First night with heater on

pugsandkids

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Sarge spent the night with his heater on last night. I’ve been tweaking things here and there, getting it just right. He’s all warm and cozy as I post this morning.
I didn’t sleep well at all though! We are in Southern Oregon, our area seems to be spontaneously combusting on a daily basis, I’m stressed about fire hazard.
Any suggestions to further minimize this fear?
 

Yvonne G

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What is your heating/lighting situation?
 

Yvonne G

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There's no worry about fire using that type of heater. If they tip over they automatically turn off. Besides that, the box protects it from tipping over. You should be ok far as fire is concerned. How far away from the heater are the walls of the box.
 

pugsandkids

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There’s 2-3” all around.
I appreciate the reassurance!
 

Tom

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I would NOT recommend this EVER, but a buddy of mine used to use the full size type oil heaters, on high (1500 watts), and he had it literally touching the wood on the sides and no more than an inch or two of clearance overhead, with no thermostat controlling it. It was just "on" all the time. He used it this way for years and never had a problem. This is what gave me the idea to begin using them and demonstrated how safe they were, even when used incorrectly. I screw mine to the floor, leave clearance all around, leave several inches of clearance over head, block tortoise access to them, use computer fans to circulate the heat around, and I use a thermostat to turn it on and off as needed. I also only use the "mini" types, so less wattage over all.

I cannot honestly say that there is zero fire risk, but I've been using a dozen of them in outdoor boxes for years and I've had no trouble of any kind with them.
 

pugsandkids

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I would NOT recommend this EVER, but a buddy of mine used to use the full size type oil heaters, on high (1500 watts), and he had it literally touching the wood on the sides and no more than an inch or two of clearance overhead, with no thermostat controlling it. It was just "on" all the time. He used it this way for years and never had a problem. This is what gave me the idea to begin using them and demonstrated how safe they were, even when used incorrectly. I screw mine to the floor, leave clearance all around, leave several inches of clearance over head, block tortoise access to them, use computer fans to circulate the heat around, and I use a thermostat to turn it on and off as needed. I also only use the "mini" types, so less wattage over all.

I cannot honestly say that there is zero fire risk, but I've been using a dozen of them in outdoor boxes for years and I've had no trouble of any kind with them.

I do still need a thermostat, I’ve been using the heat gun to check temps, but other then that I’m in good shape.
Sarge is cozy, I love having him outside like he’s supposed to be, and my dogs are probably relived that they don’t have to share their dog bed with the round one anymore [emoji23]
 

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