heating melamine cage

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

i do hesitate to recommend a glue gun though... because honestly, won't the 90 degree temp keep the glue from being cool and firm?

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I just use the aluminum tape, you just have to make sure the tape is laying flat and no edges loose. ;)

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Originally Posted by Wild Bill

I use the flexwatt with ceramic tile on top and it worked great. The ceramic tile holds heat, but if you have a quality thermostat it will be fine. The thermostat never lets the tile get above the set temp. Setting it up that way is ALOT different than a heat rock. ;)

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I am sure the thermostat helps a lot..but I am not sure it is so different. Rocks are great insulators and transmit and hold heat very well...too well. My fear is that there is no room for error with one. Once the heat is stopped it will still take a long while for the rock to dissipate all the heat. This is why ceramic heaters are so popular. The rocks have a radianting affect that can cause burns very easily if not set correct. Just my 2 cents. :)

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

i do hesitate to recommend a glue gun though... because honestly, won't the 90 degree temp keep the glue from being cool and firm?

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Nope the glue is designed to be solid below 150 degrees. I have been using it for a long time without melting issues.:)

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Originally Posted by Wild Bill

I just use the aluminum tape, you just have to make sure the tape is laying flat and no edges loose. ;)

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But it is messy and doesn't come loose when it is time to clean. You have to use something to get the sticky glue up...with a glue gun you simply twist and it comes up without residue. ;)

ahhhhhhhh i loooooooooove my glue gun :P

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

I am sure the thermostat helps a lot..but I am not sure it is so different. Rocks are great insulators and transmit and hold heat very well...too well. My fear is that there is no room for error with one. Once the heat is stopped it will still take a long while for the rock to dissipate all the heat. This is why ceramic heaters are so popular. The rocks have a radianting affect that can cause burns very easily if not set correct. Just my 2 cents. :)

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I'm just talking about my experience with my cages with ceramic tile, they have been in operation for almost a year with no problems. With the heat probe taped directly to the tile there is no way for what you are saying to happen, especially with a proportional thermostat. The reason heat rocks are so bad is because they run without a thermostat and run at full capacity all the time. They then get "hot spots" where the heat continues to build. This just can't happen with ceramic tile of uniform thickness and a good thermostat. ;) Tiles are very thin and don't take long to dissipate the heat.

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

But it is messy and doesn't come loose when it is time to clean. You have to use something to get the sticky glue up...with a glue gun you simply twist and it comes up without residue. ;)

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I have mine down securely and covered with bedding, haven't had a reason to take it out yet. ;) Cleans up very nicely.

Which helix should I get? I was thinking just the regular NOT the grounded one???
Im ordering right now.

you don't want a non-grounded t-stat as it can short out and start a fire. get the grounded one!

Im not disagreeing but would they really make a t-stat that is not safe?