Waterbed Heater?

Heh, wow this thread is a little old

I'll post on it anyway because I came very close to using a waterbed heater in the cage I'm currently working on. Don't know if every heater is the same, but here's what I found out while test driving mine.
I put it flat on the floor and stood on it in my socks with the little temp probe they all seem to come with under one foot. I set it at 90 and plugged it in. Looking back I guess I couldv'e found myself doing an electrically charged watusi, but apparently god looks out for drunks and fools alike. The mat did get nice and toasty, but after a minute or so it kicked off as the sensor got warm. It would only come back on when the temp got low enough. Almost ideal, but I'm not a big fan of things that need to turn off and on like that. If that little thermostat should happen to fail, the device would then shoot to max and let the cookin begin! I'm more of the type to use a manually adjustable dimmer switch (like a lightswitch dimmer simply wired into a device or sliding dimmer...there's all types at walmart and such) that I can set to a desired temp and regulate the amount of power the heat source gets...less moving parts is best I guess is what I'm saying. Of course the trade off with the dimmers is they require the keeper to monitor temps daily, but I've found I adjust rarely....once or twice at the beginning of each season for the most part.
Also the heater is designed to be under a big water mattress for safety. The theory is to surround it with a lack of oxygen and fireproof material so the house doesn't burn down. I was going to recreate these conditions by attatching it to the floor underneath the outside of the cage and covering it with insulation. Mount a smoke detector right next to it for peace of mind.
So will it work? Yep. I simply didn't because of the thermostat. Don't like all that off and on, ya know?
I wound up using some heat cable that I already had in the basement. It's designed to wrap around a water pipe to keep it from freezing. 12 feet long, 84 watts. Maxes out around 125 or so. It has a simple thermostat built in which is easily bypassed. I could have removed the waterbed heater's thermo, but it was more involved. I laid it serpentine under the floor, backed it with insulation, hooked in a dimmer. Works dandy.

Also, on the debate of things that should or should not be left on 24/7...
Things not designed to be left on that long could indeed burn themselves out and create a hazard. Care and common sense.....lol
I'm with Adam on being apprehensive about using things outside of thier designed purposes. Another huge reason I didn't go with the waterbed heater. The pipe wrap is designed to run full blast for 6 or 7 months at a time, so I reasoned that running it all year would be ok since I'm regulating the amount of power the device recieves. It just can't overheat this way. They are made to last till judgement day. Whether wrapped around a pipe or heating a floor, it's going to last.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by steelsack

Almost ideal, but I'm not a big fan of things that need to turn off and on like that. If that little thermostat should happen to fail, the device would then shoot to max and let the cookin begin! I'm more of the type to use a manually adjustable dimmer switch (like a lightswitch dimmer simply wired into a device or sliding dimmer...there's all types at walmart and such) that I can set to a desired temp and regulate the amount of power the heat source gets...less moving parts is best I guess is what I'm saying.

---

Helix thermostats actually are designed to shut off if any component of the system should fail. There are also capable (through add-ons) of signaling an alarm on a low or high temp reading and even calling your home, cell, pager, etc. They tend to pulse power to heating elements instead of the on/off action, but will cut off completely if temps are stable at the set levels. Much much easier than regulating temps manually with a dimmer or rheostat in my opinion. (Note: other thermostats may do similar things, my experience is mainly with Helix)

FWIW, heat tape is designed to be run 24x7x365 .... It cheap, effective, and when used properly in conjunction with a quality thermostat, very safe.

-adam

Very interesting, thanks!

Yeah, heat tape is good stuff from what I hear. I would have ordered some flexwatt, but when I remembered that heat cable I had....well it works and didn't force me to throw any more money into the project, lol. Always so tempting to use what you have.
But my bp will be getting a new place this year and I'm out of heat cable...

Floyd's new crib is almost done, getting excited! 'Bout a week I guess including drying time for the sealer.