LifeSmart LS1500-4 1500W Infrared Quartz Heater $140 at eBay

A heater is a heater is a heater. They all put out 5120 BTU's from 1500 watts. Pick your poison, but you can get the same amount of electric heat from a twenty buck unit.

Mr. Ed. 100% agree. When will the shopping public get it through their thick skulls that 1500 watts is 1500 watts, not matter how you slice it. If anyone out there can prove that this or any other costly electric heater can produce more heat than a $12.95 fan heater, you my friend, will soon be a millionaire.

There are a few differences. For example those using nichrome wire tend to wear out in 5 years or less of regular use (few months every winter). Those that are radiant or too low a fan flow, can cycle off via their thermostat before heating the other end of the room sufficiently.

Frequent cycling on and off puts a LOT more wear on one than if it has a medium setting that keeps your room within a comfortable temperature zone with minimal cycling on/off.

So... while I wouldn't spend $140 on a 1500W heater unless it were a larger baseboard or oil radiator type (silent and safer around kids, the large surface area means nothing hot enough to cause quick burns or melt things), I'd also avoid low end <$25 unless that were a good sale price. On the other hand, not having to listen to a fan constantly like on most ~ $15 models, might be worth $140 if it lasts a decade or two.

Then again... in a few weeks it'll be frosting to freezing overnight here and I'll be putting several potted plants inside the garage to finish up their fruit and my "heater" will be a simple strip of incan light bulbs... they can't use the light as effectively as fluorescent light but it beats only having what comes in through the window.

Here's what you do: Look on Craigslist for a KeroSun or DynaGlo kerosene heater. Get either the 10,000 BTU radiant model or the 23,000 BTU convection model. Find some cans like for paint thinner, Coleman fuel, etc.. you want metal cans. Get two gallons of 1K kerosene for about $4/gallon.

Best place to find cans like this is from a hazardous materials drop off site. They usually let you go in and pick up unused things like paint thinner and what not. Here, you just want the one gallon empty cans to rinse out with paint thinner or something to keep them out. Kerosene keeps a long time in metal. It keeps about a year in a plastic blue jug like for gas.

You will have insane heat for the winter. I spent $40 on a 23,000 BTU heater. I only need to run it for about an hour or so and the room is 10 degree hotter. That's some heat. It's portable, uses no electricity, so if the power goes out you don't freeze.

No stink, no mess. You can buy them all day long for about $25-$50 on Craigslist. There is almost zero resale value in them.

I also like the oil filled space heaters. They take a while to heat the room up, but you have a much more even heat than with something that cycles on and off.

^ Most homes are now well enough sealed that a kerosene heater with the associated exhaust isn't a good option... and often if the home is that poorly sealed, a better long term option is sealing up the leaks.