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Kerosene heaters safe for snake room?

heatwave

heatwave

Certified Herp-a-holic
Question: I have a separate building for most of my kiddos. I *think* its about 175 square feet. It is NOT attached to the house so when its 15 degrees outside the temps in the room can dip down to below freezing or so if it were not heated (im getting to that)

Currently, my method of heating the ambient temperature to 70 degrees is with two large portable electronic heaters and a circulating fan attached to two separate thermostats. That brings the temp to 70 and then I have heat tape on my colubrid/juvie racks and heat lamps on my vivs/cages (Iguana, big burms, big boas, beardies etc) The problem is that this is A) Not energy efficient B) expensive as WHOA. It costs me over $300 a month to heat that room and run the lamps.

My father recently gifted me with a brand new awesome HUGE kerosene heater. I tested it out today for about 30 minutes and it worked amazingly well. However I am not sure if its safe. I dont know anything about it. The room is not ventilated (no windows, insulated with sealed doors) and I am thinking fumes or soot or something will build up and harm the reptiles. I have however read of people using them so thought I would ask. Anyone know if they are safe? Or how I can possibly modify them to BE safe? It looks like I can cut my bill by about $200 a month if I use it in the winter time.
 
Well, when I used to live in Wisconsin, many people used them indoors. I would imagine they'd be ok for reptiles.
 
What does the heater say about using indoors with humans? If it's not safe to do so for humans, I would say it's not safe for any animals.
 
It is intended to be used indoor with humans, but I know that animals can sometimes be much more sensitive to fumes etc. I am also worried because the room is so unventilated. Maybe I should create a vent of some sort just in case..
 
Which kerosene heater do you have?

One that we use & we know is safe is a tower type by KeroWorld. They are made for heating up living space. Having said that though, they do need routine maintenance so they will burn cleanly & safely.
 
We have a kerosene lamp and personally I think it gives off a putrid smell. Animals have better senses than us typically so if I hate the smell I wouldn't submit my animals to it. Also how much of a fire hazard is it in your current setting? That's the last thing you want to worry about with your scale babies.
 
If the kerosene gives off a smell when burning, it's considered "dirty" (old or lower quality). The kerosene used in a lamp is not always the same grade as what you use in a kerosene heater. A good quality kerosene being burned in a properly maintained & good quality unit does not smell. It will only smell if the unit is dirty, not put together correctly, when it is dry burning and when you just turn it off.

I have been using my Keroworld tower for 10 yrs now, I clean it & maintain it at the beginning & end of the cold season or whenever it needs it.

Here's a YT link (not my video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaqhcQ1kG_U
 
Forgot to add, the tower that I have is meant to heat up to 400sq.ft & for very cold areas (we go down to the -40C), so it may be over kill for what you want it for. They do however have smaller units. :)
 
Went & re read your OP... a kerosene heater would only be used as a supplemental source of heat if you're concerned about price. For me, it costs me $10/day to use it, so you're looking at a $300 price tag at the end of the month. Do you have power in the small building where they are? I would recommend electric plug in baseboards in that case because you can regulate the temperature better to your needs, they are a cheap investment to begin with ($50 each approx compared to $300 for the kerosene unit I have) & you wouldn't have to worry about filling the unit every 10 hrs or sooner depending at what level you have it set at).

You could use a garage heater (a big block), that requires a 220amp though with a special plug & though it will keep the room toasty & it has a regulator on it to turn on & off when you reach a certain temperature. It can be costly to run. Again, that is based on Eastern Ontario winter temperatures that vary from -10C to -40C.

What's the flooring & insulation in the walls & roof like in this building?
 
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