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Help me buy a kotatsu!
credeiki
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I just moved into a studio apartment, and I would really like to put a kotatsu in the middle of it. I don't have an table or a couch right now, just a coffee table with an undershelf (so you can't sit on the ground with your legs under it), and I would be really pleased with getting rid of my useless coffee table and instead having a nice little heated place to eat/hang out.
Anything in particular I should be looking for while shopping? Anyone have a kotatsu that they like and would recommend (and that's available in/can be shipped to the US)?
Right now I'm considering http://www.amazon.com/YAMAZEN-ESK-751-Casual-Kotatsu-Japanese/dp/B00F2C31AM/ , which is one of the first results on Amazon. I don't mind having to use a transformer for the plug. I'm only looking at it because it has free shipping; I have no idea whether it's good or not.
Related question: can I use one of my comforters or quilts, or will they catch on fire? Do I need to buy a specifically-for-kotatsu quilt?
Anything in particular I should be looking for while shopping? Anyone have a kotatsu that they like and would recommend (and that's available in/can be shipped to the US)?
Right now I'm considering http://www.amazon.com/YAMAZEN-ESK-751-Casual-Kotatsu-Japanese/dp/B00F2C31AM/ , which is one of the first results on Amazon. I don't mind having to use a transformer for the plug. I'm only looking at it because it has free shipping; I have no idea whether it's good or not.
Related question: can I use one of my comforters or quilts, or will they catch on fire? Do I need to buy a specifically-for-kotatsu quilt?
Steam, LoL: credeiki
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Also @simonwolf
I think @Cokebotle actually bought one when we were there.
Well, if the cell phone game Neko Atsume is accurate, cats apparently love them.
*searches google for "cats and kotatsu"
Okay... apparently, cats SUPER love them. Damn.
(Side note: I was looking up Kotatsu the other day myself and was surprised that Amazon apparently offers a few. I was tempted, but.... I live in Florida, so it doesn't really stay cold all that long. ....seems like a fun/comfy piece of furniture to have though.)
We still use it here in wintertime, but bought a regular blanket to use here that's super soft from Costco. The heating element should be mounted under the table frame itself, so it shouldn't be an issue? Granted we haven't used a feather comforter or wool quilt so I don't know if that would affect things. Maybe be extra careful just in case!
And yeah, our cat loves it. She burrows underneath when it's on, and has actually figured out how to tuck herself in on our laps so her head is outside and her body is under the blanket.
And no, I've never burned myself on mine. There's a safety cage that doesn't get hot enough to directly burn you, but I can't say anything about the heater radiance and my butt...
Hope that helps!
Also having separate items might give you more utility if you move to a different place in the future; like say a 1 bedroom where you want the heater where you sleep.
Having lived in 6 different apartments in the last 10 years, I've found the "bunch of items combined into 1" possession tend to be lower quality, and less useful as my situation/layout changed.
No. There's a cage around them, as shown in the picture.
The benefit of a kotatsu quilt is that it's properly sized for kotatsu, as they typically don't correspond to bed-like dimensions. I believe that they also tend to be made of more flame retardant material, because that's sensible, not because other material will explode into flaming doom. Unless something is very wrong, the heat is being pointed down at the floor, not back up to the table top.
If you're in the U.S. you don't need a transformer. It's going to run hotter in the U.S. than it would on Japanese voltage, but given better insulation in home design and central heating, I can't imagine you'll ever need to run it on anything but the lowest setting. That's been my experience with the few people I know who've brought one back.
If you're sitting on hard flooring, I'd also recommend getting a cushion or pillow to sit on.
I get that but it seems to me like a metal cage that close to a heating element is going to get pretty hot as well. *Shrug*