arrgghhh: safest portable heater to leave unattended

[Lyne]

My old farmhouse has some plumbing that runs through the ceiling and exterior walls of a large unheated room and adjoining bathroom. The floor of that room is concrete so I guess the ceiling was the only option. FWIW, the room has the equivalent of 4 doorways to heated space.

The heat exchanger is cracked on the furnace and we will be without heat until the new system can be installed, which is about 2 weeks, but possibly sooner. I -have- to have heat in that room or the pipes will freeze. The outside spigot has even frozen in the bathroom when I -had- heat and so I have to keep one of those radiator-looking electric oil-filled heaters running all of the time on that bathroom wall.

What is the safest type of heater that can be left alone? I hate to do it at all but I don't have a choice.

Thanks.

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[trebor4258]

No doubt more knowledgeable people will reply, but my first thought was one of those stand-alone, oil filled, electric heaters that look sort of like a radiator. I would think that the on-off cycles would be gradual, there would be significant stored heat in the oil, and there aren't any exposed electrical elements. Not sure what would happen if it sprung a leak, but would hope that they're smart enough to shut themselves off if that happens.

trebor

[Toller]

Any new heater (with a tip-over switch) should be safe enough as long as you don't leave it next to the drapes, but the oil filled ones are probably the safest. Just be sure you don't overload any circuits. One is a full load for most circuits though I don't know what is in an old farm house. If you have doubts, a propane heater might actually be a better choice.

[HA HA Budys Here]

How about putting electric heat-tracing tape on the pipes and insulating them?

Also - I hear leaving a faucet drip prevents pipes from freezing...

[wayne]

Why not just turn the water off and drain the pipes?

Wayne

[Dan Hartung]

Oil-filled is safest because there is no exposed surface that heats to burn temperature. We've used DeLonghis for 20+ years in various situations.

I would look into emergency insulation of the pipes rather than heating that room. It sounds like a sieve. Maybe the foam cylinder first, then surround it with a couple of batts of roll insulation. Maybe even use some aluminum ductwork 3/4 style and enclose it that way.

[David Efflandt]

An "oil filled" electric radiator or baseboard heater like that is probably your best bet. I would think that would be safer since they spread heat over a broad area and retain heat. A heater with exposed elements may heat faster, but would tend to be more of a fire hazard because heat is more concentrated.

Mechanical controls may be more reliable than electronic controls, because many electronics fail to remember their settings or come back on after a power failure.

[m Ransley]

True as others have said DeLonghi oil filled is good, but check your wiring, Elec heat Pulls the MAX...... I drain my system 1-2-3 when i leave even for a day at 20` or less.

1- Ball valve main shutoff, 2- Open drain next to main. 3- Open valves upstairs, simple and effective. For you, drain at night , no worry.

[Rich Greenberg]

And if thats not practical (people still living there etc), leave the water running. Not hard, just a trickle. Running water is harder to freeze.

[Tallgrass]

ceramic disk heaters are supposed to be very safe, have tip over shut off controls, and can be thermostatically controlled. Keep any heater freestanding, away from Anything, is my way of thinking.

Linda H., space heater consumer