Build pictures of my back heated rack

[OhhWatALoser]

Well I finally built my rack I said I was going to build last year lol. I have been asked a lot about how I built my racks, so I took some pictures along the way. What I built is a 24x 6qt sterlite tub hatchling rack, back heated, 6 wide and 4 tall.

Cut list: All 3/4" melamine
5x 53" x 14" (shelves)
4x 53" x 4 5/8" (back)
8x 13 1/4" x 4 5/8" (side)
8x 13" x 4 5/8" (supports)

After I got my pieces cut, I mark out where I need to drill my holes. The melamine is 3/4" think, so I mark 3/8" off the edge to hit the center of the wood, then I found the center of the middle support pieces, keeping even spacing between the tubs. Using my numbers had 16 5/8" between supports, which makes the center of the supports 17 3/4" off each edge (3/4" for the side + 3/8" to hit center + 16 5/8" spacing). Then I just marked about every 5 inches along that line for drilling holes.


Holes drilled and countersinked


Couple on each side of the back, 3/8" off the edge again.


I find it easier to start the screws before I start putting pieces on.


Back glued and screwed down


Side glued and screwed down and from the back


I mark my 16 5/8" spacing


Guess I felt like taking a picture of glue


Supports will have a 1/4" space from the back to make room for heat tape. Now I have finished one shelf.


Repeat for each shelf.


Now that all my shelves are done, I start constructing the rack, first cut heat tape to length.


Solder and liquid electrical tape over the solder joints, then I put it on the back wall with duct tape


I Guess another picture


This is supposed to show the hole in the corner of the next shelf, that the wires will run through.


glue on top, run wires through and we have 1 shelf built


repeat, wires off other side of heat tape.


last shelf gets a cord out the back


before the top


glue, put top on, screw it down, put heavy crap on top of it to sandwich the rack good, let it dry overnight.


I also add something to stop the cord from being pulled off the heat tape.


The one thing I dont have a picture of is the thermostat probe, which is just another hole in the back and taped onto the heat tape. Add tubs, dial the rack in, good to go.


Now some notes, I cheated my own cut sheet, I used all left over material so some parts were only 49 inches and I glued on the extra 4 inches. Also I took very little time making this look quality. The supports are not perfect 90 degrees, the sides are 1/8 too long on some sides, so not everything looks as appealing as it could. It's going to be used by me and I couldn't really give a crap about how it looks lol. Taking a little more time could make the supports line up and the sides look flush, I know many would prefer it that way. I already gave my reasons for why I build back heated low height racks here: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...k-heated-stack . All my racks are built this way,

A reason you might not want to build a rack like this, is it is unserviceable, once the glue dries, it's not coming back apart easy. heat tape goes bad, you gotta pry the rack apart to replace it. With that said, it is back heated, tubs are not sliding over it constantly, the tub never touches it, so it sits undisturbed, greatly reducing the chances of it going bad. You could change up the design and have the back come off, but I have no desire to do that personally. It is also heavy, its melamine lol. Besides that, it's a rack I can stand on and not even bend the wood, solid and hopefully last me a very long time. I have no reason to worry about sagging. Fully enclosed to keep animals feeling secure, back heated and short for easy temp control. They do great at my house.

[decensored]

Awesome tutorial! Thanks for sharing!!

[Robyn@SYR]

Good write up. Melamine weighs a billion pounds per linear foot (give or take), which is never fun, but we used melamine racks (among others) successfully for 20 years.

Since you have a permanent build, be very careful about moisture exposure. Spilled water bowls, leaky tubs, just good ole' ambient humidity, etc.

Once those exposed edges start to swell, either at the front, or at the seems, it wreaks havoc with your fit tolerances, and can make levels unusable.

Great step by step look at the process, thanks!

[BallChick]

An excellent looking rack, thanks for the info!
One question though, what is the function of the vertical divider pieces? Seems like it'd be just extra weight on the thing. It does look good though. I don't typically like melamine. Once I got rid of my melamine rack, I swore I'd never get anything else but plastic.

[OhhWatALoser]

An excellent looking rack, thanks for the info!
One question though, what is the function of the vertical divider pieces? Seems like it'd be just extra weight on the thing.

stops any sagging. gotta have support

[toyota89]

Why did you use duct tape instead of tape made for hot surfaces?


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[BallChick]

stops any sagging. gotta have support

Ah. keeps the weight more evenly spread.
The melamine rack I used to have was similar to yours. three 32 qt tubs wide but taller. 6 tubs tall if I remember correctly. no supports inbetween. I had it about a year before selling it, and it had already started to sag a little. now that I think about it, I can see why the supports are needed. if I had the skill or the time I would find some abs plastic and build my own. alas, I am a 22 year old 5'0" female with no handyman skills!

[OhhWatALoser]

Why did you use duct tape instead of tape made for hot surfaces?


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Duct tape is made for duct work, duct also gets hot, kind I get from work is good up to 200 degrees, Id say its made for the job. Also Id rather use something non conductive vs the conductive aluminium tape everyone likes to use, on laminated 120 volt circuit.

Ah. keeps the weight more evenly spread.
The melamine rack I used to have was similar to yours. three 32 qt tubs wide but taller. 6 tubs tall if I remember correctly. no supports inbetween. I had it about a year before selling it, and it had already started to sag a little. now that I think about it, I can see why the supports are needed. if I had the skill or the time I would find some abs plastic and build my own. alas, I am a 22 year old 5'0" female with no handyman skills!

Just book shelves with heat tape, nothing to it

I'm actually quite the opposite, I don't like the thinner material plastic racks personally, so I stick with melamine.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Duct tape is made for duct work, duct also gets hot, kind I get from work is good up to 200 degrees, Id say its made for the job. Also Id rather use something non conductive vs the conductive aluminium tape everyone likes to use, on laminated 120 volt circuit.

You are taping to wood, so it really wouldn't matter, plus if your heat tape is damaged enough to shock you through the aluminum tape it's time to replace it. Maybe the stuff you are using is different, but every time I've heated duct tape it resulted in a sticky miserable mess when it came time to remove it.

At the end of the day I guess it really doesn't matter though, it's not like the duct tape is going to be a fire risk. To each their own.

[OhhWatALoser]

You are taping to wood, so it really wouldn't matter, plus if your heat tape is damaged enough to shock you through the aluminum tape it's time to replace it. Maybe the stuff you are using is different, but every time I've heated duct tape it resulted in a sticky miserable mess when it came time to remove it.

At the end of the day I guess it really doesn't matter though, it's not like the duct tape is going to be a fire risk. To each their own.

I bought a rack with aluminum tape, had the same sticky mess and pealed off in 1-2 inch strips, took forever to get off, actually I dont think I ever got all of it off. Of course there are crappy versions of both kinds of tape, I just don't understand the need for aluminum tape, while both work, I see duct tape as the better option. To each their own.