"Miracle invention help home heat bills hit rock bottom"

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tom baker

tom baker

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I keep seeing full page adds in the USA Today and sunday paper magazines for a "AmishMiracle invention help home heat bills hit rock bottom". It shows the workers in traditional amish garb assembling the heaters (no insult ever intended to the Amish, I grew up near several Amish farms).
One part of the ad says "genuine amish mantels made in the USA"
Another part says "a miracle of engineering genius from the china coast"
"coveted UL Listing"
I consider these adds very misleading, not for the Amish connection, but that somehow any model of electric heater can be more efficient than another model. Electric heat is electric heat.

But the ads sure make this product sound like a miracle. I'd welcome any comments from someone who has seen this miracle heater
 
I've seen two or three in mobile-homes I've inspected.
IMHO, a $30, 1500 watt Wal-Mart heater with a lil wood laminant and some bells & whistles.
Somewhat suprised the Amish allow their involvment.
But the oweners seem very proud, I guess thats the important element.
 
Here's a link to the ad.

I especially like all the Amish people, working in a barn. working feverishly on these heaters, while they're all turned on. Must be cold in that barn all the time. :grin:

You bet.... they just load 'em into their horse-drawn wagons and off they go. riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!

Yep, your heat bill will drop, but your electric meter is going to torque itself off the wall.

FWIW, the 800 numbers listed as their National Hotline does not produce any results on any reverse lookups that I tried.
 
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The true Amish are very hard workers with strong beliefs. The ones behind this add are simply a few that are allowing them selfs to be used for money. The heater most likely was not made by amish. Keep in mind they do not use electric. Do not judge all Amish over this fraud. Yes its just an electric heater and nothing more.
 
Jim W in Tampa said:
The true Amish are very hard workers with strong beliefs. The ones behind this add are simply a few that are allowing them selfs to be used for money. The heater most likely was not made by amish. Keep in mind they do not use electric. Do not judge all Amish over this fraud. Yes its just an electric heater and nothing more.
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Where do you get the idea that the Amish have anything to do with this ad at all? I seriously doubt anyone in their community was even approached by the manufacturer of these heaters about their desire to be involved. Chances are, the photo of them 'working in the barn' is photoshopped, and the word "amish" is not copyrighted and can be used in ad copy.

What do the Amish have to do with the ad? I'd say they supply the wood used to make the trim for the units. The manufacturer probably contacted some Amish woodworking company to make the wood trims. The Amish have nothing to do with the heater themselves. The ad is just a ploy to make the reader believe the heaters are the greatest thing since sliced bread, given the popular opinion that the Amish are thrifty and frugal. Which they are, and the ad plays that up in to making you think that the Amish are building a heater that will somehow transfer their thriftiness and frugality to save you money.

But the heater itself is not made by the Amish, and that fact is hidden simply by not being stated. It's still a heater, likely made offshore. The ad says is uses 'only about 8? of electric per hour. Yep, sounds about right, if your utility rate is 8?/kwh.
 
There are lots of Amish around where I live, and I don't think Amish have anything to do with this malarkey. I can't see anyone knowing anything about woodworking using a plane on a finished piece like the wise looking doofus in the front.

I see no reason to believe anything at all this ad has to say.

I imagine sombody's attorneys crafted this hogwash very carefully to make sure it is legal, but I don't think it should be.
 
realolman said:
.... I can't see anyone knowing anything about woodworking using a plane on a finished piece like the wise looking doofus in the front........
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I may not be a plane, but a hand sanding block. But either one should not be anywhere near wood that is stained. I'm just a dumb electrician and even I know that much!
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FWIW, here's their website.

Oh, and Mark Woods, the author of the 'article', works for these guys.
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Reading the copy, I'd say you do get a free heater. I'll bet they charge through the nose for the Amish mantle.
 
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I saw one of those ads and did a little checking.

ONLY the woodwork is made in the USA, purportedly by Amish craftsmen. The heater itself is made in China and simply put into the woodworking for appearance only.

Yep, an electric heater is pretty much an electric heater, but I think the draw of the ad is the woodwork you also get with the heater.
 
Anyone can say they are Amish. The ones in the ad may or may not be real. They are simply selling you a fancy heater and if your crazy enough to buy into this scam then they win.
I have been on a few amish farms in KY and have plenty of respect for them. There are many web pages on them and beliefs.
 
Read the ad carefully.

It is clearly selling the "Amish made' wooden mantle and giving you a free "imported hi-tech" heater. There is a small print note that says you can get the heater only (for the same price) if you want to build your own mantle.

This is an older copy of the ad. For the past few months,in this area, the delivery picture has been changed to be a winter scene.

I like the reference to the "coveted UL Listing".:rolleyes:

The text says it produces 5119 BTUs on the high setting. That is about 1,630W. How many circuits will this overload?
 
I have seen these Mantel heaters. All it is is a nice piece of handcrafted wood mantel that looks good built by the Amish, with an installed (2) lamp socket that uses 40 watt incandesent bulbs, and a small fan pushing the lamp heat out. The heater is made in China and has some sort of UL listing on it. Im not sure how they are achieving 5199 BTU's output, unless the units are shipped in different heat (lamp) sizes?
 
How much experience do you think that the Amish craftsman have had with electricity? I'm sure that someone else is using them to promote a product.
 
SEO said:
How much experience do you think that the Amish craftsman have had with electricity? I'm sure that someone else is using them to promote a product.
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I don't think the ad states even remotely the Amish are building the heaters. It says they're making the mantels.
 
480sparky said:
I don't think the ad states even remotely the Amish are building the heaters. It says they're making the mantels.
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That's what I was getting at 480sparky. Was it the Amish that thought about putting the heater in the mantel or was it somebody else?
 
SEO said:
That's what I was getting at 480sparky. Was it the Amish that thought about putting the heater in the mantel or was it somebody else?
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I seriously doubt it was the Amish that came up with the idea. It's probably someone who just wants to hawk cheap heaters.
 
I remember seeing and add for these awhile back. The add left me with the impression that some how Amish magic would heat your room for next to nothing. One more "Slices dices and makes Julienne fries" proof that PT Barnum was right!!
 
iaov said:
I remember seeing and add for these awhile back. The add left me with the impression that some how Amish magic would heat your room for next to nothing. One more "Slices dices and makes Julienne fries" proof that PT Barnum was right!!
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Just be thankful Billy Mayes ain't pluggin' 'em on TV!
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