Stacking identical PVC cages with RHP's

I'm getting ready for a new 36x24x12 PVC cage to set on top of the one I have now, it will be identical to the one I have now. My cage has a RHP on the upper right rear of the cage. The new cage should be assembled in a few days. What I'm finding out is....I can set a Sterilite tub on top of my PVC cage that's setup with paper towel floor , hides and water and get very close to lower limit temps and humidity just from it sitting over top where the RHP is in the lower cage. Now it's got me wondering....If I stack another cage on top, is this going to be bad or good ? What I'm thinking is....I may have to run the upper cage RHP at a low temp to get the upper cage running proper. I may have to use a big air gap between the 2 cages if it's too much. I guess if it's too hot from below, adjusting the air gap between the 2 cages could help things out. The top of my lower cage reads 96 and I'm reaching 83 on top of the paper towels in the tub that's sitting on top. It's only been sitting there for 20 mins also. The cool side is 74.

You will just have to set it up and see. I have three cages just like your except they are 15 inches high. The RHPs when used to create a hotspot alone created the hotspot above to get to warm because it was being heating from both above and below. I lowered the temps and stick to a UTH as my main hotspot now. To pick up the ambient temps I heat the room with a oil heater.

Yes an RHP will throw heat above it as well as below it. On one of my melamine stand-alone enclosures it's a bonus, as it creates a nice 90-92*F hot spot if you put a 34-qt latch box tub on top of it. The PVC enclosures have some wood boards between them to allow airflow between the enclosures, so the enclosure above an RHP doesn't overheat.

I left the tub on top of the PVC cage for a while....the hot spot was a perfect hot spot. Ambient and cool spot were good also. Man...talk about a 2 for one deal. However....looks like I'll have to get something to make an air gap between 2 cages. I really don't want the lower cage working into the upper too much. I'll have to find something that looks decent also. Or some shelving that keeps the cages apart.

What about just laying a thick foam mat with insulating properties between the 2 cages ? Or does this situation need an air gap like Flexwatt ? The RHP, as of now, is heating up the top of my existing cage to 93-95ish, if there was a foam rubber mat, it should make it harder to transfer heat into the top cage. From what I read about RHP's...they can be placed against any surface. insulating over top of it shouldn't be a problem then. IDK.

Well...I tried the foam mat. It made the top of the cage get real hot under the mat. I'm not a big fan of that. What I'm trying next for spacers are black hockey pucks. They are the thickness that I want and are cheap. I paid $20 for 12 of them on E-Bay and will just evenly space them to support the top cage. Maybe a little double sided tape as well.

Personally I'd be halfway tempted just to run a stack with a RHP every other unit to see if it can do the job of heating two for the price of one :D

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Originally Posted by Skeletor

Well...I tried the foam mat. It made the top of the cage get real hot under the mat. I'm not a big fan of that. What I'm trying next for spacers are black hockey pucks. They are the thickness that I want and are cheap. I paid $20 for 12 of them on E-Bay and will just evenly space them to support the top cage. Maybe a little double sided tape as well.

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There should be a book... 101 uses for hockey pucks. I used them for extended "bump stops" on my shocks when I used to have an off-road Jeep. :) They're cheap, super-tough, and last forever. Great thinking!!!

LOL, I've been there and done that also. I'm a huge fan of the 4x4 vehicles.

I did a test run with a 1 inch air gap. It seems to keep things way cooler. I just set a tub on top that was up one inch off the top of my cage (over the hot spot). I will get a little heat up into the upper floor but not as much with a 1 inch space. Plus the PVC cage is thicker than the tub. I'll put like 9 pucks between the 2 cages. 3 rows of 3

Hockey pucks tin foil and duct tape are all you need in life. Fixes everything. And they make great dog toys.