Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have owned and used a ChiliPad for 3.5 years. I believe I had one of the first models (CP-100s) and for the most part, I have been satisfied with the product. I purchased a foam mattress from Amazon about 8 years ago and I love my mattress. However, it retains a massive amount of heat. I am also a "hot sleeper." The King Size unit was several hundred dollars cheaper back in the day so even the cost of the mattress and the chilipad was cheaper than even a decent mattress at the local mattress store. Here are some of the things I have expereinced over the last 3.5 years. Pros: The CP-100 would get cold. In fact, it would suck every bit of heat out of your body if you set the temperature low enough. I sleep with a heavy blanket and it would still suck all the heat out of my body. Cons The mattress pad is little uncomfortable. It took a while to get used to the tubes. When the water is running through them they are little hard. The fans on the units are loud. I am a computer guy and I don't understand why Chili didn't pay the extra dollar or two for super quiet ball bearing computer fans. The fans are way to loud. The lights. On the older units, the lights on the units were very bright. I used duct tape to cover them. Lack of support. You are basically on your own. They will replace units if they are under warranty, but you are without a unit for several weeks. Having an advanced replacement option or something like that would be nice. Lack of parts availability after warranty. On both of my units, the water pumps are bad. I just need new ones and my units would be back in business. Chili says they don't sell these parts and won't give me the name of their supplier. Repairs - The unit is pretty simple and uses some off the shelf parts. I had planned on replacing the pumps on my units and upgrading the fans to extremely quiet, high output computer fans. I will find replacement pumps, but it may take some time. Chili Cube - I purchased a stand alone chili cube for $400 because it is a prime item. I can always send it back if needed and I need a good nights sleep. It came yesterday and it was nice to see to see that the unit had several improvements, especially around the lights being on. The lights turn themselves off after a few minutes. My unit did have the option to go down to 55 degrees which is very cold for me. My mattress pad is little old and may have some tubing damage due to putting the heat on and the insulating factor of my foam mattress. I plan on replacing this in the future once I identify the type of tubing. I also have an extension which requires me to put the temperature lower. My sweet spot is usually around 60 degrees. However, the unit never reached below 64 degrees. It was an acceptable nights sleep, but not a good nights sleep. My older units would get much colder. I suspect that this unit will be going back. Future Plans - I won't be spending $1100 dollars every 2-3 years to replace my system as the parts age and Chili refusing to sell replacement parts. I am also disappointed with the performance of the Chili Cube in comparison to the older units I have but haven't found a source for a new water pump. I look at a product like this as what it costs per year of use. I paid $638.99 on March 10, 2011 for this king size dual zone unit (they had 3 year warranties back then versus 2 years now). I have 1 unit dead on arrival. The Chili head quarters is just north of Charlotte, NC so I actually went to visit them and they replaced my unit. Shortly after that, my other unit failed. I mailed that one in. However, it has run reliably for about 3 years now. That is about $210 dollars per year and I think it has been worth the money. However, I have doubts I will get the same value with the new $1100 units and the Chili Cubes. Hacking my chiller units will probably a better option (maybe buy used units as well). Conclusion - I have praised my Chili Pad and recommended it to everyone. i don't know if anyone has purchased a unit, but I have always said how wonderful it is. However, with the lack of decent support, lack of replacement parts and the fact that Chili is unwilling to assist in helping me repair my own unit (they will gladly sell me a Chili Cube instead of a water pump), I won't be recommending this product anymore. I don't think the increase in price has brought about an increase in value. I could argue with the lack of cooling ability of the new cubes, that the overall value is less. I am also disappointed to see that Chili has not spent the extra $1 per unit to have extremely quite fans on the new cube. Pro Tip - If you are leaving on a vacation, unplug your chiller unit. In fact, if you can, unplug it every night. The Chiller units will continue to pump water even when it isn't actively "on". This is most likely due to the fact the mattress is higher than the chiller unit and water tends to collect in the lowest areas (i.e. the chiller unit). I have come back from a weeks vacation to the pumps just grinding away and the fill indicator light on. I am almost certain that this is why my pumps are dead. It seems logical that you would put a check in the computer board that is the fill indicator light is on, to cut power to the pump. Maybe this is in the newer units. i don't know. However, a pump has a finite life. If you unplug the unit during the day, you can reasonably expect to extend the life of the pump by a great amount.