Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Pisen 7500 mAh Hand Warmer and Power Bank Review

Many people have cold hands, especially in the winter. One solution that's been around awhile is the battery-powered hand warmer. These don't emit smoke or odor like the "old-fashioned" ones that operate on lighter fluid. They come in various sizes, based on the amount of battery power they have. A standard entry is the 2500 milli Amp hour size. This review covers the Pisen 7500 mAh size, which I bought hoping it will heat for the 3-4 hours claimed. Included with the unit are a very short USB cable, a printed manual written in partial Chinese-English, but no sock. (Many warmers include a sock to insulate the user a bit from the substantial heat the warmers produce. I'm rushing this review now because some of the reviews on Amazon suggested that the unit doesn't work. After I charged the unit up to 100% (in just a couple of hours), I pressed the "Hot" button and nothing happened. At first, I wondered if the reviews were right. I had read through the owner's manual twice, but couldn't find out how to turn it on. After a very careful third reading, I came across a sentence that said you have to PRESS AND HOLD the Hot button for one and a half seconds to turn on the warming function. Same to turn off the warmer. Pressing and holding turns on a little orange light and the warmer works. So far so good. More later.

Monday, December 11, 2017

Ruvati RVM4350 Stainless Steel Sink Review

If it's any indication, my wife practically sang for joy when the Ruvati RVM4350 stainless steel sink was installed. Back story. Wife and I looked at several places for a new sink, (The Blue Store and the Orange Store included). The hardware stores just didn't have what we were interested in, even though for $250 or so, the price was okay. I say that because we looked at some stores with $750 sinks. They were okay, too, but not worth the price. Shopping around was a great educational experience, though, because it refined our preferences: 1. A 16-gauge steel sink is thicker than an 18-gauge steel sink. Just as a 12-gauge wire is thicker than a 14-gauge wire. Go figure. 2. Undermount sinks allow you to sweep the counter into the sink with no lip to worry about. 3. Sound deadening is desirable. It keeps your sink from dinking loudly when it is hit with something (knife, glass, pan). So, I happened to find myself searching on Amazon and came across the Ruvati RVM4350 16-gauge, T-304 stainless steel, low divide, undermount sink with noise reduction (sound attenuation) panels. Included are two rinse grids that fit into the bottom of each bowl. (At one store the $750 sink had rinse grids available for another $65 each.) The rinse grids are great, both for protecting the sink bottom from damage by pots and pans, and for keeping dishes and vegetables up off the the bottom when you are rinsing them. The Ruvati RVM4350 also includes two basket strainers that have a deep strainer that can be pulled out. The strainer baskets can catch quite a lot of debris before they fill up and need to be dumped. This is a real benefit over ordinary sink strainers. The low-rise middle divider is handy for washing large platters and other dishes because it allows you to spill water into both sinks while soaping or rinsing. If you are in the market for an excellent, large new stainless steel sink, you certainly should consider the Ruvati RVM4350. Dimensions: 32.25 inches wide, 18.875 inches front to back, 8.5 inches deep. Bottom line: This is what five stars is all about.