Rack Help :)

So, I'm in the process of building a rack. Five shelves, with interchangeable 41q tubs sideways or 2 28q, since both sizes in the sterilite tubs are the same height. I have pretty much everything figured out. Except the heat tape. I have no idea about anything, so.

Each shelf is around 36 inches long, 5 shelves. My dad's an electrician and is wondering if there's a kind of flexwatt you can solder instead of the clips?

What size flexwatt should I get? How much? Each shelf is going to be individual strips, not back heat, so can it be cut? Is there a specific place to get it that's better than another? Is there a better wattage to get?

Thanks for the information, I know this subject has probably been beaten to death. I honestly know nothing about this stuff, so if anyone can give me help, tell it to me like I'm a two year old :oops:

4" flexwatt is all you need. But only you can answer how much as your gonna be using it for 2 diff type of tubs inserted different. There for youll end up with heat tape all over to accommodate that.

If I understand the question, the answer is, you can solder ordinary flexwatt. Use a knife blade or something to gently scrape the coating off to reveal the metal, and solder away. There are tutorials all over the place.

Yeah you can solder the connections, thats what I did.
The 3" and 4" flexwatt can be cut at any length I believe, but the 12" can only be cut every 12".

I am not sure if it is the 3" or the 4" but there is one that has two different wattage's. The lower one is better in my opinion because it doesn't get as hot unregulated.

Thanks guys :) One more question. Reptile Basics has 3" 6 watt and 4" 8 watt available. I'm thinking the 4", because of how deep the shelves will be and the different sized tubs. Ohhhhh, and also, if I'm soldering the connections, do I need to buy the clip/insulator set?

Thanks :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by musicalKeyes

Thanks guys :) One more question. Reptile Basics has 3" 6 watt and 4" 8 watt available. I'm thinking the 4", because of how deep the shelves will be and the different sized tubs. Ohhhhh, and also, if I'm soldering the connections, do I need to buy the clip/insulator set?

Thanks :D

---

I used 4" on my rack too.

No you don't need the clips if you solder it yourself. Just make sure all the connections are well covered with electrical tape.

I used 4 on ours and we actually did 2 rows in the back area. Now we only did 2 connections as we wrapped our down the rack. Think of like a snake threading through the shelves. So we have 1 connection for each row. This was a tecnique that reptile basic uses on their racks. You can see a pic on the DIY

i used th solder iron t oremove the coaring on the metal strips when I solder them. I also wrap them well with eletrical tape to prevent shocking.

To figure out were to place hte tape look both the tubs set in there and pick a middle area that will fix both of them with heat. I usesally run mine about 6 inches from the back to allow a sure spot for a heat zone. I found if i use the 3/4 inch flex I needed to run 2 strips side by sideot getthe heat level I wanted. cause the tubs and all cool off fast inthe room even with a space heater set to about 83 degrees.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

The 3" and 4" flexwatt can be cut at any length I believe, but the 12" can only be cut every 12".

---

The 12 inch can be cut anywhere now, they changed it to be just like the 3" and 4". I cut mine at 10".
http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/a...12597Small.jpg

I would wire each shelf seperately! That way you can plug in the shelf that you are using!