Amish Electric Fireplace Review – Heat Magic or Marketing Magic?

I love this country. We don’t make as many products as before, but we will always be the masters of the marketing universe. No other country can take something as mundane as a 1500 watt heater and repackage it as the Second Coming. A perfect example of this marketing ingenuity is the Amish Heat Surge electric fireplace.

Stem! shine! The Heat Surge Miracle Heater is a work of genius off the coast of China! True Amish craftsmanship goes into every mantle! And, to quote the Heat Surge website, “it’s not just a fireplace, it’s a good piece of furniture.”

But you have to ask yourself: do I want to spend $587 on a mini electric fireplace on wheels that produces no more heat than any other 1500 watt space heater that costs $500 less?

To be fair, this is a valid question for all electric fireplaces, not just the heat wave. Believe it or not, you could easily spend over $2,000 on a combination electric fireplace and entertainment center heated by the same 1,500-watt unit.

No matter how much you pay for an electric fireplace, the cost attributable to electric heating is about $250 (retail). So every dollar you spend over $250 goes towards the mantel. In the case of the Amish Cherry fireplace, $250 subtracted from the retail price of $587 leaves $337 for the cost of the mantel.

Since the Amish heater is a mini electric fireplace, it’s hard to find a similarly sized electric fireplace for comparison’s sake. The best I could come up with is the ProCom 24″ Cherry Finish Electric Fireplace.

Although this fireplace is the smallest ProCom makes and uses a similar 24″ wide heating insert, its overall dimensions are still 2 1/2 times larger than the Heat Surge fireplace.

Last time I checked, the ProCom 24″ Cherry Finish Fireplace was available online for $400. After subtracting $250 for the heating insert, the mantel for ProCom is $150.

So why would you be willing to pay more than double for an Amish mantel less than half the size of a comparable fireplace that costs 30% less?

It’s the magic of marketing Baby!

If you buy an Amish electric fireplace, it won’t be for the boring 1500 watts of heat that every other heater out there offers. What will excite you enough to pull out your credit card is an inexplicable attraction to the Amish, the promise of superior Amish craftsmanship, and pride of ownership.

I can’t explain an inexplicable attraction, but I’ll accept the claim of superior Amish craftsmanship. However, “craftsmanship” comes at a price. Over a three-year period, the premium you pay for an Amish fireplace will add an additional $5 per month, or $180, to your actual heating costs compared to the purchase price of a 24″ Pro Com fireplace.

This brings me to the second problem I have with marketing this product.

If you visit the Heat Surge website, you won’t find a picture of the Amish fireplace with the wheels attached. The reason for this, in my opinion, is that the wheels make it look “tiny” compared to how “substantial” it looks when displayed without the wheels.

So how much pride can you take in a product that the manufacturer is embarrassed to display in its entirety?

It’s a shame. The casters are actually a selling point because they provide the means for zone heating – simply roll the fireplace from room to room as needed. Zone heating, or heating only the room you occupy, allows you to adjust your home’s master thermostat for substantial fuel savings.

On the other hand, it is impossible to attempt to “zone heat” your home for multiple occupants spread over multiple rooms with a single Amish fireplace.

I have a few other issues with your marketing claims that I could elaborate on, such as “Uses as much energy to run as a coffee pot” and regional energy costs, but they have little to do with profitability when you pay $587 for a space heater from 1,500 watts.