W. V. Cats Forum

kb2zct · Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:47 am Post subject: Space Heater for Evan's room

Guys:

As you know from Evan's medical thread, when I am not home I keep him in a spare bedroom. It reduces the stress on him - especially from Pippin AKA The Monster.

I also feed Evan in the spare room (three times a day, 8 hours apart). This gives him the chance to finish his food in peace – without Ranger and / or Pippin trying to push him away to eat his food.

I primarily heat with wood – you have seen the pictures of my woodstove behind Dusty in one of her pictures. The woodstove and Evan’s room are on the opposite side of the house, and, with the bedroom door closed, Evan’s room becomes a bit cold.

To help, I purchased a heated cat mat from PetSmart a few weeks ago. The mat does not heat much (the heating element is only 6 watts). Last night, for a test, I had both the cat mat and a heating pad (on low) wrapped in a towel. Evan was sleeping on the towel wrapped heating pad this morning.

Given this, I’ve decided that I must get a space heater for Evan’s room. Does anyone have any experience with cat safe and friendly space heaters? I don’t want Evan to hurt himself on a heater, not do I want him to burn the house down by upsetting it.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Mark

Maria · Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:26 am Post subject:

Quote:

Given this, I’ve decided that I must get a space heater for Evan’s room. Does anyone have any experience with cat safe and friendly space heaters? I don’t want Evan to hurt himself on a heater, not do I want him to burn the house down by upsetting it.

I've used space heaters that are "cat-safe" although you won't see that listed on the box. However, there are some that you can set for specific temperatures, have a timer and automatically go off if toppled over. They also have thick coverings that cover the heating element.

However, be careful because they don't always do what they say they do from my experience. Here would be my suggestion:

I believe one of the safest heaters are the ones that are shaped like a radiator (very heavy too), and have oil in them (contained - not refillable). They have 4 heating options - from warm, warmer, warmest and hot (listed by degrees - not the way I listed here).

I don't think they go off automatically, but you could purchase a timer for appliances (Home Depot - I have one), and it would go off. However, they are good at staying the the temperature they are set at. You could try it out when you're home. You might want to google safe space heaters and see what comes up.

I have the radiator one and it never gave me a problem. Be careful, though as they really raise the electric bill....a lot! All of them.

Maria

Maria · Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:38 am Post subject:

Space Heaters......some info

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Not much, but I have prepare some forms this morning.....

Maria

kb2zct · Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:12 am Post subject:

Quote:

I have the radiator one and it never gave me a problem. Be careful, though as they really raise the electric bill....a lot! All of them.

Maria:

High electric rates are one of the problems I have where I live. I think I pay something like $0.15 per KWH.

I’ve done almost everything I can do to lower electric rates, including using compact fluorescent light bulbs.

A timer with a temperature sensor would help. Late at night the furnace kicks in (after the wood stove starts to go out). If the unit would go on and off at a preset temperature, I could cut down on the electricity usage.

Thanks for the links. I will look at them this evening or tomorrow, once I have some free time.

Mark

animalangel1 · Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:26 am Post subject:

Just my two cents worth but I've had one of those radiator looking "space heaters" and they are GREAT!!! I loved that thing... and there is no way Evan would be able to push it over as they are quite well balanced and "heavy" being filled with the oil. I know it might run into money to use, but I think that one would be the safest for a cat alone in a room. (No chance of a fire starting should he somehow find a way to tip it over.... and it's narrow enough to be put "out of the way" and not block stuff too.....)

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Michelle

kb2zct · Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:35 am Post subject:

Quote:

Just my two cents worth but I've had one of those radiator looking "space heaters" and they are GREAT!!! I loved that thing

Michelle;

Could you please do me a favor by giving me the make and model of your space heater. If you like the model, it gives me something to look at.

I will not need a very large one, since the bedroom is small.

Mark

sumner · Alpha Cat (Moderator) Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 219

Mark,

I have a few of these that I've used out in the garage on cooler (40 degrees or warmer) days and they do heat well. Be awarw that the radiator does get hot. I do believe that cats are smart enough not to jump on a hot radiator but I just wanted to mention that aspect of using one.

As for brands, I don't remember the brand name of mine and they're put away right now, but I do know that "DeLonghi" makes them. The ones I bought were at K-Mart but I'm pretty sure that I've seen them at Lowe's and Home Depot as well.

at Lowe's (this one has a timer):

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at Home Depot (not as much info on this, but it's on sale- online only)

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Of course, you can also browse the other available options such as a baseboard heater, etc. Good luck.

Jim

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sumner · Alpha Cat (Moderator) Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 219

Sorry folks,

The incredibly long link for HD made the page really wide. Oooops

Jim

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animalangel1 · Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:19 am Post subject:

Mark - before I show you the one I used to have, I found this link to a new item that heats by way of convection AND radiant heating... and it appears to attach to the wall (flat) so you wouldn't even have to worry about it falling or anything. Check this out:

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As for the one I had, I don't recall the exact brand but it looked like this one from Home Depot:

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If the first one were available way back when though - I think I would have gone with that one if I could have.....convection would heat the room faster than a radiant heater would.

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Michelle

Maria · Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:35 am Post subject:

Mark and Michelle - here is an evaluation/review of the Econo heater (convection). It's very inexpensive and looks like the safest. Here is the link - and exerpt from the review. I should have seen this before we were leaving here - it's awesome and only $89.95.............wow.wow.wow

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Electric Panel Heaters:
One of the top electric panel heaters in production is the Econo-Heat electric heater. The Econo-Heat slim panel heater uses small spacers to mount to a wall and the air gap between the wall and the electric heater creates efficient convection heat. The Econo-Heat is meant for smaller bedrooms (10 x 10) but does a great job with spaces of 100 SQ FT or less. You can install them in less than 5 minutes and they are virtually maintenance free. It uses less power than the average computer (400 watts) and costs about $.03/hour to run based on the average power cost of $.08 per kilowatt/hr. There is also no fire or burn risk because the electric heater panel has no exposed electric elements. The panel heater is similar to baseboard heaters and works the same as a central heating system except for much cheaper. The Econo-Heat panel heater will work more economically than electric reverse cycle air conditioners, electric radiator heaters, electric fan heaters, and electric oil heaters. The cost of the Econo-Heat is just $89.95 and will improve your energy efficiency immediately.