How hard is doing your own Flexwatt?

[Kourtneyhk]

Hey everyone!

So I'm looking to make my own hatchling rack, and possibly a larger one (one that could hold 41qt drawers) BUT, I've never done flexwatt before, and I've always been nervous about doing anything electrical on my own. That being said, the current AP rack I had needed some rewiring done on it when I first got it and it hasn't burned my house down yet (knock on wood!) .

Any advise? Is it "worth" it to buy rolls of flexwatt, get/build a shelving unit, etc? I find some hatchling sized racks on Craigslist for $160 and I feel like "Hey, I can do it for that price!".

Thanks for any advice!
Kourtney

[Diamond Serpents]

Running heat tape, really isn't that hard. I wouldn't call it serious electrical work its easier then wiring a car stereo system, pretty much any one can do it after reading/watching a video.

There is a lot of videos on YouTube showing you how to wire with soldering or using clamps. I suggest using clamps first time around, unless you are good a soldering and trust your own work. It's worth the work if you know how to properly build your own racks and enjoy building them.

[Neal]

Diamond Serpents made a good point.

You can but it's all on if you want to and how good you are. Supplies and all that if you don't do it on a large scale can be pricey. Also some racks that are very good priced are expanded PVC which are water resistant. This is one reason I like the racks from C Serpents.

Could I do it? Yes, but in the end if I mess up or anything is it worth it? Not really. He's been doing it so long and so much that it's like an art to him.

[BPLuvr]

I have soldered my own in the past but lately I just have RBI put the end on. I think it's $5 or less for the cord and plug and they crimp it on for free. I just over shoot on the size by a little and trim the extra off once it's run.

[MrLang]

I made a 12 tub hatchling rack all in under 100 dollars in about 2 hours and I am NOT a 'handyman' type. I can share details on that if you'd like in terms of a supply list from Lowe's. The thing is solid as a rock and the tubs are snug.

In terms of the heat tape, just run it in one continuous piece and order it already wired (free from Reptile Basics). If you want to wire it in line it's not very complicated if you have the right tools to crimp the connections and follow all of the steps including insulating the connections with electrical tape, not fully covering the tape with something that doesn't allow for air or heat to transfer off the tape,etc.

GL!

[gaiaeagle]

Running the heat tape is not hard at all. I watched several videos on Youtube before I started. I didn't want to invest in a soldering iron (and have never used one, so wouldn't know what to do) so I used clamps. One hint that I found works wonderfully, go out and buy some cheap extension cords, the ones that are like a couple of bucks at Walmart and do not have the grounding wire. I was able to easily split the two halves of the extension cord and put clamps on it to connect to the heat tape. Worked great on my 10 tub rack.

[Kourtneyhk]

I made a 12 tub hatchling rack all in under 100 dollars in about 2 hours and I am NOT a 'handyman' type. I can share details on that if you'd like in terms of a supply list from Lowe's. The thing is solid as a rock and the tubs are snug.

GL!

MrLang, I would LOVE some details if you have them. I'm pretty good at building stuff on my own and enjoy doing so, I just haven't really thought too much about making a rack. I got a nice AP CB70 rack through a trade, and haven't found many others locally so was thinking it may be good for me to start with a hatchling rack and go from there.

Thanks everyone for your input! I was thinking of buying a certain amount of tape from beanfarm, but if reptile basics has it pre-wired, that may be helpful too.

[Robyn@SYR]

It isn't hard as a DIY project. We have step by step guides on our site for either the rivet connections or soldering- check it out.

At the same time, I think it is just as simple to measure what you need and have a dealer like Rich at Reptile Basics do the connections for you. They are certain to be solid and secure that way.