Dimplex OFRC20TI 2 KW Oil Free Radiator with Timer

Heats up quickly so this heater is a boon with the terribly cold weather, our lounge radiator valve stopped working, unable to use our lounge (which is 20 foot long) as too cold to sit in. Husband has osteo arthritis of the hip and had a terrible attack of pain in bed ill with the cold so I ordered this heater so he could sit in the lounge in the warmth (his pain has stopped today, he has flare ups now and again). Got this heater this morning, put it on in the lounge and it soon heated up the room (with the door nearly shut). We all enjoyed the heat including our dogs! No idea how much it will cost to run, will have to keep an eye on this, as electricity expensive. Bought this one as it has a timer, so a bit more money £10 or so than the one without a timer). Might get another for our conservatory.

An excellent source of additional heat in my office, which is more than adequate. Heating is quick and simple. Solidly built and with useful controls (timer, thermostat and 2 heat settings), this oil free radiator sets the standard for electric liquid filled radiators.** Mine emitted an overpowering smell of bad eggs for the first 30 minutes of use. I rang the help line, which was easy to get through to and they immediately confirmed that this is normal for first use, and indeed it hasn't happened since.I cannot see anything inappropriate with the running cost and have no hesitation in recommending this model

THE HEATERAs a radiator, I can't fault it. It is modestly priced, and it generates enough heat to warm a small to medium sized room quickly. I bought one for my daughter when her central heating temporarily packed up, and it was so effective I bought one for myself for emergency or occasional use. I use the lower heat setting to take the chill off a room, and the higher setting for when it's colder. The difference is noticeable within ten to twenty minutes.THE TIMERThe programmable timer, however, is a mess of poor design. The controls and display are at foot level, and not angled, so you have to crouch down low to use them or even see the display. Most times, I have to lift and tilt the entire radiator to see the dim display. Angling the display at 45 degrees would have made all the difference. That, however, is not the most significant design lapse. Once the unit has been connected to mains power for some time, it acquires enough charge in an internal battery to maintain both the clock time and the four on/off timer settings when they have been set. You can set up to four on/off times, at increments of 10 minutes, and when the heater is put into Auto mode from Manual, it turns on during the set intervals. Thus, it should be possible to operate the heater for optimal efficiency and economy, perhaps warming up a room half an hour before bedtime and the same before rising time. That's the theory.In practice, it's not that reliable. If the mains power is interrupted for any reason, however briefly (such as another device in the home tripping the RCD protection at the mains box), and is then restored, the Dimplex reverts immediately to Manual mode, even if previously set to Auto mode, switching the heater on and keeping it on. This has happened to me several times, resulting in the heater being fully on for many hours, racking up a sizeable amount on my energy bill. Why the timer system should have a battery backup system to store the timer settings when they are ignored in the event of power restoration is beyond understanding.I contacted Dimplex about this to see if it was a fault, and they told me that this is the way they work. Switch it off, and on switch on, it reverts to factory default of Manual mode. A temporary power outage followed by a restoration means that this heater can turn itself on when you are away from home.I have also had the clock time periodically reset itself to some random value, meaning that the heater came on at unexpected times when in Auto mode. For these reasons, I only use it now in Manual mode, and with a separate 7 day timer unit.CONCLUSIONThis is a good and effective radiator, and as a simple stand-alone heater, is hard to fault. The timer is the weakest point, ineptly designed, and effectively useless. I wanted to remove two stars for the unreliability of the timer, but as the heater is otherwise perfectly fit for purpose, I restored one. Had it been sold without a timer at all, it would have merited five stars as a heater. As it is, it still has to lose one star, because it was sold as a heater with timer function, and the timer is hopeless.Otherwise, a good heater and it does the job well. Recommended for that alone.

I have a 330 sq ft studio flat and this is the only heater I need. I've had one for 3 years and now my mum has one as well. It's silent, heats extremely quickly and economical (I don't have gas and my elec bill for one year was £660 for all appliances).Robust and I can move it quite easily.

This is simply amazing! Very easy to set up and program and heats up quite quickly. Just max it out until the room gets to the desired temperature (doesn't take long) and then lower the intensity, set the thermostat at the current temperature level and you are good to go! Works perfectly for my bedroom (4m x 10m and about 5m in height) and can also warm up our living room which is significantly larger (when at maximum intensity). Highly recommended!

I bought this to provide some local heating when our central heating system is off during the day. It's light-weight and really easy to install. Just plug it into a wall socket, set the clock, select heating level and auto or manual mode. I could feel the warmth coming through the vents immediately. I sat down about 10 ft. away and I could still feel the heater's warmth. Well pleased.

Really good. Easy to move about. Heats up quickly and can use thermostat to keep temperature. Has a timer if want to put it so comes on before I wake up. Brilliant. It keeps the room warm after you switch it off unlike fan heaters etc. Light weight and seems to be economical. Service was good with quick delivery and good price.