Hydrosil Heating Question

RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By Susan S. (Guest Post) (11/29/2008) I have 3 Hydro sil and would buy them again. I don't have a drafty house but it cuts down on the oil bill. keeps the house nice and warm. My wood stove is down in basement my husband is disabled can't go the stairs. Was the best investment I have made. I plan on purchasing another 5ft. I purchased the 3 back in 2005 2of them were not heating, I called the company he said box an ship them back we will send you new ones. With in 2 weeks I had 2 new ones. Life time warranty. They run all the time the basement gets damp, my husband needs the warmth. We live in the Finger Lakes Area. I love Hydrosil. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By South Dakota Chick...It's COLD here! (Guest Post) (10/10/2008) I was thinking of buying a couple hydrosils, then I found "Econo Heaters" and wow! they run cheaply! I bought 2 for less than $100.00 each. My den was so cold til I installed the first heater & then was always very warm & cozy. After a few months the switch started getting very hot & I contacted the company & they said they'd replace the entire unit but I had to pay the S&H & insurance so it was spendy. They did send out a new unit immediately & so far that one has been o.k. although you have to be extra careful of the flimsy switches. Next time, I think I'll get them hardwired & run a thermostat. They run for 3 cents an hour and the bonus (and original reason I bought one) was that they run on such low wattage that I no longer blew fuses, as I had when I was using other heaters. I had tried a bunch of types & hated the noise, power surges, fan kicking in & lights flickering & then poof! Lol! So, the Econo heaters are excellent & I see they've recently improved them. (I hope they improved the switches!) I will definitely buy more and love that I can leave them on as long as I want & they make no discernible difference in my light bill. My old oil radiators really worked great but used so much electricity, and I HATE the electric heaters that kick on & blow, then kick off & suddenly the room's cold. Those just suck up electricity and are not at all efficient & are major fire hazards. Try one Econo heater & I think you'll be hooked. One unit's supposed to heat a 10 X 10 room and they easily do. They make no sound at all. I have found that running a small fan is helpful for circulating the heat but you don't need to. This winter I will be using mine a LOT what with the high oil prices! I like the even-heat they provide. Thanks to all who gave feedback on the Hydrosils. They sound great but they definitely use lots more juice than Econo Heaters and much higher wattage. Plus, I'd hate to get a faulty unit & be unable to return it for a replacement! Stay snug Peeps! Check out the brutal icicles outside my window a few years back! Yeck! Winter's coming! Lol! Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By Andy5000 (Guest Post) (10/06/2008) Are the Hydrosil units UL Listed? Maybe I missed it but I didn't see that on the website. I'd be wary of installing any electric device that is not UL Listed in my home. Thanks. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By Bill (Guest Post) (09/03/2008) Amy--If you still have your hydrosil units, please let me know: wcmjr53 AT aol.com. I'm also in NH. Thanks. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By Katie (Guest Post) (09/02/2008) AMY, Do you still have your hydrosils available? I'm looking for 2 portable 5 fts. Please email me at Sam524mom AT yahoo.com and let me know if they are still available. Thanks, Katie Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By Wayne Miller (Guest Post) (08/31/2008) Amy, Do you still have Hydrosil units? I am interesting in buying them for a test project. Reach me at 978 nine two two 5518 or email wpmact at gmail dot com Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By John Augusta (Guest Post) (08/26/2008) I have an apartment with these units and they are the best units I have ever had, I am currently remodeling a house with elec heat and I just ordered $3000 worth of units, I will write more when I recieve them, but as of now they are worth the money and are an economical and very comfortable heat. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post by PeterD39 (1) | (08/24/2008) Contact Amy, I am interested in the heaters and thermostats you have. email me at pdscripture at comcast.net, with a phone number and a good time to call, and we'll talk. I am located in NH. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By Amy (Guest Post) (08/17/2008) I am stuck with 2 6' Hydrosil Heaters and 2 upgraded thermostats due to the "NO RETURN/NO REFUND" policy. Within days of recieving our heaters we decided to go with central HVAC and so didn't need them. They are still in the box and we would love for you to take them off our hand at any reasonable offer. Please post and I will reply. Report Spam or Abuse Hydrosil Heating/cooling Question Post By ladoirie (Guest Post) (08/17/2008) I live in Minnesota and I am interested in Hydrosil ductless split system to heat and cool our basement Can someone give me feedback on the latest product? Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By Roberta Bogner (Guest Post) (07/12/2008) I bought one about 1995, and recently bought another for this past winter 2007-2008. Since the fins they replaced were circa-1960, the Hydrosil blew it out of the water in terms of heat, comfort, and electric bill. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post By LH (Guest Post) (06/25/2008) I had a hydrosil hardwired in my barn in the tack room and I love it - I live in Maine so it gets really cold. I have not had to turn the thermostat beyond 1 1/2 (goes 1-10)the heater keeps the room really toasty and doesn't dry out my leather riding tack like my old electric baseboard heater did and it's very cost effective. We are finishing a huge four season room that is about 900+ sq feet and are going to have hydrosil baseboards installed. The initial unit cost is more than a traditional baseboard unit but the savings on the utility bill and the quality of the heat is well worth it. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Post by SharonKK (1) | (04/29/2008) Contact We've had a 5-ft. Hydrosil heater (110 volt) for around 14 yrs. The thermostat went out 3-4 yrs. ago, and a call to the company got a new one on its way with no cost to us. We use the heater in an added-on porch room with 8 windows that is rarely used in the wintertime except for over-wintering plants and as a sleeping room for our outside dog in bad weather. This is our only source of heat in this room, and we keep it cool - around 55 degrees. We'd have preferred a 220 volt unit, but running a 220 line would have been difficult. We have been extremely pleased with our heater and would not hesitate to buy another one if needed. We live in Indiana Report Spam or Abuse Request: Hydrosil Heating Question Post by Laurel_admin (525) | (04/25/2008) Contact What do you know about hydrosil heaters? Dolores from Wareham, MA Answers: RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I've owned and used a portable (not Hydrosil) oil filled heater for 20 years. They are very efficient. Unlike electric heaters that cycle on and blast you with hot air, then cycle off and leave you cold, the oil heats up and cools down gradually and therefore continues to give off heat even when the power cycles off. I use mine in a small bedroom/office and it keeps it quite comfortable. I've been looking into Hydrosil for a permanent (baseboard) heating solution in my basement family room. They seem to be the only one that makes that type of oil filled heater. But, after reading the problems that some people have had with the company, I'm thinking twice about buying from them. The good reviews could be an effort by Hydrosil to offset the bad reviews many of which sounds like valid complaints. I think I'll have to do more a little more research. rbcook99 (at) hotmail (dot) com (09/08/2007) By Bob from Wareham, MA RE: Hydrosil Heating Question We bought two 5ft Hydrosil 220V units almost 3 years ago to replace the 1970s wall units in my home office of about 150 s.f. This room has 12ft ceilings, R12 insulation, one fairly drafty window and a very drafty old sliding door. I also live in the hills of western, MA at about 1,800ft - the winters are cold and very windy here. I spend about 10 hours each day in my home office and have been very happy with these Hydrosil units. They heat up the room quickly, even on the coldest days. I usually put plastic over the slider during the winter, but didn't get to it last year - and didn't really notice a difference. It was a more mild winter and the room stayed warm and comfortable. We did notice the cost went down our first winter with just these two 5 ft units. Our whole house is electric heat and I'm planning to replace the other 6 units (2 ft - 8 ft) with Hydrosil for this coming winter. We didn't experience any of the shipping, service or installation issues that others have complained about here. Our electrician simply swapped out the old units for the new units and was done with the installation in about 20 minutes. We kept our old thermostats in place. In fact, I'd consider installing the new units myself if I wasn't petrified of electrocuting myself. As I mentioned, the units we bought arrived in great shape, so we had no reason to contact the company about anything after the fact. In today's world, I always expect a company's customer service to be bad. Try calling your bank or cell phone company and see if you even get someone who lives in the USA and speaks English ;) If you happen to find the rare company that actually cares about customer service, that's definitely a good thing, but I've learned not to expect that. Actually, there's not much to these Hydrosil units that can go wrong. Just a case, a fluid tube and some heating fins... Some of the complaints were about case damage, dents, etc.., this stuff happens in shipping all the time and is not really the fault of the company really. The units were shipped in very heavy cardboard boxes when we ordered them, so they'd probably really have to be mis-handled and beat-up by the shipper to have dents, but again this happens a lot. And, as far as bad tech-support.., I can't remember the last time I contacted anyone's tech support and not been treated as a simpleton. That's just the nature of most technically minded people. The point I'm making is.., I'm not trying to defend Hydrosil if they do have bad customer service..., it's just that if this product fits a need you have and will save you money over time, then get it. I don't know of any similar product yet - and have been quite happy with it. I'm willing to bet that in the three years I've had these units, that I've already saved the purchase price. And the best part is that I'm nice and WARM in this typically cold New England hilltop office! (09/19/2007) By Steve RE: Hydrosil Heating Question After doing more research I've found that Qmark heaters are identical to the heaters that Hydro-Sil sells. They are available from F.N. Cuthbert Inc. (link at top of page) and other sellers through Amazon.com. If you plan on buying more than one, the savings can be significant. The PTS-1 thermostat (aka Honeywell/Aube TH106) is also available from Amazon and other sellers for less. (09/28/2007) By Bob from Wareham, MA RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I installed several Hydro-sil units four or five years ago. They replaced standard electric baseboard heaters in part of our old (largely uninsulated, basement-less) farmhouse. Our experience with the product has been outstanding, and I am just about to replace all remaining older electric baseboard heaters with Hydro-sil units. Additionally, I am no handyman, but had no problems connecting the Hydo-sil heaters to the existing wiring. We live in an area that does not have severe winters in terms of prolonged periods of very low temperatures, but we're near the ocean and winter winds are very strong. (11/06/2007) By Perry Fisher RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Thank you Jeff I have never been so satisfied with a company warranty and service as I am with hydro-sill when I bought them I thought it would be like most companies that give lifetime warranty. If it quit working after a year it was well its not for your life time it's the life time of the product, or or that is a failure not covered, all I can say if you buy from hydro-sil you will get great service. I called after about 9 years talked to customer service to Mr. Jeff Robins he was very polite and told me to send them back which I did, it took only one week and they sent new ones and they paid to ship them back, I got the three things I all ways look for from a company, they where understanding polite and stood behind there product. 110%, Jeff Robins was very polite, you cannot go wrong with Hydro-sil! Thanks for your service. Richard cope Central City KY P.S. The heaters actually cut my heating bill over half I heated with propane gas I had 500 gallon tank and had to fill it twice in the winter, at a cost of 92Cents gal, my electric bill which normally run about 65$ during the winter went up to about $40.00 made us very happy. (11/14/2007) By RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I am simply amazed as well as very surprised by what HydroSil had to offer. They had given me a average operating cost, and I'll be damned if it wasn't right on the money. They based their operating cost on an average of 12 cent electric rate and on an insulated house and it is very close that it almost scary. Very professional as well as great technical support. And they are American made. They believe in keeping it at home. Good job! (12/01/2007) By 1sophie RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I am practically sitting on top of one right now and can barely feel it. My toaster gives off more heat! (12/18/2007) By MJ in Maine RE: Hydrosil Heating Question BEWARE OF HYDROSIL. Their website has "lifetime warranty" in a big banner on the front, but they do not accept returns or issue refunds. I forked out a couple of hundred dollars for this heater, because the web site claims it basically last forever, unlike cheaper ones, and it is American made. All that money, lost, which as an elderly person I can ill afford. I was unhappy with their portable heater, because it had a strong burning paint smell even after I let it run overnight (in the garage, I couldn't stand to have it in the house) and because there is no protective guard on the very sharp metal fins, endangering babies or pets. No refunds after shipment! they told me. (12/28/2007) By trudyjh RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I installed two four foot 220V Hydrosil units in a 20x12 sunporch last spring and have used them this fall and winter. Temperatures have been down as low as 16 degrees. The performance has been excellent. Floors are warm with no drafts. My light bill for December was less than $100. This includes water heating, cooking, washer/dryer and lights. No problems. (01/12/2008) By Harry. RE: Hydrosil Heating Question This company's service/technical dept. is outstanding. I had a problem with one of my Hydrosil units. There were no questions asked, they determined the unit to be defective and all that was asked of me was to send the unit back to them and a few days later I received the new unit. I am once again a happy camper. I can't say enough about this fine company. Thanks again. (01/31/2008) By Earl E. Babcock RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I have had a portable Hydrosil for about 4 years. The thermostat quit working once and I called Hydrosil. They had another thermostat in the mail that day. In Texas it does not stay cold for long periods and we use the heater on the sunporch for the dogs. They love it and I can see a definite dip in my heating bill with it. (03/03/2008) By Mike Wesley RE: Hydrosil Heating Question The heaters are junk. They aren't any more efficient than the 25 year old fin tube heaters I replaced and we have cold winters in the UP of Michigan. Sure am sorry I spent the 2500 dollars to replace the ones I had. (03/05/2008) By lenny Report Spam or Abuse Request: Hydrosil Heating Question Post by lewis_admin (1342) | (09/04/2007) Profile | Blog! | Contact With home heating oil so expensive this year, I am considering ordering a Hydrosil portable heater for my living room. My dear husband sits in the living room during the winter with the furnace wide open and I am wondering if I purchase one if I can get by with less gas heat? This will run on 110 v and has a thermostat that you can set. Once the room becomes the temp you want it will shut itself off. I just want some input on this product if anyone has used them before. They aren't real expensive but I hate to spend a couple of hundred dollars and have it not make a difference in our heating costs. TIA!~ Cookiepom Answers: RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I bought a Hydrosil portable heater a couple of years ago, used it once and then put it in the garage. I do plan on giving it another try this year though because of the high cost of gas heat. If I remember correctly, it did not come with a guarantee or else I have to believe I would have sent it back. The only info I could find on it was from their own website and I would expect that to be very biased. There is no fan on it and I never felt its warmth. I tried it in the fall before I ever turned on the furnace so I did not expect it to perform well in cold weather as it did so poorly in cool weather . Baking something in the oven provided a greater heat source. I hope this helps you. I would still like to see some responses though from actual customers saying they had great success before I go digging around in the garage for this oversized, space heater that I can't see providing much heat. (09/11/2005) By Catherine RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I was thinking about purchasing a Hydrosil portable heater, but before I decided to purchase from Hydrosil.com, I did a check through the Better Business Bureau on the company. Based on the BBB's report, the company had an unsatisfactory business record based on sales practice issues, refund issues, and service repair issues. So, I have decided that I will not waste my money on this product. It seemed too good to be true anyway. (11/15/2005) By Cathy RE: Hydrosil Heating Question This is a shame. It looks like a wonderful idea. In the future, when we are harnessing more solar and wind power, electric heat will be the way to go. A clean source of electricity and heat. (12/02/2005) By John RE: Hydrosil Heating Question We purchased five units for 2 homes and are exremely satisfied with the performance. Also we had a problem with a part being left out of one of hte packings and the company responded quickly to the problem and sent it right away. Our electricity bill changed very little in both homes and the gas bill was about the same as last year although it would have doubled had we not had the heaters as it's increased so much. Areas we placed the heaters are toasty warm. We set our thermostat and they kick in with the proper amount of supplemental heat. We are so glad we checked them out - went to the company for the presentation and made our choice. They were very helpful. Can't understand what is the problem with these dissatisfied consumers. We've recommended them to others and can't say enough about how they've worked for us. (01/28/2006) By ET and Sue RE: Hydrosil Heating Question If you can control your existing system and not heat unused space beyond a minimum, I can't see how Hydrosil can help. It's electric heat, and a certain number of watts produces a certain amount of heat, no matter what the medium. You might as well use any electric space heater that suits the space, maybe an oil-filled radiator, a radiant unit or whatever. (07/23/2006) By Ray RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I purchased one this summer, because I am not looking forward to facing another cold year in our 115 year old home. We have electric heat that is not only expensive, but useless with our 12 foot ceilings. We tried space heaters, adding plastic to the windows, insulating the attic and under the floors, and put in a gas fireplace. We sleep with electric blankets, and that's nice. So I orderd a Hydrosil heater and put in the coldest room in the house - my office. The room is pretty large and the heater does keep it comfortable. I keep the doors closed and enjoy being in here. I haven't received an electric bill yet, but we've only had to use the heat two days so far. I'm going to hydrosil to order a few more heaters. It really does seem to work. (10/24/2006) By eldragon RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I purchased hydrosil heaters to heat 5 rooms on my third floor. I haven't had a reason to turn them on just yet so my comments are only about customer service. It was wonderful. Ordering was easy. They were very helpful with sizing the radiators to the rooms. Shipping was fast. My electrician tells me the installation instructions were clear and they were easy to install. One room is octagonal and I screwed up on the size of the wall and had to exchange a heater. They were very accomodating. So far its been a good experience. (11/01/2006) By Tracy LaRou RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I've had 2 customer experiences with Hydrosil: 1) I installed 2 six foot sections connected to their programmable thermostat. Worked as well as can be expected. 2) I ordered 2 additional six foot sections with a programmable thermostat for each. Upon receipt, both heaters were extremely banged up; scratched and bent in several places. Hydrosil replaced them. Upon receipt of the second set, only one of them was bent this time. It was bent in the back so I didn't make a big deal. Now to hook them up. My electrician wired them and couldn't get the thermostats to work. Hydrosil tech support treated him like an idiot only to come to the conclusion that the thermostats were defective. Now to replace them. Hydrosil actually wanted us to call the thermostat manufacturer that they sub to so that they would replace them even though we ordered the units from them. Customer service was awful. The service rep cut me off many times...refused to let me finish a sentance...didn't want to listen to the whole customer experience story. What are they paying this guy for? I'm still waiting on replacements. Meanwhile I have $960.00 dollars of equipment installed and not functional in the middle of winter. GOOD TIMES!!!! I would not use hydrosil again. (12/29/2006) By Chris RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I have purchased a Hydro-Sil heater and it was the biggest mistake of my life. It doesn't put out ANY warmth. I called the company and was laughed at and rudely told it does not come with any guarantee. They were very pleasant when I bought the unit but absolutely the rudest people when I had a problem. It has never worked and I can't get anyone to do anything about it. Don't make my mistake. (01/07/2007) By mary williams RE: Hydrosil Heating Question My elderly mother converted her 40+ year home from oil heat to Hydrosil heat. We cannot say enough good things about the heat. The silicon heat technology and LIFETIME warranty are the absolute best way to go with heat. The electrician that installed the heaters called Hydrosil several times and found the customer service to be excellent. I would recommend Hydrosil to anybody. The electrician decided to order these heaters for his home. (01/08/2007) By Dean Hicks RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I have both portable heaters and permanent heaters from Hydrosil. I have never been happier with a heating source. One of my portable heaters was damaged in shipping, but I realized it to be the carrier, not Hydrosil. Hydrosil did however, replace my portable at no cost to me. They could not have been more helpful. I highly recommend their products! (01/09/2007) By Kathy RE: Hydrosil Heating Question Wow. I had made my mind up to purchase a hydrosil heater until I read all the neg feedbacks. This can't be good so as my grand dad would say if it sounds to good to be true then it usually isn't. Thank God for feedbacks. How can this company survive?(quote)(/quote) (02/14/2007) By terry lawrence RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I, too, was about to purchase an 8-ft unit for an addition, but this product is either wonderful or awful. Before I have my electrician install it, it would be nice to see a few more positive posts that are recent. (03/16/2007) By Susan RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I have a 5 ft portable for my master bedroom which the unit is too small (190 sq ft.)for. I ran a test today in my computer room which is 130 sq ft. My main objective is comfort and electric cost. I locked myself in the computer room for 3 hours and turned my gas heat off. It's a 30 degree day. I turned the unit all the way up until it was warmmmm.Then I kicked it backed to about 5 or 6. I put a thermometer in the room. The room was about 68 to 70 degrees and it really felt warm from head to toe. So I have my comfort. So what about electric cost. I really don't know that since the whole house is not being heated this way. I called the company and worked with a tech rep that was just wonderful. He said my cost would be a liitle over ten dollars a month for this room keeping it at 70 degrees on a zero temp day. The heat light that tells when the electricity is been used only came on about 15 to 20 minutes in a hour. That's where the silicon comes in. I'm planning to build a new home. So what I saw for myself, this probably is the heating source I want to use. The unit was not on all the time in this test situation. It could differ for others based on how insulated your home is and how high your ceiling are plus the temp outside. Here is direct heat w/o having heat travel thru ducts. The permenant heaters with the wall thermostat are 10% more efficient then the portable ones because they are 220v vs 110V based on Hydrol-Sil's comments. Also don't buy heaters too small for the room. They will over work and cost you more electric. The 130 sq. ft room test for this size heater was (In my opinion) an accurate test. (04/06/2007) By Rfjack RE: Hydrosil Heating Question My wife and I have installed Hydrosil Heaters in each room of our house. We are very pleased with the convenience and operation of the Hydrosil. We especially like the clean air, and the ability to use or not use a heater in each room. As good as the heaters are, I am writing this letter because you have a gentleman by the name of Jay Strause in sales who was very kind and helpful. With my business I have had contact with many people and I can honestly tell you that Jay Strause is one of the best people I have ever dealt with. I have and do appreciate his help and he is also very informative. (04/16/2007) By Wil Leese RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I have been researching Hydrosil, as I want to convert my garage into a heated workshop. Based on the comments I have seen on Hydrosil, it would interesting to know if any of these posts are from people living in New England. As cold as winters get up here, I want to ensure that the space I heat with Hydrosil in the garage (after insulating) will not be a waste of $$. Since the company is out of SC, it makes me wonder if these units work best in "warmer" climates. Any advice is welcome. (05/28/2007) By ldstuart RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I did the 4/6/07 post about the product. I live by Chicago so it gets cold here by Lake Michigan. Hydro-sil claims they sell to many cold areas in the country. I have a portable one from the company. I did the test in a 130 sq ft bedroom and I was impressed. Please read my post. (05/28/2007) By RFJack RE: Hydrosil Heating Question I did the post from 4/6/07. I live by Chicago so it really gets cold here. The company claims that they sell to many cold areas in the country. (05/28/2007) By Rfjack Report Spam or Abuse