Question for Animal Arts

Is there a safe way to add some heat to our tack room for this winter without running the risk of a barn fire?

Answer from Animal Arts

This is an excellent question; heating a tack room requires some caution.

For a small room such as a tack room, a portable (space) heater is the only reasonable, low-cost option. A space heater can be used safely, but you'll need to have strict guidelines for its purchase, and operation. Get a low profile heater that:

Has a built-in thermostat so it will shut off when the space reaches a certain temperature.
Has an automatic safety overheating shutoff. It will shut off before overheating.
Has an automatic tip shutoff. It will shut off automatically if tipped over.
In addition to the above, look for one that has a cover over the heating elements and has a low profile so it's less likely to tip over.

For safe operations, we recommend the following:

The heater must be placed in a specific, dedicated space in the tack room.
Nothing should be placed within three feet of the heater. Attach bright colored tape on the floor around the heater and post a sign explaining that for everyone's safety, the heater must stay in the taped boundary.
Always plug directly into a wall outlet and never use an extension cord. If you don't have a wall outlet in the location where the heater will be placed, then have one installed.
Keep the floor clean in the tack room.
Post a sign asking your boarders to shut off the heater when they leave.

If your boarders do not follow the safety guidelines for the heater, then remove it. But I bet they will in order to have a toasty place to warm up.

For further information, visit this Energy.gov link https://energy.gov/energysaver/portable-heaters.

For more information from Animal Arts visit their website at animalarts.net.

Adding Heat To Barn's Tack Room