Lasko 5165 23-Inch Digital Ceramic Oscillating Tower Space Heater

Lasko 5165 23-Inch Digital Ceramic Oscillating Tower Space Heater

By Lasko · Space Heaters · Home & Workspace

  • 1500W ceramic heating, 2 quiet heat settings
  • 23-inch oscillating tower, built-in carry handle
  • Digital thermostat with 8-hour timer
  • Remote control included
  • Cool-touch housing with overheat protection

Lowest price seen
~$32.40 (approx.)
from $32.40 at Amazon

Prices are snapshots. Check the current price with the store.

Summary

A 1500 W ceramic tower heater for supplemental room heat, with remote, timer, oscillation and a digital thermostat. Check the thermostat before you buy: automatic temperature control works only on High, not on Low.

Strengths

  • Slim 8.13 × 8.13 in footprint at 6.0 lb, easy to move between rooms.
  • Three-year warranty, and Lasko pays return shipping after a repair or replacement.
  • Remote, timer and oscillation cover the essentials with no app or hub.
  • The display reads room temperature and switches between Fahrenheit and Celsius.
  • Automatic overheat protection shuts the unit off and the housing stays cool to the touch.

Weaknesses

  • The thermostat regulates only on High; in Low mode the unit runs continuously with no automatic temperature setting.
  • It cycles within roughly a 3-degree band around the set point instead of holding it tightly.
  • No tip-over switch is documented for this model, and the manual is a 2013 revision.
  • Seller copy implies the display shows the air coming out; the manual says it shows room temperature.
  • Best Buy Q&A customers call the button beep “way too loud”; no way to disable it is documented.
  • Support and replacement remotes run through a phone line, 800-233-0268, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm ET.

Verified specifications

Model5165, “Digital Ceramic Tower Heater with Remote Control” in Lasko’s own naming.
Heat outputHigh 1500 W on power-up; Low is a second, continuous setting.
Power supplyplugs into a 120 V wall outlet; the manual warns against extension cords, relocatable power taps and multi-outlet adapters.
Electrical envelope7.5 A to 12.5 A current, 900 W to 1500 W energy output, per the manufacturer’s spec table.
Heat settingstwo; automatic temperature control operates on High only.
Thermostatthe unit shuts off 2 degrees above the set point and restarts 1 degree below it.
Displaydigital, shows room temperature rather than the air being emitted; toggles between Fahrenheit and Celsius.
Timer1 to 8 hours in 1-hour steps; pressing the timer button after 8 hours resets it to continuous run.
Oscillationtoggle control; pauses when the set temperature is reached and resumes when the heater cycles back on.
Remote controlduplicates every manual control; runs on two AAA batteries, which the manual says are not included.
Safetyautomatic overheat protection that shuts the unit off and needs a reset; cool-touch housing; ETL Listed.
Fan behaviorthe fan keeps running about 15 seconds after the heater shuts off at set temperature.
Warrantythree years from the date of purchase, per the manual.
Intended useresidential supplemental heat only; the manual excludes bathrooms, laundry areas and agricultural buildings.
Dimensions22.75 × 8.13 × 8.13 in; 6.0 lb.
Full research notes and sources

How the thermostat works

On power-up the unit runs High at 1500 W, and High is also the only mode with automatic temperature control. You set a target with the plus and minus buttons; the heater shuts off when the room reaches 2 degrees above that target and restarts when it falls 1 degree below, so it holds a band rather than a point. In Low mode the unit simply runs continuously — the manual states plainly that you cannot set the temperature automatically on Low.

The display shows room temperature, not the temperature of the air being emitted, which the manual says explicitly. In automatic mode the oscillation pauses when the set temperature is reached and resumes when the heater cycles back on, and the fan runs about 15 seconds after the heater shuts off, which the manual documents as normal behavior.

Home Depot’s listing advertises 5100 BTU and three regulation settings; neither figure appears in the manual or in Lasko’s spec table, which lists two heat settings and a 900 W to 1500 W energy-output range. Nobody has published an instrumented test of the 5165, so treat the 1500 W figure as a nameplate setting, not a measured draw.

Warranty, support and repairs

The manual’s warranty lasts three years from the date of purchase and covers the original purchaser only. You pay return shipping to Lasko with proof of purchase; Lasko pays shipping back after a warranty repair or replacement. Lasko applies the same three-year term to its newer 5775 tower, which makes the term look like the brand’s current standard rather than a one-off.

The unit is sealed: the manual forbids taking it apart and documents no user-serviceable parts. Non-routine servicing goes through Lasko customer service at 800-233-0268, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm ET, which is also how you order a replacement remote. If the unit overheats, the reset procedure is unplug, wait 10 minutes, plug back in. Brand-level ConsumerAffairs reviews across many Lasko models describe thermostats running past set point and a plug that sparked after about a year of use; none of that is tied to the 5165.

Cleaning and running costs

Cleaning is vacuum-only: the intake grills every two weeks with a brush attachment, a toothbrush or soft-bristle brush for what the vacuum misses, and a soft cloth for the body — never alcohol or solvents, never water immersion, never disassembly. Keep combustible materials 3 feet (0.9 m) from the front and 1 foot (0.3 m) from the sides and rear. Lasko’s own support pages attribute heater vibration to lint and debris on the fan blade and call slight vibration normal, which matches the manual’s cleaning advice.

Running costs are consumables only. There are no filters — Lasko told a ConsumerAffairs caller the heater has none — and the remote needs two AAA batteries that are not included. Energy use depends on how you run it: High is a thermostat-cycled 1500 W, while Low’s wattage is not published, so the manufacturer’s 900 W to 1500 W range cannot be mapped to a per-hour cost. High mode cycling at 2 degrees off and 1 degree on will use less energy than a fixed continuous run in the same room.

Is it worth it?

At $79.99 from Lasko’s own store and the same $79.99 at Home Depot (both pages read 2026-10-08), this is a reasonable supplemental heater: small footprint, simple controls, a three-year warranty. Walmart last showed $67.47 on an out-of-stock listing.

Above $100 it gets harder to recommend. Above $130 it is poor value next to newer Lasko towers that document tip-over protection and appear in current roundups: this model has no documented tip-over switch, a 2013-revision manual, thermostat regulation on High only, and no independent test data. If you plan to run it mostly in Low mode, price it as a heater with a remote and timer, not a true thermostat.

Which model this is

The 5165 is sold as the “23-inch” ceramic tower; its own spec table says 22.75 in tall, and a store tag once said 22 in. White and silver/black are color variants of the same model number.

Do not confuse it with the Lasko 5775, a similar 23-inch tower with no remote, or the Lasko 751320, a different model with its own feature list and review pool.

Its Amazon listing is ASIN B0058U33UQ.

Sources

Manufacturer:

Retailer prices:

Model boundaries:

Owner reports:

Independent reviews:

No independent instrumented test of the 5165 was located; the review landscape for this model is retailer Q&A text and brand-level commentary.

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