***** INFORMATIOAL POSTING ONLY *****
Be Careful Buy Wisely!
As everyone knows there are many, many questionable sellers and products on eBay. So ask yourself- Is the seller honest and reputable. is the product made of quality material, does the seller’s reputation and product quality support the sellers claims - Claims are easy to make! Especially if you don't provide information to support them, "spin" the information you provide to distort the facts or simply misrepresent your product. For example:
• - mr.hasty is a past suspended eBay seller now selling products as nomadomatic, hastyheating, mte_marketing....now charles8854. Honest? Reputable? Look at the posting of any of these aka mr.hasty grate heaters: Ridiculous claims of product “heating surface area”, Heater CFM output and BTU heating level. For example: a units heating surface is the area on which the wood burns – not the bottom, back or sides (that’s actually cooling area). That would be like claiming a BBQ grills back, sides and top are it’s cooking surface. So consider:
o 14 HTH grate heater - has 3 sf of heat exchange surface and provides "measured true" 40000 btu - Look at the posting - Is the wood stack area (surface area on which the wood burns) of that heater 1’ X 3’ - that's 3 sf. The heater actual has about 3/4 of a sq. foot and the 40000 btu's - that's as honest as the Sq. footage - probably closer to 4000 than 40000 - measured true.
o 16 CMB grate heater – has 5.2 sq.ft of heat exchange surface and 40000 BTU. 5.2 sf is a solid surface area 16” x 47” (that's 1 foot 4 inches x 3 feet 11 inches). Are you kidding? - It's impossible for that heater to have 5.2 sf heating surface and the 40000 BTU - that the same bull as before with the 5.2 sf heating surface and BTU's!
o 16 GRT Grate Heater – has 8.6 sq ft of heat exchange surface – 8.6 sf is a solid surface area 14 x 88” (that's 1 foot 2 inches x 7 feet 4 inches) – Again heating surface area and btu's claims - Just ridiculous
o 16 HTH Grate heater – has 3.6 sq ft heat exchange area. 3.6 sf is a solid surface area 16” x 32”. Look at the posting pic, does that unit have a heating surface area of 1 foot 4 inches x 2 feet 8 inches – there’s no way!!!
o 20 CMB grate heater – has 7.5 sq ft of heat exchange surface - 7.5 sf is a solid surface area 20”x54” that's 1 foot 8 inches x 4 feet 6 inches). They have to be kidding – not even close!
o 20 GRT Double Row – 23.1 sq ft of heat exchange surface. That’s a solid surface area 20”x166” That's 1 foot 8 inches x 13 feet 10 inches. Heating surface area and BTU - this is actually getting more and more ridiculous.
o Well – there’s much more but you get the idea. Is it that Mr.Hasty (or mte_marketing) doesn’t know what a heating surface or square foot is or is it more intentional misrepresentation to mislead the buyer?
o Also - The 125 CFM fan and BTU’s - it will delivery less than half of that. It’s a small plastic fan (that will melt if you turn it off – but he doesn’t mention that) that is gently circulating air into a small flat tube with 90 degree angles. There is no force in a fan as with a blower so it couldn’t possibly overcome all that resistance and deliver 125 CFM of heat output. In my 120K unit I use a 465 CFM BLOWER and that, with a much more efficient air delivery system, delivers 250+ CFM heat velocity. What do you think HastyHeat’s actual BTU output is? Honest? Reputable? Read on
• Dissatisfied Buyers have tried to get rid of him but him/his products keep turning up under new Seller ID's. Buyer Beware!
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• Are the seller's claims meaningful? For example:
o mr. hasty(aka nomadomatic, hastyheating, mte_marketing, charles8854) statement
o “you can extract a larger percentage of the heat wasted and going up your chimney”? Larger than what?.... NOTHING! That’s a ringing manufactures endorsement – it’s better than nothing.
o "...ability to capture and move into your home the highest percentage of the BTU's generated by your fire". What does this mean? It's like advertising a cars fuel efficiency claiming "it gets the highest percentage of mile-per-gallon generated by the engine". Is it just meaningless babble or intended deception?
o UL certified electrical components - sure the fan is UL certified for its proper use - He uses a plastic (housing and blades) axial fan - do you think it certified for use in a fireplace heater. His fan melts if you turn it off when burning a fire! Honest and reputable? (see mr.hasty seller feedback).
o Old_Florida_Boy:
o "This in not a car muffler or iron pipe set. These are 7 small aluminum heat exchanger tubes in this system, the material of choice when it comes to the ultimate heat exchanging efficiency. If you believe that a steel tube set makes a good heat exchanger, then you should consider they don't make a steel car radiator, they are aluminum" - This is really "Good-Old-Boy" thinking - they use aluminum for car radiators because it's non-corrosive (filled with water and anti-freeze) and exposed to max temp of -300 degrees. 7 small aluminum tubes with copper joints in a 1000+ degree wood fire is only slightly better than burning wood in a paper bag inside a plastic bucket in your fireplace - it's a disaster waiting to happen, ask any welder or your local fire department if this is safe.
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• Are the products BTU's claims the level of home heating it delivers or for the Fuel burning level? E. G. - How does burning wood pellets in a basket (the pellet basket wood stove) produce greater home heating BTU's than just burning wood on a grate? It doesn't - at best it could only deliver a "radiant" home heating BTU level equal to just burning wood. As for the advertised:
• 35K BTU's - up the chimney
• Enough heat to comfortably warm a house -That's just absurd. If it doesn't have a blower to force and circulate heat into your home you're wasting your money.
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• The Great Wall of Fire claim of "dramatically increased efficiency and exceptional radiant heat output". How is this possible - it's not a fireplace heater it's just a grate???? Well the grate is curved (vs .flat) so the wood burns much faster, which will increase the radiant heat. But exceptional radiant heat increase....as I said it's not a heater it's just a grate. I guess if you have an unlimited supply of split wood you want to get rid this grate would be OK, but if you're trying to reduce your cost and heat your home - this is a waste of money.
• Once again consider my favorite eBay seller mr.hasty’s ( (aka nomadomatic, hastyheating, mte_marketring, charles8854) boast - “We do not use any expanded metal mesh for holding coals or embers which typically burn out in a season or two. The ember retaining screening I use is the same material that Landmann and other grate manufactures use on their quality ember retaining grates. It’s heavier gauge steel than Mr. hasty tubing and over 6 x the thickness as his thermal protection ash-tray ( where do you think he gets his season or two "burn out" estimate from). Secondly: consider Mr. hasty position – He offers an extra cost ash tray to keep ember (the best heating source within your fire) from contacting the heating tubes – How does that enhance a products heating capability? I provide an retaining screen to capture the embers and optimize their heating potential. Thirdly - if his products inferior material needs burn-thru protection – why is it's "ash tray" an extra cost option!
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• Consider the NorthlineExpress/WoodlandDirect claim of “500% heat output increase” for their Fireplace Log Grates. A fireplace is only slightly more efficient for heating than build a fire in a hole in the ground, so adding anything to it will basically increase the heat output 5 X. But 5 X very little is still very little....You could get better result burning the money you spend on that heater. Again, If it doesn't have a blower you’re wasting your money!
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• What is the heaters material quality? Is your purchase just a temporary solution, one you want to make every 2 or 3 years? Or is it something that you want to ENJOY AND SAVE YOU MONEY FOR A LIFETIME?
o Is the material suitable for use in a fireplace? Mine is low-carbon industrial steel which will last a lifetime (my original unit is over 31 years old and used over 120 days a year).
As he states - mr.Hasty heating products:
• use re-purposed/recycled material (i.e, - scrap/junk yard material of god knows what quality, mix or condition
• Is 1" structural steel tubing- What is 1" structural steel tubing???? There is no such thing! I guess mr.Hasty considers electrical conduit or general purpose pipe they sell at Home Depot structural steel. Honest, Reputable - he'll say anything.
• Note: electrical conduit and low grade general purpose material sweats lead at 400 degrees – Is that something you want circulating in your house?
Fireplace Radiator, Heat-N Glo- Cozy, Stoll, etc. are thin grade sheet metal and tin – how long will they last?
Fireplace Log grate is Aluminized-steel – 1960’s auto exhaust tubing and beer can material – That’s lasting quality!
Old_Florida_Boy - perhaps the worst of all, aluminum joined with copper elbows. Are you kidding, this is just dangerous!
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continued in Be Careful - Part II.
