Need Help - Temperature Control

[Bela]

I live in the Chicagoland area - out west where the temps at this time are -5 with a windchill of -20 (it's actually warmer in Siberia now --I checked). I have a 62 year old house, it isn't tyvek'ed. I have eliminated drafts with silicone on the drafty windows and it has helped. However, when it's this cold...it's cold. I woke up and it was 62 degrees in the warmest part of my house. I heavily rely on incandescent bulbs in the brutal temps of winter (oh, by the way, do you know the gov signed a bill eliminating/banning incandescent bulbs by the year 2014?). I can deal with the cold - I just bundle up and sleep, but my birds...Bela keeps saying..."Cold, cold, cold...it's cold" And she's right! I have a fireplace in the "grand room" which isn't really grand, but it's the living room and dining room all open. I've had the chimney cleaned and haven't used it since I purchased it in 2005. I'm afraid to use the oven for goodness sake. Is the fireplace a definate no no? I've used a fireplace before and I know how warm the place can get with its use...gas prices be damned, I'm just looking for a way too keep everyone warm. This evening I had to bring in the halogen shop light...it warmed the place up to 67 degrees...oooh heat wave.

[PowerBBS]

Have you considered a heater in the bird room with a thermostat? One of the oil filled heaters that looks like an old boiler water heater are pretty safe as there is no direct heat. It's radiant and the outside of the heater doesn''t get hot enough to combust or produce gas. They're also pretty energy efficient compared to most other heaters as the oil holds the heat after the electricity stops heating the element for a while.

Here's a pic of what I'm talking about:



Walmart, KMart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc... tons of places sell 'em!

[Bela]

Thank you. I've found myself leary of them in the fear of the heat causing the paint on the unit producing toxic gases for my birds. My mom has them in her house - she housed a stray cat on her porch and used them as a source of heat, but that was for a cat. Do you use these or know of others that have used these without incident?

Julie

[PowerBBS]

Yes I do use them.... Specifically we place one in our bird room (and only in the bird room) and shut the door as we turn down the "house" heat at night and when we're at work/not home. I have the exact model I pictured. I have it set to 72 degrees 24/7. Of course this spring I'll turn it off as the house heat will easily average that during the spring (and more during the summer).

[Lori~D]

LOL, Shes saying Cold Cold because she hears you say it all the time. 62 degrees is not to cold for a grey. Drafts are bad but 62 deg. is not. As long as they are used to it and acclimated to it - and she is if she has always been in this same home for at least a year.
Day Night
CAPE TOWN 26 16
JOHANNESBURG 25 16
DURBAN 28 23
PRETORIA 29 19
BLOEMFONTEIN 31 17
PORT ELIZABETH 25 14
KIMBERLEY 33 19
PHALABORWA 32 25
POLIKWANE 28 20
UPPINGTON 36 21

The temps are celcius. Temps from all around Africa.


Here is the convewrsion
Farneheight Cels.
18 -10

27 -5

32 0 water freezes

41 5

50 10

59 15

68 20

77 25

So you see? Its Ok and some birds require the change for proper breeding so that tells me its actually healthier - after all they were designed to be outdoors 24/7

[Lori~D]

Well shoot - it wouldnrt edit right. Numbers on top. Left is day right is Night

Conversion Left is Farenheight Right number is Celcius

Other places in Africa out in the bush the temps dip well below 60 at night

[birdlady49]

I've used those oil-filled radiator type space heaters for several years in my house, one for each bird room. I've never had any problem and there's no paint on the heater to "burn" off. It's the only type of space heater I would trust. Even keeping it on low raises the temperatures by two degrees.

It gets cold in Colorado as well. We've had a couple of below zero nights and the space heaters kept the bird rooms at 67 degrees (with the help of the furnace of course).

[greencinacheeks]

my brother lives in Chicago right now so i know what your talking about...SOOO COLD BURRRR

but i use the heaters like shown above by PowerBBS. they help alot.

~N

[Savery]

yeah, those radiator style heaters are the best, IMO. Don't have one now, but I used to. They're also relatively cool to the touch, so no burn injury risk, either. (i used to warm my feet up by sticking my feet in between the fins) so you don't have to worry about a fire hazard or your bird getting hurt by landing on it.

[Bela]

Excellent. Thanks everyone!