LifeSmart Stealth 6 Infrared Quartz Heater with Simulated Flame Insert - Dark Oak

Your Headline Here, Yes Yours

First off, I didn't give my review a headline because I a.) didn't want to steer anyone toward any one, perhaps false, impression of the heater or another and b.) couldn't think...Read complete review

First off, I didn't give my review a headline because I a.) didn't want to steer anyone toward any one, perhaps false, impression of the heater or another and b.) couldn't think of a few words to sum up my review anyway... but I DID want to give everyone my comprehensive review for you to make your own judgment from and so that's what I hope I've done. Without further ado:

Basically, the LifeSmart Stealth 6 Infrared Quartz Heater with Simulated Flame Insert is an AWESOME heater that's pleasing to the eye and effective towards producing supplemental heat in smaller rooms, areas, etc...but probably not what it's cracked up to be, based on its own description and/or other reviews. My wife and I live in an end-unit condo of 1,586 sq. ft. with an undersized furnace in the attic, for example, and we were looking for something to give us a little more heat on the 1st floor. Well, with only cold, hard concrete beneath us - and ceramic & hardwood flooring and 9' ceilings just above that - I'm afraid our condo presented one too many obstacles for the Lifesmart heater to overcome, even with the owner's manual promising heat for a room of up to 1,800 sq. ft.

To be fair, my wife and I are, in effect, facing an uphill battle to use any 'one' space heater to adequately heat the first floor - we realize that - but we were willing to give the Lifesmart heater a try since its reviews unabashedly offer so much promise. My thinking - and I admittedly am no handyman, much less a licensed HVAC technician - was the Lifesmart heater could easily handle the first floor while allowing the attic furnace to handle the second (with the two thermostats roughly in sync with each other, were that possible). But we tried the Lifesmart heater on a bright sunny day in our home in Central Ohio (high temp was 58 degrees F) and I'm sorry to say the first floor could get no higher than 66 degrees, even after we'd allowed the heater to run all day (8+ hours) at its High setting and its thermostat set at 70.

Don't get me wrong, I WANTED to believe. I sat directly in front of the heater to enjoy its warmth Indian style, staring at it...wanting to wish upon it success if I could. I sang it a lullaby - I even prayed for it. But try as I might, I couldn't draw more heat from it than its blower would allow and I couldn't magically make the other thermostat in the room go up, so as to offer me the proof that it was actually working to my satisfaction. It just felt cold/drafty in other parts of the floor. I had even read the English version of the owner's manual from cover to cover and did everything it said - I placed the Lifesmart heater in the center of the room of which it was situated, I kept it at least 3 ft. from other objects, I directed it away from walls...but to no avail. Even on the otherwise warm day outside, the heater was just no match for my wife and I's encumbered first floor.

And so, in short, the problem was more ours - not Lifesmart's. We still have the heater in our possession but will be returning it as soon as I can place it back in the box and affix tape to seal it up. It was a short but memorable stay. I just don't have the confidence it'll make us happy when the temperatures are, say, more challenging - like 20 degrees or below.

p.s. It was a pleasure to work with Hayneedle, my first experience with them. They made the whole experience as painless as possible, true to their own promise, and I would do business with them again. Their price also was easily the best I could find for this Lifesmart heater. If I could've graded in halves, my rating would be 4.5 because of Hayneedle. I subtract the half purely and only because the heater couldn't put out as heat as I'd wanted.