room and savings

J
J
JoelMarc
US
Jan 08, 2010 6:56 pm EST

Iif you only heat one room verses the whole house it will cost you less, it is not that this heater is so fantastic that you get savings. Just about any space heater will provide the same effect. Heat less area, pay less. Anyone telling you different is either working for the company or just plain stupid.

D
D
Drogovska
North Augusta , US
Jan 14, 2010 9:55 pm EST

I bought an electric heater for 25.00 and I save money by using this heater and turning down my thermostat. Two reasons this works. First, I'm only heating a portion of the house to a comfortable temperature. Second, at least in my region, electricity is cheaper than natural gas.

If you want to see if a heater is efficient, find the number of BTU's on the package or ad, and divide it by the number of watts it is rated for on the package or ad. This is the key. Every heater that I have investigated has an output of about 5800 btu's and uses 1500 watts.

If the maker of a heater claims miraculous efficiency, look at the numbers. If you don't get higher than 3.87 btu's per watt of electricity used, then there is nothing special about the output of the heater.

I have yet to find an electric heater that produces more than 3.87 btu's per watt.

I turn my thermostat down to 55 degrees when I am at work, and I close off rooms that I am not using when I am home, and turn on the electric heater. It works. It does save money.

S
S
sparly
Toronto, CA
Jan 16, 2010 8:14 am EST

All electric heaters are 100% efficient. That is an indisputable fact !

L
L
lwalker
Ann Arbor, US
Jan 18, 2010 9:39 pm EST

I purchased my iHeater from www.officialiheater.com because a friend had told me it worked well and saved him money. He was right. It arrived on time and worked as advertised.
He gave me a few basic tips when I got it. I simply turned down the thermostat and put it the back facing an internal wall in my downstairs living area.
Follow directions and you will get good results as I did! He also mentioned to check your living space because you may have cold air getting in (windows and door drafts). You should check out all of the possibilities before making harsh claims.

B
B
Brian Watter
Sterling Heights, US
Jan 22, 2010 10:25 am EST

I purchased from www.originaliheater.com and the fan was noisy. I called in and got a guy named Brad who was very helpful and he replaced the unit and covered the shipping both ways. I guess there are a number of different people that sell them. All I can say is the people at originaliheater are really helpful, and my new iheater works great!

Y
Y
Yea Right
Winston-Salem, US
Jan 27, 2010 11:59 pm EST

The I heater sucks, go to Sams Club and get a nice space heater for around $60. It out performs the iheater. I use my space heater in the bedroom and I turn my furnace completely off and when I go out of the bedroom I wear socks and thermal PJ's it is that simple. My bill went from last month $452 to $133. So suck it Duke Power and the I-heater.

O
O
Oldretired59
Pontiac, US
Feb 28, 2010 12:54 pm EST

The iHeater is not what they claim it is. I have had my iHeater replaced twice so far. First one worked to some extent, but not as they claim, heater died, got address to mail it in for repair, Heater vanished into their system, tried to blame me for sending it to the wrong place, got different representative, she sent one out. It arrived DOA ( dead in arrival ), A new one was sent out, the thermostat does not work right, it will not shut off. I am being told, I'm not using it right, changed how I use it, still not shutting off when it passes temp setting by 6 degrees and has higher electric usage. This item is not worth the tin it's made from!

M
M
madderthan
Montello, US
Mar 06, 2010 10:05 am EST

I agree with the complaints about the IHeater. Not worth the tin it's made from. Got ripped off for 311$ and now what do I do with the thing?

B
B
bigred1957
Brighton, US
Aug 25, 2010 10:51 pm EDT

I'm still trying to decide whether to buy an Iheater and noticed one general tone about complaints. Those who found it to not work as described were using it in replacement of the original heat source (furnace) instead of supplementing the original heat source. people buying it for their garages have the same issue. Read the instructions people! It's not designed to replace the furnace but to supplement it, and not heat the entire house (unless your house is only one room).

L
L
Liz1964
Indianapolis, US
Dec 24, 2010 2:28 am EST

The Iheater is not what they claim it is, they also use the good ole bait and switch these days. They advertise one price and then try to get you to upgrade by a hundred dollars. The other big thing for Americans is they have this made in China, that is a slap in the face to Americans and says a lot about the company! They run a phone room in Indiana in which they pay peanuts and treat people like second class citizens.

C
C
cynthia heine
US
Dec 30, 2010 2:45 am EST

I purchased an i heater and it does not save on the electric bill my bill doubled for last year may as well have saved my money

F
F
Franko71
Norton, US
Jan 12, 2011 7:22 pm EST

The iHeater is a great product and all the people that are complaining about things that are made in China should have nothing because everything is made in China. So, stop being a hypocrite and take off all your clothes, shoes, and don't use cell phone or your toaster anymore..or your computer to make foolish complaints about your buyers remorse. You bought it..Deal with it.

E
E
egr9546
Newton, US
Jan 16, 2011 6:56 pm EST

In general I agree that the i heater is probably overpriced compared to what you could obtain in any hardware /home products store. It is just another version of what is called "Joule heating" - that is converting electrical energy to thermal energy by sending it through a resistive element (whatever it is made of) causing a rise in temperature of that element - like a hair dryer for instance. The equivalence of electrical energy (usually measured in Watt-hrs) to thermal energy (often measured in BTUs) is: 1 watt-hr equals 3.413 BTUs. So if your conversion efficiency is 100% you would get 3.413 BTUs of heat for every watt-hr of electricity consumed. However, nothing is perfectly efficient so you should expect less, and there is a fan to blow the heat from the element into the space you are heating. That's pretty much the same for all of these joule heaters. The nature of the element doesn't make much difference. If the electrical energy is consumed it must go somewhere - the only place it can go (other than in light energy) is heat energy. So you shouldn't expect a lot of difference between efficiency (BTUs per watt-hr) of space heaters. Any claim of efficiency exceeding 100% is patently false and anything very close to that is probably exagerated. My advice is to buy a well-built resistive heater from your local store and skip these bogus TV/Internet/Magazine claims for wonder working products!

W
W
Whaaaaaa
Riverside, US
Jan 19, 2011 9:15 pm EST

It's a radient quartz space heater and supplements the heat in your home. There is no great technology connected with them. If you expected to use the heater as a replacement for your conventional heating, then your obviously just as gullabile as you are stupid. It's there to supplement your heating of the room your in and if you don't turn down the whole house thermostat you won't realize any savings. They' re more efficient then conventional central heating and provide less waste per cubic foot but are not meant as a central heater for the entire home.

I bought mine to warm the air in the garage when I'm working in it. I didn't buy it thinking it would heat the entire house or garage. As a quartz radient heater it will warm you immediately and not the ambient air. This is why you feel the heat on yourself first. My suggestion if you don't like it is; to either give it to a needy family or learn how to use it efficiently. Otherwise use it as you would use anything, sparingly and in moderation. Other than that, "GET OVER IT!"

M
M
mpope
Versailles, US
Feb 10, 2011 9:31 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

We purchased the iheater a little less than 2 years ago, and started having trouble with it a few months ago. It started shutting itself off and we called the company and was told it needs to be on its own circuit, so I installed a new circuit where it was the only thing on it, it continued to just shut itself off, will not even run on the highest setting. I called the company today and was told I could send it back, for which I pay shipping, and they would go ahead and charge me 60.00, then they would ship it back. So I asked how you know what the cost is if you don't know what the problem is until you look at it? She proceeded to tell me that NOTHING in the iheater costs more than 60 dollars, so my question is why does this stupid thing cost 300.00 to purchase in the first place! I asked if they would just send me the part and I would install it, she told me they don't do that either. So needless to say, we will just pitch it to the curb! Do not waste your time or money to buy this product and I will do my best to dissuade anyone from buying this PIECE OF CRAP!

D
D
Dr. Damato
US
Aug 22, 2011 10:36 pm EDT

There are a lot of great reviews for the iHeater out there. You can find some online here: http://www.iheaterreviewsonline.com/2011/08/19/dont-make-this-common-mistake-before-you-purchase-the-iheater/

Y
Y
Yorkie Daddy Doggie Dad
US
Oct 05, 2011 7:45 am EDT

My Iheater works good. I keep my laundry room open to let my little Yorkie out. It heats my living room and couch up perfectly although I only have an 880 sgft house. No complaints.. I love infrared heat, the best invention ever.

C
C
CLT18
Kansas City, US
Sep 22, 2012 4:27 pm EDT

We just purchased the IHeater and after pulling it out of the box noticed the on/off switch was crooked. When we tried to turn it on the switch fell completely off! Now, can't get anyone on the phone it just goes to their "customer service mail box". This is a PIECE OF JUNK! Thank goodness we only spent $139.00. I won't even be using this as a table for the dog's food! DO NOT BUY THIS!

E
E
Ed Leo
Sandown, US
Jan 10, 2013 7:05 am EST

Bought an Iheater from them directly ...2 months later it wld shut off and reset...called Iheater and they won't pay for shipping back to them. Apparntly they do realize it is something faulty material wize, , , A firend bought the same model the same day and it is doing the same thing...Going to contact the bbb!

H
H
Horace Madeline Sherman
Creola, US
Feb 25, 2013 5:28 pm EST

We bought iHeaters for Christmas Gift for our Kids they all worked but one. We do not know how to return it for repair. He live out of town we do not know if he register it or not! He brought it back & said it did not work so we need to send it back for repair. But don't know how or if he register it. Please send us a address or phone number to return it to.
Thanks! HNS 2/25/13

U
U
upset in lex
US
Nov 08, 2014 9:31 am EST

I to purchased not 1 but 2 of the IH 1000 heaters. We used the first one and after only about 3 weeks the switch broke. We decided to open the 2nd one and just like another complaint I saw, I noticed that the on/off switch was broken immediately after removing it from the box. Also they are not worth the money I paid for them.

D
D
4daves
CA
Jan 17, 2015 10:32 am EST

I purchased it and it lasted for about a year and no warranty after that. I just bought similar from Walmart at Half the cost( for 90$)

J
J
Jason Stanzak
US
Feb 28, 2016 3:46 pm EST

Well i got a good one for all you complainers, i got mine out the dump took it apart, cleaned it, put it back together and it does get, especially since i have no lp for my heater now, and for the ones that say get a job, i have a full time, that all money goes to finish building my home, so everyone quit complaining bout something you should of looked up before you bought it, i haven't had any problems out of it, i thank GOD for who ever didn't want it and threw it away, at least now i can sleep warm at night...
Thanks for whoever threw it away, Jason

R
R
rjbo
US
Mar 06, 2016 2:39 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have 2 iheaters and the on/off switches on both are broken. The first one broke soon after i bought it and iheater agreed to replace it. I paid extra and got one with a remote and it worked fine but today the switch fell apart. The other iheater's switch also fell apart a while back. I'm not happy at all. Does anyone know where i can purchase switches for these unit. They work fine if you can turn them on. I can be contacted at rjb133@ptd.Net

D
D
Doris Deutsch
US
Dec 30, 2020 3:35 pm EST

I bought my iHeater over 10 years ago for two reasons. To use during pre winter when furnace isn't running and for cold living room floor in the winter. It has worked perfectly fine until today but the original info says it's good for 60, 000 hours. I guess the time is up! I have no complaints but probably won't replace it since I am moving.

More iHeater reviews & complaints

iHeater - Better Product, Better Heater!
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
iHeater - Scam
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.