flexwatt question

do you tape the flexwatt heat tape to the bottom of the enclosure or to the thing the cage will be on?

My flexwatt is always secured to the rack/shelf/etc, that way the tubs/enclosure is always easily removable for cleaning.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

My flexwatt is always secured to the rack/shelf/etc, that way the tubs/enclosure is always easily removable for cleaning.

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x2, i use aluminum tape

im only going to be using it on a single cage but basically my question was will it work either way i guess

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Originally Posted by warlord

im only going to be using it on a single cage but basically my question was will it work either way i guess

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what type of cage are you talking about anyway?????
thanks
spooky

For PVC cages you need to tape it to the cage itself.

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Originally Posted by mr.spooky

what type of cage are you talking about anyway?????
thanks
spooky

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He is talking about PVC cages

X2 Tape it to the bottom of your enclosure then tape the T-Stat probe to the middle of your flexwatt :)

isnt the thermostat probe supposed to be inside the cage?

there are multiple ways to do it. the AP cages have slot on the bottom of the cage (outside bottom) for the thermostat probe. Thats where I put mine. if there isn't a slot on the cages that you are using you will either have to make one or drill a hole in the cage and put the probe in the cage. you just have to make sure that the probe is secured well enough that your snake cannot move the probe round.

ok so probe under the substrate right? and i can just tape it to the bottom inside of the cage?

no tape inside the cage, I use hot glue personally but there are other ways as well. what type of substrate do you plan on using?

im gonna be using cypress mulch

I strongly advise against it, the UTH is going to have a very hard time heating through it. I use corrugated wrap, but any paper based substrate or a thin layer of aspen will work.

i would rather use aspen than paper, as long as a thin layer of aspen will work i will go with that

I'd keep it to about 1/2" thick.

The Thermostat probe is just used to regulate the heat of the UTH I would advise against placing the probe for your t-stat inside the enclosure there is a chance that the snake may move it spill water on it or take a pee on it and it could cause temps to spike. Thermometer probe definately in the substrate under the hide :)

if the t stat probe isnt in the cage than wouldnt it be trying to regulate the heat of where ever it is giving innacurate temps?

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Originally Posted by warlord

if the t stat probe isnt in the cage than wouldnt it be trying to regulate the heat of where ever it is giving innacurate temps?

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It can be put in the enclosure BUT it is not a good idea because if the snake moves the probe off of where the flexwatt is it will stay on because it's not getting to the temp that you have it set to and that could burn our snake and melt plastic if your using tubs.

If you put it on the flexwatt itself and get a thermometer like one form Walmart for about $12 you measure your temps inside and adjust the temp on your thermostat to the correct temp. Example depending on the bedding your hot spot will be at 92 but the thermostat might be set at 98.

if the probe is on the flexwatt then it will regulate the temperature of the flexwatt and not the cage floor temperature. for instance I have my thermostat set to 105 to achieve a 91 degree hot spot on the floor of my cages.

The ideal set up is to have a proportional thermostat like the herpstat connected to the heat tape with the probe inside the cage over the hot spot. Then plug the herpstat into a non-proportional thermostat like a ranco. The Ranco's probe is attached to the heat tape and acts as a backup. you set the herpstt to your desired temperature, and the rancho to the hottest you want the heat tape to get to. If the max temperature is breached the rancho will cut power to he herpstat until the heat tape has cooled down.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

....The ideal set up is to have a proportional thermostat like the herpstat connected to the heat tape with the probe inside the cage over the hot spot. Then plug the herpstat into a non-proportional thermostat like a ranco. The Ranco's probe is attached to the heat tape and acts as a backup. you set the herpstt to your desired temperature, and the rancho to the hottest you want the heat tape to get to. If the max temperature is breached the rancho will cut power to he herpstat until the heat tape has cooled down.......

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I've read that before somewhere.....:)

ok so im gonna have another thermometer and than have the heat tape plugged into a thermostat the other thermometer is gonna be inside my hot end hide. im just gonna use that to measure the 90 degree hot spot and adjust the thermostat accordingly. is this ok

yes

I suggest this thermometer from Walmart:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...nt/photo-3.jpg

how will the thermostat know when to cut off heat from the flexwatt if the t-stat probe isnt in there tho...sorry if you already said it im getting confused lol

Ok I need to know what you are talking about (what I was talking about with the 2 thermostat set up or a single thermostat set up)

single thermostat set up atleast for now i might be able to go up to the 2 therms later on

Ok. So the thermostat probe is attached to the flexwatt. So the thermostat knows how hot the flexwatt is. You need a thermometer inside the cage to see how hot the cage floor over the flexwatt is. So you set the thermostat to a temperature that gets the floor temperature of cage to the desired temperature. (for example my thermostat is set to 105 degrees. But the floor of my cage is 91 degrees because of the 1/2" of PVC absorbing some of the heat from the flexwatt before it effects the cage floor temperature)

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Originally Posted by warlord

how will the thermostat know when to cut off heat from the flexwatt if the t-stat probe isnt in there tho...sorry if you already said it im getting confused lol

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I'm also debating on were to place the probe. The theory being, if you glue the probe to the bottom of the inside of a tank, and it stays there, great, likely the best possible solution. The problem occurs when it doesn't stay there however. If your snake dislodges the probe, and it's now located at a point near the top of the hide, several inches from the substrate, the thermostat is going to continue to provide power to the UTH until the air in the hide has reached the set temperature. As the UTH will likely stay on for an extended period of time, trying to heat the ambient temperature in the hide/enclosure, your snake could get burnt if it comes in contact with the tank surface.

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Originally Posted by Trochu

I'm also debating on were to place the probe. The theory being, if you glue the probe to the bottom of the inside of a tank, and it stays there, great, likely the best possible solution. The problem occurs when it doesn't stay there however. If your snake dislodges the probe, and it's now located at a point near the top of the hide, several inches from the substrate, the thermostat is going to continue to provide power to the UTH until the air in the hide has reached the set temperature. As the UTH will likely stay on for an extended period of time, trying to heat the ambient temperature in the hide/enclosure, your snake could get burnt if it comes in contact with the tank surface.

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In order of safety level:

1. dual thermostat setup

2. Single thermostat set up with probe on flexwatt

3. Single thermostat set up with probe inside the cage


Once you get your thermostat dialed in (option 2) the cage will stay pretty constant. Oviously option is the best but option 2 is the best compromise. Option 3 is convent but is risky

with option 2 are you saying put the t-stat probe on the flexwatt like on the outside of cage in between the flexwatt and cage? and the regular temp thermometer in hot hide under the substrate?

Yes, that's what I do.

ok thats what im going to do...the t-stat probe doesnt melt from being taped in between the flexwatt and cage?

No the probe is designed for the job.

what about a probe from a hydrofarm thermostat thats what im gonna be using for a while until i have extra cash to spend on a really good 1

The hydrofarm's probe will be fine as well

ok thanks for all the help lol

No problem hope everything works out