So...does it plug in?

If so, how the heck is it Amish?

I'll bet the Amish would be pissed to find this article online, if only they read Consumerist.

In the commercial, there's a man assembling one of the heaters while the narrator talks about the "high quality hardwood Amish construction". Behind him, in clear sight of the camera, you can see a stack of laminated "wood", with the raw particle board edge showing.

Needless to say, I lol'd.

@thebigbluecheez: Are they allowed to read it if someone printed it out for them?

@FoxCMK: for that my friend you must check your their website.

@yungjerry703: i meant to say "check out their website"

fail...

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but my dad bought one of these.

@FoxCMK: The Amish only assembkle the "wood" shell; the heater inside is from China and is installed in a different factory. It's just a marketing gimmick.

@Traveshamockery: what happened to the good old days when they thought cameras would steal their soul?

@GMFish: Why on earth would he do such a thing? I mean, I get that maybe a regular space heater isn't the most stylish of appliances, but $349 for a few pieces of veneered wood and glue? Really?

I want a few of these so badly. But, I am never available when it is the designated time to call in for my zone. There is such a demand that you can only call in at your designated time period! That must mean they are super good!!!

@craptastico: Are you implying that they don't? Kodak is the third antichrist. Everyone knows that.

This was a TWO page ad in the Sunday Times Magazine....?
Boy, they must be really desperate at the Old Gray Lady..........

@pecan 3.14159265:

maybe only from an original Gutenberg Printing Press?

@edbro: Isn't there also a limit of 5 per customer? Gotta be good when they want to be sure EVERYONE cane get one for their home!

You'd be better off buying an oil filled radiator heater. They use less energy than a space heater...sure you don't feel hot air blowing on you, and they take more time to heat up a room...but once they get going they do a fine job and use less energy.

These are nearly the bane on my existence as CSR for an electric & gas company. Last year we talked with so many people suckered into thinking that "Oh, I'll show the gas company a thing or two, buy 5 of these and have no gas usage this winter"
2 months later...

"Hi this is so and so from that power company, how can I help you?"
"WTF WHY IS MY ELECTRIC BILL 600.00 FOR ONE MONTH?!!?!!!?!"

Oh, this winter is going to be fun again

@pecan 3.14159265: He is embarrassed enough already. No need to give him more hard time.

The Amish should trademark the term "Amish" so that shady grifters can't put Amish on everything and make people think it was made by Amish people. Seriously, I think I saw an Amish MP3 player the other day!

And on another note, I saw a show on PBS once (I think, maybe it was the Food Network) where Amish women were working in a pasta factory with machines and what not. The pasta was all natural, but how do they get around the fact they are using sophisticated machinery?

I like how progressive and open minded these Amish heater people are. They have targeted ads for lesbians. I saw this version of their ad in the back of Rolling Stone a few months ago: [www.flickr.com]

@Saboth: Easy fix for that, get that fan you used to keep cool, put it behind the radiator and set it to low.

also, if you look at the pic, women are working along side the men. I thought this was not allowed in Amish society, men do certain jobs, while women do others. I could be wrong, though. Still, it make me laugh everytime I see this ad

@Al Swearengen: Well, when I was in high school, an Amish guy near me (yes, I've lived my whole life near the Amish) was e-mailing me to try to involve me in some damned pyramid scheme. The Amish can use electricity, computers, phones, power tools, and everything else in their business--just not in their homes.

@Saboth: I love those. Plus they're very safe, which is important to me.

@GMFish: That's not so bad, my mom bought two of them. It sucks when parents get old and fall for scams they never would have a few years earlier. I just wish she would ask my opinion before shelling out the cc number.

@captadam: It depends on the congregation--different Amish congregations and communities will have different rules. A practice can be allowed in one community and forbidden in another.

@pecan 3.14159265: I'm guessing you asked that as a joke, but the answer is yes.

@FoxCMK: Well... it is where you plug it in... in the south end of a north bound horse of course.

I just like that they're still working on finishing the fireplace while there's already a blazing hot fire inside.

@Al Swearengen: It's not that the Amish are forbidden from using any and all technology. It's a byzantine set of rules, but elders determine whether or not technology will be more of a help or temptation.

Here's just one article on cell phone use by the Amish:
[www.time.com]

In the more balanced articles, it comes down to this - having a house phone is still forbidden because that's ripe for tempting others to interrupt your family time (or for you to take attention away from your family or for you to call someone and gossip). But a cell phone can mean the difference between life and death if someone is injured in a back field and a cell phone can allow you to call someone in the barn to bring out supplies to the back 40 and make work more efficient.

Amish can have electricity in work shops - because the electricity there is to make work more efficient. At home, electricity can be a major distraction (you'll stay up later, you'll be tempted to watch television or listen to radio). They cannot have electricity in the home. They can have propane refrigerators.

It's a rather interesting process.

@pecan 3.14159265:
From my experience with the Amish in NE Ohio, they would be allowed to read it. I used to work at a Dairy Queen when I was in high school and a family would show up in a van that was operated by a non-Amish person. It seems as though it's a loophole in the Amish contract with god, a hole in the sheet if you will.

But does the Amish one have that same "burning vinyl insulation" smell that the cheap ones in stores have?

@pecan 3.14159265: They can if they're on Rumspringa!

@madfrog: Different Amish groups have different rules. Like other Anabaptists, they don't have centralized control.

@Al Swearengen: just like any religion, amish adherence to "the rules" varies. each community decides what parts of "english" society they wish to allow or disallow.

the more isolated an amish community is from outsiders (english), the more likely they will have more traditional rules (no electricity, no cars, no rollerblades, etc.). amish communities on the fringe where amish meets the rest of the world typically have more liberal rules. it's not uncommon for these communities to use electricity in the barn or even the home, have telephones & even drive cars.

each community decides what is best for that community - there's no central church or universal guidebook on what amishfolk can & cannot do, have, use to be considered amish.

@Teradoc: LOL FAIL.

@catnapped: I have 3 street addresses. Does that mean I can get 15 of them if I use different CCs?

@craptastico: Uh... the Amish don't actually believe that.

@Saboth: Energy is energy. Where do you think the wasted energy goes in the less efficient ones?

@madfrog: yes, typically men & women have separate work, but their work need not be separated. in the ad, it appears the women are polishing the mantles, which is in line with their societal principles. women would not be responsible in the production of the mantles, but polishing would most likely be considered work suitable for women or children.

In response to those who think the Amish (and Mennonites) can't use machinery and electricity... Of course they can and do, but there are rules governing the use depending on what order they belong too. For example there are old order folks who are generally as God fearing and honest as Adam and Eve before meeting the snake. I had cause to work with some old order folks when I built foundations and at the end of the day they would empty the nails from their nail pouches back into the boxes because "those nails don't belong to me." These folk only have electricity where absolutely required, like for a dairy barn. They avoid electric machinery except where absolutely required. I even saw a complete carpentry shop driven off air because they were permitted to run a diesel compressor but not electric motors. They walk, hitch the horse or jump on a bicycle to get around. Hard bargaining folk, but honest.

Jump to the other extreme and you have folk who are Amish (and Mennonite) in name only. They integrate into the larger society without anyone's notice. These folk can behave just as the rest of society does including the low lifers, with wife beaters, thieves, liars, grifters, cheats, you name it.

People are people no matter where you go or who they pray to. The trick in life is to get a feeling for who's going to kick you in the nardlies given half a chance.

I would suggest anyone getting taken by the "Amish" miracle heaters are missing the basic truth about these devices. They are remarkable heaters... the Amish folk who assemble the cabinetry are getting all warmed up building them for everyone else to buy. Much like a good cord of firewood, heats you twice, once in the cutting and then in the burning.

@craptastico: That's gypsies, not Amish.

@Saboth:
And you can get about four of them for the price of one Amish heater!!

@RecordStoreToughGuy_OwesNigeriaAnApology: If Amish teens started reading Consumerist during Rumspringa, I'm not sure they'd return to the community. It's that good. Also, Five Guys burgers and TiVo.

@Skaperen: Sure, energy is energy, but that doesn't mean two different appliances require the same amount of power.

@Teradoc: With all the new revenue, you deserve a raise

Electric Amish heaters? I guess that can only mean it's one time of year!

@puddy77: No, that's a picture of my bed while I was in the shower

There's a touristy Amish town north of Kansas City.

One Amish-run furniture business comes down to the city for the home show. They sell SUPER nice pieces of furniture. Their workshop is attached to the warehouse they sell out of. I figure they get a lot of business at the home show and there were 3-4 cars at their store in the middle of farm country on a February weekend.