flexwatt in melamine enclosure

DeesBalls · 10-17-11, 02:01 PM

so i finally figured out how I can put flexwatt in my new cages...

i will take a piece of 11x12'' flexwatt and lay down on the cage floor...

around that i will take about 1'' of melemine and set around the flexwatt...

i will glue/screw/seal the wood pieces (frame) around where the flexwatt will be places...

after that dries/cures.. i will take a piece of plexi glass and lay over the frame work...

screw that down over top of the flex watt so there will be about a 1'' gap between the flexwatt and the plexi....

on the back side of the enclosure i will drill 2 hole for the wiring to go out, and about 4-5 more small holes for the heat ventalation to escape. ...

when i need to change the flex watt, all i have to do is unscrew the screws, and take out flex watt, replace it and re screw it down...

i am so excited i thought about this!! i hope it works... i was also thinking of putting a few holes into the plexi glass for more ventalation,
water wont be a problem since they will be in the BP, corns, and kings cage.. also my BRB but will seal everything really tight for her!!

let me know what you all think of my idea. thanks!

Gungirl · 10-17-11, 02:04 PM

Thats actually a great idea! I wish I had thought of it.. I will have to tell my hubby about it..

mykee · 10-17-11, 03:28 PM

Wow that seems like a lot of unnecessary work.

infernalis · 10-17-11, 04:40 PM

just put down the flex watt and screw down the plexi.

I have heard of some people just using floor tile over the heater with decent results.

DeesBalls · 10-17-11, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mykee

Wow that seems like a lot of unnecessary work.

sorry, but not really... wood is cut, just need to screw it down and seal the edges... then lay flex watt and screw down plexi.. seems like alot of work maybe, but wont take no longer than 5 hrs... (just for stuff to dry) maybe a little longer...

Quote:

just put down the flex watt and screw down the plexi.

I have heard of some people just using floor tile over the heater with decent results.

so ... just flexwatt, then plexi right over it? shouldnt i have some sort of ventelation?

Quote:

Thats actually a great idea! I wish I had thought of it.. I will have to tell my hubby about it..

thanks !!!!! im excited.. im going to start it tomorrow for my BRB, just to see how much work is actually involved.

i will be using 2 pieces of flex watt with her though, since she will be in a big cage.

infernalis · 10-17-11, 05:27 PM

Think about all the flexi attached to racks and glued to poly boxes.

It's supposed to be mildly warm, not hot. If it's hot somethings wrong.

Air only wicks away the heat, so air gaps means heat loss.

Gungirl · 10-17-11, 05:33 PM

I have my flexwatt set right on the bottom of my viv and plexi right on top of it. It works great. I don't know much but I thought your way sounded good too......

mykee · 10-17-11, 07:41 PM

Flexwatt inside an enclosure regardless of how you do it is a HUGE mistake and terribly dangerous.
Just think about it....

DeesBalls · 10-17-11, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mykee

Flexwatt inside an enclosure regardless of how you do it is a HUGE mistake and terribly dangerous.
Just think about it....

can you please elaborate? i am not arguing, just need to learn... thanks!! i see alot of people doing it, i just want to know how to warm the cage safely ... thanks again.

Quote:

I have my flexwatt set right on the bottom of my viv and plexi right on top of it. It works great. I don't know much but I thought your way sounded good too......

yea, i seen that in your cage thread, its where i got the idea... lol

spots · 10-18-11, 09:49 PM

Lil_Boa,
I contacted the manufacture of Flexwatt. They said its best if you don't have air space as you will lose heat. So I would do as infernalis, and Gungirl have said and place the plexi right over the Flexwatt. Gungirl doesn't seem to have had problems with it, and like infernails said its made to be worm not hot.
I'm going to try it with a 1" thick piece of rock over it, to try and create a warm rock on the warm side of my BP viv.
Send some pics once you have it installed so we can see please

DeesBalls · 10-19-11, 12:01 AM

.... the peices of wood is already in and glued down... i guess i could put the flexwat down and just put the plexi glass down inside the "square" ... that would create no heat loss...

if i did leave a little gap, and have the thermostat set on 94, to give a few degree less off the flexwatt... how much heat would escape? ya know what i mean? if the flex watt is set to 94, could that much heat escape to make it now be warm? i dont want it to be hot, i want it to be warm...

spots · 10-19-11, 12:08 AM

Did you glue or just screw? could all ways test it out to see how it work then make modifications! just don't add the air holes like you were thinking. you could all ways fill in the area with the same thickness of wood before your flexwatt?

DeesBalls · 10-19-11, 12:20 AM

I glued it lol.... I won't add the extra air holes... ill give this a shot, and if it don't work well, ill switch it up. No harm in trying. We will see what happens, ill post some pics tomorrow if I can.

DeesBalls · 10-22-11, 04:37 PM

i didnt have to work tonight, i got called off, so got my flexxwatt laid down, however i still need to:
1. wrap exposed wire with electrical tape(outside of cage, not in)
2. and lay plexi down and screw it in...

i also may take some styrofoam and lay flexwatt on that so the flexxwatt is right against the plexiglass....

spots · 10-22-11, 08:37 PM

Nice, keep me posted for how it works. Also are you going to be using a rheostat?