Home and Kitchen – Page 34

Kuna announces new Maximus floodlight camera

Kuna has recently announced a follow-on to their Smart Security Light (that I reviewed a few years ago), the Maximus Floodlight Camera. The new Maximus Floodlight Camera can detect motion in a 270-degree arch within a 70-foot range. It has 2400-lumen floodlights (5000K color temp) and a 1080p HD security camera (H264) built into its housing. Like their Smart Security Light, the Kuna Floodlight will have Push-to-Talk, Play Pre-Recorded messages, set Automated Greetings, and sound 100dBA alarm, all via the Kuna smart app. The floodlights can be activated by motion, dusk till dawn mode, via the smart app, and by voice courteous of Alexa. Sadly we’ll have to be patient, the Kuna Maximus Floodlight won’t be available till the summer of 2018. No price as of yet but will be available in black and white.

Flip-It caps let you use every last drop from bottles

Whether it’s lotion, ketchup, syrup, or something else, we’ve all experienced that moment when we squeeze a bottle and nothing comes out of the spout even though there’s product still left inside the bottle. So what do we do? We shake it, bang it on the counter, or if we’re ultra thrifty, we might actually cut the bottle open to scrape every last drop that’s left. There has to be a better way right?

Right! Flip-It caps to the rescue! When your bottle of lotion or ketchup stops pouring, just unscrew the cap and replace it with a Flip-It cap. The pull to open cap looks and works just like normal bottle spouts, except for one very important difference. Flip-It caps also have legs that allow you to stand the bottle upside down. Can you guess what happens next? That’s right, gravity takes over and everything that was at the bottom of the bottle eventually migrates to the new bottom which allows for easy squirtage. Yes, I just made up that term and think we should make sure it becomes the official word for 2018.

Flip-It caps are available in a variety of individual and sets that range in price from $12.95 to $29.95 from Amazon.

IQAir Atem personal air purifier review

I suffer from seasonal allergies and live in an area where avoiding the trees and grasses that are the catalyst for my symptoms is impossible. The dry air in Colorado also makes for a very dusty indoor environment so between the great outdoors and the dusty indoors, my stuffiness and irritated eyes are on round the clock.

The purifiers I have owned in the past have been bulky and loud and didn’t offer many choices in fan speed. Many on the market are either on or off and others offer 3 different speeds, all noisy. I honestly just thought that’s the way it was. Admittedly I didn’t spend a lot of time researching and testing different air purifiers because my ignorance of these products was pretty robust as it turns out. I haven’t bought an air purifier in the last 5 or so years but the last one I bought was a little unit that was about the size of a clock radio and sat on my nightstand. I was truly amazed by the amount of noise something so small could generate, hence I no longer use that product.

The Atem from IQAir has been a wonderful addition to my life and I have really been enjoying all of the customization and technology that is packed into this beautiful product. Set up was simple. The unboxing and set up time took about a minute. You only have to attach the power cable to the base then attach the base to the purifier then plug it in. There are no buttons or switches on the Atem. The power and fan speed are controlled by simply touching the Atem logo in the middle of the purifier. You can cycle between low, medium, high and off. Each setting is paired with a light under the air output vent. Red is off, and the blue light extends as you go from low to medium to high (see pictures later in this review).

My absolute favorite part of this product is the Bluetooth pairing to my smartphone. The IQAir Atem app allows for full customization of the device and also can be a remote control for it if you like. When I was first exploring the device I had not downloaded the app yet and thought that while very sleek and attractive, it was just another regular purifier with nothing other than the cool look to distinguish it. How wrong I was. After downloading the app and easily pairing it with the purifier using the code on the Atem, it took a few minutes to update the firmware. After that was done, my app was showing me what was going on with the purifier and in the surrounding environment and allowed me to control the unit from my phone. Once paired the app will show you the current status of the fan, ambient temperature and humidity and the remaining filter life. That really impressed me! Here is a screenshot of my phone while using the app. To adjust the fan speed between your presets or to turn it off using the app, just touch the screen where it says “low”.

When I went into the configuration menu I saw that I had full control of what fan speed was associated with the low, medium and high settings. Each setting could be programmed with a fan speed between 5-100%. There is also a “Smart on/off” feature, which when activated will turn off/on your Atem at your customized period of time when your phone leaves or enters the Bluetooth range of the unit. This is a great way to save power and filter life without even thinking about it. The unit rotates on the solid metal stand to direct air in any direction you want. The following screenshots are the options you have to configure the unit to your specific needs.

Currently, I have the Atem on my desk in my office. It sits right next to my computer monitors so it is relatively close to me when I am working. I have set my fan speeds at 40, 66 and 100%. I find myself using the low and medium speeds most of the time. When I use the 100% speed when my office is warm or I want to move some air, I am amazed by the output of this relatively small device. When set to the upper limits of the fan speed it is no longer whisper quiet but with the volume of air it is moving, I would never expect it to be. At the 40-66% range where I have it set nearly all of the time I can barely notice any sound, which is a great improvement over previous purifiers I have owned.

Here are some pictures showing the lighting when the unit is off and on the three preset fan speeds:

Off

Low

Medium

High

With the stand and power cord, the Atem weighs in at 6.26 pounds and is 12.44″ H x 5.51″ W x 11.77″ D. It is offered in white or black, both come with grey trim. It uses a HyperHEPA filter and the Atem will notify you when the filter needs to be changed on both the app and with the onboard lights. They say that the average filter life is approximately 1 year assuming 10 hours/day at the default level 3 fan speed.

Now all of these great features come with a hefty price tag. At $399, this is pushed into a different league than many of the other small area purifiers that you would find at your big box stores or online. I truly believe that your money is well spent if you want to clean the air around your office, kitchen or bedroom and want the functionality that is unlocked when you pair this with your smartphone. If you don’t think the capabilities provided by the smartphone interface are important or necessary then this product may not be for you as that is where much of the value is in my opinion. I didn’t know how much I would use an app to control my air purifier until I received this product though. Now I don’t even touch the purifier, I just use my phone.

Positives

Wide range of customizable settings using the app
Extremely quiet when running in the middle and low ranges of air output
Can move high volumes of air if you set it to 100%
Beautiful sleek design that will look great on a desk, shelf or table
Sturdy construction and easy to set up
Long filter life; automatic on/off when your phone is in or out of Bluetooth range

Negatives

Expensive, but for good reason given the functionality of full customization and ambient conditions via the smartphone app

Final thoughts

I could not be happier with the IQAir Atem Personal Air Purifier. I love having it in my office where I sit/stand at my desk for most of the day and having a little personal area of clean air has been very nice. I have not brought this home to sit on my nightstand yet but I plan to do so soon or whenever I am willing to let it go from my office. I can also see this being a great addition to the kitchen while cooking to keep the air clean and circulating so you aren’t left with the leftover smell of sautéed mushrooms or fried bacon for hours after cooking. The customizability, style, functionality when used with the app and overall extremely high build quality are the main reasons I will highly recommend this product.

IQAir also offers a wide range of air filtration products to fit nearly any space. I have been so impressed with this smaller unit that I am looking at larger ones for my home.

Price: $399.00
Where to buy: IQAir and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by IQAir.

Jigger Bottle Stoppers are the perfect gift for the home-bartending chemist

As a chemist, I have a weakness for laboratory glassware or items that even mimic labware. This set of Jigger Bottle Stoppers caught my eye, because they combine barware shapes – whiskey glass, snifter, hurricane, and martini glass, respectively – with a labware feel. Measurement markings both add to the lab feel, and they serve as handy measuring guides for mixing drinks when you use them as jiggers. You can even use them as shot glasses, but I’m not sure how you’d ever set it down when the drink is gone. And when you’re done tending bar, they can be used as bottle stoppers for your potent potables. The jiggers are made of glass, and they have a silicone stopper bottom. The set of four Jigger Bottle Stoppers is $19.99 at UncommonGoods.

Üllo Wine Purifier review

We drink a fair amount of wine in our world. From my wife’s Friday evening wine club to our many social engagements, we have the opportunity to indulge in some very good vino. A majority of the wine we consume comes from what most would consider classic vineyards. That said, we have several friends and coworkers who only drink sulfite-free wines. They usually pay extra and do not have nearly the selection we do across the board. So, when Julie asked if we wanted to try the Üllo Wine Purifier, the chemist in me thought it would be fun and interesting to see if it really removes the sulfites without impacting the wine itself.

The Üllo Wine Purifier is relatively simplistic in its design. The housing is engineered to hold a filter meant to remove a majority of the sulfites as you pour wine thru the assembly. The Üllo can de-sulfite both white and red wines, removing the sulfites added during the bottling process as a preservative.

According to the Üllo Kickstarter page — “An estimated three million Americans are sensitive to sulfites resulting in allergies or respiratory problems, while countless others blame these chemicals for headaches and hangovers”.

Üllo is a Chicago startup with a simple mission to bring wine back to its natural state. Doctor James Kornacki is the inventor of Selective Sulfite Capture technology and holds a doctorate in chemistry from Northwestern University. He founded Üllo in 2014 in Chicago as a Kickstarter effort that raised over $150k with thousands of backers.

POUR – All wine contains sulfites, which are artificial preservatives added during production. They are no longer needed once the bottle is opened.
PURIFY – Proprietary polymer technology filters away free sulfites and their bitter taste, while allowing other compounds in wine to flow through unaffected.
PURE WINE – Through Selective Sulfite Capture, free sulfites are reduced to a more naturally occurring level for most wines.

The ultimate goal is to “return wine to its natural state as if you opened the bottle right at the vineyard.” The Üllo is designed to remove the sulfites, restoring wine to its natural, preservative-free state thus reducing the bitter aftertaste that the chemical many times causes.

In the Box:

Üllo Wine Purifier
Travel bag
Display base
4 Selective Sulfite Capture single bottle filters

Specifications:

Dishwasher safe, BPA-free materials
Height: 5 7/8” x Width: 4 3/8”
Üllo filters are made in the USA

The Üllo assembly is made from three pieces of BPA-free plastic and rubber that all click together, are easily pried apart, and dishwasher safe. Here you see the filter that contains a porous, food-grade polymer which selectively removes sulfites while allowing the other compounds in the wine to flow through unaffected. Each filter is supposed to reduce sulfites to less than 10 ppm (parts per million) for one bottle of wine.

The Üllo is engineered to be flexible in how you use it. If you prefer wine by the glass, the Üllo is designed to sit on top of a variety of wine glasses.

Or by the bottle, the Üllo can also fit inside or on top of the mouths of a multitude of carafes and decanters as well.

As I mentioned above, the Üllo Wine Purifier can not only remove/reduce sulfites, but the internal design can aerate red wine or allow white wine to flow thru. That said, I have to add this is the Üllo’s only design weakness. We tried a multitude of different bottles of wine thru the Üllo and even sitting minutes after pouring, we found the aeration it provided lacking. We have gotten used to and prefer the substantial aeration that the Aervana electric aerator produces. But we did try the Üllo in tandem with the Aervana and I believe that achieved the best results.

Does it work…

Well, that is the 24,000 dollar question. And truth be told, I cannot give you a concrete answer without sending samples to a lab for analysis. Being the nerdy scientist I am, I would LOVE to give you some cold, hard numbers into what is a pretty subjective review. All I can give you (for the moment) is the report out from the Wine Club. And sadly results were all over the board. We tried the Üllo wine purifier on several occasions with a variety of nice wines: I found it smoothed out the flavor, a few found no change, and one thought it made the wine more acidic. Like I said…extremely subjective :-/ .

My hope…

We have friends and coworkers who happen to make wine, with several of them owning full-scale wineries. We stopped by one of them to pick up a case for the holiday get-togethers and my wife mentioned the Üllo wine purifier to Steve, the owner. Well as the story goes, Steve was very interested in not only the chemistry of it but the potential for selling it to those sulfite-sensitive/allergic folks. He says sulfite content is a question that is regularly asked. Steve was so interested, that he volunteered to not only try the Üllo but send a few samples to his lab to see if it truly works. If/when he has results I’ll update this review with some rubber meets the road data. But until then, all I can say is that I found the wine smoother with the Üllo than without it.

Bottom line…

The Üllo Wine Purifier seems like an ideal gift for those sulfite-sensitive/allergic folks you know. The Üllo itself comes with four filters and costs $80. The Selective Sulfite Capture single bottle filters cost approximately $3 each and are available in packs of 6 or 15. The Wine Club thought the filters were a bit pricey on a per bottle basis. But considering how expensive and limited sulfite-free wine is, the cost may be worth it for those needing/preferring low sulfite wines.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Üllo. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

Product Information

Price:	$80
Manufacturer:	Üllo
Retailer:	Amazon
Pros:	Removes a majority of sulfite from wine Restores wine to its natural, preservative-free state Easy to clean and store
Cons:	Aeration could be better Filter cost

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Beverage, Home and Kitchen, Wine accessory

Üllo Wine Purifier review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 9, 2017 at 11:47 am.

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