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Safety checks · SC-18

Portable Heater Safety Check

A free printable portable heater safety checklist: cord, plug, wall socket, clearance, stability, tip-over switch and controls checked for up to four heaters.

First page of the Portable Heater Safety Check — Check each portable heater before the season starts and keep an eye on it in use. Each heater gets a column, so a frayed cord or a dead tip-over switch is written down rather than noticed and forgotten.
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One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.

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What this sheet is for

Check each portable heater before the season starts and keep an eye on it in use. Each heater gets a column, so a frayed cord or a dead tip-over switch is written down rather than noticed and forgotten.

Who it is for

Households, landlords, offices and workshops using electric fan, oil-filled, convector or radiant heaters through the winter.

How to use it

  1. Write each heater's type, make and room at the top of its column, and check recall lists for the make and model.
  2. Unplug it and look over the cord, plug and guard, then plug it straight into a wall socket and run it.
  3. Check the clearance its maker gives, the surface it stands on, the tip-over switch and the controls, and mark each box.
  4. Agree the two in-use rows with everyone in the house, and write any fault and what was done in the last row.

What is on the sheet

One page, top to bottom:

Printed under the title: A start-of-season check for up to four portable heaters, one column each: cord and plug, wall socket, clearance, stability, the tip-over switch and the controls, and how each one is used once it is on.

The maker's figures, not ours. No clearance distance is printed: use the one in each heater's instructions or on its label. Check recall lists for the make and model before the season, and stop using any heater whose cord, plug or socket feels hot.

Write-on lines: Property · Season · Checked by · Date

Start-of-season check — Y, N or a short note in each heater's column

Table, 14 rows: Check · Heater 1 · Heater 2 · Heater 3 · Heater 4

Also printed: Type and make · Room it is used in · Recall list checked (date) · Cord and plug undamaged · Plugged straight into a wall socket · Plug and socket stay cool in use · Maker's clearance kept all round · Stands on a level, stable surface · Tip-over switch turns it off · Thermostat and timer work · Guard and grille intact · Nothing drying on it or stored against it · Off when out of the room or asleep · Fault found and action taken

Questions

How far should a heater be from furniture and curtains?

As far as its maker says in the instructions or on the label; it differs between heater types and models. The sheet leaves that figure to the heater's own documents and records only whether it was kept.

Why straight into a wall socket?

A heater draws a heavy load for hours at a time, and safety advice from fire and extension services is to plug it straight into a wall socket rather than an extension lead or adaptor. If a heater cannot reach a socket, move the heater rather than add a lead.

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