Heat Mat???????Please!!!!!!!!!!

Could anyone please tell me the best and cheapest place to get a heat mat? I had thought about trying a heating pad turned on low just til I could find one, and it is rubber, so I don't think it'd hurt anything since I have an x-tra for all the aches and pains!! Ha,Ha!!! Please LMK!!!!

Thanks, Traci S

Traci - Check Home Depot if you have one near you. They had em for about $20 when I was there last. You shouldn't have any problems using a heating pad. Lay something over before you set the seeds tray on it - like a cookie sheet. Just to make sure it doesn't get too hot.

Traci,
I do use a regular old heating pad, have for years. I started tomato and pepper seeds March 3 (some were three years old!!) and transplanted about 70 of them today. If you can't get a mat, just use the heating pad and save your money for seeds and soil! LOL
Good luck!
Michele

I've not used one, but my BIL uses a waterbed heater. I don't even know what they look like, but he got two of them at garage sales for a buck each. Says they work great.

I forgot about waterbed heaters! They do work great. I used one the first year I started seeds. I made super stupid mistake though. I had a sofa table that had a mirrored top so I put it in front of my sunniest window. I heard a sizzle and pop and went to investigate. You guessed it! The mirror split! Don't be Michele and put it on glass. LOL I would recommend a towel or wood shelf beneath that one. :)

I thought I read somewhere that the waterbed heaters are dangerous to use without water? I just threw one away :(

There was a house fire here locally caused by someone using a waterbed heater to heat their dogs bed. They get very hot and can cause a fire. I would put it outside in a cold frame, just in case.

Waterbed heaters, do have a thermostat on them. As long as you had it set at 7o to 72 degrees, you would be okay. Seeds only need those temps to germinate. Anything electrical can malfunction. I would never use it for a dogs bed, they could chew on the wiring or the mat and cause a fire hazard.

Would that have been a hotdog!?!
I thought about the heat mats you get at the pet stores!