Another snake rack question...

I'm making a snake rack for my 41 qt containers. Do most people put a back panel on the shelves? would anyone advise against that? or what type of wood do you use for that? I think another sheet of melamine would make it alot heavier. Does anyone ever make their shelves short in the back, so there is room for wiring plus heat circulation? I was just wondering if anyone has tried that or if works good. I'm making the rack so it will be wide, not deep with one container per shelf and probably 8-10 high. Also is it better to wire in parellel, or is it okay to have each one with it's own plug so I can unplug the ones i'm not using..

Any help would be much appreciated. I have gone thru alot of other threads on building racks and these are just a few of my remaining questions. Oh wait I have another one lol, Is 5/8" melamine ok to use? Or should I go with something thicker? I can get 5/8 for free, since it's used in shipping to protect expensive sheets of wood and alot of the time thrown away. ;:gj:

I would put a back on it to keep in heat, it will also make the entire shelf more sturdy. I'm not sure what the wood is called, but its the same stuff you see for the backs of book shelves/desks real thin light weight stuff. And yes, 5/8's is the right size to use, if you can get it for free you are set :p As for the leaving it short, i've seen people's rack's posted on here with short backs, but not sure where the post was. It's either leave it short or drill holes I guess, I left the backing short on mine. Oh and I think the only difference btw wiring in parallel and plugging them all in, is how many plugs you have in the end. I'd just find some switches if you are worried about turning off shelves.

I'm not certain I know what you mean by leaving the shelves short. If I understand correctly, I can see 2 possibilities with it. 1) - depending on how short you make it, it could provide a possible escape route. 2) - the extra circulation it would provide would just be a way for the natural "heat rises" affect to occur at a faster rate, causing your lower shelves to be significantly cooler than your higher ones.

Putting a back on the unit will provide some structural integrity, and help keep the heat in. It is not absolutely necessary, but unless the rack will be kept in a warm area, you will probably be much happier with the results as far as getting a good steady temp gradient if you put a back on it. If you are concerned about the weight of the rack, I suppose you could put something like wood paneling for the back panel. You would need to seal the wood.

I'd LOVE to know where to get 5/8 melamine for free!

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Originally Posted by kc261

the extra circulation it would provide would just be a way for the natural "heat rises" affect to occur at a faster rate, causing your lower shelves to be significantly cooler than your higher ones.

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Perfect, exactly the helpfull kind of answer i was looking for. I think i'll just have holes for the wiring then. Almost ready to get started now..:)

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Originally Posted by kc261

I'd LOVE to know where to get 5/8 melamine for free!

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I get the free melamine at a little cabinet making place down the street from where I live. The wood that they have shipped to them like sheets of oak and what not come with 2 sheets of melamine on either side to protect in shipping. Some of it does get damaged but most of it is still useable for racks. I seen them breaking up sheets and throwing it away into their garbage bin and went over to talk to them about it. I dont care if there is little scruff marks, but I guess its not good to them. I even talked to the fork truck driver about it and hes extra careful now when unloading it now so it's almost always in perfect shape.

Ok i just got done building my rack about 2 weeks ago. it holds 4 28 Q bins. At this time i dont have anything on the back besides a thin board to stop the bins from sliding to far for the snake to get out. It seems to hold temps i have a Ranco thermastat running my 4 inch flex watt. And i also wired it parellel . If u want wire it that way like if u have 6 bins then wire 3 on one cord and 3 on the other. That way for some reason u are not using half of it u dont have to heat it . Hope this helps

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Originally Posted by chomper357

Ok i just got done building my rack about 2 weeks ago. it holds 4 28 Q bins. At this time i dont have anything on the back besides a thin board to stop the bins from sliding to far for the snake to get out. It seems to hold temps i have a Ranco thermastat running my 4 inch flex watt. And i also wired it parellel . If u want wire it that way like if u have 6 bins then wire 3 on one cord and 3 on the other. That way for some reason u are not using half of it u dont have to heat it . Hope this helps

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Thanks, I think im actually going to have each heat tape running on it's own cord. Is it ok to break the (groud) off a power bar plug so it can be plugged into a herpstat?