Which rack should I choose? (Never owned one)

Okay even though the thought of flexwatt...especially it burning out and having to change it...terrifies me to death. I started to think about owning a rack after watching Justin Kobylka's last video.

My house stays 68-72 Most of the time. So having a closed air system where the back heats to 90 and carries over to the front to make it 80 appeals to me greatly.


I am kinda leaning boaphile but that can change.

Can anyone offer rack advice to a newbie?


Pros on the Boaphile Rhinoraxx Ball room.

Awfully convincing sales pitch,
Free shipping
Four rows

Cons
More expensive
I heard someone had a boaphile melt on them.




Okay Pros on the RBI

I trust Rich
It's cheaper

Cons:

3 slots instead of four.

I dont think you would be disapointed with the RBI. What are you housing? What size animal?

I am a 'buy once' sort of guy. My BP is in a 36" cage and she's doing well. She has twice the hides she'd normally have.

I am hoping these can serve as a home for my Ball python, maybe someday more balls, or a carpet, or as a grow up cage for a boa or anaconda.

With that being considered, why dont you look at the option of building your own? There's a few threads here in DIY section that give plans for multiple tub size racks , which would probably be more beneficial to you in the long run.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iCandiBallPythons

With that being considered, why dont you look at the option of building your own? There's a few threads here in DIY section that give plans for multiple tub size racks , which would probably be more beneficial to you in the long run.

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I am quite possibly the most unhandy person to ever live. I own no tools nor can I use them.


Any rack I build would be trash. Plus I know nothing about flexwatt.

It's not difficult at all, I'm in the same boat as you for the most part,but I have built a few. The good thing is, home depot will cut the melamine or whatever the material is , to the sizes you need free of charge. All you have to do is put the pieces together and the flex watt is very simple, you can even order it pre-wired.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iCandiBallPythons

It's not difficult at all, I'm in the same boat as you for the most part,but I have built a few. The good thing is, home depot will cut the melamine or whatever the material is , to the sizes you need free of charge. All you have to do is put the pieces together and the flex watt is very simple, you can even order it pre-wired.

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Any particular reason you suggest DIY besides the cost? I like the idea of self extinguishing PVC for my racks. I have heard flexwatt can cause fires.

I've used flexwatt for years with no probs (not to say that it couldnt happen) but just my opinion that building your own would give you a little more versatility as far as housing different size snakes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iCandiBallPythons

I've used flexwatt for years with no probs (not to say that it couldnt happen) but just my opinion that building your own would give you a little more versatility as far as housing different size snakes.

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I agree with you there. I'll definatly begin to do my reading on it. And I may build my next rack.


For my first though I think I'd like to buy one for my BP's.


Do you think 41 quarts is to small for a young jungle carpet? I do believe he'd outgrow it.

Sorry Seru, I don't mean to hijack your thread or anything, but I also have a question. I would much rather post it in here than make a whole new thread and annoy people :(

If I built my own rack out of melamine wood, and I used 4 inch flexwatt for belly heat, how would I get my ambient air temperature up? Would the flexwatt used for belly heat raise the ambient air temp up enough or what?

ARRRR AVAST YE THREAD PIRATE!

Nah it's cool dude I steal threads all the time :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

Sorry Seru, I don't mean to hijack your thread or anything, but I also have a question. I would much rather post it in here than make a whole new thread and annoy people :(

If I built my own rack out of melamine wood, and I used 4 inch flexwatt for belly heat, how would I get my ambient air temperature up? Would the flexwatt used for belly heat raise the ambient air temp up enough or what?

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I would recommend 3in flexwatt, and yes it will bring the ambient temp up if the rack is a closed air type.

I started posting to say I could help you build one since you got the flyers logo so i thought you were in philly but then I noticed you were in alabama lol

anyways i dont have either of those racks so im not really any help

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Seru1

Okay even though the thought of flexwatt...especially it burning out and having to change it...terrifies me to death. I started to think about owning a rack after watching Justin Kobylka's last video.

My house stays 68-72 Most of the time. So having a closed air system where the back heats to 90 and carries over to the front to make it 80 appeals to me greatly.


I am kinda leaning boaphile but that can change.

Can anyone offer rack advice to a newbie?


Pros on the Boaphile Rhinoraxx Ball room.

Awfully convincing sales pitch,
Free shipping
Four rows

Cons
More expensive
I heard someone had a boaphile melt on them.




Okay Pros on the RBI

I trust Rich
It's cheaper

Cons:

3 slots instead of four.

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You'll get the RBI rack quicker.

Neither rack will do for heating up the ambient..............

I am also looking to get my first rack just as soon as my latest clears quarantine. I am leaning towards the RBI from Rich. If you only have the one snake and are looking to expand later on they're stackable. I'm planning on using the flex watt/helix to heat one side and my Johnson 419/uth's to handle the cool side.

If you are able to build your own, I would go for it!!! All that money you save, you can get better animals:taz: Just my opinion...
[IMG]http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...o/DSC04259.jpg[/IMG]

well from my understanding the ball room rack is made of a much thinner material so not being a real sturdy rack with some wobble to it, and i think they come pre-built so there's no breaking them down if you ever needed to, as stated on the website they can hold the weight of a grown man but a few individuals that i know tell me there's some wobble to them, and as far as RBI racks i wouldn't have anything bad to say about them besides the number of slots offered in the rack. i've made some purchases from rich before hes a good guy and ships his products in a timely manner, but the type of tubs they use which are cb-70 aren't as common as the sterilite 1960, im not sure if you can use the sterilite 1960 in place of the cb-70 if you ever had to replace a tub. even though they're plastic they do break i learned that first hand. i took out a tub to be cleaned and accidentally dropped it, the whole corner cracked off and made a nice fat hole but it only cost me $7 to replace at walmart. have you ever considered animal plastics? http://animalplastics.com/, only thing with them is you have to buy your own tubs from your local walmart or target. and they use a thicker material to construct their racks. maybe assembling your own pre-cut rack from a supplier such as animal plastics can give you some insight as to what goes where and what you may need such as measurements, material, and design etc... when it comes to building your own rack.:gj:

I ordered the six high blanket rack from Boaphile. I wish I could tell you how much I like it, but infortunatley I haven't gotten it yet. I was given a time frame of 3-4 weeks, and it has been 4 1/2 weeks now :( I'm in sales myself, and I was always told that you should under promise and over deliver to the customer -- not the opposite!!

Oh well, I'm not in a huge rush to get it, but I stll hate waiting!

And on a side note -- I don't really have any experience with jungles, but from what I understand they are fairly abboreal (sp?), so I'm not sure if a 6" tub would suit them very well even if the floor space was adequate.

RBI all The way and What I know If You can attend Show Where Rich selling his racks he have 4 shelf version of his CB-70. Problem is... is too big for ship.. so just pick up on the show or pick up in RBI.. and I believe 4 shelf version is just like 20-30$ more expansive.

RBI! I have the Iris Sweaterbox Rack-32 Qt with back heat witch has 4 tubs and it is a great rack. Very sturdy and well made. So glad I got it!

I have racks very very similar to the design and build of the RBI racks. Just Canadian!

They are 4 slot CB-70's with 2 rows of 4" flexwatt and they work very well. Very nice looking. Heavy as heck though.

From what I've heard, I'd definitely go RBI over Boaphile any day. Although I've never had a Boaphile rack so I cannot compare quality.

I do not suggest the 3" flexwatt. If you do go the 3" route - stay away from the 10 watt one. I only ever use 4" and 11".

Flexwatt overall is pretty safe and I find from reading around its more likely to melt the plastic around it then to cause a fire - if there happens to be a malfunction. Just make sure you wire it corrently or get someone who knows how to do it correctly, and hook it up to a reliable thermostat and you will be good to go.

I love the look of the PVC racks but honestly they are a bit pricey for what you get. I'd rather get a professionally made melamine rack that essentially does the same thing for loads cheaper. However, PVC racks are a lot more expensive here then in the US.

Hope this helped. :gj: