How do rheostat heaters work?

(I'm pretty sure I used the wrong terminology.)

If we go with the one bedroom condo, the hedgehogs will likely be staying in the bedroom with us. The living room might have too many drafts (from the patio door). Adam has a few worries about the space heater (mostly in terms of the room getting too warm for comfort), so I suggested rheostat heaters. Except, I don't even know if rheostat heaters will actually do the trick to keep the cages warm, since I use Ferret Nations.

Can anyone provide some insight on how the heaters actually work, and if they'll keep the FN warm enough?

I have no clue what a rheostat heater is. I've never heard of it.

A rheostat, it a switch for turning current up or down to control the amount of heat, light, or power produced. Rheostats are what is in dimmable light switches so when you rotate the light is brighter or dimmer. Rheostats are what is used in many space heaters for turning the temperature up or down.

I think he is using the term wrong. Any heater is going to have either a rheostat or digital temperature controller. Both will keep the room from getting too warm but the rheostat is less accurate than digital.

OOH! I thought they were actually heaters, LOL. Durr...

Nancy, how well do digital oil filled heaters work? I currently have one that isn't digital and it creates spikes in heat sometimes. Would a digital heater keep the room a steady 25*C?

I find the digital oiled filled keeps a more accurate temperature than the ones with the rheostat control. Only problem with digital is if the power blinks off five minutes after you leave in the morning, the heater shuts off and will not come back on until you turn it back on. The rheostats will come back on when the power does.

And a rheostat would work with most (if not all) space heaters? That might be exactly what we're looking for to keep the temperature at a comfortable rate, unless we can rig up some form of heating lamps that won't mess with the hog's activity at night.

Wouldn't a ceramic heat emitter work on a rheostat and not produce light?

Courtney, you are still missing it. lol The rheostat is part of the heater. The knob that adjusts the temperature is the rheostat. All heaters have something to turn the temperature up or down. That is the rheostat unless you have the digital type.

LOL. It must be Sunday and my brain is on vacation. LOL.

Thanks!

No problem. We all have days like that. lol