Heating issues

So after my heat pad incident, I switched all my snakes to heat tape. I did the parallel installment method and soldered the joints but I am getting inconsistent temps; one will be 75 degrees and the next will be 100 degrees. I did everything exactly according to the instructions and its on a thermostat so I have no idea what's going on... But now I'm thinking about switching out the heat tape for heat cable? Has anyone used heat cable before?

My cages are made of wood so I'm thinking I could drill out a little channel to run the heat cable in.

I'm currently at work so I can't really search through all the threads but if you wanna link other threads that have ideas, that would be helpful. I'm sure other people have had this problem.

Do you know how to solder? Have you checked the joints? If one part is getting 100 and another part is room temp then it isn't getting power. Is there a reason why you didn't just use a continuous strip of heat tape? I don't like heat cable, and find it hard to work with but it is certainly an option.

I solder everyday, it's my job. It's not one specific section of heat tape, it switches. One day, one section will be too hot and then the next it will be too cold. They all so this.

Why don't you like heat cable, if you don't mind me asking?

The fact that you have to route slots for it is certainly a negative for me. I also don't like the way it heats.

Where is your thermostat probe? If the panels are getting hot some times and not others I would suspect the thermostat. What type of thermostat is it?

It's a VE200, it's less than 6 months old. The probe is on the section of heat tape that is directly plugged in.

Are all of the strips of flexwatt on cages set up the same? Are any of them open to air while others aren't? Does the temperature drop on the flexwatt coincide with something like the A/C turning on or a ceiling fan being on?

If you move the probe to a different section of the flexwatt does it change anything?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Are all of the strips of flexwatt on cages set up the same? Are any of them open to air while others aren't? Does the temperature drop on the flexwatt coincide with something like the A/C turning on or a ceiling fan being on?

If you move the probe to a different section of the flexwatt does it change anything?

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They are all setup the same. None of them are open to air.

When i get home I'll do some tests and move the probe around to see if anything changes. It could possibly be a light that's in the same area causing this, now that I think about it. Thank you for the help! I'll let you know if I figure anything out!