Should You Buy the Amish Made Heat Surge Miracle Portable Electric Heater Fireplace?

You have probably seen the two page, full color ads in your local newspaper, showing Amish people working on Heat Surge fireplaces in a work shop. In the past year, Heat Surge LLC has softened the claims that it makes in its ads, but essentially still presents the Heat Surge fireplace as a miracle heater that can slash your heat bills.

I was immediately skeptical of the advertisement I saw in my local newspaper. Originally, my skepticism was aroused by the portrayal of the Amish in the ads. Most Amish men where I live have long hair that looks like it was hacked off with sheep shears; the men in the Heat Surge ad have short, neatly cut hair. Most Amish don't use buttons; the men in the Heat Surge ad appear to wear button down shirts. Furthermore, I have seen Amish people hide rather than allow someone to take their photo, yet the Heat Surge ad shows an Amish man apparently posing for one of the photos.

Eventually, I realized that whether the Amish in the ad were real or not was a peripheral issue. Apparently the Amish do make the mantles for these heaters, although the heaters themselves are made in China. Most likely, non-Amish people are used to portray the Amish in the ads.

The important question is this--if you need a portable heat source, should you buy the Amish built Heat Surge? The answer will depend on what your needs are.

If you simply need a portable heater and don't care what it looks like, then you should forget the Heat Surge. According to the Heat Surge website, a Heat Surge fireplace will cost you between $298 and $348 to purchase, not including shipping. You can buy a portable 120 volt, 1500 watt electric heater at Wal-Mart or any big box store for under $20. And here is the important point that I am capitalizing for emphasis, A $20 ELECTRIC HEATER PUTS OUT AS MUCH HEAT AS THE $348 HEAT SURGE, AND THE HEAT SURGE COSTS AS MUCH TO RUN AS A $20 HEATER.

To make sure I was correct about the above statement, I called an electrical engineer who verified it. The maximum amount of heat that a 120 volt, 1500 watt electrical heater can put out is 5120 btus. "Even Einstein couldn't get more heat out of one of these heaters," the engineer told me. The laws of physics control how much heat can be produced by a portable electric heater, and Heat Surge LLC cannot produce anymore heat than any other electrical heat manufacturer.

If you don't have a fireplace and you do care about the appearance of your heater, then Heat Surge may be the way to go. The Heat Surge fireplace is attractive. You can choose from four different wood mantels--oak, cherry, black, and white. The fireplace is on wheels so you can easily move it from room to room. It simulates a real fire, which if you don't have a fireplace can provide an ambiance that will make a room feel cozy. The Heat Surge gives you the feel of a fireplace without all the mess of bringing in wood and carrying out ashes.

But is it worth it? You will have to make that decision yourself. First, you might want to check out what the Better Business Bureau has to say about Heat Surge LLC. According to the Better Business Bureau:

"BBB processed a total of 232 complaint(s) about this business [Heat Surge] in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total 232 complaint(s) closed in the last 36 months, 217 were closed in the last 12 months."

The Better Business Bureau gives Heat Surge an F rating, which is the lowest rating the organization gives. To be fair, however, the BBB report does seem to indicate that Heat Surge LLC is improving. The BBB states in its latest report:

"As of May 2008, through the end of the year, the improvements put in place by the Company have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of complaints the BBB has received."

Secondly, I would suggest reading comments by people who have bought the Heat Surge fireplace before ordering one. If you google Heat Surge or Amish Heater, you will find a number of places where people have left comments about the Amish made Heat Surge heater--some good and some bad. It's worth taking time to read some of them.

Still the most important thing that a buyer needs to know about this heater is that it produces no more heat than a cheap heater, and you will use as much electricity to run it as you will a cheap heater. Whether or not it will save you money depends upon a number of factors all of which will be the same with any 120 volt, 1500 watt electric heater you might buy. Most of the time a portable heater is used to give extra heat in an area or room that your furnace doesn't heat well. Generally, an electric heater will not save you money, unless you use it to heat just one room and keep the heat down to around 55 degrees in the rest of the house. (If you use it to heat only the room where your furnace thermostat is located, you run the risk of the rest of the house becoming very cold because the electric heater will keep the furnace from turning on). The heater is UL approved and is not likely to be any more or less safe than a cheaper UL approved heater.

If you think that by buying the Heat Surge with its Amish made mantel you will get more heat than any other 120 volt, 1500 watt heater, then forget it. If you think it will cost you less to run the Heat Surge than any other 120 volt, 1500 watt heater, then forget it.

If you buy the Heat Surge, you will be buying it for its attractive mantle and the atmosphere it can create in a room.

Caveat Emptor!