Hotwater baseboard heating, Fire hazards?

I don't know anyone with this kind of heating and was just curious how safe is it? Will curtains hanging be a problem? And what about a Christmas tree? All three places I could put the tree have the baseboard heaters on the same wall.

I had them in my old house in Utah and they were a pain in the butt truthfully. If the curtain touched you started to smell something burning. The house was really old and so were the baseboard heaters. Then again the heater in the livng room never shut off cuz of a short somewhere. we did have the curtains hanging above it and never had a problem but if they ever touched you would smell burning and have a brown spot on them. I don't know about a tree cuz we had ours on the other side of the room without the heater

never had a problem with ours
when the kids were younger I would always find papers in them and also Melted Crayons, little ppl. GI Joes, barbie heads you get the idea
Maybe Ed will have better answers LOL

That reminds me about our electric heaters, I never thought about our Chritmas tree. I've already melted a broom in there.

Hot water baseboard heating is absolutely one of the safest heating systems you can have. As with a scorched air system, most of the fire hazards are easily preventable and exist at the heating unit. Keep dirt and clutter away from the heater, service the system as recommended by the manufacturer, and you should have little trouble with it.

Regarding fire hazards at the hydronic baseboards, don't be concerned at all. I'll explain in a moment, because I want to make sure everyone understands the difference between hot water baseboards and electric resistance baseboards, which ARE A POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD. Electric resistance baseboards use a high voltage current and the current is run through a capacitor to cause friction. This is exactly the same way an electric range works; you've seen them glow and burn things, right? Electric baseboard heaters are protected from overheating by sensors within each baseboard. If the sensor fails, the newer baseboards are supposed to shut off, but that's not always the case. The surface temperature of piping that holds the resistance wiring can exceed 500'F. These things can start a fire. In order to keep them safe, ensure there is plenty of unimpeded air space both at bottom and top. Air movement over the fins is what keeps them cool. Any blockage or combustible material can reach it's flash point and ignition temperature when in contact with an electric baseboard heater. An additional concern with electric baseboard heating systems is that the circuits that operate the system remain at the same voltage throughout the system. In other words, if you have a 240 volt baseboard, you also have a 240 volt thermostat.

Hydronic or hot water baseboards work by running heated water through a finned copper water pipe. The fins leach off heat and the heat is transferred into the room by convection (air running over the fins). The high-limited temperature of the water is typically 180' F, well below the flash points of any materials one would typically find in a home, and well below even the ignition temperature of gasoline (about 350' F). Since water boils and converts to steam at 220' F, it is impossible for this type of system to get hot enough at the baseboards to ignite normal combustibles. A further advantage to this type of system is that the thermostats and heating circuits typically are 24 volt (low voltage) systems. Contact with the wiring will tingle you a little, but is generally harmless, even to small children.

Regardless of the type of convection system you have, upkeep is basically the same. Two or more times a year, the covers should be removed and dust and debris vacuumed from the fins. At this time a check should be made to ensure adequate air flow so as to be certain of the efficiency of the system. Removal of debris is especially important in electric resistance heaters as they get hot enough to bring normal combustibles to ignition temperature, especially after time when all of the moisture can be "cooked" out of the material, thereby lowering the ignition temperature. Basically, if you know something has fallen down into the heater cabinet, don't wait to remove it; get it out right away.

Finally, hot water baseboard heating systems are among the safest, most comfortable heating systems you can have. As long as you maintain the system, it should give you many years of trouble-free service (our boiler is over 30 years old and still works wonderfully).

I had a feeling Ed would weigh in Thanks for all the info, now I can put my tree where I really wanted it and get my curtains up before all the company comes LOL

Probably more than you wanted, but you know me.

I'm glad at least some of it was helpful.

Probably more than you wanted, but you know me.

I'm glad at least some of it was helpful.

Actually I was very interested, I had no idea about it at all and at least now I know how it works (Although you added a chore to my semi-annual cleaning with the bit about taking the covers). Thanks again!

Probably more than you wanted, but you know me.

I'm glad at least some of it was helpful.

Actually I was very interested, I had no idea about it at all and at least now I know how it works (Although you added a chore to my semi-annual cleaning with the bit about taking the covers). Thanks again!

Sorry, but look at it as a money saving chore. The cleaner your heater is the more efficiently it operates.