Vivarium Electronics / Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panel warning

Hi all,
I wanted to share my experience in the interests of the safety of your animals and not wanting you to waste your money like I have.

After only one year this radiant heat panel started failing on me, and was no longer able to consistently hold the needed temperature. I contacted them thinking it would be a simple matter of replacement since they state they have a lifetime warranty, but their customer service was exceedingly unhelpful. I spent many emails trying to explain to them the dropping temperatures, and they simply refused to acknowledge it, reminding me that their warranty is "at their discretion". It is a very expensive device and now I have to replace it after only one year at my cost.

I have since learned that this device is not UL or CE certified for safety, which means if melts or catches on fire (google it, it has happened) and burns down your house, not only will you loose your reptile and house, your insurance may not cover it. They advertise that they use a thermo fuse for safety. While fuses help reduce the risk of fire, all fuses degrade and fail eventually, and once it fails on this unit, shorting of the element, melting of the housing and fires are possible.

My temp readings indicate that the device is overheating at times and the "safety fuse" seems to be tripping, and then grossly under-heating for 15 hours. So with the constant tripping, it is likely to fail very badly soon, and I am not going to wait for it to burn us to death.

I will definitely not be buying this product one again, most likely will go with Pro Heat as my replacement. If you have had negative or positive experiences with Pro Heat, please share.

I don't use this kind of heat at all so I'm not that familiar with them, but I'm just wondering- is it possible to simply change the fuse in it after 6-12 months, just as a safety precaution & "disaster-prevention"? Or is it inaccessible unless you destroy the unit?

Thank you for bringing this issue to the attention of others here in the interest of safety.

I'm going to take this post with a grain of salt as I've seen these "warning" posts before for VE/RB panels and they always end with the person going to pro panels. For some reason, the OPs only post once or a few times and disappear...

With that being said, I've had my Reptile Basics panels for literally years and never had any issues. Maybe VE or RB can chime in on this.

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Any product can fail. What we haven’t heard about is the type of thermostat you’re using to control said heat panel, temps it’s set at, distance of enclosure items from the face of the panel, extension cords/surge protectors, newest version of their panel or recently new versions, etc. Mine have all worked fine between 9months and 4yrs. I use both RBI and Pro Heat panels. No issues with either


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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

I'm going to take this post with a grain of salt as I've seen these "warning" posts before for VE/RB panels and they always end with the person going to pro panels. For some reason, the OPs only post once or a few times and disappear...

With that being said, I've had my Reptile Basics panels for literally years and never had any issues. Maybe VE or RB can chime in on this.

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I was going to say, the "UL or CE certified" thing made me realize I've seen this exact same post before

Yep. Always a first time post and we never hear from the OP again.


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What tstat are you running it with and how? As in, proportional or off/on? I am just curious.

I have two RHPs from them in cages I got from PVC Cages. I have had the first one since 2012 and the second since 2016. Both running off a Herpstat on proportional output. Neither have given me any issues at all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

I'm going to take this post with a grain of salt as I've seen these "warning" posts before for VE/RB panels and they always end with the person going to pro panels. For some reason, the OPs only post once or a few times and disappear...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by plateOfFlan

I was going to say, the "UL or CE certified" thing made me realize I've seen this exact same post before

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Yep. Always a first time post and we never hear from the OP again...

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I hate to think this is a sales tactic by a rival brand (or by a friend of-), but I agree, that IS rather suspicious...:rolleyes: Time will tell if it's a one-off post.

Any sort of heating element has some sort of safety issue associated with it. That's just how electronics and heat roll.

RHPs? Make sure they've properly outgassed, don't let too much heat reflect back at the unit, maybe get them serviced every few years to replace fuses and the like. Heat bulbs? Don't spray them with water when they're hot, don't let your herps touch them, watch for electrical shorts. CHEs? Definitely don't let anything touch them. Heat tape? Don't get me started.

My point is that any heating element can fail, like the others have said. Avoid obvious junk and untested technology, follow the manufacturer's instructions for use, remember your safety regulators and relays, maintain and check your equipment, and you should be good.

For what it's worth, the only consistent, widespread scuttlebutt I've heard in the VE versus ProProducts RHP debate is that the VE panels seem to be a bit stinkier when offgassing. Since offgassing smells seemed to be tied to the type of plastic used in the unit's shell, which does appear to be different between the two companies... yeah, I could potentially see that. People who have used both brands can chime in on this front. I'm curious.

Here's the other one that I was talking about. I'm sure there's a few more out there...

This isn't the first time that this happens and it won't be the last. Very unethical business practices if you ask me. This just can't be an accident.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...er-Heat-Panels

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