Keeping heat mats on during power outage - Orchid Board

greenpassion · #1 12-13-2017, 11:50 PM

I was given a suggestion to this possible dilemma a while back, but can't find that thread for the life of me. Sooo. What are ways to keep the heat mats on when the power goes out? Someone suggested some kind of battery or something?...Something rechargable?

Leafmite · #2 12-14-2017, 01:27 AM

My spouse uses something like this: UPS Buying Guide: Battery backup for uninterrupted power. - APC USA

Fishkeeper · #3 12-14-2017, 01:35 AM

Yep, you want a battery backup. You plug it into the wall, then your heat pads into it, and it stores energy until it's full and then just acts like a regular cable. When the power goes out, it automatically starts feeding the power it's stored into your heat pads, and that should last a long time. You can also toss a thick blanket over your plants to help retain some heat.

greenpassion · #4 12-14-2017, 01:37 AM

Leaf Mite thank you so much. I will look into that when I have a chance absolutely.

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Fish keeper, do you have a specific backup in mind? And if I threw a thick blanket over these orchids all the spikes would break off. probably even if I tried to throw a sheet over them I have 20 of them spiking and budding right now my living area.

Roberta · #5 12-14-2017, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenpassion

Leaf Mite thank you so much. I will look into that when I have a chance absolutely.

---------- Post added at 12:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 AM ----------

Fish keeper, do you have a specific backup in mind? And if I threw a thick blanket over these orchids all the spikes would break off. probably even if I tried to throw a sheet over them I have 20 of them spiking and budding right now my living area.

I would guess that this would be the same UPS that one would use for a computer... chose the size you think you'll need. Your heat mat should indicate how many amps it uses (or if it just gives watts, you can calculate amps as watts divided by voltage.

A blanket won't do much except break spikes... it's an insulator so would need a heat source. (When YOU wrap up in a blanket, your body is the heat source and the blanket just keeps the heat where you are) For an external heat source, you might be better off getting a small propane heater. There was a discussion of these on another thread. Look for Mr. Heater Portable and Mr. Heater Buddy. These were designed for RVs... they are safe indoors with the small cylinders like ones used for a propane torch. Or, one can put a 20 lb tank outside and connect one of these with a hose that one can buy. Available on Amazon.

greenpassion · #6 12-14-2017, 03:44 AM

okay now I know I'm overthinking it. Roberta, I just recently bought,set up, and fired Up For the First Time a kerosene heater. The reason I bought it was because I'm afraid of propane in my home. I mean inside my house. ( not to say that I'm not afraid of kerosene but well...) I guess I'm worrying about warmth at the roots of my orchids, not ambient heat( if I'm using that term correctly.) If it's okay for them to go several hours without warmth at the roots then I've got it covered with my emergency heater that I just bought. I need to relax about this.!

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It's 12 degrees outside. Fahrenheit. In my earlier post about having the humidity issue taken care of? Not so. Pot on the stove and 3 humidifiers going and I can only get it up to 45% humidity. Here in New England, at least in Vermont, we are now experiencing January February low temps and it's only the beginning of December. Thank you global warming. I've lived here in Vermont for 37 years. This is on the unusual side of frigid temps this early in winter.

camille1585 · #7 12-14-2017, 04:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenpassion

okay now I know I'm overthinking it. Roberta, I just recently bought set up and fired Up For the First Time a kerosene heater. The reason I bought that was because I'm afraid of propane in my home. I mean inside my house. But I guess I'm worrying about what at the roots of my orchids, not ambient heat if I'm using that word correctly. If it's okay for them to go several hours without warmth at the roots then I've got it covered with my emergency heater that I just bought. I need to relax about this.!

Root warmth will always promote better growth and is very useful when the air temperature is not as warm as the plants would like. However, not having bottom heat for a couple hours or even a couple days is not going to affect the plants too much, so I wouldn't worry about it. If you can keep the air temperature from getting too low (I think Phals are fine down to about 50F or so) during an outage, the plants will be fine.

Subrosa · #8 12-14-2017, 04:57 AM

One tip that makes a kerosene heater less obtrusive is to always light and extinguish it outside. Those are the times they're smelliest.

greenpassion · #9 12-14-2017, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Subrosa

One tip that makes a kerosene heater less obtrusive is to always light and extinguish it outside. Those are the times they're smelliest.

Yes I will definitely light it outside. With it not even lit and sitting in a small a club in my house I can smell it. And good to know about the root warm not being such an issue if it's just for a few hours. Okay now I'm finally ready for winter! Getting off my worry horse and settling down to enjoy.

dounoharm · #10 12-14-2017, 12:53 PM

ventless propane heaters have come a long way, and are not a worry....my greenhouse in nc used a ventless propane heater and never had a problem...I have the same type heater in my little gh now, using natural gas, here in tex...

as far as a heat mat for grown plants, I wouldn't bother....I use one for rooting cuttings or seedling sprouting in the spring, but I never have used it on grown plants....except once last year when the gas was interrupted...then I piled all the orchids on it!

when I use the light setup that I have, it is indoors, do I don't worry about ANYTHING....if the air feels good to me, its ok for the plants....there is a 2' x 4' gravel tray under them, and the overflow pan is mostly full...the cats love it!

running a humidifier to those % can really be harmful to your house...nasty on sheetrock and finishes on wood....I don't rent so I surely don't want to destroy MY house for some plants....if you rent, even worse! they make humidifiers for your furnace, but they are pricey and, again, you don't want to steam your interior! my interior % is between 20-30 indoors sometimes less, texas is tough on orchids! (and my skin)

you can buy one of those plastic little gh's or build your own...that is one solution...big deep gravel tray in the bottom...