Oil Filled Radiators for Tack/Feed Room - do you leave them on 7x24? (Safety concerns)

[Loves_to_ride]

I have just purchased this heater for my small 12x12x8 feed/tack room. The room is insulated, has a small window, uncovered cement floor, 2 wood doors which are thick, but I’m not sure how insulating. The unit is in the middle of the room with approx 2’ clearance from any objects.

So far, I love it but I haven’t been keeping it on 7x24 as I’m concerned (like everyone) about any safety issues with it constantly running. Ideally, I’d love to run it 7x24 all winter. I’m pretty much the only person who goes in and out of the room. There are no pets in the room.

What do others do that have this type of heater?
Do you run it continuously?

Am I okay running it 7x24?

Thanks in advance!

[LCDR]

I had 2 of them in a non-heated sunroom where we kept the litter box for our cats. That meant keeping the door between it and the rest of the house open all winter.

They were kept on all winter, with the power set to low and the thermostats to a comfortable temperature setting. This lasted 15 years, with no problems running them 24/7 for about 5 months every year.

[Bombproof]

I’ve used them in various applications, sometimes running them all winter. There is a theoretical risk of fire if they short out or something but with modern designs the risk is very low. Only you can decide if the risk is acceptable.

[NancyM]

Yes, I run one in my tack room all winter. Yes, it is “on”, but it can be programmed to only heat for a certain number of hours per day, rather than heating non stop. That’s how I set it. The tack room has great insulation, does not lose heat when the heat is not on. How many hours out of 24 you have to run it depends on how cold the conditions are. I keep the temperature just a few degrees above freezing. From what I understand, these heaters are about the safest option for a tack room like this, safer than element heaters. Yes, there is always risk. But if I don’t, everything will freeze solid at -30C.

[FatCatFarm]

Yes, as well. I have been using the radiator type heaters for years in my tack room at the barn to keep the barn kitties warm and the pipes from freezing. They’re awesome. Yes, mine stay on 24/7 sometimes for a week or more straight (I live in GA) and see pretty constant use at least at night through the winter. I will probably be replacing the two at the barn in the not to distant future as I’ve had them for a decade or more now. Great product.

[seabreeze]

I don’t use one in my barn, but I use one in my storage/tool shed. The shed is insulated, and I keep the heater set at about 50 or 55. So far (third winter now), I’ve never had any trouble with it.

[Susan_P]

I used to have them but I had heard of them starting fires so I would not leave any heater on 24/7 in a barn. If I’m not there I don’t want to run electric, but make the exception during hot summer days to run a fan.

[wsmoak]

While I’m not a fan of unsupervised electric appliances, those are my favorite types of heaters just because so little can go wrong. No fan, no super hot element you can see through the grate.

Because failures typically have a bathtub-shaped curve, I would monitor it for its first week of life, probably by running it in the house when I’m home. If there is something wrong with its wiring or construction, it should show up early.

Once it’s working, as others have said, it will probably work for years with no trouble.

[gothedistance]

You’re fine running it 24/7 as long as your barn wiring is up to snuff, and if you run it at the lowest setting pulling the lowest wattage. This is what the oil filled radiators are designed to do, and they do their job extremely well. The built in thermostat will turn your unit on or off as required.

Your tack room and mine are almost identical, and my heater keeps the room at a comfortable warmth even on the coldest of days at the minimal wattage and lowest setting.

[FitToBeTied]

We have an oil filled baseboard heater in our tack room and it has been great. We keep the tack room at 55 degrees and it is well insulated. Ours is a permanent baseboard installation with proper wiring and it runs off of a dedicated circuit breaker that is rated for that load.

I wouldn’t run a portable in my barn of any type.

[Hayburner]

Keep feeling to see if the plug end gets hot. We had one that did get very hot so we opted not to let it run 24/7. Not worth the risk

[enjoytheride]

I use oil filled radiators in the house to supplement our pellet stove. Have had no issues with them in the house or the barn.

For the barn I have a milk can type heater with a tip over switch, fan, and it’s in a outlet that’s thermostat controlled.

[ASB_Stars]

I have one in the tackroom, and one in the laundry room, which is adjacent, and shares a wall. The laundry room one is kept warmer, because it shares a wall with the washstall, and that helps to keep the faucet, etc. thawed.

I think that, as long as they are in good shape, and your wiring is done correctly, they are safer than any other options I can think of.

[Loves_to_ride]

Thanks everyone! I did buy one, a DeLonghi.

I’ve been running it from 6:00 am to about 10:00 pm daily with no issues (so far). About 4 weeks now.

I haven’t quite reached a comfort level of leaving it on overnight, but up until the past 2 nights, the room has stayed above 32 even with it turned off.

I’ll say, when it is running, it is SO nice to be in the room and be able to take my gloves off to clean tack, scoop grain, whatever! I can’t believe it took me 17 years to do something as simple as this.

Thank you so much everyone for your thoughts and comments!!!