Electrical safety and fire risk

[pinsetter1991]

I used some velcro to keep my power strip and timers up off the shelf where my misting system sits in case there's a leak or something

 

[MSAquatics]

On top of all the above suggestions, NEST makes a new very good smoke & carbon monoxide detector that can alert 911 and send you a txt/email during fires or high CO. Also speaks in different volumes to wake or alert you. It will disable the furnace and other appliances if the CO gets detectable. Always a good idea to put a good smoke detector in the vicinity of the Cham cages and feeders.

Leland

 

[sandrachameleon]

...
I also have the heat lamp cord clipped onto the cage using a Command small cord clip and Command velcro picture hanging strips. This way, in the event of an earthquake, this light would not fall to the floor which is carpeted. It would dangle from the cage (which is also earthquake-proofed)....

I live in an earthquake zone. its good to see you mention these precautions. reminds me I still haven't re-attached the bracket that should be affixing cage to wall on one of the cages I moved awhile ago - must do that today!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

On top of all the above suggestions, NEST makes a new very good smoke & carbon monoxide detector that can alert 911 and send you a txt/email during fires or high CO.

Hmm, sounds familiar. That's what I'm using now. As I mentioned, I like it so far. The peace of mind is worth the money. I would be completely inconsolable if something happened to my animals.

 

[MSAquatics]

Oh Haha, sorry. I didn't get to your post before I wrote mine. I have the nest thermostat now and love it, I plan to install a few of the protects in the future.

Leland

 

[melble68]

GFCI's for sure should be installed. That's why GFCI's are required by code in many states where water is in use. ie: bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms. Not every outlet needs to have the GFCI, just the first one in the series. A licensed electrician will know this.

Normal residential wiring is designed around 15amp circuits. To be safe, you should only use 80% of the 15amp circuit (which is 12amps) and you should never have a problem. Normally in a home you'll see you 15amp breaker for each room or area of the house. Here's the typical formula for single phase power which is what is in most America homes.

A = W / (PF × V)

A= amps
W= watts
/ = divided by
PF= power factor, (that's .8 or the 80% i talked about)
x = times
V= voltage (in US we run off of 120volts)

for example: you are using 4 lamps which are 60 watts each (240 total)
A=240 / (.8 x 120)
Amps used is 2.5 in this little example

The only trick is to know how many watts you are using. For us in the US is add up the watts and divide by 88.

Heavy gauge extensions also make a difference. Go to any construction jobsite, and you'll see these guys carrying around huge monstrous extension cords for a reason. They help carry heavy loads safely.

I know this info due to the high end audio video and integration systems I design and install. There are times that we request from the electrical company to install 3 and 4 15amp dedicated circuits, but we know this from the calculations we do up front. Other wise we'd turn on a massive dedicated home theater and we'd blow breakers every time it was turned on.

BTW, there are absolutely line conditioners and surge suppression units that will shut down upon using more amps than they're designed to pass. They just don't cost $9.99 and you wont find them at Home Depot.

 

[nick barta]

During the rebuild we had our sulcata in our dining room in 50 gallon storage tubs. I had a human heat pad under one of the tubs. It was new and failed one night. Was super hot on the wood floor the next morning and strong odor alerted us to the problem.
Don't trust heat pads- I've got 12" flexwatt now on my insect shelves and a herpstat pro acting as a controller for each shelf. Put some kind of safety thermostat even on a heat pad I think.

Good Idea!