TPI HP610001202T Hotpod Supplemental Duct Mounted Heating System, Standard, 6" Inlet, Hardwire, 1000/500 W, White

I was a little skeptical at first. I’m a firefighter and didn’t see how this thing could be safe. However, I went in the attic when it was running and I no longer have any worries. It didn’t feel unsafe to me at all. Yet the room was warm. And there is an extreme difference from that room to the rest of the office. Which is exactly how it was suppose to work. I have it in a sensory deprivation room. So it’s suppose to be around 84 degrees in that room compared to the rest of the office which is low 70’s. Price certainly beats putting in another air handler and it’s perfect.

Added this to the end of a very long duct run that probably should have an additional furnace. It really does take care of the couple of registers it serves. Amp draw is a bit higher than the specs indicate, so dedicate a circuit if possible. Quiet as a mouse during operation. You may want to upgrade the stat it comes with if it’s going to be seen.

Overall, I am happy with the results so far with this auxiliary heating unit. Since it has been only installed for about a week, I can’t report on its effect on the utility bill but that wasn’t a concern with our decision to install it in the first place. What we needed was to add heat to a room that was remote from our natural gas furnace, located on the windy side of our house, and was occupied by my mother-in-law who is rapidly becoming intolerant of anything but warm conditions. We decided to go with an inline duct heater to avoid too much disturbance within the room (i.e. drywall dust, new things to keep clean) and a lack of baseboard space for baseboard electric heat.The installation took me about 4 hours including installing the circuit from the electrical panel to the unit location, installing the thermostat wiring into and the thermostat onto the bedroom wall, cutting the ductwork, installing the Hotpod unit with the Silentboot accessory and the associated wiring, sealing the ductwork, and providing proper supports for the entire assembly. So here is the bad and the good to complement the 4-star rating for this TPI 6” Hotpod model.I’ll start with the bad to get them out of the way. The list is longer than the good but I didn’t feel the items in this list held a lot of weight with the end result, so, just one star lost.1. The directions were terrible. Most of the information you need is there, albeit out of order, poorly described and then duplicate measurements with and without the use of a SilentBoot (additional component purchase) for both this unit and the 8” duct size unit, more information on the thermostat(s) than the Hotpod itself. A few items need to be interpreted from the information and diagrams given. All this being said, I have found most direction sets I have worked with lately are matching in poor clarity of thought and order.2. When I opened the box and pulled out the Hotpod unit, the flange on the intake side was bent. There was no damage to the packaging so I can only assume it was packaged in a damaged state. I was able to repair it within a minute or so but it was an annoyance.3. The wiring for the included thermostat stated “min 20AWG” conductor sizing for the thermostat wire. Not sure if this was a typo or if the writer does not understand wiring sizing but 18AWG thermostat wire I used would not push into the prewired connector for the controls on the unit. I ended up removing the prewired connector and just hardwiring to the control board screw terminals.4. A final minor gripe which I knew before I bought this unit. Best practices have all crimped pieces going in the direction of the airflow to avoid leakage points and resistance to airflow at the joints. This unit is designed to accept crimped connections on both the intake, which fits best practices, and the outflow, which means right at the added source of heat and airflow is introduced a resistance and leakage point. Maybe it has to be done this way but it seems to me that a reduced outflow flange that would seat into the 6” duct would be a better design.So now the good,1. Other than the time it took to figure out the actual measurements I needed and the time to remove the prewired connector and make my connections to the control board in the unit, the installation and wiring of the Hotpod itself was a breeze. As noted, I did use the Silentboot component so I didn’t have to fight getting the ductwork back together around the Hotpod or use a splicing clamp/collar. I would highly recommend the Silentboot accessory(about $30 when I bought it) simply for the ease of installation point.2. They included a simple thermostat with the unit. Sure, it isn’t a high cost item but it did save me an extra purchase/trip.3. It is relatively quiet for how close it is to the register… about 6 feet away. The Silentboot is supposed to help with this by isolating the unit from the solid ductwork connected to the register.4. Most importantly, it heated up the room to a good comfort level for my mother-in-law without us having to heat the rest of the house to a warmer temperature.The unit itself gets 5-stars for accomplishing exactly what TPI said it would. But the installation directions need a workover and the quality control or packaging department needs to be a little more aware to avoid sending damaged units. I’m hopeful that these two shortfalls are not indicative of the Hotpod quality.

I had a lot of questions regarding this item. We live up in an older house that only has one source of heat. The back rooms can get icy cold. The 6" Hotpod takes about 45min-60min to take the bite out of the air. I purchased the uncorded model and wired a corded plug myself. It was easy. I also wired the thermostat, which incidentally requires you buy the wire. I recommend getting 10-15 feet and just cut to length accordingly. You know how it goes with judging distance in crawlspaces. You think 9 feet and it's actually 11. Also, 18 gauge wire for the thermostat works. There was a reviewer who mentioned difficulty with getting the wire to shove into the plug but I think he was pushing it on the wrong side of the clip. My set-up starts at the wall, pulling warm air from living room where the propane heater is, and then runs about 3 1/2 feet to the back room, where a vent is located above the doorway. The total run is about 4 1/2 feet. The manufacturer recommends 4 feet from the unit to the vent, but my situation differs. The unit does not get really hot. It is designed to take the inflowing air and heating up to 26 degrees hotter. It will cut off at 90 degrees. The thermostat can also be switched to cool air if you wish. What I found interesting is that the heating coils are on the inflow side and the fan is on the outflow side of the TPI Hotpod, so pay attention to the arrows so you don't install it backwards. Also, the distributer told me that the 6" has a more concentrated and so stronger outflow than the 8". One more thing, you have to attach the thermostat for the unit to work. It will not cut on without it.

Tried 2 separate unitsFirst wouldn’t heat second came in a open box missing thermostat and the blower was seized but heated well. Returned both and going another way in our cabin.