Space Heaters to Raise Room Ambient Temp???

[amoeba14]

Hey all, I am renting a small house that only has one thermostat unfortuantely located in the living room. Generally we keep our place at 70ish however I have a handful of snakes coming and they will be going in a rack system which will be placed in our study. Problem is this: we can't accurately regulate the temp of that room due to the thermostat being located 3 rooms away. Does anyone have experience using space heaters or some other source of heat to raise, maintain and control the ambient temp of a "snake room"? Any tips, advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Tim

[CJinNH]

well besides the obvious that they can be very dangerous, they can cost alot of money to run, most are about 1500 watts and in my experience they can cost about $50.00 a month to heat a 12x12 room. if you are going to use one then you need to make sure you buy one with a good thermostat and also anti-tip shut off. Also if you have kids who will have access to where the heater will be, you need to sit down with them and explain the many dangers of the unit. Once all that is said and done you can keep a room at a good temperature with one. I would also recommend a good heat/smoke detector placed into the room.
Chris

[JonT]

Tim-
They get the job done. I used a cheap 600/900/1500 watts unit for years to raise my room temp. I wouldn't trust the built in thermostat in many models though... I would start low and adjust the "rheostat" until you reach your target.
To save on the cost of running one of these beasts you may wish to beef up your insulation. Shrink wrap any windows to cut down on drafts and heat loss through the glass. Extra weather stripping around all doors. "Draft dodgers" or rolled up towels at the bottom any doors. If you want more control over the space heater (electric oil filled) you can wire it up to a Ranco single stage controller (probably going to be twice as much as the heater though!). If it helps I used a $40 model I picked up at either Walmart or Home Depot.
Jon
PS how's Fairfield county treating you?

[nevermind]

im using one now. it has a built in digital thermostat ,that seems to work vry well. i did insulate my room well.but by the end of the week i will be putting a hard wired unit in, which is still under 100$.

[abster82]

We use an electric oil heater which is controled by a thermostat set at 84 degrees. Once the room goes below 84 the heater kicks on until the ambient hits the temp then the heater turns off pretty simple actually. The thermostat has a probe which is placed on the ceiling near the center of the room for an accurate reading.

ps: we maintain the rest of the house around 74 to 76

[amoeba14]

Thanks for the help. If anyone has more info or opinions, please post. I'll do some more research and see what alternatives I have. Jon, Fairfield County is cool, i grew up here. Are you familiar with the area?

[JonT]

don't make it into Fairfield much anymore... mostly lower county for me (Greenwich/Stamford) Glad to see another Ct resident on the board!

[ChadRamsey]

please be careful folks, i have seen quite a few structure fires start from these. best to buy the kind that are of course electric and have a "tip over shut of switch". If you have to do it make sure they are on good solid surface, not accessable to children and other pets, and do not leave them on when you are not home. Sorry about the fatherly like speech upon my soapbox. Good luck!

[JonT]

Inot accessable to children and other pets
Sorry to nit-pick but shouldn't this be the case for any room devoted to keeping snakes?
Cheers!
Jon

[amoeba14]

I can't imagine all of you actually have rooms specifically dedicated to your animals. For those that utilize a section in a room for racks, how do you maintain a steady ambient temp suitable for them? In other words, what other methods do you recommend to maintain appropriate temps without the use of a space heater and raising the overall temp in your house? Thanks again for all the help.

[JonT]

What type of rack system are we talking about here? Melamine/Freedom Breeder/Plastic/etc? You are pretty much SOL with an open top (Freedom Breeder) rack... With a 75% covered rack (melamine, etc) a little bit of extra foam sheet insulation around the back will help retain more heat. Give me some details here.
I guess I'm special with my snake room ;)

[ChadRamsey]

Sorry to nit-pick but shouldn't this be the case for any room devoted to keeping snakes?
Cheers!
Jon

Most of fuse do not have rooms that are "devoted" to keeping snakes, UNFORTUNATLEY! As far as the dogs go i whole heartedly agree. All my dobes want to do is lick the scales off of them. BUT the kids, my 11 and 5 y/o help me out with the 8 snakes i have so much i do not think i could do it alone with out them. They are responsible enough to have access to the balls and RTBs but not the Bloods which are on the top of the 8 foot rack for a reason. Bottom line: the kids are ok IMO!