Are heated propagators safe to use?

[Moopmoop]

Firstly, I've just bought a heated propagator as a late Christmas/early birthday present to myself thanks to all of you lovely people on here talking about them .

Now i'm starting to worry. I already have a fear of my house going on fire and am a 'little' paranoid about electric things been plugged in when i'm not in the house (other than fridge/freezer which is left on for obvious reasons). How safe are these things? Are they idiot proof? Can they go on fire if they get wet underneath as I'm planning on using it on the windowsill? Help please?

[Thelma Sanders]

Perfectly safe in my experience Mine are permanently on the windowledge from Jan to mid April each year

[Kleftiwallah]

Just ensure the amperage of the fuse is correct and not exceeded.

Cheers, Tony.

[Piggle]

yup I have two and my house is still in one piece.

[MarkHackwell]

Yeap perfectly safe The wattage in them is very low soo they dont burn much electric and also when they do go they will either not work or just pop nothing to worry about If you want to be sure use an RCD adapter and that if something does happen it will trip out. Ive used mine for years now with no problems and there in the greenhouse. Im more worried about all our christmas lights :P but they seem fine

[Moopmoop]

Thanks peeps, I look forward to it been delivered. What do you use in yours, compost wise? I have ordered coir thingys as I like them, figured it would be easier with them too.

[veggiechicken]

Plant into pots and seed trays as usual and put those in the propagator!

[Alison]

My first thought was that we have several electrical things which are left on without any concern, electrical fires will be caused by inadequate electrics around the house and wrong fusing (both in the plug and at the fuse board). Wouldn't worry at all, you wouldn't turn the fridge / freezer off and we often leave the V+ recording things at all times of day / night as well as the oven on timer, cook pot etc etc. Suppose I am comforted by the fact that I know that even a lightbulb going trips the fuse so plenty of safety net

Re compost, not sure I understand the question, I just use normal multi purpose in the pots although a lot of people do prefer to use seed compost (don't see the point myself as have perfectly good results without). However, if you're thinking of putting the compost directly in the heated tray then don't as it means that you can't remove the plants as they germinate - you don't want to leave them in there afterwards as they'll go leggy reaching for the light. I only really use my heated propogator for early chillies, peppers and aubergines and sow all of those in titchy newspaper pots which I can remove one at a time as germination is never all together and if things are in bigger seed trays then you can't select if you see what I mean.

[Moopmoop]

I can't have anything else other than the fridge switched on when I'm not in, I find it hard to explain why, that's just me. Thanks, that answers my confusing question about compost, I wasn't sure if you were meant to fill the seed trays with compost which is why I chose coir pellets, then I can remove them as needed.

[SarzWix]

I have 3, and a heated mat, and leave them all plugged in via a surge protected 4-gang extension lead. I check it regularly to make sure none of the plugs feel like they're over-heating, but it's never been a problem so far

[zazen999]

The way I use mine is to remove each little pot [and I use little pots] as the first signs of germination appear.

However I've not even turned mine on yet and stuff including onions have germinated within a week. So I probably will just leave it off until stuff needs it. First chillis are already up.

[Moopmoop]

Thanks guys, I do feel better about it. It was only after I'd bought it online that it occurred to me I'd have to leave it plugged in when I was out. I guess I've just had so much bad luck over the last few years where everything that could go wrong has gone wrong that I worry about what else will go wrong, the mind boggles .

[veggiechicken]

I can't have anything else other than the fridge switched on when I'm not in, I find it hard to explain why, that's just me. Thanks, that answers my confusing question about compost, I wasn't sure if you were meant to fill the seed trays with compost which is why I chose coir pellets, then I can remove them as needed.

If you think about it you'll probably find that you have other electrical things on all the time. I have the fridge, freezer, telephones, smoke alarms, microwave/oven, door bell, radio/alarmclock, .....
With the propagator, just think of it as being a warm base that you put your pots on. The heat warms the soil and the air. You'll have some capillary matting that goes on the base that you keep moist and this is absorbed by the soil in the pots.

[zazen999]

Thanks guys, I do feel better about it. It was only after I'd bought it online that it occurred to me I'd have to leave it plugged in when I was out. I guess I've just had so much bad luck over the last few years where everything that could go wrong has gone wrong that I worry about what else will go wrong, the mind boggles .

You can always just turn it off when you go out. It will retain a bit of heat until you come home.

Have you thought of getting some circuit breakers?

[Moopmoop]

I'll still worry all day if I forget to turn it off. . Circuit breakers are a good idea, thanks.