Bird safe heaters

[Rosalindagg]

Hello I am needing a bird safe heater for this weekend. I currently have these two but I don’t know if I can use them. Does anyone know if they’re bird safe ? If not what heaters do you use for your birds ?

 

[Laurasea]

sweeter heater sold in Amazon! Swear by it wouldn't live without!

 

[wrench13]

THe Sweeter Heater is for your parrot when he is in his cage - they can snuggle up against it. For room heaters the oil filled radient heater type is safest, as the heating element is contained within the oil "tank". I have a DeLonghi, considered the best of them.

 

[LeeC]

In addition to what @wrench13 said, here are a few "pro tips".

First, get a heater with a top "shroud" to protect your parrot from landing right on the hottest part of the heater. Note: The shroud is still hot enough to harm your parrot's feet, but it is not as hot as an unshrouded heater.

With shroud:

Without shroud:

Edit: If you were to look down in the top opening of the shrouded heater's shroud, you would see it envelops a heater as shown with no shroud.

Second, look at the shipping weight of the heater. A heavier heater has more oil in it, which is more thermal mass, to hold heat longer, and distribute it more evenly.

Edit: A cheaper heater will have a shipping weight of 15 to 19 lbs. A better heater will have a shipping weight around 25 lbs.

Last, note the first two heaters, above, have a "dial thermostat". These are a little trickier to set than a digital-thermostat heater (see image below). However, the digital-thermostat heater will not come back on if your power goes out, even for a second. (If your power "blinks" overnight, you will wake to a heater that has been off ever since.) The dial-thermostat heaters typically will resume their "on" status after a power outage, because they use mechanical switches so all settings are in effect after power resumes. Electronic-switch heaters default to powered off when unplugged and plugged back in, or when power is lost and restored.

 

[ravvlet]

In addition to the heater, you can get a bluetooth dongle that measures room temp and humidity. Heaters dry out the air, so you may need to add a small humidifier. I like the simple, wicking ones with a fan the best. They’re easy to clean and with few moving parts.

The dongles (I use a Govee) have alert settings also, so if the heat drops off (for example, if you have a power outage or trip a breaker) it’ll ping your phone to let you know. I THINK this only works if you’re on the same wifi network as the dongle, but I can’t remember right now. That information should be available in the device manual.

 

[LeeC]

In addition to the heater, you can get a bluetooth dongle that measures room temp and humidity. Heaters dry out the air, so you may need to add a small humidifier. I like the simple, wicking ones with a fan the best. They’re easy to clean and with few moving parts.

The dongles (I use a Govee) have alert settings also, so if the heat drops off (for example, if you have a power outage or trip a breaker) it’ll ping your phone to let you know. I THINK this only works if you’re on the same wifi network as the dongle, but I can’t remember right now. That information should be available in the device manual.

@ravvlet, those are both excellent additions! I use cool-mist humidifiers, because they put a lot more humidity back into the air. Mine have built-in hygrometers, so I can set the desired level; but, I also have small digital hygrometers (not "connected" at all, via WiFi or Bluetooth) throughout the house so I can monitor rooms.

The temperature alarm is a great idea. You mentioned Bluetooth and WiFi. If it is Bluetooth, it has a short range of about 30 feet at most and it can only be paired with one device (phone, tablet, etc.). If it is WiFi, the range would be about 300 feet, and many devices could access it's data.

 

[ravvlet]

The humidifier I use also has a hygrometer, but I like to check it against the digital one (which has been set against a needle-style, analog one that I calibrated). I’ve used the Govee successfully in an incubator to hatch quail eggs, so I am quite confident in it’s measuring accuracy.

I have an Aircare D-Series evaporative humidifier. It uses wicks that need to be changed roughly every two months depending on use. You can tell it’s time to replace them when they start to feel stiff and there is mineral build up on the wicks. The tank is opaque, is easy to dump out and rinse, and the only mechanical bit is the fan assembly on top. It does an excellent job of keeping my small office’s humidity high (it’s rated for sqft equivalent to my entire house, actually) and is ridiculously easy to clean.

According to studies by the EPA, evaporative humidifiers have the smallest risk of releasing airborne bacteria or minerals back into the air. Cool mist humidifiers are, however, also suitable for parrots. There is some risk of cool-mist style humidifiers of over-humidifying the air, which can encourage mold growth (not something I feel comfortable with in the already-moldy PNW). The only kind you really want to avoid is warm mist humidifiers, because the heating elements usually have teflon coatings and if the machine overheats, the coating will also overheat and can release deadly fumes.

 

[LeeC]

According to studies by the EPA, evaporative humidifiers have the smallest risk of releasing airborne bacteria or minerals back into the air.

I only use distilled water in my cool-mist humidifier, so there are no minerals to release into the air. More importantly, there are no toxins or VOCs to be released into the air that would be in municipal water ("tap water").

As for bacteria, because my humidifiers are "right-sized" for my home, they run very low on, or out of water, daily, which prevents the opportunity for bacteria to grow in them.

There is some risk of cool-mist style humidifiers of over-humidifying the air, which can encourage mold growth (not something I feel comfortable with in the already-moldy PNW).

Mine cool-mist humidifiers are controlled by their built-in hygrometers, as a heater would be controlled by its thermostat, so this is not a problem or risk.

I am intrigued by the wick type now, though. Why do you have to replace the wicks? Because of not using pure water? Are yours controlled by their built-in hygrometer?

I tried one of these, because it seemed like a great idea. I found it to be a terrible idea in real use.

Venta LW45 Comfort Plus Humidifier - Venta North America

The new LW25 Comfort Plus Humidifier uses evaporative humidification and features a built-in hygrometer and hygrostat.

www.venta-air.com

 

[ravvlet]

Yes, they’re controlled by the hygrometer, as most of these units that include them are by design. The “mist” action from a cool mist humidifier can create condensation depending on where the unit is located - this has caused issues for me in the past. It’s wonderful that you have success with yours. As I’ve stated, there is nothing wrong with a cool-mist humidifier. I didn’t write the EPA study, so I can’t tell you what variables they included when they did it, but you’re free to do the research yourself.

I live in a major metropolitan area where they are often out of distilled water as a result of pandemic-related shipping issues - I’ve had trouble sourcing it for things like my mother’s CPAP machine when she visits, so I only use distilled water for their bathing mist. The wicks do filter out minerals, but are also a porous surface so even with frequent cleaning and rinsing will need to be replaced periodically. White vinegar can help de-scale the inside of the humidifier, and mine came with instructions on how much to use to clean it.

As this was originally a thread about ideal heaters, I think this is going a bit off topic. Suffice to say, when you introduce a heating element to your parrot’s environment it’s important to also consider the humidity.

If you would like to continue to discuss the pros and cons of cool mist versus evaporative humidifier, you are welcome to create a new thread!

 

[Rosalindagg]

So actually I do have this one that I purchased a few year ago and I really wish that it did have a shroud! I’m so scared that Sushi will attempt to land on it but so far she hasn’t had any interest but of course that could change so I’ll have to be supervising.

 

[Rosalindagg]

So actually I do have this one that I purchased a few year ago and I really wish that it did have a shroud! I’m so scared that Sushi will attempt to land on it but so far she hasn’t had any interest but of course that could change so I’ll have to be supervising.

Since I’m only needing temporary this will work