After 10 to 15 uses, I can honestly say that it works exactly as it is intended. I have used cleaning solutions consisting of distilled water, distilled water and vinegar, and as you can see in the photograph posted, I have four linear bearings and one circular bearing in a WD-40 solution. I can confirm that you can use the heating function without using the ultrasonic cleaning. Please note however, once the actual temperature gets to the set temperature the heating function will turn off automatically. So if you decide to walk away from it the temperature will cool unless you once again turn on the heating function. I also observed the actual temperature display consistently reads several degrees below it's real temperature. With regard to the temperature, the bottom line is that it will ultimately get slightly above 80 degrees if that is what you want. At this price, and for cleaning bearings, or whatever else you may want to clean, that is inconsequential. I have found it easier to heat a cleaning solution a little before pouring it into the ultrasonic cleaner. It is not necessary but it will shorten the time that it takes for the unit to heat the solution to your desired temperature. If needed, I would purchase it again.