TPI Corporation 198TMC Fan Forced Portable Heater, Radiant, 1500/900/600W, 120V

Markel 198 tmc
I have owned 10-12 of these Markel heaters over the last 40 years. The earliest were blue, then brown then white. The blue and brown work for years and years with only an occasional dust cleaning. The white models are China made and are OK except for one fatal flaw: the wire connections to the elements burn out and thus no heat is produced. Markel was good enough to replace my two heaters, but they too burned out. So I bought some good high heat wire connectors and a crimping tool, and replace/recrimp them as needed. (the old connectors fall apart like carbon.) Otherwise the heaters seem fine for my home and summer cabin. I realize this type of repair isn't for everybody but it works for me. Mind you I bought my last two heaters about 5 years ago so hopefully Markel has improved their Chinese connectors.
I do like the heat settings for these including the no fan lower setting.
PS (march 2011) I purchased two more of these heaters in January 2011. One element has...

You may want to shop elsewhere
After reading a couple of the favorable reviews I purchased this heater for my 80 year old mother. The heater broke within 45 days. I contacted TPI and they told me I had to go through the seller Antonline. Antonline told me they only had a 30 day return policy and after that it was not their responsibility. After numerous phone calls to TPI (the manufacturer) they said they were not going to honor the warranty because I had purchased it from an unauthorized retailer. They said that they had received a number of complaints from customers about the heater and unless the heaters came from one of their authorized dealers they we not going to replace them. I told them as a consumer I should not have to be responsible for verifying who is authorized to sell a company's products.

They responded that my complaint along with the others had been discussed at the highest levels in the company and that the decision to not honor the warranty was final. I filed a complaint with...

198TMC PORTABLE HEATER
We have purchased a large quantity of these fans for use at mountain-top communications sites that can get pretty chilly in the winter months. Over the years, these have proven to be very robust, dependable heaters. They are also great camping heaters in that, on the LOW setting, the fan does not kick on and off, or run at all. If you're a light sleeper, this allows you to sleep, while still getting plenty of radiant heat with a thermostat setting. The LOW setting is enough to keep a 24-foot trailer nice and warm inside while outside temperatures are in the 40's. The low setting is also nice since it is not drawing much current through your trailer's electrical wiring. These are sturdy heaters and I can't recommend them highly enough.

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Great Northern Popcorn 6093 Anytime Antique Popcorn Maker

best thing on the planet
This is the best thing we ever bought. My Husband loves it. We have tried a lot of popcorn in it, but the best is individual packets from Orson Gigis. A little more money than we were going to spend, but worth every penny.

Love it. Use it four or five times a week!
I'm a popcorn junky. I have it at least 4 times a week, and this thing just keeps popping away.

Cord Worries me
The picture on the website show the electric cord attached to the kettle covered with flexible metal insulation. Mine is only covered with the rubber like most regular electric cords. I worry that it will come in contact with the kettle and melt.

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Waring Pro WO40 Cordless Wine Opener, Black/Brushed Stainless

Good but not excellent
Work great most of the time but it is sometimes difficult to get the cork to back out of the opener. It sticks on both natural cork and synthetic.

Waring Pro WO40
I received this for Christmas and it was returned within a week. Three corks were removed from the bottles and all three had to be 'manipulated' to get the corks out of the unit. All were driven straight through the cork and not on an angle. Be extremely carefull when removing a cork from the unit as the corkscrew will go quickly into your finger.

Failed in 9 months
My husband got this for me for Christmas last year. I was relatively pleased because it was very easy to use and seemed to be able to open even difficult bottles although the included foil cutter never actually cut the foil. However, recently I tried to open a bottle of white wine and heard a "pop" and the cork screw broke off at the top. I realize that some bottles may be particularly difficult for some reason (although white wine is usually not a problem), but this product apparently doesn't have anything that senses that the cork is too tight and forces it to shut off before it breaks. I would say don't waste your money.

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Vinotemp VT-18TEDS Thermo-Electric Digital 18-Bottle Wine Chiller, Black and Stainless

Adequate, but too small
Pros: Looks nice, easy interface, temperature control is pretty quick. The other review is right, the packaging is very good.

Cons: The big con is that this unit will NOT fit all 750ml bottles adequately. I bought a long-necked bottle of Riesling...it's an inch too long to fit! I had to lay it diagonally across the bottom tray, taking up 3 spaces. I bought a wide 750ml bottle of Pinot, and a bottle of port..they're too wide to fit the middle racks. I have to stick them in the top rack. Ok, I understand it's not meant to hold 18 port bottles but you'd figure that the rest of the wider red bottles should fit. But no. Even some other moderately-wide 750ml bottles seem to have trouble fitting into the middle racks.

If the unit was just a little a couple inches taller and deeper to accommodate more 750ml bottle shapes, it would be a great device. As is, expect to fit about ~15 bottles, and have some squeezing/rearranging issues.

Vinotemp VT-18TEDS
I've had this unit for about 3 weeks and it's running quite well. It arrived quickly and undamaged. Packing could have been better but since it arrived OK, no problem. It fits 18 normal wine bottles (750ml). It's quite quiet (certainly less noisy than the Cusinart I had). Temperature is adjustable and accurate. Obviously it allows for one temperature, so if you like your white wines chilled you'll probably have to move it to the fridge and hour before you open the bottle.
Overall I'm very happy with this unit. We called a wine store for a recommendation and this is the manufacturer he recommended.

Looks good, runs fine...for 9 months.
Purchased this wine cooler in November '10, stopped working in July '11. When i first began using it, it took awhile to get down the to proper temperature - something like 3 days. But once it did, it was fine. However, when summer came along the unit couldn't get the temp below 65 degrees, sometimes struggling at 68-69 degrees. After about a week in the high sixties, the temp shot up to 80 degrees, even though the temperature of the room was in the mid 70s. Warranty is 90 days, so I now have to purchase a replacement cooling system for $50 - i hope the service instructions are good.

Poor quality, I would look elsewhere.

They sent the wrong cooling system first, then when the correct unit came, it did not work. This whole experience from the product to the service has been a joke.

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Waring Pro WP55 Cordless Wine Preserver, Black/Brushed Stainless

wine preserver stoppers
I would like to purchase some more stoppers but can not find where to purchase?? Very important and was left off list of availability.

I use it almost daily
I love it. I got it for Christmas, so I've had it only two months, its super easy to use. I'm even thinking about buying one for my sister.

Straight Out of the Box Failure
Brand new. Charged for a week (you can't tell if it is fully charged, as per the manual, the red light stays on whether charged or charging) and it does not work at all. Nothing, nada, no noise, no vacuum, nothing. A total bust. Judging by the other reviews these things are really hit or miss. Score mine as a complete miss.

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Fanimation FP7958MB UrbanJet Portable fan with 3 forward speeds and Oscillation, Mysterious Black

Made of plastic.
While these are really cool looking fans, I was very disappointed to find that the colored housing is made of plastic. For the price, I expected a metal fan. The grill is metal.





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Honeywell TubroForce Table Fan

WORTHLESS
MY SON IS STATIONED IN ITALY SO I HAD THIS FAN ALONG WITH A TOWER FAN SHIPPED TO HIM. THIS FAN WORKED FOR ALL OF 15 MINUTES!!! VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!

Best fan out there!
This fan is the best fan I have ever had - and believe me, I've had alot! I think other reviewer must've got a "lemon" and should send it back. I am ordering my third fan right now - one for each bedroom.

laziest oscillating fan ever
Simply put this fan does NOT oscillate -AT ALL! It does however make a lot of noise when feebly attempting to oscillate which is a perfect antidote if you really do not want to fall asleep.

Otherwise it's a fine table top tschotske, if you're lacking in useless table top ornaments.

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