Heat Tape?

[reptilez]

How does heat tape "heat something up"?

[Bryce Masuk]

it has a bunch of hidden wires that run through it and they get + on one side - on the other and the juice does the rest just like a stove the wires get hot and there you go oh yeah in case you dont know they dont sell flex watt heat tape in canada

[norman]

'Mykee' bought a bulk of flex watt heat tape from the states, and is selling some...his ad is half way down the 'OTHER' classifieds...

[reptilez]

How does the tape start heating up??

[Big Mike]

It has to be wired up to a cord and you plug it in to a power outlet. It that what you were aksing?

[reptilez]

do i have to manually wire it to a plug?? if i do have to du it manually, do they give me a plug or do i have to buy one?

That is exactly what i wanted to know. thanx Big Mike

[Big Mike]

I think you can order a plug & wire with it but all you need to do is buy a cheep extention cord and cut the end off. You can order clamps that you use to attach the wires to the heat tape. There are other ways to connect the wires but I've never used flexwatt so I'm not sure which way is best. There might have been a thread on this site that showed exactly how to do it.

If not...click on this link... http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/flexwire.html

[Lisa]

The reason heat tape is not sold in canada is because you have to wire it your self, thus it doesn't meet CSA aproval. how ever you can order it from the states no problem and there are a few places that sell it under the counter in canada.

[Xetox]

I was just about to post the link that Big Mike did....it tells ya step by step how you hook it up properly!

[Bryce Masuk]

you might not want to use it if its for a single cage though because if your house burns down insurance wont cover it if its electrical since they can blame the heat tape

[reptilez]

I was going to use it so i could use an old book shelf as a place to hold rubbermaid containers, containing new born herps:D

[Bryce Masuk]

so it will be a rack or at least simular i would use heat tape then it much more economical what i was saying is if its for one or two cages its not worth it but on a rack to me at least heat tape is the only way to go

[LdyDrgn]

hehe, that is how we have our baby rack set up. Melamine bookcase wired with FlexWatt...Weeeee It works great!

[reptilez]

so a canadian tire or home depot kinda store wont sell Heat tape, i will have to get it or order it from the US?

LdyDrgn:
would i be able to see pics of ur racks and how they look?

[LdyDrgn]

We don't have anything in them now. We are waiting for our next litter to be born. RIght now, it is just an empty bookcase. It looks so lonely, LOL

[reptilez]

would i be able to see what your book case looks like and where you stuck the heat tape?

Also, how much is heat tape and how much do they give you?

[LdyDrgn]

Here is a link to the page where to get supplies. The dollar amounts are USD, of course. You'll need aluminum tape, wire, connectors and the heat tape. You will also need to hook it all up to a rheostat so it doesn't overheat. :)

Heating Supplies from the Bean Farm (https://secure.ioncart.net/beanfarm/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=4&cat=Heating+Supplies)

Once we get the room organized again I can get a pic of it. We had our floor dug up a while ago to fix a busted hot water pipe, so there is stuff piled in front of the case (jackhammers when you are having a migraine is NOT fun!!).

[reptilez]

what do u mean as "Wire"? and how may connectors would i need?

[LdyDrgn]

For connectors, you need 1 clip set (2 connectors and 2 plastic insulators) for each single strip of heat tape. The wire is just that: an extension cord with the head cut off and plug intact. Say your book shelf has 5 shelves at 3' each across. You would need 15 feet of heat tape, 1 roll of aluminum tape, 5 clip sets and 5 wires. Then you need a powerstrip and a rheostat to plug it all into. Does that help answer your question?

[reptilez]

yes, thanx for your help &
Happy Herping,
-Reptilez