De'Longhi HCS2553FTS Convector Heater, 3 kW

After much humming and harring over the many different makes and models, I settled on this one because of its power (3k), flexibility (4 settings), fans - to get going pushing the heat out, alarm if knocked over (I have children). I could add that it is easy to carry and simple to operate.

I use it in a ad hoc way to heat large living and bed rooms, without turning on the whole central heating, so haven't used the timer. Mounting it on the wall is also an option.

In the total dead of the night, you can hear it make a slight noise, but in the hub-hub of the day, you'll wont notice it's on ... till you realise you have to take another layer off!

I purchased a Dimplex 3kW convector heater with Turbo fan, and returned it after a few days. Apart from the unbelievable noise generated by the cheap fan, I also discovered that the plug had begun to melt!

The replacement, a DeLonghi HCS, not only has twin Turbo fans which are virtually silent, but generates heat faster and more efficiently. It also has greater choice and control of settings, including, should you need it, a Timer.

If you're considering buying a convector heater, avoid Dimplex, and consider the infinitely better DeLonghi.

Even emailing Dimplex about the problems failed to elicit a response.

We bought this to use in a large conservatory, 20' x 12',which has a high peaked roof glazed with polycarbonate, and we mostly use it on evenings when it's too cool for comfort, but not cold enough for a fire. Over the last month it's been cold enough outside for there to have been 2 or 3 frosts and this lightweight heater has coped very well. There are a multitude of settings and also a timer, but we just put the thermostat on maximum and turn the heater to either low, medium or high, depending on how quickly we want to heat up the room. The highest setting also uses a built in fan, which in effect make it a fan heater and thus slightly noisier. We usually start off with it on medium for about fifteen minutes and then turn it down to low and find that unless it's very cold outside it is enough.On a couple of ocassions we've used the maximum setting for 5 or 10 minutes to get the chill off the room quickly, but generally medium(2kw) or low(1kw) keep the room at a pleasant temperature.

Its construction is very lightweight without seeming flimsy and it generally appears solid and well built. There is the option to have it either freestanding or wall mounted and it comes with two plastic feet, which just slide on at the base, and screws and clips to wall mount it.We've only owned this for a month, so I can't speak for it's longevity,which is why I've only given it four stars, but our previous heater was a 1kw convector by De'Longhi and, apart from not being big enough for the job,we never had any problems with that.

We wanted a convector heater to heat a large-ish space quickly and effectively and this has done the job.