Heat mat inside vivarium

Do you know the brand called "Trixie"?

What about heatcables? better choice?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Kane mats I think are made in Iowa.

http://www.kanemfg.com

dav4 I think you are thinking of ultratherm mats that are made in Scotland.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads

Both are great but Kane pads are water resistant and insulated.

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Yup, you're right:oops:.

I would think heat cables would make more sense as they are waterproof. They do get horribly hot however. You are using ultratherms are you? this cuts the max heat it is a toss up to my mind. I would still go with a RHP myself easier and cheaper.

The reasons for my concerns are this,

Out gassing is the uth sealed up if so and gas builds up will it rupture the waterproof seal?
Tstat failure could start a fire. Ultratherms help this as they simply do not get stupid hot. Are you in Europe?
inspection of the UTH is difficult or impossible. They do odd things sometimes I inspect all my heaters very carefully every 6 months.


If I may my suggestion would be cable, taped to the bottom of a tile (stone or ceramic) spacers added to the floor of the enclosure supporting the tile (in floor spacers) and drill vent holes in the bottom of the wood to allow for gas and liquids to escape. I don't think I would seal it in just lay it in. Tape the tiles together underneath and fit them tight to the sides. Then you can lift it out and clean under neath inspect and mop spills up. The heat cable is suspended under the tile and out of anything that spills. I would likely use a failsafe as well no matter the brand or features of the primary as the penalty for failure is very high.

Quick drawing... brown is tile, red heater black is enclosure and spacers it is a cross section.
http://images108.fotki.com/v1623/pho...infloor-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

I am not trying to be difficult. For 25 years I have done sports most consider to be extreme, climbing, powerkiting ect. I have never been hurt doing either (well requiring doctors lots of cuts and such) I have had friends seriously hurt in the past. I have not been because although I do take risks they are all calculated risk. I would with toxic chemicals everyday and same thing never been hurt. This is why I post the way I do. I weight advantages over potential risk and assume things will fail and make back up plans and often back up of the back up plans. The set up you have described if I understand what you have done (sandwich a uth with a probe between a sealed vinyl and wood floor with no spacer and no air flow) sounds like it will work and if anything fails cause very serious issues.

I ordered a piece of glas to put on top it, and will purchase heat cables as soon as i can afford it