So how hot can heat tape really get? - Thermostat Failure story

So how hot does it tape really go?

That hot!

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Details:
Rack and heat tape years owned: 2 years.
Thermostat years owned: 5 years.
Probe placement: Secured in designed slot.
Heat Type: Heat tape, recessed.

Last night as I was doing my last check on my animals (as I do every morning and every night) I smelled a funny smell in the office, which is my second snake room where my colubrids are kept. All I have in that room is a 10 slots rack with only two occupants.

First reflex was to unplugged the T-Stat and open the tubs that had snakes in them and this is when I found the melted tub and underneath was the melted heat tape.

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Amazingly there is no damage to the rack, one reason why I love PVC racks and luckily probably because it is not a Ball Python but a Bull Snake, my snake is alive and well with no burn.

http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/CSC_0002.jpg

I have never had a Ranco thermostat failed this way before, I had one failed but it simply cut the heat off entirely, which leads me to believe that this is a probe failure to actually sense the heat.

The lessons I learned here is, no more Ranco on my racks (2 failures in 7 years is enough), this was the last one I had everything else is hooked to Spyder Robotics thermostat and everything else in the future will be hooked to those as well.

So use this as reminder, do not cut corner on thermostats, this was can happen with a reliable (at some point) thermostat in the mid range prices, so think about this when you want to buy the cheapest thermostat possible.

Also think about this when you think thermostats are unnecessary and that you can just leave your heat source unregulated even if for a short period while waiting for your T-Stat to arrive.

Check on your animals take temps reading on a regular basis and remember to inspect your thermostats, and heat tape once or twice a year as well.

Wow, glad you caught it quickly!

Well I know what link I'm sending, next time I see someone saying they don't want to waste money on a thermostat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

and luckily probably because it is not a Ball Python but a Bull Snake, my snake is alive and well with no burn.

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Can you explain this? It made me lol, but then i thought about it and am curious exactly what you meant. Are bulls not heat seeking like balls?

Lesson learned, glad you caught it quickly!

Deborah, I'm so glad you didn't lose anything due to this failure. It is also a good reinforcement that back up thermostats are a good thing as well.

This thread is a good reminder to check your heat on all of your racks occasionally.

Oh my goodness! Thank you for sharing. A lot of the interested parties from outside the hobby that I meet balk at the cost of the nice t-stats, but in comparison to a dead or injured/sick animal it is a worthy investment

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Originally Posted by Valentine Pirate

Oh my goodness! Thank you for sharing. A lot of the interested parties from outside the hobby that I meet balk at the cost of the nice t-stats, but in comparison to a dead or injured/sick animal it is a worthy investment

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Or the cost of a burnt down home, since many homemade racks are not made out of heat-resistant materials like PVC.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Can you explain this? It made me lol, but then i thought about it and am curious exactly what you meant. Are bulls not heat seeking like balls?

Lesson learned, glad you caught it quickly!

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In my experience colubrids tend to shy away from their hot spot when it gets too hot for their liking at least that's what I have seen with my King, Milk and now Bulls, BP not so much.

Wow that is scary! Was there a gap between the heat tape and tub? If so, how much?

So did all the heat tape in the whole rack melt? Or was it just one piece?

Thats pretty scary. I'm just wondering if it could be faulty flexwatt combined with a failed thermostat?

I've had a johnson controls thermostat die on me (in the off position). That is actually the only thermostat I have ever had completely die. Even my reptitemp 500r is still working!

Wow! That is scary.

Thanks for posting. Sorry that it happened but an eye opener for the rest of us.

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Originally Posted by gardenfiend138

Wow that is scary! Was there a gap between the heat tape and tub? If so, how much?

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There is a small gap since the heat is recessed to prevent the tubs from rubbing on the tape and cause tears, not sure exactly what the gap is I never measured it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

So did all the heat tape in the whole rack melt? Or was it just one piece?

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Just that one spot melted.

Quote:

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Thats pretty scary. I'm just wondering if it could be faulty flexwatt combined with a failed thermostat?

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That's what's puzzling to me, if the t-stat failed and I still need to run test on it (haven't have time since last night so I am assuming it did) why would only this small part melted and the rest of the heat tape be intact?

Cringe-worthy, but I'm very happy to hear that your critter survived unscathed!

Every time I hear a horror story about thermostat failure I impulsively go and check my rack, no matter how long it's been since I checked it last x.x

Wow Deb! I am so glad that you caught that little incident when you did and I am also glad that no snakes were harmed. I had a Ranco running on my ball python rack once and I did not like the temperature fluctuations I was seeing and I invested in a herpstat. Never had any problems after that.

Thanks for posting this Deborah!! I am so glad your critters are ok! :gj:


This is also proof that it can happen to ANYone no matter how long you've been keeping reptiles - professionals and amatures alike. Never cut corners because you are never immune to a failure. ;)

Plugged my 12" flex watt strip in w/o thermostat to see how hot it would get.
With my gun it read 125 f. Compared to the new flexwatt with the copper which read 150f. Both pieces are 5' long and 120volt. I haven't done it yet but maybe a inline fuse on the hot conductor might help. If your using lamp cord the smooth is hot the ribbed should be neutral.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Can you explain this? It made me lol, but then i thought about it and am curious exactly what you meant. Are bulls not heat seeking like balls?

Lesson learned, glad you caught it quickly!

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Ball pythons are as dumb as rocks.

Pituophis are as dumb as slightly more intelligent rocks.

Ball pythons are nocturnal animals that do not use either radiant heat or belly heat the way that many colubrids do. Balls thermoregulate in termite mounds and other burrows which get to an ambient temperature during the day. Despite what many people think, ball pythons do not really utilize belly heat in the wild. Likewise the seem to not have the ventral or dorsal sensory acuity that many other species seem to have.

Most pits, on the other hand, will actively bask on warming up or cooling down surfaces. They have evolved to detect and utilize heat on both their ventral and dorsal sides. Take a cruise around my neck of the woods as the sun goes down on a hot summer day and the asphalt starts to cool off. Gopher snakes abound.

How many threads have you seen where pit owners are seeking help for belly burns?

Talk about timing! Wasnt there a post yesterday about an unregulated UTH??? Granted this is heat tape but it just goes to show that an unregulated heat source can get outta hand! Im sorry that this happened and am very glad your snakes were unharmed.

that is crazy. thats my biggest fear about keeping snakes. glad you caught it

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Ball pythons are as dumb as rocks.

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And here I was trying to be nice for a change :rolleyes: :rofl:

I've seen that before. In my own racks. Every Ranco I've ever bought ended up failing eventually and usually not in a good way. I've been using the Johnson thermostats on everything now but I've been thinking about biting the bullet and replacing them too. I'm glad everything worked out for you and you didn't lose anyone.