DeLonghi DFH132 SafeHeat Fan Heater Reviews

• The little heater I was looking for

  
  By A2EF8N7ZE7ONWX on 2004-12-21
  This is the inexpensive heater I've been looking for. (1) It's fairly compact (9-1/2 w x 7 d x 10 h) and because it's curved instead of boxy it seems smaller. (2) An unexpected bonus, finally a cord that's realistically long - 6-1/2 feet - so I won't need an extension cord. (3) The thermostat works reasonably well, in terms of sort of maintaining the temperature - something I wondered about in a cheap heater. Though the right setting and how well it works will probably depend on where it is (floor, countertop). And the thermostat probably can't be expected to work well in an especially drafty location.
  
  As others have noted - It's quiet (though not silent). There are two heat settings, though as noted just one fan setting. The numbers on the dials are hard to read except up close.
  
  

• Best $15 I have Spent In A While!

  
  By A3UV9ELSYFL07F on 2004-10-21
  We moved into a new office and the building is VERY chilly...I couldn't take it anymore so I got this little heater and overall I couldn't be happier. I am now warm and toasty all day long! The heater is a small size, so it can fit under your desk without problem even if you sit in a cube at work. It's also lightweight and has a lot of safety features so you don't have to worry about burning anything down. The thermostat feature is nice because it will keep your space maintained at a constant temperature.
  
  One "minus" is that it doesn't really have an "OFF" switch - the red light always stays on when it's plugged in. I agree with other reviews that the controls are also very hard to read, so you have to be up close & personal with it to get it to the setting you want. Also, the thermostat is not something you can really figure out "out of the box" - you definitely have to read the directions to understand how to use it. But those "flaws" are so minor that you shouldn't let it influence your purchasing decision. It is TOTALLY worth every penny!
  
  

• Don't throw away 15 bucks

  
  By A38GOEVEU3A1LW on 2004-10-28
  I read the reviews and took a chance. I only used it twice and it no longer works. It shut off during the first use and would not come back on no matter what I tried but the power light was still on. Then after letting it cool and tipped upside down to see where it was made (Puerto Rico?), it began working again. I took a shower and when I got out, it was off again. This time the power LED light was off. Now the unit will not even power on at all.
  
  Next, the manual did not match the dials on the unit. I had to turn the dial to the "fan" mode to get it to blow harder and blow hot air. I think this unit was assembled very poorly.
  
  Last, it really did not heat up my bathroom like I thought. I could only feel it if I was a few feet in front but if I walked more than that away, I was immediately cold again.
  
  So disappointed and just threw away 15 bucks. I'm not even going to waste my time with the company over that amount. Lesson learned. Don't buy that cheap and I would stay away from this brand.
  
  

• Excellent Little Heater

  
  By A1O47P71FTCB25 on 2006-10-25
  I bought this heater three years ago based on the good reviews and cheap price. I expected it to get me through that winter only. I have used this thing just about daily for the past three years, heat in fall/winter and fan in summer. It still works quite well and seems ready for the upcoming winter. The only problem I am beginning to notice now is that the on/off/heat control wheel is starting to become loose. Otherwise it does a great job for the intended task and has already lasted longer than anticipated. The thermostat on it is finicky and takes a little playing around with it to do basically what you want but the heat does cycle on/off more or less appropriately. I'd give 5 stars if the thermostat was perfect but it is what it is and that is good enough. I just bought two more, my old one will go to the garage for duty there until it eventually fails. A good, solid product for a very good price.
  
  

• Works extremely well.

  
  By A2NEA51I8OV8VJ on 2003-10-06
  I live in a small room and when i turn up the heater, it gets pretty warm quickly. Very safe and i like the fact that it works on the floor or on the table. Not very noisy and the thermostat is working just fine for temperature control.
  
  
• Good heater for the price
  By AYHBRLEOMCOKU on 2003-11-19
  I use this heater in my cold basement under my computer desk, and I'm pretty happy with it. I was worried about the noise because I use a lot of speech-recognition software and a noisy fan doesn't help accuracy. It's not as quiet as I had hoped, but it's not bad, and my SR software doesn't seem to be affected. Negatives: Only one fan speed; it could use at least two. Also, the numbers on the thermostat and heat control dials are hard to read - not a big deal, since it's also very simple. The 750 watt setting doesn't put out a lot of heat, so I mostly use the 1500 watts. On the plus side, it seems to be very safe, the thermostat cycles just fine so it holds the desired temperature pretty well, it's nice looking, and hey, it's cheap! You can't really go wrong for 15 bucks.
  
  
• you get what you pay for
  By A3WIK29NR9RH on 2004-09-29
  I used to own this heater--until it just up and died on me one day. It was fine while it worked. I was using it to keep warm in my office. It only heats a tiny space at a time, so it didn't even keep my entire office warm--only about a 2 foot radius of where I placed it. I worked only for one season and then stopped working one day.
  
  
• Energy sucker, but price can't be beat!
  By A3ES51FL3H0QCR on 2004-11-04
  I purchased the DeLonghi DFH132 from Amazon a few months ago and here I am ordering another for the kitchen. It gets pretty cold in Northern California, and having a personal heater that provides immediate warmth really increases productivity. I would recommend this product to anyone who needs a heater for a small space.
  
  
• Spend more !
  By A3UGMVYVG27GYG on 2004-10-27
  I read the reviews before I bought this heater, not that $15 were a major risk, but still wanted something efficient. Well, it is not. I wish I spent a little more money and got something that I actually can feel when under my desk... But it is true, it is very quiet, it is just very hard to feel the heat.
  
  
• Acceptable for the relatively low price.
  By A3HNI5I438WOZ2 on 2004-11-23
  I bought this DeLonghi space heater hoping that this Italian firm knew more about heating small areas than the maintainence staff at the university I attend. It turns out that they do, to some degree.
  
  I was hoping that DeLonghi built the heater in Italy - but it turns out, as everything these days is, it's assembled in China. Perhaps it's vanity to wish products built in the home market - but I so wish. Of course - this unit would probably cost four times as much if it were built in Italy.
  
  My only real criticism is that the fan has only one speed - really slow - but is, consequently, very quiet.
  
  If you've got a room larger than 14x14' you might want to consider getting something a little bigger and a little more variable - otherwise, for less than 20 dollars, you probably won't find anything better.
  
  M.
  
  
• The 'dream' machine!!
  By A1LVW3BOWGX2FB on 2005-11-19
  Although the previous reviewer was (technically) correct, for all intents and purposes you can shut off the heater/fan without unplugging it. Simply turn the heating element off and turn the thermostat down as far as it will go (44 degrees F). The red light will remain on but that is simply to let you know the machine is receiving current.
  
  We are having a cold snap, so I was pleased the heater arrived when it did. I ordered it since I was unprepared to pay the 49% increase in my utility rates brought about by the natural (and unnatural) disasters of hurricanes, incompetent politicians and administrators, and the greed of 'big' oil.
  
  Considering all the bells and whistles this little machine has, it is astonishingly light weight (I would say no greater than 2-3 lbs.). Therefore, it is very easy to tote around if you are going to be in a certain part of the house or apartment for very long. Mine has been running, intermittantly, for a couple days now. The plug area is warm when the heater is running, but not hot, so I don't believe I have any electrical fire hazzard issues.
  
  Needless-to-say, at less than $14, this is one of those unusually good bargains that one frequently encounters on the Amazon site. Way to go DeLonghi and Amazon!
  
  11/04/06: Into its second heating season and still working like a champ!
  
  
• Great Little Heater!
  By AAJE0ZT7QNZAT on 2005-06-07
  I live in Florida, but the A/C is cranked at work, to the point that I was miserably cold. I ordered this heater on a Monday and it was at my door Tuesday afternoon. It is perfect for a small office, easy to use, and cute!
  
  
• AWESOME
  By A29ZGXGZIN90MN on 2004-09-01
  Was looking for a small, cheap and quiet heater. This heater is GREAT. I have a VERY COLD office. Put it under my desk and am now nice and toasty. I only need to set it on 1/2 power. This can really crank out the heat!
  
  
• It does what it's supposed to --
  By A3NTO9ONSHLPPE on 2005-03-13
  it keeps my office nice and warm. I was hesitant [how can such cheap heater be any good?] but it's doing fine after several weeks. It's been more than worth the cost to be able to keep just one office warm when someone is working odd hours, instead of turning up the thermostat for the whole offices.
  
  
• turns itself off
  By A2X18H8NU4Q5LK on 2006-12-05
  Like others, I found that this heater turns itself off frequently and won't come back on for 10 or more minutes, no matter what you do. When it's on, it's fine, but it does not stay on long enough at a time to keep the room warm. I'm returning it.
  
  
• Does the job.
  By A2ABGMMC4PPTSS on 2005-03-11
  I ordered this heater about two months ago because we were having problems with the heat, where one room would be way too hot and the other way too cold. It seemed to be the best short term option, since getting the heat fixed professionally in the middle of winter would cost a pretty penny.
  
  Basically the unit works the same as a fan, only it blows warm instead of cool. Other than that I'm not really sure how to describe it, apart from echoing what others have already said. You can't turn it off without unplugging it, which seems strange at first, but is really designed so people don't leave it on while unattended. There's no point to that anyway, since it's not going to heat up a room anyway. If you yourself are cold it will help, if the whole room is cold it won't help much. It's a short term solution though, but I'm sure it will end up saving me more than the $15 cost.
  
  
• If you don't expect it to heat the whole house, you'll love it.
  By A36J7BTSIWDZAZ on 2005-11-15
  One room at a time and this is the space heater for you. I purchased two of these little fans after fighting with Vornado Heaters through two winters. While I loved the Vornado I would never purchase one again (2 of these cost a third of the price!). I don't have drafts anymore so I don't know how well it works if you have a drafty living area.
  
  The ups: Easy to use dials. Puts out plenty of heat to take care of average sized rooms (I use one in a 15' X 10' and on in a 40' hallway). Works well with it's own climate control settings (holds the temp where you set it), but since it's not digital you have to set it the old fashion way (letting it get as hot as you want it in the room and then slowly turning it down until it clicks off). It also has plenty of length in the cord. It's quiet and it's small.
  
  The downs: Must be unplugged to be turned off. This is very annoying to me because I don't trust them enough to leave them on when I leave the house so it feels like I am always unplugging them.
  
  It'll be interesting to see how well they work when the temps hit the 0 mark.
  
  
• You can't turn off the power, and user manual is worthless
  By A1JNV7Z5MYSV78 on 2007-01-16
  I do not recommend this heater. It is quiet, but that reflects a weak fan resulting in poor airflow. The user manual is full of errors. For example, it states that the left knob has 4 settings; fan, 2, 1 and zero. In reality, it has 3 settings; 2, 1 and a little "dot". User manual says that you turn the left knob to zero to turn off the heater. But there is no zero on the knob -- and you CANNOT turn power off without unplugging the heater (or switching off current to the socket, if it's a switch-controlled socket). Pretty annoying to have to crawl around behind furniture every morning & night. Why not just leave it on? Well, if the power remains on, the red light at the front is lit, and it is VERY bright in a dark room - hey, if you want a nightlight, buy this fire! Also, I don't much like the idea of leaving my house with a 1500 watt fire ready to turn itself on at any moment (if the temperature falls low enough). And don't even think about contacting DeLonghi customer service. They will just tell you that "it is the correct user manual", despite my sending them photos of the fire to prove that the manual is choc-full of mistakes. Useless. I went to Target, bought a small "Warm Fusion" ceramic heater for $9.99 (on sale) - it is FAR superior - much warmer, and hey, you can turn the darn thing OFF !!
  
  
• Easily worth the very small investment!
  By A22JA2K3F1DHTT on 2005-01-13
  I purchased this through Amazon, and I am extremely happy. It is smaller than I expected, quieter than I expected, and does a better job than I expected. Very happy, and would recommend.
  
  
• it works - on medium heat setting
  By A2V50EGN6OIB2E on 2005-04-17
  It has worked for about a week fine. If you take a magic marker and label the dials better, it's a good little heater.
  
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  After using this for a while I find that the thermostat overheats when it's on the high setting and causes the unit to shut off long before the temperature of the room changes. So, the heater works fine - but only on the medium heat setting. So if you need the power of the high setting, you have a problem.
  
  
• Great when worked. But plug got burnt
  By A17J0H2UFC2F22 on 2005-10-12
  After using this nice little heater for six months, for some reason, the plug got burnt and melted. The wall outlet got burnt and had to be replaced. Dont know what happened. Since the plug wire was burnt, could not use it or replace the plug as its directly connected to the heater base. Discarded this and looking for a new one..
  
  
• Good little heater - does the job!
  By A1FKM95YREFJZR on 2005-10-22
  I found this heater because a co-worker had one in her cubicle since our office was always hit or miss with the heat and she was always cold. She kept it under her desk (by her feet) and you could defintely tell a difference when you walked into her cubicle.
  
  We have an older house that was built in 1917 and the insulation really needs to be replaced - not to mention the windows. So the Wisconsin winters tend to chill our bones at times and I bought two for home - one for the living room, one for the bedroom. The living room is quite large and we could probably use another one in there because you need to be pretty close to the heater to feel the warmth. But overall, you can defintely tell a temperature difference when you walk out of the room and come back in. So even though it's not hot hot, it's still much warmer. As for the bedroom, it's smaller than the living room. Because my husband gets up for work at 4am, he's in bed by 8:30 and he'll turn it on when he goes to bed. By the time I get up there at 10:30-11:00, the room is absolutely sweltering! It definitely helps!
  
  With heating costs going up so drastically this year, it makes so much more sense to heat the rooms you're in - not crank the thermostat to waste energy for the rooms you're not even in. We have gas heat and it's sooooo much cheaper to run the electric heaters when we need them. The DeLonghi does heat it up pretty quickly too.
  
  I LOVE the safety features because we do have pets that could knock it over. I also love that it's not hot to the touch - we used to have an oil heater and man, you could burn your hand pretty severely. I hated to run it when we had company, or if the pets were out. But the DeLonghi really gives me peace of mind and I'm currently looking for two more - one for the office and another one for the living room!
  
  The only issue I have are the dials - they're not easily readable. But a thin Sharpie marker to fill in the indentations (in the plastic) for the settings solves that very nicely.
  
  
  
  
• Great value and great heater!
  By A1K9QPW7OHC95L on 2005-11-07
  This is a great little area heater. It looks nice and clean, and good quality for what you pay for. The only thing is, I don't know how to turn it off completely unless I unplug it. Overall, it works fine and is a great great buy. I looked for area heaters in Home Depot, Lowes, and Bed Bath & Beyond. This is the best value heater I found that also looks pretty nice too. I just bought a second one after I got the first one!
  
  
• Why spend $40 or more when you can spend $15
  By A1GXHRRAZLTIV2 on 2005-01-19
  This heater is just great. Although difficult to see the number settings on the thermostat dial, the heater is surprisingly powerful for something so small. We are doing work on our house and do not have good insulation right now. The furnace could only keep the house to 55 degrees, but the rooms with these had no problem at 70 or so. And they did not run continuously either. Some heaters with cheaper thermostats contstantly cycle on and off, but this one will stay off for a while and then stay on for a while, just like your whole house thermostat. The only negative is that there is no shut off switch if it falls over and I do not trust it to shut down on its own otherwise.
  
  
• Would be great if it stayed on!
  By A1F8BE4HWGF50R on 2007-02-28
  I received a $25 gift certificate, and with my cold office, decided to use it to buy this. Since I didn't want to go over my certificate amount, I picked this heater because it was one of the cheapest.
  
  I made sure to read all the reviews first, and a lot of them mentioned a problem with the heater turning off by itself when it *thinks* that it's reached the right temperature, but in fact it still feels cold and/or you want more heat. However, there were a lot of great reviews for this thing, too, so I talked myself into it and convinced myself that maybe there was something wrong with those people's heaters or their settings.
  
  Well, I should have listened to all those reviewers and myself! One of the worst feelings ever is, once the heater gets going, and you're starting to feel all toasty and warm, IT TURNS OFF! You're like "Nooooooooo! I was just enjoying myself!" Yes, it's a "feature" they promote, about how it saves energy and is safer because it turns on and off depending on your temperature setting. But the temperature it registers inside itself (right near its warm coils) is quite different from the temperature I'm feeling sitting only 2 feet away. It's very annoying! As I'm sitting here typing this, it won't turn on even though I have it on the highest setting because *it* thinks it's warm enough. Well, I'd like to have a heater that works when *I* think it's warm enough.
  
  
• 3 stars, probably due to overinflated Amazon review expectations
  By A2N6AG6CWJ6WTX on 2007-12-18
  OK. I like reading reviews. Lots of them. So when I read most of the Amazon reviews of this product, I figured I could not go wrong. Given the fact that I owe an older, quite similar Holmes heater (white, small, boxy), I figured this Delongi would be better than the old one. Well, I think I was wrong. I actually think that new model heaters are so safe, they end up being "less than ideal" heaters. Yesterday, I used this heater for spot heating my feet in a 10 x 16 room of about 60-65 degrees (norcal winter). My older Holmes model does this fine. However, I actually think that this Delongi is just slightly less powerful, although it looks like the same size. The second thing I did was try to angle it to face upwards slightly. Given that it was the tip over safety feature, it turned off. Oddly, I knew this before buying this, but still found it annoying. However, in practical real life, it can be annoying that a heater is so safe that I can't angle the heat even a little. The Holmes model seems to be able to do this better. When I tried to turn it back on, you actually have to unplug it. This is also annoying. I wish there was a circuit breaker type switch that would reset it. Otherwise, it seems like it's broken when it is working perfectly fine (this is built into the design). Lastly, I find the two knobs on the top very unhelpful. One is for fan speed and the other is for the thermostat/temp gauge. This isn't clear by looking at the heater alone. I believe products should come with dials that communicate in a "no brainer" fashion (the left dial is not clearly labeled - I find it confusing). This did not since I had to go to the manual, which I found frustrating again. If you put both dials on high, then I suppose you get what you want, which is warm breeze.
  
  In a way, my 3 stars is slightly indicative of my own mismatched expectations. If you are looking for a safe and inexpensive heater, I would probably give it 4 stars. However, if you are looking for effective spot heater with less emphasis on safety, I give it a 3 star. I would never expect to say this but I think safety is sometimes over-rated, particularly if you have common sense in using most products. (Yes, I have a baby and dog, but still feel this way.)
  
  
• Good for a small area. Good for the price.
  By AZSQXNL9SPI38 on 2005-01-22
  I wanted an inexpensive heater for my small office but didn't want to pay much.
  Overall, I think it was a good deal.
  
  Though I am constantly fiddling with the thermostadt (it seems to turn off when I am still cold -- then, suddenly, the room is too hot) it isn't that big of an inconvenience.
  My office is tiny (probably 8x8 at most), and this does a good job heating the space.
  
  It is quiet, unobtrusive, small, and lightweight.
  I am sure, come summer, it will stash away nicely under my desk, or even in the back of a desk drawer or file cabinet.
  
  My main complaint is the lack of an on/off switch.
  I have to unplug it if I don't want it to be on all the time -- so I had to find an easy-to-get-to outlet.
  
  Other than that, a good deal.
  
  
• Good Discount Product
  By A15PUGYZ6C2IPU on 2005-10-23
  I am satisfied with the purchase of this discount product but I would have paid $5 more for an off switch.
  
  Pros: Cheap, quiet, seems safer that the last cheap heater I had.
  
  Cons: The highest heat setting triggers the safety shutoff too soon to be useful for me. And... The red indicator light is always on; although you can effectively put the heater in off mode, I prefer a power switch (true off state requires uplugging the heater).
  
  
• Best $20 spent
  By ARJ53J203UVG6 on 2006-10-08
  Best 20$ I've ever spent. It does have some flaws as stated previously in other reviews, the knobs are hard to read but I've found that I use it so much that I really don't need to be able to see it anymore. The thermometer seems stable, I never have a problem with it getting too hot in the winter, and it manages to heat my efficiency apartment very well. The cord is 'regular' length so it's not tiny and I don't need an extension cord. Over all on a students budget I've definitely found a winner.
  
  
• Gives good heat, shuts off too quickly
  By A2Y4KHCK4OYVNE on 2007-01-09
  I had to return this item because it shut off way too quickly and didn't turn back on quick enough (i.e., wasn't doing what it was supposed). Listen to the other reviewers and get a better item!
  
  

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