Russell Hobbs 13 Inch Space Portable Heater Review

Introduction

Designed to be carried from room to room and put where you most need the warmth, the Russell Hobbs 13 Inch Space Portable Heater is a very light heater for a 2000W model. Despite its more budget price, it has some high-end features, including a remote control and thermostat. A slightly fiddly interface does let the side down slightly

Design and features

• Attractive design
• Remote control
• Suitable for rooms up to 20m²

The Russell Hobbs 13 Inch Space Portable Heater is quite good looking with a large black mesh grille over the front of the heater and a brushed metal finish on the top. If you don’t like the one I have on review, you can buy a version that’s black and gold.

This fan heater is compact enough to stow away when not in use (340 x 160 x 150mm), and it’s incredibly light for a 2000W heater weighing just 1.9kg.

Although it’s slightly cheaper than much of the competition, the Russell Hobbs 13 Inch Space Portable Heater offers all the features of a premium heater.

Controls are available via the remote control or the physical controls on top. They both use the same icons, and I had to use the manual to find out what they meant. For example, three squiggly lines is the icon to change the mode.

It would also be nice if the remote control had a magnet and could stick to the side of the fan heater when not in use, as it’s relatively easy to miss it when put down.

But the best feature on the remote, to me at least, is the mute button. Most small electronic devices beep whenever you do anything, so it’s thoughtful that you can turn the annoying noises off.

Controls include oscillation, timer, and temperature, selectable between 5°C and 36°C. It’s much more useful having a heater with a temperature control on it, as it will switch off automatically when the target has been reached.

There are four heating modes to choose from: Max, High, Low and Eco. High and low vary how much power is used, with the temperature selection available; Max whacks the heating to max and disables the thermostat; Eco monitors the ambient temperature and varies the mode between High and Low automatically. There’s also a fan-only mode.

When you turn the heater off, a 15 second countdown starts, with the fan running at full speed. That’s to help the heating element cool down, so that heater can shut down safely.

Another thing you can’t turn off is the little red plug light on the display. Even though it’s just a standby light, like one you’d find on a television, it spoils the look a bit in my opinion.

There are a few fiddly modes to get your head around that are useful but could also cause a few issues. If you press the timer button when the heater is in standby mode it starts a countdown of up to 24 hours before the heater turns on. This is great if you want to, say, heat up your bedroom at 8 am tomorrow morning. However, if you accidentally press the button, the heater will spring to life an hour later when you’ve forgotten all about it.

And unfortunately, there’s no real way to tell if you’ve set this timer running. The handsome digital display that’s hidden behind a thin skin of plastic looks good but turns off after a few seconds of inactivity. What that means in operation is that you don’t know what mode you’re in without pressing a button on the remote.

Performance

• Powerful heat output
• Good temperature control

The Russell Hobbs 13 Inch Space Portable Heater has overheat protection and tip-over protection. The latter works very well: using an internal sensor as soon as the fan heater is knocked over it cuts power, and the heater can’t be turned back on until the heater is set up the correct way again.

At maximum power the Russell Hobbs 13 Inch Space Portable Heater draws around 2000W, which works out to a running cost of around 49p per hour. Switch to the low power mode, and the heater drops to 1.1kW, which works out to around 27p per hour.

This fan heater is quite loud at 69dB, so it’s not one for a room where you need silence.

With Eco mode, the heater will switch between the two modes as needed, which will help reduce costs, in a similar way to how the Dreo Atom 316 works (the Dreo heater has a lower heat output, making it a better choice for a smaller room).

Rated for rooms of up to 20m², the Russell Hobbs 13 Inch Space Portable Heater coped well in my test room, bringing it up to a comfortable temperature in a couple of hours. As the thermostat seems accurate, the fan heater switched off at the target temperature and then only switched back on and off irregularly.

How much it will cost to run depends on a lots of factors, including how well insulated your room is, if any other heating sources are turned on, and the target temperature. However, I can say that with the accurate thermostat, the Russell Hobbs 13 Inch Space Portable Heater will help minimise power draw.

I didn’t find the fan only mode that useful, as the fan’s not particularly useful. Perhaps for use on a desk, the Russell Hobbs 13 Inch Space Portable Heater could see life in the hotter months, but a dedicated fan will be a better choice.

Should you buy it?