Log in

View Full Version : New Rack, New Idea-


DeesBalls
03-19-13, 03:58 PM
I just finished my new rack that can hold 7 more snakes in it. The 1st one i built, will need to be redone, since my heat tape is having a problem (i have it all wired to 1 thermostat, which i dont like to do...)the top piece isnt gettng hot at all, and the bottom peice is not holding heat, since its in a cooler basement it is loosing heat-.... so i thought of a different idea...


I have the heat tape wired together still, but only 3 pieces... so that way the top 3 are set at 96 (to make it around 93 in tub) and the bottom 3 are set up at 100 ( for the tubs to be at 93 hot spot) and the very bottom rack will have its own thermostat and heat tape since that will prolly need to be set pretty high...

over all the idea is working great!! i couldnt be happier with the idea (not saying it was mine, but im happy)

few pics of the rack, and the wiring....

Top 3 pieces
http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy336/DGilliland22/temporary_zpse6b9015c.jpg

you can see how i did 3 and 3 to make a top and bottom thermostat...
http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy336/DGilliland22/temporary_zpsc893051c.jpg

this is what i am most happy about, instead of having the wiring and all that ran in the back, (it gets tangled and messy i dont like clutter) i drilled holes and ran the heat tape wiring out the side of the rack.. cant really tell from these pics, but I think it works better, because the tub does not have to slide up onto the connection area of the heat tape:)
http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy336/DGilliland22/temporary_zps0d5c14f6.jpg

again, im not an expert at building things, but i am overall happy with this one... next week, ill be fixing the 1st one and doing some re wiring.



oh yea, and here are 2 pics of 2 of the snakes... just cuz youguys love pictures.

female pastel
http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy336/DGilliland22/temporary_zps42493e72.jpg

male pastave
http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy336/DGilliland22/temporary_zps7ebdb6e9.jpg

thanks for looking! any input is much appriciated.

Hurrok
03-19-13, 04:07 PM
Nice! We hope to make our own rack as well, the one we have now just isn't big enough for our future plans :p I like how you have threaded the wiring through too, the only thing that might be a pain is if you want to move the tape but I'm sure it's not going to be an issue.

Love that Male Pastave, he's handsome! :D

DeesBalls
03-19-13, 05:14 PM
Well thanks, he is one of my nicest looking royals... :) cant wait to get some weight on him and get him doing the dirty;)

as for the rack, i dont plan on moving anything at all on it, i really hope its good till i upgrade or something lol.

mykee
03-19-13, 05:26 PM
That triple wiring is a bad idea; what you're doing is setting up a 1:3 ratio where the tape wont get enough heat as the three chunks have to share.
My opinion; don't try to re-invent the wheel, there are TONNES of threads on the interweb that show you how to run heat tape in unison.
Check them out.

Hurrok
03-19-13, 05:39 PM
Well thanks, he is one of my nicest looking royals... :) cant wait to get some weight on him and get him doing the dirty;)

as for the rack, i dont plan on moving anything at all on it, i really hope its good till i upgrade or something lol.

He's a looker for sure! Haha, yeah I'm in the same boat with my royals :laugh:

DeesBalls
03-19-13, 06:25 PM
That triple wiring is a bad idea; what you're doing is setting up a 1:3 ratio where the tape wont get enough heat as the three chunks have to share.
My opinion; don't try to re-invent the wheel, there are TONNES of threads on the interweb that show you how to run heat tape in unison.
Check them out.

I have tried a few out there, none of which seems to be able to get nice steady heat on all the levels... I respect your opinion, but i will see how this goes, and if its not how i like it, my last resort will be each shelf getting their own t-stat... I dont want to do that at all, but nothing else seems to work. except having 1 long piece providing back heat down the back of the rack, which i prefer belly heat.

again, thanks again and i will look around to see if there is any other ways to do it.