Review on Dr Infrared Heater DR998: 1500W Dual Heating System with Humidifier, Oscillation Fan, & Remote Control for Efficient Comfort by Tiffany Thompson

Before making my choice I did a lot of research and read product reviews. I think I made a wise choice! I bought this heater in addition to the warmth of a baseboard running on an oil stove. My house is 1000 square meters. Feet with cathedral ceilings so it has a lot of clearance. I knew I would need something that could dissipate heat well and evenly. I chose this mainly for the added humidifier and ability to vibrate as most others didn't have those features. This heater is perfect for my situation. I keep my thermostat at a solid 60F so it doesn't turn the oven on as often. I use this heater to get it down to around 64-68 (I don't mind if it's a little colder). I usually shut it down with the generators and humidifiers on and set it at 64-68 (depending on various factors). So far he has been very successful in keeping the area below that temperature. We haven't had a major cold snap in NYC yet, but in November 2014 we had a few cold snaps under 20 and that data was good too. This keeps the temperature on the ground floor fairly stable and the upper floor (which is the master bedroom attic) usually stays about 2 degrees warmer than the ground floor. This is after I sealed and threw all the windows with plastic for the winter. I suppose it wouldn't work as well if I didn't, but I digress. Depending on the internal thermostat, the heater switches from high to low or just one fan as needed. Lightbulbs indicate this. So far I've only run it in auto mode and haven't seen a need to set it to a solid high or low as it regulates itself fairly well. The default auto temperature is 68F and can easily be changed up or down at any time. When "wobble" was said, I thought it meant that the whole device was on a rotating turntable. However, those are just internal slits on the inside that allow heat to escape, swinging back and forth. This is a smarter design as it is much less mechanical and saves more energy by not having to rotate the weight of the entire unit. The vibrations cover an arc of about 60 degrees, so they distribute heat decently in at least one direction. The rotating slots are made of a high temperature polymer (plastic) which seems odd as you would think it could melt them or denature the polymer over time, but they work fine now. The humidifier works quite well. When on, it fires a continuous stream of cool mist about a foot above the device. There is a tiny sliding door that you can use to close the hole that the mist comes out of, which I think should regulate the mist a little but seems pointless overall. Maybe to prevent dust and such from getting in when it's off I think? There is a nice blue light illuminating the rear bin and bottle. I love it but I know some people are into random LED bulbs. The rear reservoir design is one of the few things I don't like about this device. It's just a tiny tank with a built-in smoke machine. It hangs from the back of the device through a plastic tube that directs fog into the device. The connection is solid and I haven't had a leak from there, but when you put a 3 liter bottle full of water on your back like I found it seems like a lot of weight to have a tank on top just has to put it through be connected to a pipe. I wish there was some other support structure so the tube doesn't bend back a bit under the weight. The kit includes two adapters for bottles of different sizes. I use a regular soda bottle adapter. A full 3 liter bottle of water will last about a day and a half with constant involvement. It perfectly complements my PureGuardian 4500 humidifier. My house is made entirely of wood, so humidity is important to me. The wheels on the bottom make it easy to slide across the floor. Sometimes even too light as I often put it on a small wooden table and it can get very close to the edge with the slightest nudge or pull. Wheel locks would be desirable. The overall construction and design is fine. The cable is long enough. The included remote control works perfectly and comes with a battery. The toggle keys feel a bit cheap, and sometimes you have to press them as if you want to toggle something on or off (except for the device's power button, which has actual on/off positions). The unit also has a built-in rear panel filter, so it cleans the air at least a bit. Possible limiting factors: Fan noise is definitely noticeable on high settings, so don't expect the device to be "quiet". I'm not against white noise. - The humidifier tank itself can sometimes overflow and drip onto the floor, but if you're careful there shouldn't be any problems. It doesn't flow out of the tube itself, it just overflows.- Sometimes an oscillating motor can make clicking or creaking noises, which is pretty obvious. I don't know if this is normal or if it's just a minor bug in my device, but it's not enough to bother me. You can turn it off at any time. The maximum consumption of this device is 1500W, which means that it needs its own circuit. Basically what this means is that if you plug this device into mains power and use another device on the same circuit (e.g. from an outlet on the same wall) your switch will turn off or maybe something will fry. So just pay attention to what and where you connect during use. I haven't gotten a solid bill cycle to see how well this "saves" energy, but I use it more so I spend a little more on power than fuel/oil. - This unit is not so ascetic. nice, as are some of the other devices I've seen, particularly the LifeSmart infrared heaters. Key set and display are reminiscent of a device from the seventies. I think the stain would look a little better as darker. I have seen similarly rated LifeSmart heaters that also worked very well and looked much better. So if you care about the design and color of your furniture, you can choose the LifeSmart, but you will miss out on the added functionality of this humidifier and oscillator. I'll update when I use it in other situations and know what the final cost of using it on my utility bills is. stay warm *Update 12/22/14* Received two invoices since purchase. Both are about $50 more than usual, but that also accounts for the energy use of the additional oil stove/boiler. My oil tank was at 7/8 and is now at about 5/8 which is a lot slower than last year (although it was even colder this year). 7 unless it's a clear, sunny day (passive solar heating works wonders in my house). All in all, it definitely saves me having to fill up my tank in the middle of winter like last year, so it's still a positive buy for my situation. Hope this helps, I'll keep posting about it. We've had several significant cold snaps here in NYC (constantly below 0F with wind chill) and this heater has worked well keeping my house above 60F (which is what my thermostat is set for). The heater can work just as well as my insulation work and it works the way I imagined it would in that situation. During the coldest frosts, my stove still stunk from time to time, but only the lower part of the house, since it is very large and open. The attic was still 2-4 degrees warmer than the rest, so it works in that regard. I was a bit more disappointed with the humidifier attachment. It's now dripping out of the bottom of the unit, forcing me to lay down rags to soak up the resulting water. I think this is because the droplets from the ultrasonic disc fall through the fan opening, but I haven't been able to pinpoint this. The humidifier still works fine as long as it's descaled, but the leak is a bit annoying since this unit was a lot larger than the one that didn't have the humidifier on. If I can't stop the leak I will downgrade this rating from 4 to 3 in the next update.