Dog House Heater

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Any thoughts on this heater for a night box? Assume it's free, so don't consider the cost vs. oil filled. Thanks.
I've never seen anyone use one of those so I cannot comment on how effective, safe, or efficient it would be, but it will not be any where near as efficient as an oil heater. When an oil heater is "on", it is heating up all that oil. When the thermostat kicks it "off", that hot oil keeps on giving off heat for a long time. When the one in your link kicks off, it cools immediately. It will have to run a lot more over the course of a night to maintain temperatures.
 

OliveW

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2022
Messages
286
Location (City and/or State)
Branford, FL
I've never seen anyone use one of those so I cannot comment on how effective, safe, or efficient it would be, but it will not be any where near as efficient as an oil heater. When an oil heater is "on", it is heating up all that oil. When the thermostat kicks it "off", that hot oil keeps on giving off heat for a long time. When the one in your link kicks off, it cools immediately. It will have to run a lot more over the course of a night to maintain temperatures.

Thank you, @Tom. I appreciate your opinion very much. You've been a huge help to me since the first day I landed here. I'll stick with the oil one that I already have anyway. Free is not great if it will cost me more in electricity.

We've been working on our/your night box this weekend and I was trying to take a short cut. lol
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Thank you, @Tom. I appreciate your opinion very much. You've been a huge help to me since the first day I landed here. I'll stick with the oil one that I already have anyway. Free is not great if it will cost me more in electricity.

We've been working on our/your night box this weekend and I was trying to take a short cut. lol
I am a fan of redundant heating systems in case of failure. You could always get a second thermostat, set it a few degrees lower than the primary, and run that other heater on it. If ever the primary heater or thermostat failed, it could save your tortoise's life on a cold winter night. You guys get a few below freezing nights there each year.

I would run that other type and see how it works and how hot it gets wherever the heat comes out. Also, make sure that the circuit and any cords you are using can handle both heaters. I always use 12 gauge extension cords, even though 14 or 16 guage can handle the loads I put on them.
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,660
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Thank you, @Tom. I appreciate your opinion very much. You've been a huge help to me since the first day I landed here. I'll stick with the oil one that I already have anyway. Free is not great if it will cost me more in electricity.

We've been working on our/your night box this weekend and I was trying to take a short cut. lol
I always run two heaters. Both on seperate thermostats. One is set lower then the main one, just incase the main one stops working, eventually as the temp drops, the back up will kick in.
As long as it's free, I wouldn't pass it up. Even if you just keep it for a back up.
 

OliveW

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2022
Messages
286
Location (City and/or State)
Branford, FL
I am a fan of redundant heating systems in case of failure. You could always get a second thermostat, set it a few degrees lower than the primary, and run that other heater on it. If ever the primary heater or thermostat failed, it could save your tortoise's life on a cold winter night. You guys get a few below freezing nights there each year.

I would run that other type and see how it works and how hot it gets wherever the heat comes out. Also, make sure that the circuit and any cords you are using can handle both heaters. I always use 12 gauge extension cords, even though 14 or 16 guage can handle the loads I put on them.

We won't need any extension cord at all. We are putting the night house right in front of a post with an outlet on it that used to be used for our RV. We just need to either add a 110 outlet or change out the 50v one. His new enclosure will border the post. It has it's own circuit breaker on the main power pole, we ran it a few years back but don't intend to get another camper anyway since we have a place at the beach now.

I did get the extra heater. We will see how it goes.

I always run two heaters. Both on seperate thermostats. One is set lower then the main one, just incase the main one stops working, eventually as the temp drops, the back up will kick in.
As long as it's free, I wouldn't pass it up. Even if you just keep it for a back up.

I did go ahead and get the free heater. I pretty much decided to see how it goes and having a backup would never hurt.

Thank you both for chiming in. No short cuts in the night box building, but extra precautions for my little bestie.
 
Top