Where to purchase individually wired rack? (IE: each shelve has it's own plug)

Seeking 4/5 level 32qt shoebox rack that has each shelve wired individually.

The companies I have spoken to so far only offer racks that utilize one long strip of heat tape for all levels.

Any insight is greatly appreciated :gj:

You could order the rack without the heat tape. Order the heat tape separately and install it yourself :gj:

Yep, that is definitely an option, and it might come down to that...

Just wondering if anybody offered this or if I have a DIY in the near future.

i know my animal plastics rack has little slits on the side of the rack at each shelf specifically for people that want to do this. i'm sure if you sent ali an email explaining how you want to do this they'll send you the separate shorter heat tapes pre wired. might cost a few bucks extra for the additional parts, but i highly recommend them. they are very flexible and able to work with what you want. not to mention, their customer service is second to none. at least IME.

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Originally Posted by Het for Normal

Seeking 4/5 level 32qt shoebox rack that has each shelve wired individually.

The companies I have spoken to so far only offer racks that utilize one long strip of heat tape for all levels.

Any insight is greatly appreciated :gj:

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I'm just curious - what's the plan? What's your need for separate wiring? I assume for separate thermostats, but what's the logic behind this? Just curious and always looking to learn something new!

Eric

I am considering going the seperately wired route for 2 reasons mainly:

1. Unnocupied shelves - don't see a need to power several empty shelves as I expand my collection.
2. Versatility - able to run shelves at different temps using herpstat (ie: different species, incubator, etc)

Thanks for the input, I'll reaching out to AP soon to see if they can help.
Any other companies out there with quicker shipping? I could pick up from any upcoming White Plains expos

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Het for Normal

I am considering going the seperately wired route for 2 reasons mainly:

1. Unnocupied shelves - don't see a need to power several empty shelves as I expand my collection.
2. Versatility - able to run shelves at different temps using herpstat (ie: different species, incubator, etc)

Thanks for the input, I'll reaching out to AP soon to see if they can help.
Any other companies out there with quicker shipping? I could pick up from any upcoming White Plains expos

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I definitely don't hate the idea, but you might be creating more work and potential problems for yourself with a rack system. if you have the capability and hardware to wire each individual shelf by yourself (which I certainly don't), why not take the time and build stacking cages or something with more versatility than a rack? for me, rack systems are purely a function of convenience. if I had the money, space, and wherewithal to put in lighted display cages, I'd do it for every animal I own. also, I think the expense of wiring each individual shelf to run on its own regulator would be more costly in the long run than buying multiple racks that have less capacity for each different species. that way you only have a few thermostats and more money to spend on caging, plus less worry about electrical shorts or tweaking temperatures. likely a cheaper electrical bill as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Het for Normal

I am considering going the seperately wired route for 2 reasons mainly:

1. Unnocupied shelves - don't see a need to power several empty shelves as I expand my collection.
2. Versatility - able to run shelves at different temps using herpstat (ie: different species, incubator, etc)

Thanks for the input, I'll reaching out to AP soon to see if they can help.
Any other companies out there with quicker shipping? I could pick up from any upcoming White Plains expos

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AP is your best bet. I just put together one of their 32qt economy racks. They mention in the directions about the possibility of separate heat tape for each shelf, but you do have to get the heat tape yourself if you go that way because they recommend snaking one piece and only sell it that way or no heat. Dragons4u used to sell ABS racks with slots for heat tape that you supply. Lately they only advertise their new PVC racks that come pre-wired. I think they do still make the old racks, but these are made to order like AP and their wait for made to order items is about the same as AP.

One consideration about the heating empty shelves. To get a Herpstat to power 4 separate devices, you'll have to get the Herpstat 4. The last I looked it's $340. As low as the wattage is on heat tape, I don't think you'd ever recoup the extra money for the t-stat.