Flexwatt

Hey all
im have finished building my rack .. and was looking into flexwatt.. i would like to use 4in but can seem to find it expt off ebay .. has anyone used this sklipper guy (sellers ebay name) to buy from ? prices seem ok i guess .. big apple doenst list 4in on their sheet
thanks all:taz:

http://store.beanfarm.com/index.php?...84ab4146328cbc

http://www.reptilebasics.com/flexwatt-heat-tape/

thanks for the links .so bean farm advertise that 3in is 10watts per ft and 4in is 8w per ft . will this matter much as im useing 12qt 28qt and 41qt tubs. i think im more concerned about the size of the warm spot..sugestions?

Oh and also as alum tape is so pricey is there an alternitive?

You can buy cheap aluminum tape at home depot.
Truthfully I have used HD clear packaging tape for 2 years and have had zero issues.

I wouldn't use 3 or 4 inch tape on a 41 qt tub because of too small of a hot spot.

I use 3 inch for my 6qt tub melamine rack.
4 inch in my 28qt melamine rack and it is barley enough heat IMO and I still have to heat the room up so the cool end stays above 75 degrees.

11x12 inch for my 40qt tubs.

I would HIGHLY suggest ReptileBasics.com for the flexwatt you need instead of using ebay. Rich there has been dealing with the stuff for a long time and his customer service is 2nd to none. He will cut it and attach all the connections for you for free. I buy all my flexwatt for my incubators/racks from RBI and have never had a problem.
His Flexwatt FAQ:www.reptilebasics.com/flexwatt-faq.html

I bought my flexwatt off of sklipper guy and it came quick and its great product! I plan I buying more soon for my incubator and baby rack! I used him because he ships to Canada! I use 4" on my 41 quarts for about 6 months now with no problems!

i ordered some 11in from bean farm .should work pretty well as my 41qt tubs slide in width way ..i dont slide them in all the way so i should be useing 6 to 8 ins of the flexwatt.. the 28s should be good .. i guess ill find out

My partner built his last rack with cb-70 long tubs sliding in sideways.
He cut his 11"x12" flexwatt to 10 inches long so he got 6 pieces out of a 5 foot piece.
The newer flexwatt is like the 3 and 4 inch stuff, you can cut it to any length as long as you cut between the heat element.

oh i also order the clips and insulators.. should i soder the clips to the wire?
or is it fine just pinching the clips.
thanks for all the advice people ..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jonesy72

oh i also order the clips and insulators.. should i soder the clips to the wire?
or is it fine just pinching the clips.
thanks for all the advice people ..

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You can solder them but I don't.
I like to be able to re-use the flexwatt elsewhere if needed so I just pinch them closed.
You do have to pinch them tightly closed for a good contact so the temps are consistent pad to pad.

To the guys who use different width heat tape in the same rack, how do you control them all? You cant run them all to the same thermostat because of the difference in wattage or can you?

im going to go out on a limb here and say 2 diffrent thermostats.. while i was shopping they advertise 3in @ 10watts 4in@ 8watts and 11in @ 20watts ..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SnakeKB

To the guys who use different width heat tape in the same rack, how do you control them all? You cant run them all to the same thermostat because of the difference in wattage or can you?

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I'm not sure people do this

I have gotten away with running different watt flexwatt off the same thermostat but they will usually run at different temps.

I order from bean farm but I would suggest to get a larger flex I got 4 inch on a bucnh of shelves and had to run 2 strips per shelve cause iy was not raisingthe temps enough for the snakes, and i have a space heater set to run year round most the time for when the ac causes it to drop. I will be ordering enough 11 inch to do both my racks ( the new one and redo the old one that has 4 inch. )

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

I'm not sure people do this

I have gotten away with running different watt flexwatt off the same thermostat but they will usually run at different temps.

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After reading the Flexwatt FAQ, It looks like 3" 6 Watt and 4" 8 Watt will be able to run together on the same thermostat. The 11" 20 Watt stuff would end up running a touch cooler if the thermostat was controlling temps off the 3" stuff. Which might not be too bad. Thinking if the thermostat is reading the 3" stuff and its set to 93*, the 11" areas might register around 90-91*. Im only basing this off the Watts/sq in. The 3" 10 watt stuff is what gets really hot and doesnt run anywhere close to the other stuff.

3"/6watt= .17 watts/sq.in.
3"/10watt= .27 watts/sq.in.
4"/8watt= .17 watts/sq.in.
11"/20watt= .15 watts/sq.in

Order for hotspot size; whatever it's potential temperature or how fast it heats up, it's still only going to be limited by the thermostat. And I would never use more than one type of flexwatt on one thermostat (unless you've got a super fancy herpstat with 4-in1). If you get it from reptile basics, they will put the clips on for you if you ask.