Old Electric Baseboard

[flashlight]

I am adding electric heat to a cabin I own which has been heated by wood.
My neighbor offered me some electric baseboard he had been storing in his barn for maybe 20 years.
It looks fine, was kept dry, hasn't been visited by rodents. Is there any reason it would be not safe ?
I've never seen electric baseboard fail or short out, I have some, but not extensive, experience with it.

 

[ptonsparky]

Run them in a controlled experiment. Make sure the onboard thermostats , if any, cycle,

I would be more worried about the operating expense and the load on an old electrical service. Guessing you can handle that if it’s a problem.

 

[tom baker]

And you cannot have receptacles above the heaters. Baseboard heaters have caused fires 30 years ago, UL standards have changed so are now safer.

 

[James L]

And you cannot have receptacles above the heaters. Baseboard heaters have caused fires 30 years ago, UL standards have changed so are now safer.

For real.
I had a customer asked me to add 2 baseboard heaters end-to-end, then got upset when I deleted a receptacle in the middle of that space.

He told me his plan was to put a t.v. stand there, and didn't want to use an extension cord because it could be a fire hazard.

I was like.... umm, you put that crap in front of a baseboard heater, with cords draped all over it, and there wont be any "could be fire hazard"

 

[flashlight]

For real.
I had a customer asked me to add 2 baseboard heaters end-to-end, then got upset when I deleted a receptacle in the middle of that space.

Even if you left a foot in between with a receptacle, it would be legal but still sort of unsafe I think, because that cord is probably
going to go to one side or the other. Bottom line is people have to be aware of things, and many aren't.
I did a service call for an unrelated issue, and the person was running a 1.5 kW space heater on a #16, 15 ft. extension cord.
The male end was starting to melt yet the customer was oblivious.