Anyone ever used Heat Cable?

[Icefire]

Hi I got so Heat cable from Canadian Tire (roof type, CSA/UL listed)
it's 30ft, 150Watts (5W/ft), rubber type I guess, here'S the link:
http://www.easyheat.com/Content1/Products/Details/adks_detail.htm

I would use it for a 3 stage, melamine enclosure (4ft long)
screwing the clips on it, and passing the wire thru it

I was thinking of using ceramic slate as substrate (gecko leos)
and taping the cable to the ceramic with aluminium tapes so the
heat transfer to the ceramic.

I would plug that cable to a zoomed 500R thermostat with probe
over the ceramic with a themometer with probe to monitor the
temp.

Does it look safe? anyone I could consult about that?

[Invictus]

I guess it would depend how hot it gets. I saw that stuff at Home Depot and was thinking of using it as well, but I think you'd want something like that hooked up to a dimmer if you're using rubbermaids. Those things do trap a lot of heat. Maybe I'll pick up a smaller length and give it a try, just to see how hot it gets. If you pick some up, be sure to let us know how it turns out.

[Icefire]

Well I found some Asbestos in 1/8"inch even with the ban in quebec
and NO abestos cannot kill you if you don work in mines heh

well I'll protect the wood with that so the heat cable wont touch
it. I got a pic of what I have done so far

It's 32" high
48" width
15.5" long

I got clear plexyglass for the front and blue ceramic for subsrate
would be like 30 leos in that maybe

[Invictus]

GREAT. Now I'm never going to know if the heat cable worked or not. :)

[Linds]

Never used it... never going to... only ever heard horror stories about the stuff from people that tried :confused: Eep... and definitely out of the question.. asbestos???????????? If the stuff didn't give you cancer and all that jazz then it wouldn't be removed from everywhere, and nobody would have to wear hazard suits around the stuff... toxic stuff is toxic stuff...

[Icefire]

asbestos is something that when reduced to powder,
and breathed a lot in the mine (when miner extract it) yes it give
a cancer

but any other use is fine (the actualy ship asbesto to make 1/2"
flame proof wood for house in "in developement country"

so having little on the wood and having ceramic slate on it (sealed
with marine silicone) I dont think gecko gonna suffer ;)

[C.Marshell]

I use heat cable for all my male racks and personally I have never had a problem with it. You have to make sure you have some sort of temp control device hooked to it though. (appliance dimmers are not a good choice for this type of cable) Mine are hooked to the Helix DBS 1000'S and work like a charm.

[reverendsterlin]

tape and a reostat are used regularly on rack systems

[C.Marshell]

Yeah rev your right, but this roof de-icing cable that icefire is talking about is wierd man, you can't even splice it the regular way to hook a rheostat to it. You have to plug it in to an extention cord and splice the extention cord! Wierd stuff.

[Batdad]

Originally posted by Icefire
asbestos is something that when reduced to powder,
and breathed a lot in the mine (when miner extract it) yes it give
a cancer

but any other use is fine (the actualy ship asbesto to make 1/2"
flame proof wood for house in "in developement country"

so having little on the wood and having ceramic slate on it (sealed
with marine silicone) I dont think gecko gonna suffer ;)

The probems with asbestos is not in when it is lying there doing it's thing but rather when it is disturbed or worked with. Worse if it is old but still nasty when new. The danger is not to your lizards but rather to YOU :( . All it takes is ONE bad exsposure, that being you breath in a couple particles of dust and you are on the road to cancer or I can't remeber(middle of the night) the other desease(hardening of the long tissue). And once inhaled it does not come out. Miners were at greeater risk just because of greater exposure.

And as for the "in developement country" thing you are 100% correct. But it is not because it is safe but rather because it is so cheap to get and use compared to other products with the same properties.

Do your self and your family a favour and get rid of the stuff ASAP, it is deadly. By the way it is not only banned in Quebec but in most developed countries. The mill I work in has spent a large fortune getting rid of this crap from years gone by.

Bruce

[Icefire]

Well the only subtitute I saw for asbestos was 1/4inch beton panel
it's like 4'x4', weight about 60lbs and can only be cut with a good
saw.
so I just gonna be carefull about asbestos, just need to cut some lenght and glue it to the wood to protect it.
anyway ceramic tile is going over it

[Batdad]

Ice

I am going to assume you are old enough to make your own decisions but you need to understand that this stuff is truly deadly. If you use this stuff especially around your home it is like walking around with a cigarette hanging out of your mouth and an open can of gas in each hand, it’s not a matter of if it will kill you but rather when? There are other materials that are fire resistant enough for what you need. The heat tape is normally installed on roofing over plywood, so any roofing should do (asphalt, ceramic, sheet metal, …etc). You could also look at fire resistant gyproc. Another thing to keep in mind is if you are putting some kind of regulating device to control the heat fire protection isn’t as big an issue because there will be a lot less heat. Please keep in mind that if this is only about saving some money (to this I can relate with 3 teenage kids J) it is not worth putting yourself and your family at risk both now and for as long as you have this crap around.

If I can give you any help or advice don’t hesitate to PM or email me please.

Bruce

[Icefire]

well problem is, my heat cable is 5W per foot, on melamine wood
I use ceramic over the cable for the leos
my concern was plastic on melamine to burn (fire or fumes)
so it would hurt them/me
putting metal sheet or ceramic would probably transmite the heat

I'm looking for a thermostat with a probe, if I can get some cheap pulsating thermostat... that would maybe solve that issue

that asbestot is a carton like sheet, 1/16 of an inch, can be sisor cut..

anyway, I'll finish my ceramic cutting today which is an HELL to cut
those ceramic are harder than metal, wont scratch lol

[mykee]

Icefire, post you address so that I can send flowers...........

[Icefire]

LOL
I used only strict minimum on asbestot cuzz I had twice longuer
heat cable, so I had them side by side so I added asb. in the
hole and on the botton (2"xlenght of the terra)
I sealing the over with ceramic so, wont be a problem