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By Panman
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Posts:  6309
Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm
#398278
Not dumb, just young. I didn't want you going down a trail that would lead to problems. Sometimes we focus on how to do what we are trying to achieve and forget to ask whether it should be done in the first place.

Keep asking questions!
IoanAdam, TrapsAndDews, ChefDean and 1 others liked this
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By thepitchergrower
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Joined:  Sun Sep 26, 2021 2:22 am
#398288
Just keep that fire extinguisher nearby. I would think your garage wouldn't be a bad place? :? I guess it would depend on the temperatures in your garage.
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By Panman
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Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm
#398293
It is the same with any electric device. You don't want it too close to the wall, no hanging material that could catch a spark, It should be where it can be monitored and replaced, and there should be room between the device and any other obect. Even in a garage, if it is placed alongside flammable chemicals, that is a fire hazard. In an indoor setting I think the things I listed are a good place to start. You can look up the operation instructions on a space heater and it will tell you what it's requirements are. If it is a safe spot for a space heater, it is a safe spot for a grow shelf.
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By specialkayme
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Joined:  Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:02 am
#398296
TrapsAndDews wrote:Although, this does have me wondering if anywhere is safe to put my grow lights.
Safe is a relative term.

A grow light can spark at any time, in any location. A spark can cause a fire. That means risk exists. Just because it can spark and a fire can start, doesn't mean the risk is high. It just isn't zero. The risk is about the same as your TV, or a normal reading light starting a fire. There are some factors that increase that risk. If a light produces heat, the risk increases. Having a light in a small enclosure, the risk increases. Having a flammable item near the light, the risk increases. Not being able to put the fire out when it's small (because you don't have a fire extinguisher), the risk increases. There are other factors, of course. But the risks compound.

If having a light represents a 1% chance of a fire, and each of those factors above increases your chances 3x, in the end you have a 81% chance of a fire. All made up numbers, but you get the idea.

It just so happens, you suggested adding as many increasing risk factors that anyone on this forum could probably think of, apart putting gasoline soaked rags on your lights.

No shame intended. Ask questions before doing things you aren't sure of. Learn. Grow. Become better. :)
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By MikeB
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Joined:  Sat Apr 25, 2020 4:13 pm
#398325
elaineo wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 3:29 am @TrapsAndDews, what if you sleep under the bed and put your plants on top of the bed frame? :idea:
Then the Nepenthes will drool on you while you sleep....
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By TrapsAndDews
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Joined:  Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:20 am
#398331
elaineo wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 3:29 am @TrapsAndDews, what if you sleep under the bed and put your plants on top of the bed frame? :idea:
Won't that still be a fire hazard?
MikeB wrote:Then the Nepenthes will drool on you while you sleep....
I don't have any Nepenthes as of now, but I do want to get one once the temperatures get warmer for shipping and once I earn more money.
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By thepitchergrower
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Joined:  Sun Sep 26, 2021 2:22 am
#398333
Same problem here. Still selling plants (non CPs) on other forums. Still waiting for someone to buy. I doubt that they will drool on you, unless you over turn the pitchers or something...
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By specialkayme
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Joined:  Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:02 am
#398345
thepitchergrower wrote: I doubt that they will drool on you, unless you over turn the pitchers or something...
Depends on the nepenthes. Some produce extra "nectar" on the outside of the pitcher or leaves. I have a sangunea that almost drools. I have to keep a paper towel or something under it (it's hanging). It isn't much, maybe a few drops a week, but still. Not all nepenthes do that though.
TrapsAndDews wrote:Does the liquid in the pitchers burn you like acid?
No. It's acidic, but so is orange juice. (I wouldn't recommend you drink it though . . . the liquid in the pitchers that is, not the orange juice. OJ is delicious).
TrapsAndDews wrote:Won't that still be a fire hazard?
I'm not sure you're grasping the reason why growing under your bed is a fire hazard.

Placing an item that conducts electricity, gets warm, and has the potential to spark in a small enclosure without adequate air flow and surrounded by flammable items is a fire hazard. The light gets hot. The heat has no where to escape. It heats up the surrounding area. Because the area is small (enclosed) it heats up much faster and much hotter. What's being heated up is flammable (your mattress, bed frame, sheets . . .). A spark could ignite any of the flammable items. But the radiating heat over time could too. Remove as many of those conditions as you can, and you reduce the risk (not eliminate) of a fire hazard. So, NOT having it in an enclosed space (on top of your bed, rather than under it), NOT having it surrounded by flammable items (the mattress is under the plants, not over and next to the lights), NOT having inadequate airflow, all reduces the fire risk.

Of course, MikeB was joking. But still.

It's the same reason you don't put your cable box, router, or PC tower in a small box and let it run. It'll fry the circuits, or worse catch fire, as the heat inside the box will build up. That doesn't mean you can't have a computer or internet. Just don't be dumb about it.
TrapsAndDews wrote: I don't have any Nepenthes as of now, but I do want to get one once the temperatures get warmer for shipping and once I earn more money.
Most big nepenthes dealers are still selling/shipping despite the cold (Carnivero, Florae). They just use rush delivery and heat packs. I'd avoid eBay or some of the sellers that "dabble" in nepenthes, as they typically try to ship it at low cost, are from warm areas like Florida or Texas and don't understand temps in colder areas, and usually (in my experience) use inadequate packing materials/insulation/heat packs.

Or you could probably go to your local lowes. They usually have some starter nepenthes that can be sacrificed to the grower gods if you can't keep it alive (as lowes was probably going to kill it anyway). They usually aren't expensive either.

Or you could find a rather inexpensive one if money is an issue. I think I got my first nepenthes, a sanguinea, for like $12 (plus shipping). I've split it 3 times since then (and probably need to find homes for at least one, if not two of the divisions).

Just some thoughts.
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By TrapsAndDews
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Joined:  Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:20 am
#398356
specialkayme wrote: It's the same reason you don't put your cable box, router, or PC tower in a small box and let it run.
No comment... :?
specialkayme wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 1:28 pm Most big nepenthes dealers are still selling/shipping despite the cold (Carnivero, Florae). They just use rush delivery and heat packs. I'd avoid eBay or some of the sellers that "dabble" in nepenthes, as they typically try to ship it at low cost, are from warm areas like Florida or Texas and don't understand temps in colder areas, and usually (in my experience) use inadequate packing materials/insulation/heat packs.

Or you could probably go to your local lowes. They usually have some starter nepenthes that can be sacrificed to the grower gods if you can't keep it alive (as lowes was probably going to kill it anyway). They usually aren't expensive either.

Or you could find a rather inexpensive one if money is an issue. I think I got my first nepenthes, a sanguinea, for like $12 (plus shipping). I've split it 3 times since then (and probably need to find homes for at least one, if not two of the divisions).

Just some thoughts.
Rushing the delivery and using heat packs costs money. That's why I'm waiting for spring. I thought getting Nepenthes from Lowes was highly discouraged?
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By Panman
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Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm
#398363
TrapsAndDews wrote:Rushing the delivery and using heat packs costs money. That's why I'm waiting for spring. I thought getting Nepenthes from Lowes was highly discouraged?
It isn't. You just need to understand what you are getting. Whatever you get is going to need a little extra work to get it doing really well. The first nep I got was from Lowes and it is pretty indestructible. For $9.95, it has taught me a bunch about caring for them. I've almost killed it several times in several ways but have always managed to revive it or start a new plant. The funny thing about the one I got is that it was labeled ventricosa but it is in no way, shape, or form that. It is possibly a sanquinea or a hybrid of it.
specialkayme liked this
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