Will a UTH burn under a sterlite tub?

Ok. Well I'm moving my bp to a sterlite tub for humidity purposes. I've seen other people use UTH under the tubs without a problem. BUT.. the one I picked up says for glass terrariums only! The brand is exo terra heat wave. Should it still be safe to use or could I fold it in a towel or something? Any advice would be great please.

You need to use a thermostat or rheostat if you don't have a thermostat. You can use a UTH on anything (glass, plastic, wood) but it MUST be controlled.

I know it says for use on glass only, but let's be honest. It's just a low power electric stove(basically) wrapped in non-electrically conductive material. It's a contact heating element. If you put it on a thermostat and have it heat to 90 degrees, well you'll be heating something at 90 degrees plain and simple.

If you run it uncontrolled it might melt through or burn the tub, which is why they say for use on glass only, otherwise their product is a fire hazard.

The melting point for most plastics are waay above 200*F and a heating element will rarely spike THAT high.

Any heating device will burn if it gets hot enough. I once had a zoo med heating pad attached to one of those plastic pet pal cages. It melted the cage because I let it run uncontrolled in an area where there was no air flow under the tank to cool it down. Any kind of heating device, no matter what the manufacturer says, should be attached to some kind of controller like a thermostat or a rheostat.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

The melting point for most plastics are waay above 200*F and a heating element will rarely spike THAT high.

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Mine did so did my sisters. Mine nearly cuased a house fire and killed the snake on the bin. I now use heat tape with a herpstat.

Overtime if it's uncontrolled it will melt, very slowly and you may not notice it, but it will happen. If you control it then you're fine, with no worries.

yeah it will warp it for sure, I did this once with a zoo med uth when trying to get used to using my rheostat before putting my snake in the bin. I came back and the bin was all bent up lol. This was like 6 hours of heating though

Just wanted to say THANKS to all the people who helped me out. I ended up wrapping it in a towel anyways and the temperature is great. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

The melting point for most plastics are waay above 200*F and a heating element will rarely spike THAT high.

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You have obviously done more research than me, because I have no clue what the average plastic melts at.

However, with that said, I have seen, on numerous occassions, plastics tubs with holes the size of a CD case in them from heat tape or heat pads. On every occasion, they were plugged directly in the wall, with no control at all. I just wanted to say, that it will happen, and as quick as overnight. Take the chance if you wish, I know many that have, but the ones that were unlucky, are enough for me to never try to run heating elements uncontrolled.