If you plan to use your space heater to warm the bathroom, take note of this compact unit. The Holmes HFH436WGL Bathroom Heater
The first thing you notice when you remove this heater from its box is the weight. At less than 3-1/2 pounds, this Holmes ceramic heater is as light as a picture you would hang on the wall. Which is a good thing, because the Holmes Bathroom Heater is meant to be hung on the wall. The tab on the back of the unit hooks to a supplied mounting bracket to fasten the unit securely into place.
Best Bathroom Space Heater
This is a good solution for a few reasons. First of all, most bathrooms do not have much counter space to place the heater. And beyond the standard toilet, sink and tub, most of the older bathrooms do not have space to add a table or a cabinet. Being able to hang the heater to the wall allows you to use the counter space for the important stuff…like your toothbrush, razor or hair dryer. It beats putting the unit on the floor as well where you might trip over the cord or knock over the unit.
Also, bathrooms usually do not contain many wall outlets. And usually the outlets available are near the sink. This is not the best area to place a heater because of the closeness to running water. By hanging the heating unit to the wall, it should be easier to keep the 6’ cord up and out of the way.
Click the link below to learn more about this heater for a bathroom.
Holmes Heater with Programmable Timer & Bathroom Safe Plug
Specs
The unit sits about a foot tall with a base that measures 6” x 8”. Since it is lightweight and contains an easy to grab hand slot, the Holmes Bathroom Safe Heater is easy to move around if you plan to use it in another room besides the bath. There is just one heat setting, 1500 Watts. And there is no oscillation option, as that would make mounting it to the wall a poor choice. It’s just 1500 watts pointed straight ahead and for a small room like a bathroom, this is more than enough.
Operation
To operate the Holmes Bathroom heater, there are four buttons and a dial in the front face of the machine. The buttons do the following:
• turn the machine on and off,
• set the mode,
• set the display clock
• set the timer clock.
The dial works with the mode button to control the following:
• Run the unit on fan only
• Set the unit to run continuously
• Set the temperature to your desired comfort level. The temperature settings range from 65 degrees to 85 degrees
The dial also works with the timer buttons to allow you to set both the standard clock and the timer clock.
With an internal thermostat, the unit will keep the room at the temperature want. Once the room warms to the preset range, the Holmes Bathroom Space Heater will shut off until the temperature falls below the preset level. If that happens, the unit will turn on again to bring the room back up to temperature.
Another good feature is that once the unit does shut off, the fan will run without heat for an additional few seconds. This brief cooling allows for more consistent temperature readings. Also, once the unit has run continuously for 30-minutes, it will shut off on its own. If you plan to use the heater over a longer period, you can override this by setting the unit to “run consistently” mode.
Another worthwhile feature of unit is its adjustable timer. By presetting the timer, the heater can begin to preheat the room even before you get there. It is the perfect for a bathroom or even a kitchen…rooms that we tend to use early in the morning. How much better would it be to be greeted with a bit of warm air when you enter the bathroom in the morning? Seems like a good way to start a chilly day.
Here are a couple of things to know about the timer feature. If you want to start on its own in the morning, you will need to reset it each time the night before. It will remember the start time, so you do not have to reprogram that. However, still must reactivate the start time instruction before each use. This is no doubt a safety feature to be sure that the unit is turning on when it should not be. Also, if you unplug the unit, both the clock and the timer will need to be reset.
Of course, the timer feature works best if you have a repeatable time routine to begin each day. We don’t want the bathroom heating up needlessly while we are hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock.
Performance
Many people use space heaters to warm bathroom. While this is not recommended for most portable heaters, it is for the Holmes Bathroom Heater. The ALCI plug will turn off the unit if it becomes unsafe due to water. Even still, the unit should not be placed near water as the safety risk is still too great.
Pros
The heater runs quietly, hangs on the wall easily and features an easy to use timer to make it even more convenient to use. The neutral white and gray color scheme looks appropriate for a bathroom as well. Great safety features are a huge plus. Also the built-in thermostat, fan only option and three year warranty.
Cons
The unit runs at just one setting of 1500 watts. It does not oscillate. Finally, if you do unplug the unit, the clock and timer will need to be completely reset. A battery back-up to eliminate this would help.
Summary
This is a great unit for what it is built for, heating a bathroom. It has the flexibility and portability to be used in other places. But because the Holmes Bathroom Heater runs at just the single setting of 1500 watts, and it does not oscillate, it is somewhat limited. If your desire is to heat a bedroom or living space, there are better heaters available. But for a bathroom, this is the good choice.
Holmes Heater with 1 Touch Control and Bathroom Safe Plug
Staying with the theme of bathroom safe heaters, Holmes makes a second model which is worth a look! As an alternative to the HFH436WGL, consider the Holmes Heater with 1Touch Control and Bathroom Safe Plug
Many of the outstanding features of the HFH436WGL are contained here as well. First of all, the ALCI safety plug causes the unit to immediately turn off when exposed to water. This is ultimately why it is safe to run in the bathroom.
Both units also contain a timer which allows you to preheat the room before you arrive. They also feature hardware which will allow you to hang the unit onto the wall rather than place it on a counter.
There a two features which make this machine unique. First of all, it has two heat settings. The maximum setting of 1500 watts keeps the room warm during the coldest of days. While the lower setting of 600 watts can take off the chill or provide a lower level of maintenance heat.
The other unique feature is the one touch control. With almost no effort you can quickly set the thermostat at the level you want while also setting the fan to high or low speed. With temperature settings from 60 degrees to 80 degrees finding the right comfort level has never been easier.
Overall the Holmes Heater with 1 Touch Control and Bathroom Safe Plug offers a good alternative with settings that allow you to fine tune the level of heat and features that make it even simpler to use.