I look at the effects in the Correa device as a whole. There are many signs of excess energy output. I don't think that the production of excess heat was a major goal. My understanding is that he was able to input one pulse of energy and get two pulses in different directions out. By harnessing both he was able to produce more electrical output than input. The same claim of more electrical output was made by Chernetsky (feel free to call Harold Puthoff a nutcase if you think his device was a total hoax), Tesla (the spark gap was the source of the apparent excess energy in my opinion), Kenneth Shoulders (although I don't have proof I believe that Eric Davis built a replica of a unit in an Air Force base and produced excess energy), and a series of others. I think Rossi added copious lithium and other elements to maximize heat production (probably from alpha particle production) rather than electrical output.
George Egely did a great job of describing all these systems at ICCF 21. Is he a crackpot too as far as you are concerned?