August Thread- 6 piggies and 3 dogs

It's not a cheap option, but de longhi make very good oil filled radiators that have a thermostat, timer and safety/overheat cut out. So yes it's an electric heater but it's more like a normal radiator in the way it heats a room and has a safety thermostat. We have one on its timer in winter, in a room that doesn't have a radiator. Electric heating isn't cheap but oil filled radiators are quite a bit cheaper to run than normal electric heaters. The eco mode is the cheapest mode and gives out enough heat.

In winter we are often out while it's on via the timer or the house would get too cold! They also have a 10 year warranty and if it packs up within that 10 years they replace it with a new one :-) Ours is coming up to 7 years old now.

I wouldn't trust any other brand of oil filled radiators though personally. Some of them leak and aren't that safe electrically.

I know what you mean about not wanting to leave something switched on while you're out, but we leave our fridges switched on all the time :) And as long as you have a good modern fuse box.

This is the updated model of the one we have. I think it's the only one with a timer function as well as a thermostat. So for example if you set the thermostat to 16 degrees, it won't come on unless the temperature drops below that. And then it'll only come on if the timer is set as well. So there area a couple of options. You can either just leave the thermostat set and no timer (only comes on if it gets below the temperature you set). Or set the timer to come on and off at 20 degrees whenever you want it.

I sometimes set ours to come on for an hour in the middle of the night when it's freezing weather (for the hamsters mainly!)

They do have a smell when first used, that needs burning off and the key to that is leave it switched on for a day or two in a ventilated room until the smell goes, then it's fine. Some people don't do the initial burning off for long enough and then it smells a bit every time you switch it on. Which is why you see some complaints about the smell. The key is to leave it on all the time, on full, until the smell is gone. Although you can switch it off overnight and switch it on again the next day (which is why it can take a couple of days). It's just the paint from the outer.

There are quite a few models but not all of them have the timer and thermostat.

Delonghi heater

Might be better value than a microwave. And it means you don't need to adjust your central heating clock from the usual. You wouldn;t want it too close to the actual cages though - it warms the whole room so can be quite a bit further away from them.
 
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Very good advice, thank you! I rent, so I'm not sure what happens when the heating occasionally stops working. I like the advice about hay insulation and covering the hides with an extra layer. Snuggle safes have been known to malfunction, so perhaps not using them isn't entirely bad. Your heater sounds marvelous, Maz, it must be a great help in winter. Yes, I have found that piggies handle temperatures of between 17C and 21C better than 22C to 25C, and once above 25C they start to look a bit miserable. I think I will go with the extra insulation. I have double glazing and curtains and a small oil free heater and the flat is really well insulated, so once the room is warm, the heat should last for a while.
 
I used to use an oil fired radiator in the shed all winter for my rabbits (well out of reach of their teeth).

Straw is a wonderful insulator. Better than hay as it traps a layer of air beneath it and doesn't attract moisture. I would use both. Straw on the bottom and hay on top.
 
Thank you, excellent advice for cosy piggies!
 
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