Heat Tape combo

I'm now building a new rack system and due to space limitations it will be a combination of tub sizes. It will be 36" wide and serviced from the front. That said I am using 1 ft. of 11" heat tape for each of the 4 41Q tubs( connecting @ the L side of the shelf....bottom heat). Then 3 shelves using 34" of 4" heat tape for each .... also connecting @ the L side of the shelf(bottom rear heat).These will house a combination of 12 qt. & 28 qt. tubs.

My plan is to wire all 7 shelves in series, so the question is : Is there any direct electrical reason why the differences in total wattage between the different shelves would cause an issue? And yes, T-stat is being used.

THANKS in advance for your experienced opinions and all the knowledge I've gained by reviewing other question & answers on this forum.

Do not wire different size heat tape in series. For one it will not work right, temps between the two tapes will be different since each draws a different amount. Even with a t-stat being used temp will be different due to the wattage difference.

For the setup that you are making, three t-stats may be needed. One for each different size tub so they all get the proper temp.

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Originally Posted by EAC Reptiles

Do not wire different size heat tape in series. For one it will not work right, temps between the two tapes will be different since each draws a different amount. Even with a t-stat being used temp will be different due to the wattage difference.

For the setup that you are making, three t-stats may be needed. One for each different size tub so they all get the proper temp.

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Playing devil's advocate here : I'm using TeptileBasic's heat tape : 12" is 23W/ft and 4" is 11W/ft. So,4 shelves will each have 23W and 3 shelves will each have 33W. That makes only a difference of 8W. From an electrical standpoint, are you saying that is significant ?

From a tub "warm spot" viewpoint... each tub on all levels will have about 25% belly "warm spot" coverage. That seems like a good ratio. Thoughts ? and THANKS !

Different size heat tape need a different thermostat. Just buy a herpstat 4 and you will be all covered.

different wattage and resistance, they will run at different temp. By how much I dont know just because I dont like trying to make a fire hazard.:gj:

I wouldn't even run multiple lines of 3" heat tape off of one thermostat if they weren't all the same length, running the same type of setup/cage, with the same type/depth of substrate.

Your thermo is going to run power according to whatever the need is at the probe. That might produce 90F at the probe, but something vastly different and either dangerous (fire) or unhealthy (reptiles) on a different size/length/setup of heat tape.

It is expensive to run a different thermostat with each different setup, but it is vastly more expensive to lose life/limb/home to malfunction or poor setup.