heater for a cold basement

[snack420]

Hi. I've been searching around the site but didn't find much on this topic, at least about my specific questions.

My grow will be in a basement where the ambient temperature this time of year is around 50-55 F. I know that my plants should not drop too much into the 60s, and definitely not below that, so I'm planning to provide some supplemental heating to the room. Since the heater will be used during the dark period, an unlighted heater is essential. (From my first grow, I'm pretty sure the 600 W light will heat things up enough during the light period.)

First question is, are there any suggestions on specific heater types (i.e. ceramic, oil-filled, etc...), or even specific models to use that would work well in this case? My second question is, will putting the heater just outside the tent probably be sufficient to raise the temps (in the tent) to 70ish (or more), or is it likely the heater will need to be placed in the tent itself? Of course, I'm concerned about safety and want to avoid setting the place on fire while raising the temps

Thanks in advance for any tips!

 

[Antics]

If the heater is placed outside the tent, it would essentially be heating the entire basement, and the only heat drawn into the tent would be through air intakes. However, this method is inaccurate as far as temperatures go if the unit is thermostatically controlled, as it will be running until the area around it is heated to the desired temperature, and will ignore the temperature inside the tent.

The best type of heater will have a thermostat, where you set the desired temperature, and the heater takes care of the rest.
The size of the heater (BTUs) will depend a lot on how much airflow you have going on at night. If your exhaust fan is just blowing the heat right out, then the heater is going to run constantly, and maybe you'd be better off just using a larger oil filled unit and heating the basement.

Buuuut, heaters also draw a bit of power, and you'll likely want to avoid having the heater running during lights on, the use of timers can easily correct this, just make sure the timer you choose can handle the current that the heater draws.

If the heater has a light, just cover it with black duct tape and/or black electrical tape.

 

[snack420]

Hey Antics, you raise some good points. The tent is in an enclosed room, roughly 10' x 10', so the heat would be somewhat isolated to that room when the door is closed, but I take your point. I'm fine with putting the heater in the tent itself; my only concern is it will be tight in there with the 4 buckets and I want to prevent any chance of starting a fire. I guess I'll have to see how it fits in there and then assess if that will work alright.

Do you have any opinion about whether an oil-filled space heater or a ceramic heater would be better for heating the tent? I do want to get one with a thermostat and set that so the tent temps don't fall below around 60F. I'm guessing the heater won't need to run when the 600W light is on, but I'm not totally sure, as my last grow started in May and the weather was warmer than it is now.

 

[MassMedMan]

I use an oil filled radiant heater to heat my 4x4 which is inside a 7x7 space. It works. Not as efficient as can be. But safe and functional. At one point I had a small space heater in my tent. But I had crazy heat spikes. Now, things are much more stable.

Good luck

 

[snack420]

I use an oil filled radiant heater to heat my 4x4 which is inside a 7x7 space. It works. Not as efficient as can be. But safe and functional. At one point I had a small space heater in my tent. But I had crazy heat spikes. Now, things are much more stable.

Good luck

Hi Peter. Thanks for your comments!

Is your oil-filled heater in the tent itself? I'm curious what temperature you set it to and how much it warms the room (or tent). Are you able to provide any figures such as the ambient temps w/o the heater and then what the heater brings the temps up to?

Also, I'm guessing these heaters draw a lot of power. The one I'm going to pick up will likely be a 1500 BTU unit. Should I expect my electric bill to increase substantially if I'm running the heater 6 hours/day for a few weeks?

Thanks!!

 

[COorganics]

I second using an oil filled radiator heater. Take apart and disable led lights before using, though.
This is exactly what I use. Pelonis brand, $50.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I'm considering putting in a small heater for the nighttime temperatures as well. Just an 8 x 8 space. I'm looking at a little 200 W (or maybe 250W?) heater. I think it's called Myheat. I don't want too add much draw to the total. Very wimpy little thing but it might be just enough to keep the temperatures up a little bit in a well insulated space. It's easy enough to wire up a household thermostat to run it through if I don't find a better option.

 

[MassMedMan]

No, my heater is outside the tent. I did have a space heater which was inside, but spikes lead me to switch. And I also went to the oil based radiant heater. It doesn't have a temp setting. Just, high medium, and low with a dial to adjust each setting. Got it at slowes, not sure the brand. Depending on outside temps, (like outside my shed) I use it lights out only, low selection, mid way. Lights out for me is during the day. When it's on during the day my tent stays right at, or just above 70. The room/shed itself is a few degrees higher. It's a sturdy shed that I insulated. I leave a small fan running in my tent with lights out to pull the warm air in through open vents at the bottom of my tent. Negative pressure.

No heater runs with lights on.

Next year, I'm installing a wall mount propane heater with a thermostat. Not messing with electric heaters any more, hopefully.

Hope that helps, if not fire away..