Portable Electric Radiator Heaters with Oil Danger?

crazyforfeathers · Oct 31, 2012

Hi! On keeping my birds warmed up, I've been reading through the forums and made a decision to purchase an electric radiator heater with oil. I attached a picture for reference.

The heater I bought seemed fine until I smelled this strong odor coming off it. It has no Teflon I'm sure. The odor is probably from the paint on the actual metal that gets hot. I'm worried this smell is dangerous to birds.

I probably should have gone for heat perches but the ones I found online had bad reviews. They were either too slippery or the wire protection did not offer a smidge of protection from chewers.

Any one have experience with this odor I am describing?

MonicaMc · Nov 1, 2012

Could be off-gasing too... and heating it up just makes the smell worse.

Maybe stick it outside for several hours, allowing it to 'off-gas' some while leaving it on?

crazyforfeathers · Nov 1, 2012

Thanks for the tip, Monica. I'll leave if running on low all day outside tomorrow. Maybe the smell will go away after some time.

What does off gassing mean?

baron1282 · Nov 1, 2012

Basically it just means that the stuff painted on the heater will release some type of gas while heating. Off gassing can happen even if you paint your house and it depends on the type of paint you use, but it could last a lifetime. Even your new mattress can have off gassing.

Nature Neutral : What is Offgassing?

It's normal thing. It's a good idea to take it outside and a few hours to a whole day should do it some good. Please keep me informed on how well it works! I need to buy heaters as I live in a basement and it gets really cold!! So I was thinking of a few radiator heaters for my downstairs basement apartment. My bird is not going to be home until after thanksgiving so I can buy a few of the radiator heaters and let it off gas before my bird comes home.

antoinette · Nov 1, 2012

Great advise from Baron1282

crazyforfeathers · Nov 1, 2012

Thanks for the link, Baron!

So I've been running the heater outside for 5 hours now. I took it inside to run it. I could still smell the odor in 30 mins. I'll take it back outside to run it for another 5 more hours to see if it needs a bit more time.

I'll let you all know his it goes...

crazyforfeathers · Nov 2, 2012

Hi all. So an update. I've been running the heater since yesterday outside. The smell is a lot fainter but if I run it in my room (away from the birds), I could tell the difference. The room will have this stale smell of the original odor after I run the heater so an hour or two.

It is getting cold here though. It can get down to 53 at night. Should I run this electric radiator heater with oil? Does anyone else's heater make that same pain like smell?

MollyGreenCheeks · Nov 2, 2012

crazyforfeathers said:
Hi! On keeping my birds warmed up, I've been reading through the forums and made a decision to purchase an electric radiator heater with oil. I attached a picture for reference.

The heater I bought seemed fine until I smelled this strong odor coming off it. It has no Teflon I'm sure. The odor is probably from the paint on the actual metal that gets hot. I'm worried this smell is dangerous to birds.

I probably should have gone for heat perches but the ones I found online had bad reviews. They were either too slippery or the wire protection did not offer a smidge of protection from chewers.

Any one have experience with this odor I am describing?

Take a look at the manual and verify it does not contain "PTFE". It may not contain Teflon but that does not mean it doesn't have "PTFE". I do agree that it may just be burning off any manufacturing odors but just be careful. I have two DeLonghi heaters and they never put off any odor from the first day I used them.

crazyforfeathers · Nov 2, 2012

Thanks, Molly. The manual did not say it had PTFE or Teflon. I'm concerned about the odor though. As sensitive as a bird's lungs are, it is probably not good for him to breath it in for 10-12 hours in a confined room.

I'll go to Target tonight and look at what other options I have. Your DeLonghi heaters are electric radiator with oil as well? I'll look if they carry that brand.

Also I'm guessing heat lamps/dish have some form of PTFE? I'll let you all know if I see something worth using...

MollyGreenCheeks · Nov 3, 2012

Yes, they are electric, oil filled heaters. I purchased them at home depot about 2 years ago.

wenz2712 · Nov 3, 2012

The odour you could smell in the beginning will go after running for a few hours! Once the odour goes it will be fine. I have always used one of these and have never had any problems with it.

crazyforfeathers · Nov 3, 2012

Thank you, Molly and Wenz. I settled for a Honeywell electric radiator heater w/ oil. It has a built in thermometer that shuts off on the set temperature. It had a couple of good reviews online, sorry I forgot the model number. I'm running it in the bathroom now for several hours to off gas. There is very little smell coming off, nothing like the first one I have which had a strong odor even after running it for a full day. The more I run it, I hope the less the smell will be.

Thank you for everyone's input. I think I am more confident to use this one around my birds.

Lee11 · Nov 5, 2012

I have a Kenworld oil filled radiator I had it for a over a year before I got rico so it seems fine. I prefer to use it rather than the steam heat radiator in my apartment...especially when I am out....as the heating in my building tends to either be ultra hot or cold. The radiator gives me greater temperature control.....

Portable Electric Radiator Heaters with Oil Danger?

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