Product Review: Holmes Water Filled Whole Room Radiator Model No. HWH2605

With the cold weather settling in, and a slight chill being felt in our basement computer room, I decided that it was time to make a space heater purchase. The heater had to be quiet, since I do a lot of work and reading in this particular room, and listening to a droning fan that most space heaters have would not be acceptable. It also had to be energy efficient, and simple to operate. I also wanted a heater that is able to withstand longer hours of operation. Fan heaters tend to wear out and their intakes clog with dust. Operation of the thermostat also had to be even. Nothing is more annoying than having drastic temperature swings in your work area.

The model I settled on purchasing was the Holmes Water Filled Whole Room Radiator Model No. HWH2605. The price came in at just under $45 at our local big box department store. I had an radiator heater of a different brand that we use in another room, and I was satisfied with its performance. The new Holmes model I purchased offered the same kind of performance, plus the ability to adjust its wattage to operate at the most efficient level. The unit cycles between wattages, which allows it to save energy.

The heater required minimal assembly, there were two U-bolts and 4 wing nuts to attach the wheels at the base of the unit. I did not even need to read the manual to put everything together, everything just fit.

There are two switches on the heater itself. There is an on/off switch with a low, medium, and high setting. The highest setting uses 1500 watts, medium uses 900 watts, and low uses only 600 watts. And there is a thermostat control which is a dial. When the unit is turned on a small power led lights up.

The heater has a level switch so that if it is tipped in any direction, it will automatically turn off. The switch is quite sensitive, so make sure you place the heater on level ground.

One minor drawback is that the radiator does get quite hot. Since I have small children, I tested to see just how hot the radiator gets. While it pretty hot at the highest setting, it is just enough to let you feel the temp before getting really scorched. There was an acceptable level heat on the radiator coils for use around smaller children. Running the radiator heater at medium or low levels posed no problems.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase. The heater offers completely silent operation, and heats a 20 X 20 foot room in little under an hour. It also can be left on for longer periods, with the room being comfortably heated, even at the heater's lowest setting. It has made life a little more comfortable in the downstairs dungeon computer room.