Flexwatt question

[sneak]

This past weekend I bought a melamine rack without any type of heat. It's a two shelf rack which holds 2 41qt rubbermaids longways on each shelf. The back is made of pegboard. I was wanting to know the best way to heat the rack.

I was thinking if I used an 11" on the back, it wouldn't be very efficient since the back is pegboard. I was wanting to maybe use some 4" flexwatt for belly heat. If so, would I have to have two separate cords for each shelf, or is there a way I could possibly rig it with just one cord?

I'm not sure how I want to do this yet. Any suggestions on the best way to heat my rack would be appreciated. Also, how should I do it. Thanks.

Hope that wasn't confusing...:D

Dennis

[Auskan]

If you insulate it, you can use 11" tape as back heat with the peg board. Or, you could wire the 4" heat tape so that you only have one cord for both shelves. I considered doing this with my 3 shelf rack, but decided in the end that I don't mind having 3 cords, as it gives me flexibility on setting different heating requirements for the 3 different shelves, if I should ever need to.

[mykee]

You can also 'weave' the 4" tape through the shelves, look in my gallery for an example. That way, you only need one piece of tape, and only have one cord and dimmer, etc.

[sneak]

Thanks guys for the suggestions, but I have decided on using an 11" heat tape for belly heat. I was gonna use two cords for each shelf. Does that sound good? I was thinking that the ambient temp in my den is around 75-78 degrees, so I figured 11" heat tape would be plenty of heat.

Hey Mykee, cute doggie!!! He looks just like my Buddy.

[mykee]

Thanks, 11" might be overkill, you'll really only need 4" , the heat 'leaks out' the sides, so you'll actually get an extra 2-3 inches of heat on either side of the tape, so you could potentially end up with 8-10 inch width of heat. Good luck.

[Auskan]

How wide or deep are the tubs? Keep in mind that the flexwatt heat extends beyond the edge of the actual edge of the flexwatt, so if your tubs are 16" deep and you are using 11" tape, you will actually have 12-13" of heat, which is a lot more than the 1/3 recommended.

[sneak]

Good point, Auskan. Actually my tubs measure 15" by 34". Is that a bad idea?

[sneak]

I didn't even think about heat leaking out. Damn!!! I guess 11" is a big overkill. I guess 4" it is. Thanks guys!!!

[mykee]

Auskan, isn't that what I just said?

[sneak]

Hey, Mykee, I think you and Auskan were probably typing at the same time...heehee.

Anyway, thanks for the help.

[bidden]

I'm going to pipe in here and ask my question about flexwatt...

I'm planning on building racking system out of melamine(sp?) and having ceramic tile for the floor of the enclosures... Can I attach the tape directly onto the underside of the tile and then leave a small space between the tile and wood shelf so the tape isn't directly on the wood?? or can I just sandwitch the tape between tile and wood without leaving small gap??

my gut instinct tells me that heat tape directly on wood shelving is bad, but I might be wrong.....

[Auskan]

Originally posted by sneak
Hey, Mykee, I think you and Auskan were probably typing at the same time...heehee.

Yeah. We were typing at the same time. Once I hit 'post', I saw that you had just written essentially the same thing.

[mykee]

Bidden, heat tape directly on wood is a bad idea if you have no rheostat or proportional thermostat to regulate the heat. Otherwise, it's fine. You don't need a gap, but you do need a rheo/prop. thermo.