Radiant Heat Panel Question

So I am setting up my 2 animal plastics T8 cages and I am trying to get the temps right. I have a Radiant Heat panel in each cage, both controlled by a herpstat 2. It seems like it is taking a while to reach the desired temp that I set on the Herpstat. I have tried putting the probe on the cool side and on the warm side, halfway up the wall under the heat panel. My concern is that when the herpstat turns the panel on, it reaches a temp of anywhere from 110f to 140f when I temp gun the heat panel directly. Obviously, when the desired temp is reached and the herpstat is putting 0% power, the temp of the panel itself goes down. Am I doing something wrong, or is this just how it goes with RHPs?

The heat panel is going to be hotter than the hotspot it creates. Its has to be as it is throwing the heat down to heat the surface below.

I have good luck mounting my tstat probe inside a cable strap with super glue and then super gluing the strap itself to the rim of the rhp. The tstat probe does no touch the rhp. It floats just below it. Once mounted I start off low and slowly raise the rhp temps until in is where I want it. A rhp will be warmer in the center and cooler on the outside edges which is where the probe will be. That means the tstat may only be set in the 80s but the hotspot will be much warmer. That is just how this technique works. I have used this without fail for years.

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Originally Posted by KMG

The heat panel is going to be hotter than the hotspot it creates. Its has to be as it is throwing the heat down to heat the surface below.

I have good luck mounting my tstat probe inside a cable strap with super glue and then super gluing the strap itself to the rim of the rhp. The tstat probe does no touch the rhp. It floats just below it. Once mounted I start off low and slowly raise the rhp temps until in is where I want it. A rhp will be warmer in the center and cooler on the outside edges which is where the probe will be. That means the tstat may only be set in the 80s but the hotspot will be much warmer. That is just how this technique works. I have used this without fail for years.

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Ok, thanks! I still have the probe on the hot side, about halfway up the wall under the RHP. I was just worried about the snakes getting burned on the panels.

Oh. I have never had an issue. While the rhp does get hot they snake will never be able to stay on it long enough to cause harm like they can on a uth. You should be fine.

Thank you, that is what I figured, but I really needed to hear it from someone who has experience with this. I just went from having them in tanks for the past 6 months with uth's to t8s with RHPs lol so it is a learning experience again

I can keep my hand on the RHP for a while without feeling like it's starting to hurt. When you first turn them on and get your cage running....it may feel very hot. Once it heats up the cage and the thermostat powers it down, mine never feels very hot at all. The flat dark stone under my RHP stays 88-90 degrees. The stone holds heat for a long time after you remove it from the cage also.

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I can keep my hand on the RHP for a while without feeling like it's starting to hurt. When you first turn them on and get your cage running....it may feel very hot. Once it heats up the cage and the thermostat powers it down, mine never feels very hot at all. The flat dark stone under my RHP stays 88-90 degrees. The stone holds heat for a long time after you remove it from the cage also.