heat tape and thermostats

[Clint Bundy]

How many thermostats do I need when I am using them on a rack system. I am building the frugal rack system from the DIY forum. It is a great tutorial but I am not sure how many thermostats to use or what wattage heat tape to use. I am getting the 3 inch heat tape for the racks. Is that enough or should I use the 4 inch? I am housing about 40 balls different sizes so I will be using different size tubs. Thanks to all who can help me out.

[spitzu]

How many thermostats do I need when I am using them on a rack system. I am building the frugal rack system from the DIY forum. It is a great tutorial but I am not sure how many thermostats to use or what wattage heat tape to use. I am getting the 3 inch heat tape for the racks. Is that enough or should I use the 4 inch? I am housing about 40 balls different sizes so I will be using different size tubs. Thanks to all who can help me out.

I believe the 3 inch tape comes in 6 watt and 10 watt per foot. Even if you went with the 10 watt tape you would be using less than 30 watts per shelf, or under 200 watts for the whole rack. My Helix thermostat outputs up to 500 watts, so that's plenty for your rack. I don't know about cheaper tstats, but they should be more than adequate as well.