heat tape finally did it to me.

[Kyle Barker]

been using flexwatt in my rack since i built them this particualr strip is 2 years old. i had a rubbermaid (nothing in it) over top at the end and it was a tight fit (the tape has slots it goes down in that is 1/4" deep so the tubs never rub or sit right on them). so i took it apart today cause having such a huge thing for only 5 snakes was stoopid. andyway there was a huge black burn mark and the tape was melted on the wood. these were on dimers at about 1/2 the power. not sure if its not cool to do that but everyone seems to. anyway just a warning as i didnt smell smoke or notice anything untill now ehen i took it apart. who nows what could have happened. and because im in canada that would void house insurance.

be carefull and check your tapes.

[Bartman]

Scary.

Im going to be using heat tape for the rack im building. (will be done soon I hope!) I wanted to know if a dimmer would work, or would I need to invest in a thermostat?

I dont want that to happen to this rack!

[Shad0w]

Got pics of this damage??? Might be interesting to post...

[marisa]

"because im in canada that would void house insurance. "

Heating ANY reptiles is pretty much promised to void your home insurance, no matter which heat source you use. :)

That's a terrible situation. I thought it was recommended to use thermastats over dimmers with heat tape?

Good thing you caught it!

Marisa

[Ian]

Kyle what size were you using? I know that the 3 inch stuff using 10 watts a foot and can get extremely hot. But I've also heard stories of 4 inch melting rubbermaids (note that was without a dimmer). Just wondering if that was part of the problem or not.

Cheers
Ian

[reptiguy420]

So what would be the safest route using flexwhat, and not burning your house down?

[Ian]

Oh sorry, I'm not saying don't use it but my choice was to use the 4 inch heat tape with a dimmer or the 11 inch. 4 inch is 8 watts I believe and the 11 is 10 watts. I never have the actual heat tape go over 100F, just like they recomend. I use a thermometer on the heat tape itself and then one in the bin. If you find that the heat tape needs to be over 100F to keep your cage to the proper temperature then you probably need to get the larger size. I use the 4 inch for the 26.4L rubbermaids and the 11 inch for the 33 inch long (under the bed) rubbermaids. Hope this helps.

Cheers
Ian

[Kyle Barker]

no pics ill try and remember. i threw out the tape but i havnt packed away the rack yet.

it is 3". my digi thermo cord broke or somthing, wasnt making the connection to the probe. anyway the dimmer box got turned i suppose, was looking at it today. even so it was not at 100% on. it burned the wood, the rubbermaid was totally fine. thats what i dotn get. glad there was nothing in it.

live and learn. :eek:

[Bartman]

Maybe there wasnt enough air flow between the wood and rubbermaid, which caused the heat to get stuck only under the heat tape and wood. Maybe thats why only the wood burnt and not the rubbermaid?

[BornboreD]

If you really care about your reptiles, the investment into a thermostat is well worth it. Spend the $200-$225 on a Helix, well worth it. In order to keep the hot ends in my rack up near 90-92, I find that the heat tape is actually running between 110 - 120, and at this temperature you can sit your hand right on it. IF you can set your hand right on it, I don't think it's gonna burn the house down. Use a helix or any other high end proportional thermostat, they cost less than most reptiles and you can sleep easy.

[Kyle Barker]

yes we did have a thermo stat hooked up as a safety so that onc eit hit 120 on the tape everything would turn off. im only assuming it is between the time i took that out and now that it happened. i took it out to take the rack apart but ended leaving the rack as is for about a weak with jsut the dimmers and thermometers.

technology certainly helps but it fails sometimes. and the human end of it is always flawed. so guess what im saying is check manually instead of always relying on wires. the other tubs in that row did not excede 100 in that row according to the thermo but im not sure when it broke so it may have goen higher.

[Stockwell]

Don't use the 3 inch 10 watt...I had the same thing happen years ago when I was using it directly under trays with no dimmer.
It gets too hot.There is a 3 inch 6 watt and the 4 inch 8 watt, is fine

[Bartman]

I have 11" 20 watt heat tape. Ive got 4 feet that im planning to put on my rack. Im still in need of 8 more feet.

Do you think thats to high?

[Jeff_Favelle]

The 11" stuff ONLY comes in 20 watts.

[Oni5000]

I have an on/off thermostat that I use together with a dimmer so that when it does come on, it doesn't come on at full strength.

[Cookie]

Lets remember something most heating devices manufactured, The manufacturers intended use is for you to stick the device to a glass surface! or they would be making safe heat tapes and pads etc for RUBBERMAIDS.. all tests done are conducted i am sure on glass not plastics. I should practice what i preach as i have a huge enclosure and the only thing i could find big enough to use for a heat source was a waterbed heater!... these ARE uses on plastic to wood surface and are tested very well BUT!!!! lets remember if there was a "problem" a waterbed on fire wont burn for long! best thing i can sudgest is check your equipment on a regular basis but don't let it over power you and make you paranoid at all times second best advice would be HEAT TAPE is no good and have many reptiles come in with burns because of the crap!!!!!

[retic]

I have also seen 3 inch fail with burn marks, the best thing to do is use somekind of Temperature Controller (Ranco, Johnson Controls, GCS, ESU ) they range in price from $50-$200, i hook a power bar (with circut breaker) to my control unit then i can plug all my cages that are using that unit into the power bar and thats all hooked up to a timer Hope This Helps Phil