heat tape problem

Ok built my rack got my heat tape cut it to length on each level had it all wired as they show'd on the flexxwatt site. hooked everything to a dimmer to adjust heat insulated the ends that were not plugged in with electric tape. But all the tape and areas of each tape are reading different temps. What should I do help???


Thanks kindly,

Lance

Did you use clips ? If you did, you may not have good contact. Try crimping it again.

Are all the lengths the same?
Post a pic and we might be able to help better.

Another question is how are you taking the temp readings? I have found it very difficult to get direct heat readings with a temp gun off heat tape, probably because of the reflective surface.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Are all the lengths the same?
Post a pic and we might be able to help better.

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yes they are all the same length

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Herp Hugger

Another question is how are you taking the temp readings? I have found it very difficult to get direct heat readings with a temp gun off heat tape, probably because of the reflective surface.

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I am using a temp gun what should I use then just a thermometer with a probe for better reading?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by R&DP

Did you use clips ? If you did, you may not have good contact. Try crimping it again.

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I did use clips and I didn't use a crimping tool I used a heavy set of pliers like I saw Justin Kobylka use and had my dad do it since he is a retired power plant engineer of 38 years.

I wanna make sure its perfect I will get pics for you all tomorrow maybe Ill make a video of it as well.

thanks again for you help

Lance

How much of a temp difference are you having?
I know my 11" x 12" sections have a couple of degrees difference.
Mine are crimped and soldered.

the temps arn't going to be 100% constant across the heat tape, the middle part will be the hottest or close to it, heat tape is made with the cheapest heating elements you can possibly get, so don't expect much as far as consistency.

you really shouldn't care about the heat tapes temp unless its 110+. stick a tub in there, wait a bit and see what the temps are inside the tub. you may have to have your thermostat set for 98 degrees to have your tub be at 92.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

How much of a temp difference are you having?
I know my 11" x 12" sections have a couple of degrees difference.
Mine are crimped and soldered.

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some levels it reads from 79 to 77 next level reads 82 to 79 next reads 101 to 91 next reads 77 to 80 last level reads 95 to 91

thanks

You got me there, that is a big difference:O

Could that have anything to do with the dimmer guys?... What if he tried a low cost tstat.. That what I use and it works great, I use the zoomed 500..

that is a big difference. i would say try a thermostat and not a dimmer. unplug everything and let it cool down so it is all the room same temp. plug it into the new thermostat and plug in thermostat. let it run for a few days and ur temps should be pretty close.

i built a hatchling rack with heattape and mine is a bit off. i have the Helix set for 93 and the center is 97 and the outsides are 93, i just turned it down a bit and ill be checking it again

can you post a picture of how it is wired?
I have an idea but I want to see it before I say what I think might be going on

I found that using cheap lamp cord I was getting line loss and it was allowing the end tape to be lower temps than the first ones on the run. I was getting that kinds of temps top to bottom. I also found that the top due to thermal gain was hotter. If you are using lamp cord try re-wiring the with 2 strand heater cord. The other thought is to take the first off the wire to the bottom and last off the wire to the top. If the first is hottest and the last coolest the heat rising to the top drawers might off set some of the difference.

The dimmer might be the problem. I have a dimmer on a Dumeril's cage and it doesn't seem to get them temps right no matter what I do. My racks are all using a Herpstat II and all is fine with them.

Please use a good proportional thermostat such as herpstat, or helix.
Isn't your beloved pet/expensive morph worth it to pay little more for quality equipment?

In a rack, thermal gain will definitely build up. I would suggest a thermostat probe at each row, or (in addition to a proper thermostat) dimmers at each row so that you can dial it in to the same temp and compensate for thermal gain.

I am gonna reclamp everything tomorrow and check things to see what happens if not I;m just gonna re-wire things and do a helix

lance

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lance

I am gonna reclamp everything tomorrow and check things to see what happens if not I;m just gonna re-wire things and do a helix

lance

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Is every section of flex-watt cut the same size? (same amount of heat bars?)
Also did you wire them in series or does each one have its own cord?

The dimmer won't be the problem. All it does is restrict the voltage when turned down. All strips will be getting the same voltage. Since all pieces of flexwatt tape is cut to the same length, this shouldn't be an issue either.

Now to what it could be. I would double and triple check each connection. If you have a high resistance connection, you will see a lower temp on that strip. Just because you used a heavy pair of pliers doesn't mean you've made a good connection.

I would like to see each heat tape strip. Many times, the tape is not cut in the proper angle. Depending on the tape, the silver part (which is the conductor) is cut at different angles. If you don't cut between the silver part, you've created a high resistance area and will never get the proper heat output.


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You must cut between the lines (silver part of the flexwatt tape). You cannot cut any part of the lines (silver part of the flexwatt tape). If you do, you have effectively cut off the part that will allow it to work properly.

I hope I was able to explain this so you could understand my desciption.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

PS Sorry for the poor drawings.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Is every section of flex-watt cut the same size? (same amount of heat bars?)
Also did you wire them in series or does each one have its own cord?

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they are all the same size. each one has its own cord the input has white cords and the output has black one;s.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by j_h_smith

The dimmer won't be the problem. All it does is restrict the voltage when turned down. All strips will be getting the same voltage. Since all pieces of flexwatt tape is cut to the same length, this shouldn't be an issue either.

Now to what it could be. I would double and triple check each connection. If you have a high resistance connection, you will see a lower temp on that strip. Just because you used a heavy pair of pliers doesn't mean you've made a good connection.

I would like to see each heat tape strip. Many times, the tape is not cut in the proper angle. Depending on the tape, the silver part (which is the conductor) is cut at different angles. If you don't cut between the silver part, you've created a high resistance area and will never get the proper heat output.


|\ \ \ |
| \ \ \|
| \ \ \|
|\ \ \ |
| \ \ \|
| \ \ \|


|------|
|------|
|------|
|------|
|------|
|------|



You must cut between the lines (silver part of the flexwatt tape). You cannot cut any part of the lines (silver part of the flexwatt tape). If you do, you have effectively cut off the part that will allow it to work properly.

I hope I was able to explain this so you could understand my desciption.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

PS Sorry for the poor drawings.

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Not exactly sure what you mean on the cut I cut where there is a clear break in the heat tape but the tape has silver the whole way through on it. :( sorry. Can you maybe explain a little better so I can understand lol.

here is a video of the rack and everything please help


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CPKckfTqWk

Things look fine to me the one other issue is the ir gun. The ir system is calibrated to be pointed at something about the reflectance and density of a brown paper bag. Flex watt is not even close do you have an LC or a decent thermometer that you can check with that or try putting a small bit of brown paper on the flexwatt wait and then check it and see if you are getting different readings.

bump.......