potpimp
Sector 5 Moderator
I put 4 beans in paper towels to germinate, and since it was cold in my shop, I plugged in a heated seed mat. I went back an hour or so later to check and the top of it was still cold so I put a piece of blue board insulation under it and laid the baggie with the paper towels on top of a plastic bag to keep it from getting too hot. I started to go out and check on it last night but didn't; I mean, it's a heat mat, right? I went out to check this morning and smelled burnt plastic long before I got there. When I opened the door, black smoke billowed out but I didn't see any flames. It took a bit to get enough smoke out to inspect things. I plugged in my exhaust fan and it cleared it out quickly. The fire burned the rug (no big deal), the side of one of my plants I was overwintering under a small LED grow light, and the grow light power cord (can be easily repaired). I've used these heat mats in my home for the last three years. I'm not sure exactly what happened but I know that heat mats should not get hot enough to combust! Fortunately the flames were apparently oxygen starved and went out before it could catch the shop on fire. I credit my panda plastic partition with starving it.
I had most of the stuff ready to plant in hydro on the side. I've spent the entire fucking day cleaning up the black soot, and still not even close to finishing. If the shop had caught on fire the house would have caught on fire too, no doubt. Be careful with these things!
I had most of the stuff ready to plant in hydro on the side. I've spent the entire fucking day cleaning up the black soot, and still not even close to finishing. If the shop had caught on fire the house would have caught on fire too, no doubt. Be careful with these things!
