Back of rack heat

[ChristinaM]

Ok, I built my first little rack, it ain't much but hey, it's a start.

anyways, the back heat is not working for me. I have 11" flexwatt and it is not getting my rubbermaids to the temps I would like.

are there any trade secrets?

I'm gonna search the previous posts to see how others heat their racks.....

do you heat from the back, or bottom heat? If from the back, what kinds of temps are you getting?

Thanks.

[Jeff_Favelle]

1) Your room has to be within at least 5F of the desired cool-end temp. That is, for a Boid cage that wants 92F warmside, 80F cool side, the rack should be in a room that's at least 75F.

2) Make sure you wired it properly. Heat tape gets to 140F PLUS! Why its not hot enough is beyond me.

3) Insulate the BACK of the RACK! No question. Give the heat only ONE place to go. THROUGH the Rubbermaids. Its the only way.

4) Back or bottom, its doesn't matter, as long as you get the WELL-documented temperature range. The snake doesn't care.

[Ian]

I found that if the room doesn't get hot enough then you should lay the heat tape under the cages. Yes you use more heat tape but it's way easier to control the temps if you room is colder.

[mykee]

I second what Ian said. I only use belly heat, and the temp. of the room has zero bearing on keeping my temps optimal.

[ChristinaM]

Well, I give up on the back heat. I will stick with the belly heat. I have the back of the rack insulated very well. But still, the container is only getting up to 86.5F. Whereas the belly heat ones need dimmers as they reach 110F easy and quickly.

Thanks for the input guys.

[mykee]

If you're using 11" heat tape, and the temps reached are only 110, you might have a problem with either the tape, or the connection because 11" tape will easily get up over 140 in minutes.