Space heaters

Ashton · Jan 25, 2015

What kind of space heaters do you use? I have one that seems to be relatively energy efficient but it is pretty old and will stop putting out constant heat after about an hour. My room isn't as insulated as I would like so when it stops and I am at school the heat gets sucked out and I come home and find it to be 68-72 F instead of the 78-85 range I want it to be.

What are the best that are cost-effective, energy efficient, safe and put out quite a bit of heat?

Ellenantula · Jan 25, 2015

I'll get flamed, but I prefer to buy older used ones off eBay because most newer ones have teflon coatings in them which produces fumes that can kill parrots (my Ts and Ps room together -- TP room). Plus, call me old (and I am) but I think the old ones were built better and safer than the cheap stuff coming from that country that shall not be named and which I am sure has wonderful people in it.
The risk of older ones, imo, is tipping over and not having auto-shut off features, also older ones tend to lack thermostats. But unless you have loose dogs/cats in T room, the tipping concern may not be an issue for you.
I don't run them if I am not home.

Edited to add: I googled the fume agent -- it's caused by PTFE-coated elements (but I just refer to it as teflon)

shawno821 · Jan 25, 2015

I like the one I bought from Home Depot. Look for one with a thermostat,a real one,preferably digital.And make sure it has tip over protection.I paid $45 for mine,and it has been running my T room for some 10 months without incident.Flame away,lol.

cold blood · Jan 25, 2015

First off 68-72 should pose no problems. My place is also not the most well insulated, and, well, I like it a bit cool when I sleep (mid-low 60's), couple that with a large number of slings in my room I made the move to heat my entire t room. I have a oil filled, radiator type. I was worried it wouldn't be enough as I recall huddling around the same kind as a child and not thinking it was even close to warm enough. Well it has 3 settings, 600W, 900W and I can turn both together for 1500W.

Well the truth is that I use it only on the lowest 600W setting, often having the dial at 3 or 4 (it goes to 6) it keeps my room at the high 70's even when its -20 outside....milder winter temps, like 15+ degrees, the room is at or above 80, and I occasionally even turn it down. It really does a nice job, although the heater does dry the room a bit more and I need to fill water dishes almost daily....but all the t's are doing well and molting at a quicker rate than during the summer months....I've had several N. chromatus slings molt after only 25-27 days.

I haven't noticed much of a difference in my heating costs.

I don't understand why anyone would expect to get "flamed" over their choice of heating method:/

viper69 · Jan 25, 2015

Ellenantula said:
I'll get flamed, but I prefer to buy older used ones off eBay because most newer ones have teflon coatings in them which produces fumes that can kill parrots (my Ts and Ps room together -- TP room). Plus, call me old (and I am) but I think the old ones were built better and safer than the cheap stuff coming from that country that shall not be named and which I am sure has wonderful people in it.
The risk of older ones, imo, is tipping over and not having auto-shut off features, also older ones tend to lack thermostats. But unless you have loose dogs/cats in T room, the tipping concern may not be an issue for you.
I don't run them if I am not home.

Edited to add: I googled the fume agent -- it's caused by PTFE-coated elements (but I just refer to it as teflon)

The fumes I didn't know about, very interesting to learn that one! Nothing like breathing toxins for a greater life.

Country of production, would that be China? There's nothing wrong with mentioning a product's country of manufacture. If it's China, so be it, it's just a fact. Every country manufactures good things and junk too, including the USA.

Ellenantula · Jan 25, 2015

cold blood said:
I don't understand why anyone would expect to get "flamed" over their choice of heating method:/

For suggesting using an appliance that clearly wouldn't be up to current codes.

---------- Post added 01-25-2015 at 04:38 PM ----------

viper69 said:
The fumes I didn't know about, very interesting to learn that one! Nothing like breathing toxins for a greater life.
Country of production....

Parrots are sensitive to the fumes, not sure if other creatures are or not -- I hope not.

As far as not mentioning the country, it was because I knew this was an international board and I wasn't sure of guidelines and all.

TsunamiSpike · Jan 25, 2015

I use the same kind as cold blood, with 3 wattage settings, normally on the low wattage at 50-75%. Does the job nicely

Poec54 · Jan 25, 2015

I use new fan-type portable heaters with digital thermostats. I wouldn't want to use anything else. A big concern is getting all the air warmed, including near outside walls, windows, and the floor. You need a fan of some sort to equalize temps, or there can be a big difference. On a cold night, that can kill spiders.

If you have an old heater, are you prepared for it dying one night in the wee hours? What's your Plan B?

Ashton · Jan 25, 2015

I had the heater run from 5 am when I wake up and turned it off from 3-5 pm. Upon turning it on I had it about a foot from the shelf and kept it there for about 30 minutes then moved it to the opposite side of the room. I have a fan going 24/7 angled towards one corner to help circulate the air but not it is pointed towards the door on high to keep most of the cooler air out.

I know this isn't the correct place but as of now my biggest concern is keeping my devil's flower mantises and spiny flowers at warmer temps to keep from a disaster.

Ellenantula · Jan 25, 2015

My space heater back-up plan is that I have 2 extra heaters as backup. Also, I will not run a space heater if I am not home. I have central heat/air and only turn on a space heater if I think their room needs a little eatra warmth.
I do have a question re: gas heat
I have a Corcho gas wall-mounted heater in storage and I am wondering if gas is safe for Ts should the electricity go out.
My house came with gas logs and I do have a gas tank out back (but all is turned off at tank since I rely on electric central heat for heating home).
But with all the cold NC is getting lately -- would gas be a safe back-up plan for when the current goes out?
I am debating installing that unit in the T room.
Is gas pretty safe (fume-wise)?

MrDave · Jan 25, 2015

Ellenantula said:
My space heater back-up plan is that I have 2 extra heaters as backup. Also, I will not run a space heater if I am not home. I have central heat/air and only turn on a space heater if I think their room needs a little eatra warmth.
I do have a question re: gas heat
I have a Corcho gas wall-mounted heater in storage and I am wondering if gas is safe for Ts should the electricity go out.
My house came with gas logs and I do have a gas tank out back (but all is turned off at tank since I rely on electric central heat for heating home).
But with all the cold NC is getting lately -- would gas be a safe back-up plan for when the current goes out?
I am debating installing that unit in the T room.
Is gas pretty safe (fume-wise)?

An indoor, vent-free, gas heater makes me pretty nervous. Even though its designed to be used indoors, I'd still be pretty scared that it could begin to malfunction and eventually begin spewing carbon monoxide gas.

But until you mentioned them, I've never heard of these things before.

I think you'd be better off getting a small gas-powered generator and run an extension cord to an electric space heater in your T room. These aren't particularly cheap though, and would probably sit unused for years until you have an extended power outage.

shawno821 · Jan 25, 2015

Your gas heater is safe,as long as you have someone qualified put it in for you.In my first house,we had them throughout the house,never an issue,and I had a ton of reptiles,many frogs and Uroplatus geckos,which are pretty sensitive critters.

Ellenantula · Jan 25, 2015

Thanks for differing gas heat advice -- I am leery of gas heat since I've never relied on it before.
The gas heat really would be for a dire emergency if I had no electricity. We had an ice storm scare a week or two ago (my area wasn't affected) but I worry more about power outages than electric back up heat.
I guess I could just purchase a carbon monoxide detector.
The gas logs would be fine for living room, but it wouldn't be easy bring the parrots and Ts into living room, But without a gas heat source of their own, that would be the only way to save them if I lost electricity.
I'm going to give this a lot of thought.

(Back to current topic: I didn't mention it before, but I do own a new Sunbeam electric space heater, but I wouldn't use it in the bird room for fear of teflon fumes. I really only posted about using older space heaters for any parrot owners reading who might not know the risks of some newer units).

Tim Benzedrine · Jan 25, 2015

Does the odor from those oil heaters not go away after extensive use? I ask because I have one, but haven't needed to use it very often and when I do- phew!
Mine looks a lot like the one pictured above, but I suppose they all look the same, more or less.

Tcollector · Jan 25, 2015

I didint read the above comments but you can get a good lasko space heater for $50-$90. I have had zero issues out of them and no fires. It heats the room to 83 degrees. However the room that I use has 2 windows but they are 100% insulated and sealed off. I also have heat lamps running on my desert scorps. Nice room to be in this time of the year

cold blood · Jan 25, 2015

Tim Benzedrine said:
Does the odor from those oil heaters not go away after extensive use? I ask because I have one, but haven't needed to use it very often and when I do- phew!
Mine looks a lot like the one pictured above, but I suppose they all look the same, more or less.

Hmmm, mine doesn't give off any odor whatsoever.

johnny quango · Jan 25, 2015

Looking at the temperature range you stated i personally wouldn't use any heater I would only use an artificial heat source if it dropped below 65 for long periods. As you probably know tarantulas and spider's in general are some of the most adaptable creatures on earth and this is another personal thing but I like my tarantulas to experience the temperature and seasonal change as this is something that happens in the wild plus if you have species from Chile they probably prefer it a little cooler or at least mine do.

Spaceblues · Jan 25, 2015

Tim Benzedrine said:
Does the odor from those oil heaters not go away after extensive use? I ask because I have one, but haven't needed to use it very often and when I do- phew!
Mine looks a lot like the one pictured above, but I suppose they all look the same, more or less.

My friend had a cichlid breeding business for a while and we converted his cellar into a giant fish room. In the winter he used an oil heater as the sole source of heat and I remember it gave off an odor for the first few days. It went away after that.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tfisher · Jan 25, 2015

L

Ellenantula said:
My space heater back-up plan is that I have 2 extra heaters as backup. Also, I will not run a space heater if I am not home. I have central heat/air and only turn on a space heater if I think their room needs a little eatra warmth.
I do have a question re: gas heat
I have a Corcho gas wall-mounted heater in storage and I am wondering if gas is safe for Ts should the electricity go out.
My house came with gas logs and I do have a gas tank out back (but all is turned off at tank since I rely on electric central heat for heating home).
But with all the cold NC is getting lately -- would gas be a safe back-up plan for when the current goes out?
I am debating installing that unit in the T room.
Is gas pretty safe (fume-wise)?

A LPS recently had five deaths due to a gas heaters leak... I don't recall what type they used but a tortoise, Madagascar day gecko, two tarantulas and something else died all in one night. Imo bad care and fumes.. Lol

TsunamiSpike · Jan 25, 2015

Tim Benzedrine said:
Does the odor from those oil heaters not go away after extensive use? I ask because I have one, but haven't needed to use it very often and when I do- phew!
Mine looks a lot like the one pictured above, but I suppose they all look the same, more or less.

The odor does go away, usually pretty swiftly, baring in mind that at current temps ours is generally on most of the time at a comfortable level and beyond the first 2 or 3 days there was no odor noticed.

Space heaters

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