Hi! I've been using a De’Longhi oil-filled radiator heater in my Quaker's room for about the past 5 years. It works beautifully! I did need to "out-gas" it in a garage for almost a
full week (running on the High setting) before the strong odor burned-off. (I was told that the smell is made up of the oils they use in the manufacturing process and to protect it from corrosion during shipping/storage.) It seemed that the smell never
completely went away when the heater runs on the High setting, but I typically just run it on Low, or only occasionally on Medium. (I don't ever need to use the High setting.) Low typically keeps the room in the low 80's (with the room door closed) while our furnace is maintaining the rest of the house at around 69-70F. I've read that other people find that their unit did not smell, or that the burn-off time only took a few hours; so it might vary between individual units or models. I called De'Longhi tech support, before the purchase, and was assured there were no
ptfe coatings (or similar coatings) on any of the parts. They seemed quite familiar with this question from other bird folks. Their heaters do seem to little pricier than some other brands, but at least there is some peace of mind from knowing that the company is willing to verify if their products are are bird-safe. I have found it very difficult to get this type of information or verification from other manufacturers. It seems that the specific model that I own is no longer available, but I would recommend De'Longhi oil-filled radiator style heaters just based on my own experience with how well this one has worked for my parrot. Even if you do end up going with a De'Longhi, you might still want to call and talk with tech-support (not customer service) to check with them about the specific model you are looking at. I plan to get another one to have as a back up. Shopping for a bird-safe heating solution can be so stressful. I hope this helps!
