Hotspot and/or heat tape issues

Hello!

New member and my first post here! Lots of super knowledgeable and friendly people here so I'm hoping to get a solution. Just bought our first family ball python and I'm having issues getting the hotspot up to 89-90 degrees without having to crank the thermostat to 120. Thermostat is a Herpstat 1, and the rack is a single tub FB10 from TGR racks. I use coconut substrate that is about 1/2 an inch thick or so. Rack sides are open and the heat tape is considered to be "floating". About a 1/8 of an inch from the base of the rack with small pvc pieces underneath on the left and right sides and heat tape does contact the tub directly. Probe is set on the underside as instructed by the company, but I tried putting it on top and still had the same issues. I'm thinking this design may be the issue, but I just don't feel right about having to have the temp that high just to get the correct hotspot temp. The IR gun seems to be reading accurately so I'm completely out of ideas to remedy the issue. Just want our boy Bigsby to be comfortable in his new home. Right now I have the hot side of the rack wrapped in towels to try to insulate it some. Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

What is the temperature of the tub floor under the substrate over the heat tape?

Also some tubs bow so that when they are empty there is an air gap between the heat tape and the bottom of the tub. When dialing in my racks I put some books in the tub over the heat tape to simulate the weight of the snake.

I just measured it again and it was at 92 with the thermostat set at 120. The heat tap is in direct contact with the bottom of the tub as well give or take a mm or two.

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Originally Posted by Loxstar

I just measured it again and it was at 92 with the thermostat set at 120. The heat tap is in direct contact with the bottom of the tub as well give or take a mm or two.

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In the first post, you said the heat tape is not directly touching the tub, but in this post you say it is. Which is it? I have my tubs sitting directly on the heat tape, and I have the probe taped on top of the heat tape. (but NEXT to the tub, so as not to interfere with the tub and not create a void between the heat tape and the tub) I keep the thermostat at 92-94, and my temp gun reads 90-92 on the tub hotspot, so there is a minor amount of heat loss, but not much. SOMETHING IS off, either the probe placement, or the heat tape placement.

The heat tape touches in the middle, but the left and right sides are just barely off the tub. I there isn't much I can do about the placement because of the way the rack is built. If I were to move the probe to the far right or left, the reading would be off because it would be too far away from the center of the heat tape and sitting in open air which seems like it would throw the temp reading as well. Let me get some pictures so I can show how its set up.

Just noticed I can't post attachments. Dang! That makes this a lot harder.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ages/our-storyThis is the website and how they show the heat tape set up for their rack systems. Pictures at the bottom.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ages/our-storyhttps://tgrracksystems.com/pages/our-story

Just ordered some side panels for the rack, so hopefully that helps keep the heat in a bit better.