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Dimplex GF20TSN
by mjc121
I have worked for a good few years in a prefabricated set of labs which were built in the 1960s and should have reached the end of their lifespan in 1995. Due to the heating system being as old as the building and not very efficient I got sick of having to light a few Bunsen burners to warm the rooms up. I decided to invest in a small ... electric heater which I could take from room to room with me just, if anything, to take the edge off the cold. This heater was on sale at my local Homebase for £19.99 at the time so I invested in it and took it to work the next day.
The heater
Ok it won't win any design awards but I hardly bought it to look at. The heater is finished in white plastic with a black metal grill at the front. The air intake is on the top so ample room needs to be left above it foe it to work correctly and not over heat. When placed onto a flat surface the grill is tilted upwards at a slight angle - but this is normal for this type of heater.
The grill at the front is fairly large for this type of heater and it has two controls on the top along with a red LED light. These control the heat and speed of the air that is blown out of the front of the heater and the thermostat which turns it off and on again at specific intervals. The heat/speed control can be used on a simple fan setting which will then act as an electric fan and blow air at ambient temperature out of the front.
When set on the 'high' temperature setting the air blown out of the front it surprisingly hot for such a small heater. When left for a few minutes it made a reasonable job of reheating my cup of coffee I had put down on my desk about 15 cm in front of it. (I know a liquid that close to an electric heater - what was I thinking).
On the first use of it there was a faint burning plasticy smell but this is common to all heaters on first use so did not concern me too much. There is an obvious noise to the heater with the fan running but after a while in the same room as it you don't tend to notice it anymore. However, when you come into the room whilst it is running it is obvious it is on. On the 'low' setting the fan is slower so quieter and it is about 1/2 to 2/3 of the heat of 'high'.
The thermostat took a bit of trial and error to get right and I found that sometimes, especially if you have the thermostat set quite high, when the heater goes off it takes a long time for it to switch its self back on. It is probably best to start it off on a low setting so you can override the auto -off by simply turning the thermostat up until the fan kicks in again.
The plastic body of the heater does get quite warm during use, well it is a heater, although the handle stays fairly cool. The big danger is that the metal grill at the front gets very hot. Being metal it stays hot for some time after. I found by switching the heater to just the 'fan' mode it did help to cool it down quicker. The heating element is also very close to the grill this has naturally been done to make the heater as small as possible but to still leave room for the fan. However, just by making it a cm or too larger the element could have been moved back a bit and this may have speeded up the grill cooling down as well.
The big thing was that it did help to take the edge off the cold labs until the inefficient main heating system had had chance to warm the building up. Whilst it would not be much good at heating the whole lab by its self it did keep me warm in my little area of it and this would be ideal for smaller rooms, caravans etc.
This item also carried a BEAB Intertek safety approval.
Specifications
Power 2 KW
Width - 24.6 cm
Depth - 24.3 cm
Height - 11.6 cm (at its high point)
Weight 1.2 kg
Length of flex - aprox 1.7 meters.
Summary:
Well it isn't the nicest looking heater in the world but it did do the job I had bought it for. It helped me keep warmer at work over the colder part of the winter.
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Dimplex OPS2GBR
by northernlovely
When I moved into my new home, it didn't have a chimney breast or fireplace and after a year of living there my husband and I decided the lounge needed a focal point. We went for a suite (fire, surround and hearth) to make life a little easier.
**The Dimplex OPS2GBR**
Dimplex is a trusted brand in fires and ... fireplaces and that's why we went for the Dimplex OPS2GBR. The biggest draw for us was the 'optiflame' technology which has to be seen to be believed - it's by far the most realistic flame effect I've seen on an electric fan heater fire.
**Price and Availability**
We bought our Dimplex OPS2GBR at B&W which is a seller of Dimplex fires and sets though I have seen it in Homebase, Argos, and independent fireplace stores. The price varies, however we paid £220 in the sale which I am happy with for a brand name fireplace set.
**Looks**
It comes with a white surround which is quite simplistic and a black backboard which offsets the brass fire nicely. The heater part of the fire (where the controls are) is a matt black and the fire is embellished with real coal. It looks very modern with a touch of traditional, and very cosy. It would go in many styles of house.
Size wise it's a decent, big surround at H85.7 x W92 and D20cm and gives an elegant centre point to any room. It weighs in at 22.8kg, my husband could (just!) carry the box for installation.
**Installation**
Following the instructions provided and with a set of standard DIY tools my husband had the fire installed and done within 2 hours and that included chipping out the skirting board!
I'd say that it's not too difficult to install but obviously it's not for novices, you do need some DIY know how. You don't need to be an electrician though - it plugs in to a standard wall socket.
**Specs**
The Dimplex OPS2GBR has two heat settings (1KW and 2KW) which are turned on through two switches on the front of the hood, the third switch is for the flame effect, which you can run without any heat.
**Use**
It's very, very easy to use - three switches, and it's also very safe, too. My little girl says 'hot' and 'burny' and won't go near it - but it is perfectly safe to touch (I won't be telling her that, though!) as it runs cold on flame effect. The coals light up from below and they actually look like they've heated up and are glowing, it's a lovely effect and strangely warming even when the heat isn't on!
We've had nothing but compliments from visitors, most of whom didn't realise at first that the Optiflame effect isn't real!
**Recommend?**
Yes I absolutely recommend the Dimplex OPS2GBR and any Dimplex fire with the Optiflame effect. It looks great, it's reasonably priced, it's easy to install and the results are amazing.
From having a lounge with no real focal point, to having a warm, cosy feeling lounge with a glowing fire, I'm so happy that we chose the Dimplex OPS2GBR set and I highly recommend it to all.
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