Outside Heat and Insulation

[Len B]

This is mainly for the people that keep sulcatas in areas that get very cold during the winter months like me. Some time this afternoon I believe Walkers my 27 year old sulcata electric oil radiator heater stopped working. But since his 8x8 house is very well insulated it's not an immediate emergency that I have to tend to in the dark tonight. He has 3 heat sources the oil heater a Stanfield heat mat, and a CHE as backup. So I turned the CHE on which is almost never used and blocked his door off which is usually left open. I suspect that the radiator heater has gone bad because it's been used since 2008 without adjustment. The heat sources are important but I believe the proper insulation is just as important especially when something like this happens. We got down to 26F last night and right now it's 35F outside and his house temperature is 83.7F and rising. So if it's the electric oil heater I will put another heater that I already have as a stand by, just in case this was to happen in place of the bad one. We both can sleep safely and well tonight

 

[wellington]

Wow, mine never lasted that long and I buy the bigger ones as I'm heating a shed. I had one that wasn't that old, rust and leak the oil out.
The newer ones although safer, over heat protection and tip over shut off, don't seem to work as good. The over heat safety I think interferes with that as they won't get as hot as the older ones and they don't seem to last as long. I actually run two, one fully, one at half.
And why always at night they need to fail! Lol

 

[Tom]

And why always at night they need to fail! Lol

At night right before a holiday when the stores are all closed! I always keep extras on hand, just for this reason.

 

[wellington]

At night right before a holiday when the stores are all closed! I always keep extras on hand, just for this reason.

Yep, me too. I have extra everything. But it still stinks that it happens at night, or yes, just before a holiday, or just before you need to leave.
Never at a convenient time.

 

[dd33]

Is the radiator connected to a thermostat? If it is, did the thermostat relay die, or the heater itself?

 

[SuzanneZ]

This is mainly for the people that keep sulcatas in areas that get very cold during the winter months like me. Some time this afternoon I believe Walkers my 27 year old sulcata electric oil radiator heater stopped working. But since his 8x8 house is very well insulated it's not an immediate emergency that I have to tend to in the dark tonight. He has 3 heat sources the oil heater a Stanfield heat mat, and a CHE as backup. So I turned the CHE on which is almost never used and blocked his door off which is usually left open. I suspect that the radiator heater has gone bad because it's been used since 2008 without adjustment. The heat sources are important but I believe the proper insulation is just as important especially when something like this happens. We got down to 26F last night and right now it's 35F outside and his house temperature is 83.7F and rising. So if it's the electric oil heater I will put another heater that I already have as a stand by, just in case this was to happen in place of the bad one. We both can sleep safely and well tonight

You did well.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yep, me too. I have extra everything. But it still stinks that it happens at night, or yes, just before a holiday, or just before you need to leave.
Never at a convenient time.

I have one that I bought many, many years ago for my little greenhouse. I turn it on in the fall to the 600 watt setting, and the highest number in that setting and it stays on day and night until spring. Gotta be around 20 years???

(of course, now that I've mentioned it, it's going to fail)

 

[Maggie3fan]

I have an oil filled radiator heater that will be 18 years old in 2024. (looking for wood) it has worked well over all these years, and I do not keep a replacement. It has been set with both switches halfway on....all these years...

 

[TechnoCheese]

Man, I wish I had reliable heaters like that! Curtis has gone through at least 5 heaters in the 4 or 5 years he's been outdoors. Most of the time, they've had to be replaced because of those safety features, like the overheat protection and the tipover shut off. Also, his Kane heat mat seems to have stopped working recently just two or three years after purchase... unless it's just something with the extension cord. Really hope it's the extension cord.

Luckily, the oil heater he has now seems to be working just fine. For some reason, I haven't been able to find the right kind of oil heater until just recently. I don't know if I was using the wrong words to search for it or what.

 

[wellington]

I have one that I bought many, many years ago for my little greenhouse. I turn it on in the fall to the 600 watt setting, and the highest number in that setting and it stays on day and night until spring. Gotta be around 20 years???

(of course, now that I've mentioned it, it's going to fail)

Knock on wood quick, so it doesn't fail you now.

Yeah I think they were made a lot better back then. I think the safety of them now is probably what makes them not as good. I heard some place the other day that even metal and plywood isn't the same now days then years ago.

Since 2014 when my shed was built, I have had to buy 4 for sure maybe even 5 and still need to use two of them if we have a really cold, minus temp winter.

 

[wellington]

Man, I wish I had reliable heaters like that! Curtis has gone through at least 5 heaters in the 4 or 5 years he's been outdoors. Most of the time, they've had to be replaced because of those safety features, like the overheat protection and the tipover shut off. Also, his Kane heat mat seems to have stopped working recently just two or three years after purchase... unless it's just something with the extension cord. Really hope it's the extension cord.

Luckily, the oil heater he has now seems to be working just fine. For some reason, I haven't been able to find the right kind of oil heater until just recently. I don't know if I was using the wrong words to search for it or what.

I had a Kane heat mat die after about two years too. Really stinks, they aren't cheap. Luckily I had a back up one.
Same here with the heaters as you, 4 or 5 I've had to buy.

 

[Len B]

Wow, mine never lasted that long and I buy the bigger ones as I'm heating a shed. I had one that wasn't that old, rust and leak the oil out.
The newer ones although safer, over heat protection and tip over shut off, don't seem to work as good. The over heat safety I think interferes with that as they won't get as hot as the older ones and they don't seem to last as long. I actually run two, one fully, one at half.
And why always at night they need to fail! Lol

When I pulled the heater out this morning I saw that I was wrong about the age of it. It's one that I used back in the 1990s. But right about how long it's been in Walkers house. The power cord was damaged and l repaired it many years ago which I had forgotten about until I saw it.

 

[Len B]

At night right before a holiday when the stores are all closed! I always keep extras on hand, just for this reason.

So do I.I chose the one at the top of the pic.

 

[Len B]

Is the radiator connected to a thermostat? If it is, did the thermostat relay die, or the heater itself?

No external thermostat, just the one on the heater.

 

[Len B]

Man, I wish I had reliable heaters like that! Curtis has gone through at least 5 heaters in the 4 or 5 years he's been outdoors. Most of the time, they've had to be replaced because of those safety features, like the overheat protection and the tipover shut off. Also, his Kane heat mat seems to have stopped working recently just two or three years after purchase... unless it's just something with the extension cord. Really hope it's the extension cord.

Luckily, the oil heater he has now seems to be working just fine. For some reason, I haven't been able to find the right kind of oil heater until just recently. I don't know if I was using the wrong words to search for it or what.

The one that just quit working is the only big heater that I bought new. All the rest are second hand from thrift stores. The mini heaters I use are all new though.

 

[Len B]

I got the new heater installed in Walkers house. it's a little different than what I usually use. It doesn't have the 900 600 switches it has a knob, low, medium, high settings. I set it on medium and adjusted the temp setting down some. It was a pretty good guess because it's using 866 watts at startup. I didn't check the wattage anymore today I just wanted to see what temperature it would max out at on a sunny day with a 50F temperature outside. It maxed at 3:30 pm at 101.5F. I've turned it off because it's not needed with the temperatures expected for the next several days. If we do have a cloudy day with these temps I will turn it back on and check the max temperature again.

 

[vladimir]

I should pick up a spare full size radiator just in case - thanks for sharing Len

 

[Len B]

Since we are finally going to get some real low winter temps next week I figured it's time to set the new heater at the right temperature setting. I went into his house and turned the built in thermostat down some because I've been checking the temperature since I installed the new heater and it was a little higher than I wanted. I believe I got lucky and hit the mark with this one adjustment. The temperature just above his shell top has been holding at 92.3F. I have a vent at the top of the roof peak and the venting temperature is reading 99.3F exhausting out naturally just from the air circulation.

 

[vladimir]

Since we are finally going to get some real low winter temps next week I figured it's time to set the new heater at the right temperature setting. I went into his house and turned the built in thermostat down some because I've been checking the temperature since I installed the new heater and it was a little higher than I wanted. I believe I got lucky and hit the mark with this one adjustment. The temperature just above his shell top has been holding at 92.3F. I have a vent at the top of the roof peak and the venting temperature is reading 99.3F exhausting out naturally just from the air circulation.

What kind of ventilation do you have in your sulcata homes? Do you lose a lot of heat through the ventilation?

 

[Len B]

What kind of ventilation do you have in your sulcata homes? Do you lose a lot of heat through the ventilation?

I have triangle cut outs on each end of the house at the roof peak. I made foil covered fiberglass pads to fit on the inside. I used fiberglass so I could adjust them easily by pulling one or both corners out to adjust because it's flexible. To keep bugs out I used aluminum window screen. As for heat loss I feel it's minimal and worth it to get a little added air circulation.