Heaters Just Won't Stop Turning Off?

[bigsnakegirl785]

So a problem I've been facing since the weather's been cold (below 70F) is my space heaters randomly shutting off all the time.

I've been using one specific heater, not sure what kind is but it pushes heat out the front and turns. I initially had it plugged into a power strip where my ball python's heat lamp, my 2 VE-100's, and my Herpstat 2 were plugged in. I'd come home just about every day to the power strip shut off and nothing else plugged into the power strip being on. I'd restart the power strip and everything would be ok for a few days and do it again. It would be so bad I'd turn the heater on and within seconds it would shut off again in front of me, requiring me to restart the power strip yet again.

Getting tired of this, and worrying about the health of my thermostats, I unplugged the heater from the strip and put it in the only other available power outlet, which is the one in the bathroom. All was fine and dandy for about a month and then I woke up one day to the heater off yet. Again.

I tried changing the setting to a lower setting, it worked for a few weeks and then -bam- it shut off again.

Then the biggest problem came along when it failed on me on one of our coldest nights. I woke up at 6 am and checked up on them. I found the heater was off yet again, and the room was in the low 50's, and Cloud's enclosure was in the low 60's. I turned the heater back on, and it took 8 hours just to get into the 60's in the room. Then it took all day to get back to where it needed to be.

So I said, well this isn't working guess I better stop using this one. We bought a brand-new radiator-style oil-filled heater (it's electric, no emissions). This new heater couldn't even maintain the temperatures that my old heater was able to get to on the highest setting, so it was worthless.

I switched those out and tried my mother's radiator-style heater, which heats the room the best. Well, after only a day I came home from work to find the heater had shut off.

I'm at the end of my rope, I don't know what to do at this point. Why on earth can none of these stupid heaters work???

We have a monitor heater heating the trailer, but it's worthless as well. You turn up the settings to 80F and within minutes it says the room is 82F and shuts off even though the room might be barely 70F. With it set to 74F, the room stays about 65-68F, there's no way I can get that thing to heat warm enough to keep the snake room warm.

We're looking around for someone who can install a wood stove for us, but who knows if that will happen before spring, because we need a platform installed AND a chimney.

I just fed everyone today, because they're all almost 2 weeks late because of this fiasco, but at this point I may just have to stop feeding everyone until this issue can be resolved.

Is there anything I can do to keep my snakes warm?

[treaux]

Sounds like you are overloading your power strip. I rarely plug a heater into a power strip as they're usually not rated for how much electricity the heater will draw. Most space heaters use around 1500 watts which is the max for your average power strip circuit breaker (and often less).

Get an extension cord and plug the heater directly into the wall. Check your fuse box for the house and see how many amps your snake room is rated for. I only have a 10 amp circuit in my snake room, which is enough for just one heater along with my thermostats. Anything else and it trips the main circuit breaker.

Anyways, just try plugging it straight into the wall. Since it sounds like just the power strip that is shutting off, I doubt you're overloading the wiring for your house.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Sounds like you are overloading your power strip. I rarely plug a heater into a power strip as they're usually not rated for how much electricity the heater will draw. Most space heaters use around 1500 watts which is the max for your average power strip circuit breaker (and often less).

Get an extension cord and plug the heater directly into the wall. Check your fuse box for the house and see how big of a fuse you have. I only have a 10 amp circuit in my snake room, which is enough for just one heater along with my thermostats. Anything else and it trips the main circuit breaker.

Anyways, just try plugging it straight into the wall. Since it sounds like just the power strip that is shutting off, I doubt you're overloading the wiring for your house.

I only had it in the power strip for the first month we lived here. It has been plugged directly into the wall for about a month now.

Granted, the heater is turning off far less now, but it's still turning off even if it's once or twice a month instead of every other day.

My circuit breaker hasn't been tripped once while we've lived here. Now that I've got the heater by itself in its own wall outlet, it is the only thing turning off, nothing else in the room is affected.

[Princess-dad]

What do u have to do to restart the heater ? If its plugged directly into the wall is the curcuit breaker opening in the fuse box/curcuit breaker box ? If so what is the breaker/the switch in the box rated at ? It should have a number on it . If the house is older 10+ years and the breaker is rated at 15 amps I suggest replcement of both the breaker and the wall fixture were the heater is plugged in . Quite often rooms right beside each other might share a breaker , so make sure u do not have to high load items ie heaters plugged into the same curcuit . This can be acomplished by shutting off the breaker and seeing what other than the wall plug no longer has power . FYI the oil filled radiant heaters do a considerably better job if u put a fan behind them to spread the heat . Good Luck let us all know what u find . Also if u decide to use a extension cord (not recomended) be sure to by a heavy duty one and no longer then is needed .

[Albert Clark]

One other possibility is the heater itself. Some are equipped with a overheating safety switch that will make the heater itself turn off once the temperature reaches the max setting and is endured for a certain amount of time. Also , your thermostat should be plugged directly into the wall outlet and not a power strip. Power strips need to be replaced annually bc the resistors and internal diodes go bad. Belkin power strips are the best and are heavy duty, rated for the higher amp products like desk top computers and compact freezers, compact refrigerators. Don't buy cheap power strips. Actually I will post a picture of a good one. Hope this helped.

[Albert Clark]

BSG, this is the Belkin I am currently using. Belkin makes other power strips but this is only one of several heavy duty ones.

[bigsnakegirl785]

What do u have to do to restart the heater ? If its plugged directly into the wall is the curcuit breaker opening in the fuse box/curcuit breaker box ? If so what is the breaker/the switch in the box rated at ? It should have a number on it . If the house is older 10+ years and the breaker is rated at 15 amps I suggest replcement of both the breaker and the wall fixture were the heater is plugged in . Quite often rooms right beside each other might share a breaker , so make sure u do not have to high load items ie heaters plugged into the same curcuit . This can be acomplished by shutting off the breaker and seeing what other than the wall plug no longer has power . FYI the oil filled radiant heaters do a considerably better job if u put a fan behind them to spread the heat . Good Luck let us all know what u find . Also if u decide to use a extension cord (not recomended) be sure to by a heavy duty one and no longer then is needed .

All I have to do is turn the heater on to restart it.

The circuit breaker is not affected by this whatsoever, and each room has completely separate circuits. The switch that controls the snake room says it's 15.35 amps.

One other possibility is the heater itself. Some are equipped with a overheating safety switch that will make the heater itself turn off once the temperature reaches the max setting and is endured for a certain amount of time. Also , your thermostat should be plugged directly into the wall outlet and not a power strip. Power strips need to be replaced annually bc the resistors and internal diodes go bad. Belkin power strips are the best and are heavy duty, rated for the higher amp products like desk top computers and compact freezers, compact refrigerators. Don't buy cheap power strips. Actually I will post a picture of a good one. Hope this helped.

That's possible, but if that's the case why did switching outlets more than halve the occurrences of the heater shutting off?

I don't have a choice but to use the power strip, I have more things to plug in than I have outlets to use. I've got 3 outlets including the bathroom, but the bathroom outlet is too far away from the enclosures, so technically I have two. That means I'd have 4 places to plug things in and I have a total of 7 things to plug into the wall (not including the heater).

I'm not sure what brands we have, but they're old ones and they seem to work pretty well.

I bought a brand new surge protecter strip from Wal-Mart once and turning on the lights in my wooden enclosures shorted out the entire portion that's supposed to be surge-protected. I can't restart it or anything, it's completely fried. That means it only leaves me with one of the non-surge outlets on it because the other one for some reason has the third prong hole blocked off so anything with three prongs is not getting plugged into it. Had it like 3 days and it was ruined. So I'm left with the old ones we've had laying around.

[Albert Clark]

Ok. Got it. Can you get a electrician to test your outlets for safe capacitance and maybe have another outlet installed in the snake room? At least replace your power strips for now with Belkin brand power strips. The circuitry really goes bad annually in most power strips.. You can order Belkin power strips on Amazon or eBay for reduced costs. That includes the Belkin power strip surge protector also.

[chairman]

Your heater was turning off more frequently on the power strip because it was tripping the strip's "breaker". Strips are rarely rated for more than 10 amps while your walls should be rated for 15 or 20 amps.

BTW, to calculate the load on a line add up the wattage of everything running on a given circuit (or power strip) and divide that number by 110, 115, or 120, depending on what voltage your power company delivers (it varies).

I have found that two of the oil filled heaters set on low (600 watt) heat a room better than one set on the high (1500 watt) setting.

[treaux]

If none of the breakers are being tripped, then one of two things is happening. Either you are losing power to the heater momentarily and it has a soft power switch (as in it is not always on while there is power to it) or the heater itself is turning off from an internal safety switch (like overheating or a tip over sensor).

Do you have anything else that would indicate if you had a temporary power loss (like a computer or something)?

I always buy heaters that have a hard on/off switch, that way if they power goes out, when it comes back on the heater will be on as well. For the oil filled radiators (which I prefer), I like the ones that come with a dial thermostat and the two rocker switches for power levels (one is 600 watt, the other is 900 watt, so you can use either one or both for maximum power). Here's an example: http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EW7707CB-Safeheat-ComforTemp-Oil-Filled/dp/B002PLQ4T8

[pitontheprowl]

Have you tried a different outlet?
An old worn outlet can lose contact when it gets hot because of the bad connection.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Ok. Got it. Can you get a electrician to test your outlets for safe capacitance and maybe have another outlet installed in the snake room? At least replace your power strips for now with Belkin brand power strips. The circuitry really goes bad annually in most power strips.. You can order Belkin power strips on Amazon or eBay for reduced costs. That includes the Belkin power strip surge protector also.

Yeah we'd be able to do that. Not sure about putting in another outlet, it depends on whether or not I'd have to temporarily house my snakes somewhere else. I'll keep the Belkins in mind. Are you suggesting this because you think the power strip could be sucking extra power or something?

Your heater was turning off more frequently on the power strip because it was tripping the strip's "breaker". Strips are rarely rated for more than 10 amps while your walls should be rated for 15 or 20 amps.

BTW, to calculate the load on a line add up the wattage of everything running on a given circuit (or power strip) and divide that number by 110, 115, or 120, depending on what voltage your power company delivers (it varies).

I have found that two of the oil filled heaters set on low (600 watt) heat a room better than one set on the high (1500 watt) setting.

With the thermostats am I adding up just the thermostat's wattage, just the heater's wattage, or both together?

I can't hog all the heaters, so I'll have to make due with one, or buy yet another heater.

If none of the breakers are being tripped, then one of two things is happening. Either you are losing power to the heater momentarily and it has a soft power switch (as in it is not always on while there is power to it) or the heater itself is turning off from an internal safety switch (like overheating or a tip over sensor).

Do you have anything else that would indicate if you had a temporary power loss (like a computer or something)?

I always buy heaters that have a hard on/off switch, that way if they power goes out, when it comes back on the heater will be on as well. For the oil filled radiators (which I prefer), I like the ones that come with a dial thermostat and the two rocker switches for power levels (one is 600 watt, the other is 900 watt, so you can use either one or both for maximum power). Here's an example: Amazon.com - DeLonghi EW7707CB Safeheat 1500W ComforTemp Portable Oil-Filled Radiator - Black - Heaters (http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EW7707CB-Safeheat-ComforTemp-Oil-Filled/dp/B002PLQ4T8)

Yeah, the power strip would tell me if there was a power loss. I'd have to restart it any time we lost power, and everything is still on when I walk in and the heater's off.

The one my mom has has two dials, one for Settings 1-3 and OFF, and one below it for degree of heat output, but it doesn't seem to have that hard on/off switch as it too turned off and didn't come back on.

Have you tried a different outlet?
An old worn outlet can lose contact when it gets hot because of the bad connection.

I've only switched outlets once. It came from the outlet where the power strip was, and I put it in the outlet in the restroom on the opposite side.

I don't have any other outlets free, because of how I have all the snake's enclosures set up. I don't really want to use an extension cord in that room if I can help it.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Oh, to add to that, I could start resetting my VE-100's times so if the power goes out they'd flash the time. I don't really bother with it, because the apartment I used to live in had power outages multiple times a week and I got sick of resetting the time what seemed like every day.

[pet_snake_78]

You want to make sure you're not using a proportional tstat for the heater and that whatever you use is rated for the size of heater. I actually use two tstats one plugged into the other as a backup to make sure I don't cook a whole room filled with herps. I only use oil filled radiant heaters, many of the other types will get too hot and shut themselves off.

[Albert Clark]

I am suggesting replacement of the power strips bc the circuitry goes bad in them over time. Most power strips should be replaced annually bc of this. That includes some surge protectors as well. Some are better than others internally and are warrantied for extended periods of time. I think that will be a good starting point for troubleshooting the true etiology of the problem.

[chairman]

To calculate load, add the wattage that the thermostat uses (probably very low) and the maximum wattage that all your heat sources could draw at 100% power. This might slightly over estimate your load but it is safer to err in that direction.

I control my space heaters using a baseboard heater thermostat. I wired up a stand-alone power supply but an electrician could put one in a wall for you to control an outlet.

[Princess-dad]

If I understand you right all you have to do to restart your heater is turn the hard set power switch off and then back on . Ok Im gonna jump out on a limb here and say the reason for your problems as best as I can understand is this . Your heaters internal thermal breaker is opening , this type of curcuit protection has a safety device built in . As long as the power switch on the heater remains in the on position the breaker will not reset . Thats to keep what ever tripped the internal fuse from burning down your house when you are not home . Thats why the switch has to be physically turned off and on , that way it can not restart on its own with no one home to reset it . Next problem why us it over heating and opening the thermal protection in the heater ? My best answer would be this , the voltage being suplied to the heater is low for some reason . Check the voltage available on the second half of the wall socket with the heater on and after having been on for some time . This can be acomplished by useing a multimeter set to AC voltage on the 200 volt scale . It should be in the 115 120 volt range . If out of spec call an electrician . I personally would just shut off the main curcuit breaker , and replace both the breaker for that room and the wall sockets myself .I beleive you are experiancing a low voltage situation and that will cause a heater to overheat .

[bigsnakegirl785]

I am suggesting replacement of the power strips bc the circuitry goes bad in them over time. Most power strips should be replaced annually bc of this. That includes some surge protectors as well. Some are better than others internally and are warrantied for extended periods of time. I think that will be a good starting point for troubleshooting the true etiology of the problem.

I was wondering why you're suggesting me replace the power strip to solve my heater issue when my heater isn't even plugged into a power strip. I suppose I could get a new one for my thermostats, but they've been working quite well so I was just wondering how it would affect them.

If I understand you right all you have to do to restart your heater is turn the hard set power switch off and then back on . Ok Im gonna jump out on a limb here and say the reason for your problems as best as I can understand is this . Your heaters internal thermal breaker is opening , this type of curcuit protection has a safety device built in . As long as the power switch on the heater remains in the on position the breaker will not reset . Thats to keep what ever tripped the internal fuse from burning down your house when you are not home . Thats why the switch has to be physically turned off and on , that way it can not restart on its own with no one home to reset it . Next problem why us it over heating and opening the thermal protection in the heater ? My best answer would be this , the voltage being suplied to the heater is low for some reason . Check the voltage available on the second half of the wall socket with the heater on and after having been on for some time . This can be acomplished by useing a multimeter set to AC voltage on the 200 volt scale . It should be in the 115 120 volt range . If out of spec call an electrician . I personally would just shut off the main curcuit breaker , and replace both the breaker for that room and the wall sockets myself .I beleive you are experiancing a low voltage situation and that will cause a heater to overheat .

That's very possible. With my usual heater, I just push the power button, with my mom's oil-filled one I have to unplug it and plug it back in after turning the dial to the OFF position, and then turn it back on when it's plugged in again.

I don't actually have a multimeter, but we could have one of our friends come over and test it.

[trailblazer295]

I agree it's thermal overload inside the heater. Is it dirty? Fan assisted? Something is wrong and until you determine the cause I'd recommend not using it unattended to be safe.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I agree it's thermal overload inside the heater. Is it dirty? Fan assisted? Something is wrong and until you determine the cause I'd recommend not using it unattended to be safe.

No, it isn't dirty, and the fan is only used if I turn it on.

What am I supposed to use in the mean time? My mom's shut off after only a day of using it, so I'm scared to try relying on it, and my snakes cannot go without heat for even a day, because our trailer does not get above 65F except in the middle of the day when the sun hits it, and 75F is not warm enough to maintain hot spot temps. And the brand new one couldn't so much as maintain temperatures let alone warm a room up, even on the highest setting.

The non-oil filled one has been working so far since Thursday without shutting off, but nobody is going to be able to come by our trailer until this snow melts. We have a good 1'-2' of snow, and even 4 wheel drive isn't working on these roads, we had a friend get their Jeep stuck and I've seen multiple people just about crash on the road. The most I could do right now is switch out heaters regularly to give each one a break. I was hoping to be switching them out before, but with how quickly that other oil-filled heater shut off, I'm really hesitant to use another one even for a day, because this one may fail a lot, but at least it lasts more than just one day. :/

[chairman]

Maybe move the enclosures to a smaller space, like a bathroom or closet? The radiator-style heater could probably keep up with that space. I use two of those heaters set on the lowest setting to keep my tortoise's 9x9 shed warm; even when temps dipped into the negatives last year my shed was 80F.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Maybe move the enclosures to a smaller space, like a bathroom or closet? The radiator-style heater could probably keep up with that space. I use two of those heaters set on the lowest setting to keep my tortoise's 9x9 shed warm; even when temps dipped into the negatives last year my shed was 80F.

The snake enclosures are in the smallest room they can be in. Even if I put them all in smaller tubs, they aren't going to fit in any of our closets or bathrooms unless they're in tubs just big enough for their body, and Cloud would be limited to being curled up tightly 100% of the time. He's a big guy, his 6'x2' enclosure takes up a decent portion of the room.

I looked at the heater again and it turns out the button I thought was for the fan was for it to turn back and forth. So yeah it uses a fan to push out.

So far the heater is still working, but I'm going to give it a break and put in the oil-filled heater. I don't really have room in the snake room for a fan + the heater, so it will have to do by itself.

[pet_snake_78]

I've used several of the fan types to heat bathrooms before I showered, all of them will shutoff once they get too hot and I think this is pretty standard for most of them. I think maybe the oil filled one might just be old or something. I would try borrowing a different one or buying one and returning it if it blows up. As coincidental as it is, I'm not convinced the two different heaters shutting off are related.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I've used several of the fan types to heat bathrooms before I showered, all of them will shutoff once they get too hot and I think this is pretty standard for most of them. I think maybe the oil filled one might just be old or something. I would try borrowing a different one or buying one and returning it if it blows up. As coincidental as it is, I'm not convinced the two different heaters shutting off are related.

Both the oil-filled ones have been bought within the past 2 months straight from Wal-Mart, I'd sure hope they weren't old!

It's not 2 shut offs, but 3. With 2 brand-spanking new heaters and one that's roughly ~2 years old (the fan-powered one).

[trailblazer295]

Those heaters aren't really made for consistent regular use but emergencies it's very possible they are wearing out.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Those heaters aren't really made for consistent regular use but emergencies it's very possible they are wearing out.

I can totally understand the fan-powered one being worn out, but the other two heaters have barely even been used and haven't been running constantly. My mom only used her heater on the coldest nights, which I can count on one hand, and only for the few hours she was sleeping before work.

The snow is finally gone, so I'm going to see about having our electrician friend come out and test our lines before we pay someone to come out here and find out we're not needing any electric work or something.

The heaters are still holding up well so maybe we'll make it through this winter yet.

[Princess-dad]

If you put a small fan blowing across your radiator style heater they will better heat the room .

[trailblazer295]

I agree about the fan, without any airflow in the room the heat won't distribute properly. Will also prevent overheating.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Here's a photo of what I'm working with (only one T12 atm because this one just got done curing and I'm getting ready to put the other one together):

Excuse the mess, I've got things laying around from recent bedding changes and rearranging to make room for the T12's. The stuff in front of the door is to keep cold drafts out and weight to keep the door closed. The whole trailer is off-kilter so the door wouldn't open after a few days and that's why there's no knob.

http://i.imgur.com/pKjdYi7.jpg

Only one heater is plugged in at a time, to reduce any residual electrical pulls.

I just don't know where I'm going to put a fan in here, I still need access to all the enclosures and the restroom. Unless a small 4"-6" tall desk fan is enough, I don't know if there's room for a fan. All we have right now is a 3' tall box fan.

The whole room is heated very well, but if it will help keep the heaters from overheating, I can try it, but I'm just not sure where I could put one. :/ And I'm not sure what exactly the safety distance is for a heater to have from other objects, but I think it's something like 3'-4', so I'm scared of a fire hazard if I try to fit any more stuff in there.