MIcathermic heat source

[CherryLover]

Good day all! I see lots of posts regarding CHE's and RHP's being used for heat, but unable to find any posts regarding micathermic radiant heaters (such as this one). Does anyone have experience with mica-based heaters? Are the emitted electromagnetic rays safe for torts? I "***-u-me" so since they are safe for humans. However, I certainly don't want to slowly drive my torts insane by bombarding them with electromagnetic rays . I also don't want to kill the WiFi signal in my house.

I'm considering these heaters as they are cheaper than most RHP's, are quiet, provide more immediate heat, yet still provide cheap, radiant heat (vs. say an electric space heater). Use would be inside an 8' x 8' x 7' grow tent. It would be securely hung from the ceiling of the grow tent. The tent would be housing two cherry-headed, red-footed torts, so humidity will be high. The tent would be inside a house with an ambient temperature no less than 65 degrees Fahrenheit (i.e. I need to raise the temperature a maximum of 20 - 25 degrees). Thoughts?

 

[Markw84]

For inside a larger area, like your grow tent, it may well be a good heater. They are not the best for a small space like a night box. The electromagnetic rays are totally safe - that is how all heat works - emitting electromagnetic energy - in the IR range. Since you can hang them on walls, I would think they don't get real hot - like a CHE (500° or so). I would imagine it is more in the 200° range. If so that would emit IR-C - and I prefer that for ambient heating for tortoises.

Mica coated heating elements are very thin and easy to hang on a wall. They heat quickly but also cool quickly. They are promoted to create better convection heating - but I've seen no description of how that is different than with other radiant heaters. I like how oil filled heaters heat slowly and cool slowly, especially for night box applications.

I think I would be inclined to test one to see how it works. From what I know about them it should be a good application for how you intend to use it.

IF you do, let us know how it works. Take an IR gun and see how hot the surface of the Mica actually gets when on. Please report back.

 

[Tom]

I have no experience with this type of heater, but 1500 watts is a lot.

CHEs and RHPs are for normal sized enclosures and would not work well for your application.

My reptile room is about 10 x 20 feet and I use a radiant oil filled heater set on a reptile thermostat to heat it. They come with a high, medium, and low setting. Low uses 600 watts. Medium uses 900 watts. When used together low and medium give you a total of 1500 watts, which is the high setting. I only ever use them on low. Because these heaters heat up the oil, they keep giving off lots of heat for a long time even after they have shut off.. The heater seldom runs because of this design feature. It only pops on for 20-30 minutes a few times per night on a cold night. I also use the mini version of these heaters in my 4x8x2 foot outdoor tortoise night boxes. The mini version is either on or off and its 700 watts. There is no high, low, or medium setting on the mini radiant oil filled heaters that I use. I hooked up an electricity meter to a few of them to record how much power they were using. They averaged about .18 cents a day during our cold winter weather with occasional nights below freezing outside. And that is at California's exorbitantly high rates.

Since your tent has higher ceilings, you could mount the heater up off the floor and not lose any valuable floor space.