# What's The Deal With These Amish Fireplaces? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195 "2009-12-22T15:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/21 "2009-12-23T01:04:45Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Plus, the rat bastards who market these things on TV are crooked as corkscrews; my soon to be ex Marcie ordered one from the TV 1-800 number and was assured she had (some amount of time) to cancel the order. The number she was given was no longer connected and no other number was available. She finally managed to find a number for the company itself and they told her it was impossible to cancel her order as the piece designated for her was already under construction. She told them she would not accept it if it was shipped to our home. The TV marketing liars had promised not to bill her credit card until the thing was shipped; the charges appeared the very next day. She called her credit card company and was told that problems with these people were common; they canceled the charge and the rat bastards billed her again as soon as they were notified of the cancellation. She ended up canceling that credit card and getting a new one. That company threatened to sue her and she promised to sue them; they called our number several times a day but we pulled their trick on them; we got a new, unpublished phone number. I would NOT advise anyone to buy from those people. In fact, I would advise people to change channels as soon as one of those adds pops up. Wow! That’s brutal. What a hassle. And I thought the Amish were such gentle, peace loving people. The SDMB fights ignorance again. ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/22 "2009-12-23T01:05:56Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Your friend’s gas bill went down but his electric bill went up, if he’s heating the same amount of space. I believe that, but the OP’s friend claimed his electric bill went down. Placebo effect? Or more likely he’s heating less space as you say. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/23 "2009-12-23T01:28:00Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Plus, the rat bastards who market these things on TV are crooked as corkscrews; …\ I am shocked. SHOCKED. Nice going on the cx, though. In the past when I’ve gotten really surly about a phone order ripoff, I repeatedly dial the ordering number. Most places staff that with real live (costly) people and get enraged when you use a redial function to dial it incessantly until your problem is solved. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/24 "2009-12-23T01:53:06Z")
> [@UncleFred](#): > > I believe that, but the OP’s friend claimed his electric bill went down. > > Placebo effect? Or more likely he’s heating less space as you say. The folks who lived in my condo before me left behind an electric space heater that they used in the living room, and they told me that it did wonders for their electric bill. That’s because the thermostat is three feet down the hall from the living room. Heat up the living room, you heat up the hallway next to it. Heat up the hallway, the thermostat won’t switch on the heat pump as much. Problem is, the rest of the house gets cold as hell. You can accomplish exactly the same thing by turning down the thermostat. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/25 "2009-12-23T04:17:32Z")
On seeing them advertised, just thought it was a bunch of junk. Yep, trustworthy Amish, right,:rolleyes: But, I then saw one in a local store, not one that one that was selling them, and it was pretty appealling. The heat was nice, and, gotta say, the fireplace effect was very nice. Store owner was happy using it for the past year. So hearing **LouisB’s** account, I’d be suspicious, but my storeowner friend had only good things to say. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/26 "2009-12-23T04:32:35Z")
You can get these things at any department store - you guys do know that, right? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/27 "2009-12-23T04:53:27Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Verdict: it’s an electric heater. Correction: It’s an overpriced electric heater. > [@Cat Whisperer](#): > > You can get these things at any department store - you guys do know that, right? Not for that price, you can’t. Department stores charge much less. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/28 "2009-12-23T05:33:00Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Correction: It’s an overpriced electric heater.Not for that price, you can’t. Department stores charge much less. [They aren’t any cheaper with the wood mantel](http://www.electricfireplacesdirect.com/electric-fireplace-clearance?gclid=COjQ19rp654CFQUMDQodiWpIOQ). ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/29 "2009-12-23T07:03:43Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Problem is, the rest of the house gets cold as hell. You can accomplish exactly the same thing by turning down the thermostat. Well, except the living room would then be just as cold as the rest of the house. If you’re only using the living room, and you can effectively heat the living room with a space heater for less than it costs to heat it with the heat pump, it doesn’t seem totally ridiculous to me… ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/30 "2009-12-23T07:21:11Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > There is a similar pitch for some kind of uncirculated coins and you get a _safe for free_! The coin ads are by the World Reserve Monetary Exchange, which you can google for more info. They have the same look-and-feel, so are probably by the same people. My favorite one is the clear plastic roll of gold-colored dollar coins, which they’ll send you if you just pay the vault release fee. The first time I saw one of these ads, that fee was $98, but most recently, it was $120-something. Gosh, I really screwed up by waiting to order those gold-colored coins… Of course, the roll only has 50 coins in it, but they’re gold-colored. And did I mention the coins were gold-colored? Yes, real gold-colored coins. Just pay the vault release fee and you can have your own gold-colored roll of coins. I’m sure they must be worth a lot since they’re gold-colored… ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/31 "2009-12-23T08:00:49Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > [They aren’t any cheaper with the wood mantel](http://www.electricfireplacesdirect.com/electric-fireplace-clearance?gclid=COjQ19rp654CFQUMDQodiWpIOQ). second row on the far right, regular price $500. Sale price $499 wtf? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/32 "2009-12-23T09:15:08Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > second row on the far right, regular price $500. Sale price $499 > > wtf? Bad font to be used when crossing out numbers. That’s $599 marked down to $499. But only 5 available!!! Pretty good point-of-sale website to keep track of inventory. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/33 "2009-12-23T10:39:01Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > … And I thought the Amish were such gentle, peace loving people. … Well, them [Ohio Amish](http://www.heatsurge.com/contact-us.cfm) must be… different[.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090329/quotes) CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195/34 "2009-12-23T14:10:01Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > Wow! That’s brutal. What a hassle. And I thought the Amish were such gentle, peace loving people. The SDMB fights ignorance again. > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Well, them [Ohio Amish](http://www.heatsurge.com/contact-us.cfm) must be… different[.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090329/quotes) > > CMC fnord! Don’t mess with the [Amish](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riUNuyEA6oo). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-these-amish-fireplaces/522195.md?page=1)