CHE question

[pilot511]

Do Ceramic heat emitters get warmer than the corresponding wattage heat bulbs? Basically would a 75watt CHE raise temps more than a 75watt heat bulb? thanks

[Argentra]

Yes. CHEs are designed to put out quite a lot of heat. You can "control" it somewhat by raising or lowering the lamp above the enclosure, but a CHE lamp should never be closer to the top than 8".

[pilot511]

you mean 8 inches above the screen top or 8 inches above the floor?

[Dcommander]

closer to the top

I think it means above the screen

[td30]

It really depends on how it is controlled. I have one controlled by a herpstat ND that sits directly on the screen (the fixture not the CHE itself). So that would put the CHE about 1" at most from the screen. The thermostat keeps the power of my 60W CHE at about 10-30%. I can touch the screen surface for any amount of time and not get burned. If you do not have a thermostat, I would not recommend doing this. In that case you would have to lift it until it reached a good balance between surface and cage temp.

[Argentra]

Yes, I meant above the screen. And since you would have to have a separate t-stat for any lamp(s), I hadn't mentioned it. Good addition there, td30.

T-stats work great for controlling heat lamps, but since the wattage and such work differently, the stat should be a proportional (Herpstat or Helix) and it could only run lamps. On/off stats would work, but would really shorten the life of the bulb. Also, bulbs like Merc Vapors could ONLY be used with proportional stats because of the 15 minute reset feature. Just an FYI.