Flex watt issues

I have kind of asked about this topic but I have a new question along the same lines. I set up my tub rack with one 6 foot strip of flex watt snaked down the shelves. I am having trouble maintaining both my tubs hot spots at the same temp. There is about 10 degrees different between the two. I have rotated thermometers to see if they were reading wrong but ruled that out. I swapped shelves with my two tubs and no change too. I am wondering if I should cut the long strip into 3 separate pieces and wire them with their own clips.

I was having the same issue when I built my rack then I realized that the top tub had heat only from the bottom since there was no shelves on top. I fixed this by adding a small strip for back heat only on the top shelf. That fixed my problem. If not you may also want to try insulating the back better to try and trap heat on the top shelf. Can you post some pictures of you build?

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Originally Posted by AKA Reptiles

I was having the same issue when I built my rack then I realized that the top tub had heat only from the bottom since there was no shelves on top. I fixed this by adding a small strip for back heat only on the top shelf. That fixed my problem. If not you may also want to try insulating the back better to try and trap heat on the top shelf. Can you post some pictures of you build?

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Wow I can't believe I hadn't thought of this lol. The shelf having the issue is the top one where there is only flexwatt underneath the tub. The other shelves have it underneath and down one side. I don't have any pictures of my setup that would show the flexwatt set up very well but this is what I built.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...9-25154455.jpg

Try soldering your flexwatt to the power cord.
I got a lot more consistant heating when I did this.
When I used clips, I got inconsistent temps throughout the entire strip of flexwatt. I'm guessing it was just a bad power connection. But like I said, it was remedied with soldering the power cord directly to the flex.

That extra 6 inches of flexwatt is a real killer huh! LOL that is likely the issue. Flexwatt will vary in its length by 5% so if it were set at 100ºF (max operational temp) variation of 5ºF could be expected. This usually averages out however.

Wondering : Are you using 41quart containers ?

I'm about to build my 2nd rack .... it'll be a 41qt. breeder/larger BP rack to compliment my 9 slot 28qt. one.

Question: Wondering why you'd not put 100% of the heat tape under each tub rather than not utilize what looks like about 8"-10" of $4.00/ft. tape on the sides....when there is no actual contact between the side and the tape? Seems as though you'd get much less heat loss that way. You could also put a 1 foot wide hardboard up to retain some of the side heat.... and still have 66% of the side open in order to give good lighting and visibility to your collection.

RALLY like your BP rack and I see what looks like many extra boards at the bottom, so you seem to be set for some serious expansion to your collection in the near future. WELL DONE!

I'm no help with Flexwatt, just wanted to say that is an awesome snake rack!! I want one, hehe.

I solder 3 pieces of 1.5 foot long, 11 inch wide flexwatt to one plug in series. I feel like it heats better than one long piece. Just my opinion.


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Originally Posted by interloc

I solder 3 pieces of 1.5 foot long, 11 inch wide flexwatt to one plug in series. I feel like it heats better than one long piece. Just my opinion.


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This is what I was thinking of doing but when I went to Reptile Basics to order just 2 power cords with clips it was going to be only $10 but also $10 to ship. Shipping there feels like a ripoff for something so light and small. I might check other sites to see how they compare.

The tubs are 41qts. I built the rack following these plans http://www.americanmadeexotics.com/41-quart-rack.html
I went with one long flexwatt like I did so that I would only have to worry about one power cord going into one thermostat. I wasn't sure it would be wise to run multiple cords into one thermostat.

I just go to the dollar store and buy an extension cord and cut the female end off. Then split the wires and solder them to either side of the flexwatt. Cheap easy and it works!


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I personally like less cables easier to manage, and I am in Canada (business owner) so it is WAY cheaper.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I personally like less cables easier to manage, and I am in Canada (business owner) so it is WAY cheaper.

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Could you elaborate? How do you have yours done?

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It also seems to me that with that much open space around the tubs you won't get good heat retention in your rack. Unless you keep you snake room at a stable temp all year long.

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Originally Posted by AKA Reptiles

It also seems to me that with that much open space around the tubs you won't get good heat retention in your rack. Unless you keep you snake room at a stable temp all year long.

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That's been the case with the ambient temps. Especially with winter approaching. I can't see that affecting my hot spot much though. Especially when one shelf reads 95 and the other 87 while both on the same flexwatt. My temp readings come from the probe being directly over the heat tape.

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Yes but it won't apply to the US or at least i don't think it does. In Canada if you are a registered business the electrical wiring in the place of business MUST be certified by an electrician. The penalty is HUGE if something goes wrong (if there were a fire and someone died regardless if the flexwatt was at fault you could be charged with criminal negligence causing death which is 25 to life in prison.) It is a criminal offence to fail to do so. This makes flexwatt for business very costly as an electrician is needed to make the connections. I paid a flat fee for each connection so the more the more the fee would be.

The extra cables means more connections and more places to have problems, thus is easier to manage. KISS method simple sometimes is easier. There are pros and cons to having individual layers separate cleaning would be far simpler, if I could kill the power to one tub and not the whole thing.

I understand your reasoning because that's how I felt at first too. But with solid walls the heat gets trapped and doesn't have room to dissipate into the air. When you set your t stat to 90 and place the probe on the heat tape it doesn't mean that the tube will be 90. There's always a loss of heat.

Yea that makes sense. I have some melamine shelves left over after I shortened that rack. i'll see about closing off that back section. You don't think it'd hurt air circulation?

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As long as you have a proper gap between the top of the tub and the bottom of the shelf above each tub you should be fine as far as air circulation. I gap my tubs about 1/8" to provide decent air flow.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...living-room!!!

Here's a link to the one I did.

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Originally Posted by AKA Reptiles

As long as you have a proper gap between the top of the tub and the bottom of the shelf above each tub you should be fine as far as air circulation. I gap my tubs about 1/8" to provide decent air flow.

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I do have about the same size gap but I guess my concern is that if I block off the back and part of the sides towards the back, that it will mess with airflow.

top vents are not very efficient. The way air flow works the top will not provide very good ventilation until you get 7 times the side height into the tub (if the side is 6 inches it is 42 inches) when it stabilizes and works well. I would suggest drilling holes about one inch down this oddly will increase the ventilation quite a lot.

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Originally Posted by Gene Collins

This is what I was thinking of doing but when I went to Reptile Basics to order just 2 power cords with clips it was going to be only $10 but also $10 to ship. Shipping there feels like a ripoff for something so light and small. I might check other sites to see how they compare.

The tubs are 41qts. I built the rack following these plans http://www.americanmadeexotics.com/41-quart-rack.html
I went with one long flexwatt like I did so that I would only have to worry about one power cord going into one thermostat. I wasn't sure it would be wise to run multiple cords into one thermostat.

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Gene,
THANKS for info on container size. Also, I wish my special order Melamine wasn't @ the mill being cut to my specified sizes today. I'd mirror image your design in a heartbeat. THANKS for sharing the source of the design. It would have saved me a lot of graph paper and thought processing if I had seen it a week ago ( HA!).