Flexwatt temperature

[crocsnhots]

What is the highest safe temperature to keep flexwatt heat tape at? I heard it was 95, but that's not very hot, I don't see how that could be the maximum safe temperature.

Thanks ;) :)

[Tim_Cranwill]

If it's for your new corn hatchlings, keep the cool side at room temp and the warm side at about 86 +/- 2. I keep my warm side closer to 90F.

If it's just a "what if" kind of question, I don't know and wouldn't want to find out. I've had one too many close calls with heat tape that got too hot... and I've only had one close call....

[mykee]

Whether it feels 'hot' to you or not, if those are the requirements for your snake, run with it.

[crocsnhots]

Tim_Cranwill, I was wondering if you could give some details of the close call you've had with flexwatt heat tape? I'm new to using it and would like to hear of it. It could help prevent future problems or a potential disaster.

Mykee, I wasn't talking about the temperature for my snake, I know that the tape when kept at the appropriate temperature for the reptile in question would most likely feel cool or luke warm to me since being an endotherm, my body temperature is higher. So whether or not it feels 'hot' to me is not what I'm talking about.

What I meant is, I was told that the highest temperature flexwatt can be safely maintained at is 95, thats only 35C, which is not hot enough to cause a fire (assuming nothing is compressing it tightly preventing air circulation), so I was wondering if anyone had any comments on the maximum safe operating temperature for flexwatt. Anyone? :)

[Tim_Cranwill]

Hey... no problem. I don't keep TOOOOO many secrets... :)

I had just received a rescue ball python that I wasn’t really prepared to house. All of my racks were full and had no planned purchases for the months ahead. Anyway, I had some 4" tape laying around (4 feet or so) that was hooked up to a dimmer. So I set the ball python up in a sweater box and set the dial to "about" what my other balls were kept at (no spare thermometer on hand either). I had this bin sitting on an old ottoman in my basement and after a few days I went to clean his box. When I moved the box, the plastic on the tape had melted in places and the fabric on the ottoman had burns on it…. YIKES…

I have 3 kids under the age of 4.5 and maybe one of them had fiddled with the dial... Who knows, maybe I was minutes away from a fire or days away... hopefully it would have NEVER caused a fire. It was a good wake-up call though.

Lesson: ALWAYS know what your temps are. It's not worth the risk.

And THAT'S my close call with heat tape. Luckily the snake was ok and my family was ok. The ottoman’s looked better but it was ugly to begin with... :) lol

[jjnnbns]

I don't understand why you need to know what the hottest you can operate it at is? Why do you need to run heat tape so hot in the first place?

[crocsnhots]

LoL, I never said I needed to run it that hot, I just want to know for safetys sake. :) Oh and thanks posting your experience Tim, glad nobody got hurt. :)

[mykee]

I currently have over 100 feet of heat tape in use, and not once have I ever heard, or read in company literature, that 95 degreees was a 'safe' cutoff for it's use. I do agree, however that not many snakes would require more than 95 degrees, so that's where the misunderstanding may have come from. Even at 110-115 degrees, heat tape is not noticeably hot to the touch, and certainly not hot enough to ignite any surface that you would use to build a 'responsible' enclosure or rack system.

[Will]

I currently have over 100 feet of heat tape in use, and not once have I ever heard, or read in company literature, that 95 degreees was a 'safe' cutoff for it's use.

I know that the little pamphlet you get when you order Heat Tape from BeanFarm says that 95 is the safe limit. Don't know how they decided that was the Max, but that may be where he got that info...

[latazyo]

doesn't the bean farm thing say 125?

I thought it was 125...

[Will]

Maybe, I may still have it laying around. I'll check later...

[Linds]

It claims 95 on their site, as well as I recall seeing it on other sites that sell the product. This may be as simple as a disclaimer so people don't cook their snakes or whatnot, as it can without a doubt in my mind be safely operated at higher temperatures than that.

[Will]

As Linds said, it is on their site, and on the pamphlet they send with you. I agree, that is probably more of a disclaimer than anything, as 95 probably isn't high enough to adequately heat most enclosures.

[mykee]

"95 probably isn't hot enought to adequately heat up most enclosures"
Most enclosures? That's just not true. Can't think of many enclosure creatures that require much more than 95.
Anyways, Flexwatt just says that for the same reason that SC Johnson & Co. says not to spread Crest on bread. Some moron did it, and they're avoiding any legal repricussions. They don't want to be responsible for anything that you may do with heat tape that requires more than 95 degrees.

[Will]

That's just not true. Can't think of many enclosure creatures that require much more than 95.

My Heat tape is currently set at 105. The floor of the rubbermaids are reading 89 with the temp gun...

[latazyo]

yeah, it takes a little more than 95 to heat through 5/8" plywood and melamine...I do it, I don't think there's anything to worry about