The one I bought failed near the end of the first winter I was using it.

I've got a couple and had to reset one once, but other than that they've been solid. 

Have used in cooling and heating mode.

Based on what I have read I wouldn't have one in the house

Mine worked all through last winter but shudder to think whether it will go another one.

Pity, really, as they do work when they work. Wonder what is going wrong?

Rats, I just ordered two, but then read the posts here about them. I've cancelled my order. It's a great product that is sorely needed, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of it melting. I wondered if there is something inherently dangerous/hard about this kind of a product that means that there aren't more options sold in Mitre 10 and Bunnings?

Hi Everybody,

I thought I'd try and help you understand whats happening here.

Last year Cleverhome sold about 1,500 Heatermates, we had a return of about 30, 6 of which had the melted socket.

Firstly - remember what this device is for - keeping the room at a constant temperature, not typically for cranking the heat for extended periods of time.

If your heater is underpowered, this needs to be considered in your heating arrangements.

About 18 months ago there was an update to the Heatermate instructions - they became rated to 2300 Watts.

This was clearly stated on the instructions & the back of the device. We had a few issues where:

1. people using cheaper heaters like fan heaters, which would draw more than 2400 watts, especially when initially heating up.

2. Dangling the Heatermate on the end of an extension cord, and not checking the connection every time - a loose connection can cause issues.

The manufacturing process has been updated to help with these issues, and I have absolute confidence in the units.

Any one who has purchased from Cleverhome gets a 1 year replacement warranty - which for a $60 item is pretty good.

None the less, sensible precautions should be taken - smoke alarms in bedrooms, and as with any normal always on heater checking the temperature on a semi regular basis, or having another way to tell (baby monitor or other).

Other issues - the units not working after being in storage, often they come back alive after leaving them plugged in for about an hour.

When I said earlier I was looking at alternative units, it was about different features (adding a timer, adding in a remote temperature probe) not that there are any concerns with the actual unit.

Cheers - Daniel

Used ours all of last winter.  Just got it back out this morning and works fine.  In my experience it's been great.

CokemonZ:

 

Any one who has purchased from Cleverhome gets a 1 year replacement warranty - which for a $60 item is pretty good.

 

Consumer guarantees in NZ means pretty much everything sold that's not consumable must have a one year warranty, regardless of price. If it's sold by an NZ business consumer guarantees means the consumer may get a 2 or 3 year warranty.

My heatermate is only used through winter. After reading this thread I won't be using it in my 6 month old son's room. I might just toss it out.

I might get a new one. New batch perhaps?

CokemonZ: And I understand where you are coming from.

While I didn't explicitly state it - in all of those cases they weren't being used in a recommended fashion. We replaced them all anyway, along with guidance on better usage.

I would suggest a 4 plug being used in a similar fashion would have had a similar result.

Irrespective of all that, we have new batches which have been re-engineered to further minimize any risk.

CokemonZ: Here is an example of what I am talking about as not recommended usage.

We have ours plugged directly into its own wall socket with the heater about 1 metre away. I can't remember the recommended install instructions but does this sound sufficient?

I'm in two minds about continuing to use it. It's been rock solid and great at managing the temperature in the room but obviously no parent wants to put anything even remotely suspect in use in their kids rooms. Are there any serial/model numbers that may be specifically affected?