CHE question

[Midwest]

Some of you have read my other threads, but to summarize quickly I have a 20 gallon long. It has two UTH's, one covers most of the hot side kept at 90 degrees and one on the cool side which keeps the tank floor at 80 degrees. My room temp is 70 degrees and the ambient temps of my tank stay about 72 degrees. I added a very small "nano" CHE with a 40 watt element yesterday. I turned it on this morning and with it running full power the ambient temp is now at 78 degrees. I have a dimmer cord it is plugged into but have not dimmed it down any. I know people say the heat sources have to be regulated. I am curious since I have the small element, what is the necessity of the dimmer? I assume that having a 40 watt element running at full strength would be no different then someone with an 80 watt element running it on a dimmer at half power. I know everyone stresses the need for regulating heat sources, but in this case if the CHE running at full strength is the rite size to keep my tank temps where I need it in the winter months are there other concerns I am overlooking?

I was initially told that since the entire "floor" of the tank is 80 degrees or higher that the ambient temps in the tank were as important. I decided to try to bump it up a few degrees just to see how it works, thats why I added the CHE.

[Lord Sorril]

I know everyone stresses the need for regulating heat sources, but in this case if the CHE running at full strength is the rite size to keep my tank temps where I need it in the winter months are there other concerns I am overlooking?

There is no concern if your room temperature stays completely stable 24/7/365. If environmental temperature variations (day/night/winter/summer) raise and lower your ambient temperatures then you will have to make corrections and this is where dimmers/thermostats come into play (for all heat sources). If you are confident that your heat source(s) will not drive the temps out of range running at 100%, then no worries.

As for me: I live in New England: it is not uncommon for the outdoor temperature to be 0F at night, and 50F during the day. Unregulated-my snake room temperatures can vary as much as 10 degrees even with my home heating system trying to compensate. If I was using a dimmer I would have to correct the heat output every few hours or else risk chill/heat stroke of my snakes. However, since I am using thermostats-no worries-they will automatically/constantly make the corrections for me.

[Midwest]

Thanks. Early this winter I just set the furnace on 70 and will leave it there until spring. I just checked tonight and it has been running all day and the tank temp shows 79 degrees. I’ve lifted it up from the screen a few times and touched and the screen is definitely warm but not hot enough to burn. In the summer we don’t keep the AC too low and the air temps in that room stay around 76 or so.

[Sonny1318]

If you are in full control of the room year round. But still, there’s always that risk. I rely on the house thermostat and dimmers. But my wife and children are all fully aware that any big temperature changes inside or out to check reptiles temps immediately. Most breeders heat the room. Just be careful. Peace joy and happiness

[Mr. Misha]

Instead of a dimmer, I'd recommend putting any CHE on a thermostat. That way you're 100% sure that you're in control of the how much heat you're providing.

Personally, I only provide ambient temps of 80-82 with Radiant Heat Panels (RHPs)in my fully enclosed PVC enclosures and have been pretty successful with that.

It's a lot easier to provide stable temps in an enclosed enclosure. With glass tanks you're always going to have fluctuating temperature depending not only on how you're heating it but also the room temps.

[Midwest]

Ok thanks. I think I might go ahead and order a thermostat just to be on the safe side. I might just set it at like 82 in case something goes wonky and it heats up more. I'ts been plugged in now for four days and the tank has held steady at 79 degrees. This time of year the furnace is set at 70 degrees and the room will stay that temp until the spring when outside temps warm up. Once spring/summer get here I'll just have to watch and see if I need the CHE.