Heat tape is making my fingers tingle. Question!

I just got to setting up my rack, and when I touch certain sections of one of my strips of heat tape, it makes my fingers tingle like they fell asleep. I've never used heat tape before so I don't know if that's normal. But in most situations it normally means I have a short somewhere and that its bad, right? Both sides of my heat tape are taped with aluminum foil tape, with only the middle sticking out. Should I cover the whole section? Or does that mean that I'm going to have to order another section from RBI and wait another week? Ugh, its really disappointing.

Alright, I've kinda figured it out a little bit. I'm only getting shocked when my fingers are touching both sides of the foil tape. Now if I take my fingers and put them in the middle, (where the heat tape is showing) I'm not getting shocked. So does anyone have any suggestions to make it stop?

Aluminum tape is conductive. Make sure all your connections are insulated with electrical tape, including the end that isn't wired up.

lol try touching both clamps at once...it'll give you a little more than a tingle. Trust me I tried it a few years back, fun stuff haha. But forreal, cover the connections with electrical tape. Don't cover your flexwatt with it, just the connections. And Kaorte is right, aluminum is conductive because it's a metal (imagine sticking a fork into a socket, not saying you will get shocked badly like that, just think of the fact that you CAN get shocked simply by touching the metal)

X2 about the electrical tape. Tape off all open connections with the electrical. The once everything is sealed, go ahead and use foil tape to secure the heat tape down.

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So I need to use electrical tape on both "ends" of the heat tape? Right now the only part that has electrical tape is the sides with the wiring on them. Sounds easy enough I hope!

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Originally Posted by Montypython696

So I need to use electrical tape on both "ends" of the heat tape? Right now the only part that has electrical tape is the sides with the wiring on them. Sounds easy enough I hope!

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Hmm I'm a little confused about this, so is the aluminum tape in contact with any connections, wiring, etc, or is it strictly only touching the plastic exterior of the flexwatt?


I've been assuming the heat tape is flexwatt. Am I wrong?

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Originally Posted by Montypython696

So I need to use electrical tape on both "ends" of the heat tape? Right now the only part that has electrical tape is the sides with the wiring on them. Sounds easy enough I hope!

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Yes, the opposite end where the flexwatt is cut will have a small part of exposed metal. That is most likely why you are feeling the shock. Just cover them with electrical tape and you will be good to go :gj:

Flexwatt = heat tape. Same stuff

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Flexwatt = heat tape. Same stuff

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That's what I was assuming, but then I realized maybe I should double check

The heat tape is from RBI its THG heat tape.

I see what I did. I put the foil tape to far up the heat, and it was touching the copper plating resulting in me getting a nice jolt. RBI emailed me back confirming it too. Now comes the fun part of re-taping shelves with less than a foot of work room! I'm going to insulate it first with electrical tape and then go over that with the foil tape, making sure its not touching anything. God I feel so dumb right now!

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Originally Posted by Montypython696

So does anyone have any suggestions to make it stop?

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Yeah, stop touching it! :P

But like they said up there, tape off the exposed bits and make sure the foil tape isn't touching any of the metal. I've never tried touching mine.... Now I have something to do tonight!

Glad you figured it out!

Well thanks for the amazing advice mackynz.... :) To the rest of you guys thank you very much. My (hopefully) last question if I just tape it down with the electrical tape, do I really have to go back over it with the foil tape? Or can I just let it go with the electrical?

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Originally Posted by mackynz

I've never tried touching mine.... Now I have something to do tonight!

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A few years ago I got my first strips of flexwatt. I had my step dad help me wire it (I knew nothing). He soldered the clips/wires etc. Before putting electrical tape down he dared me to touch one alligator clip. I was very suspicious but thought I could handle it. Touched it, and nothing happened! He then dared me to touch both clips at the same time, and me thinking pshh it's not gonna do anything to me, I did it. Felt like both my arms got shot! I could feel that electricity in my BONES. Definitely no little tingle that time


Haha OP, don't feel dumb. We've all had a blond moment once or twice...

My only problem with taping it down with electrical tape is that it doesn't stay in place very well. The foil tape does a much better job in my opinion. Its a bit of a pain to re tape it all.. :/

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last question if I just tape it down with the electrical tape, do I really have to go back over it with the foil tape? Or can I just let it go with the electrical?

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Personally, I've never understood the use of aluminum tape. As previously stated, it conducts electric! The idea of the aluminum tape is to hold the THG heat tape down, so you can slide your snake boxes over it or just hold the THG heat tape to the surface you are attaching it to (ie in the case where the THG heat tape is on the back wall of your racks). I covered my THG heat tape entirely with the aluminum tape. Thinking the heat would be better distributed - aluminum conducts heat as well as electric. Next time, I’m just usng gorilla tape.

As long as your tape - be it frog tape, electrical tape or aluminum tape - holds your THG heat tape in place, it should be fine. IMO.
Andy-:snake:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

My only problem with taping it down with electrical tape is that it doesn't stay in place very well. The foil tape does a much better job in my opinion. Its a bit of a pain to re tape it all.. :/

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I agree, in my experience electrical tape doesn't adhere for crap.

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Originally Posted by Montypython696

Well thanks for the amazing advice mackynz.... :)

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I even posted it right after you posted your solution :D Some other tips: If it's hot, don't touch it. If it looks broken, don't touch it. If it hurts, don't touch it.

I'm pretty much an endless fountain of wisdom.*




*This sentence is obese with sarcasm.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Flexwatt = heat tape. Same stuff

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Just to be clear, this would be incorrect. "Flexwatt" is a brand name. So is "THG".

"Heat tape" would be the common term for the product itself. Both are heat tape, but THG tape is not flexwatt, and vice versa : )

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Originally Posted by Robyn@SYR

Just to be clear, this would be incorrect. "Flexwatt" is a brand name. So is "THG".

"Heat tape" would be the common term for the product itself. Both are heat tape, but THG tape is not flexwatt, and vice versa : )

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So then.. it is correct. Flexwatt is a brand name for heat tape.... so fexwatt = heat tape, THG = heat tape

The reality is that you shouldn't have any exposed contacts for the electrical conductance of foil tape to matter. If the heat tape is leaking electricity it needs to either be repaired or replaced. In the case of this thread all that was necessary was to put a piece of electrical tape over the bus bars at the very end of the piece of heat tape.

Using duct tape or gorilla tape will work, but it will create a huge sticky mess if you ever need to pull it apart. the biggest advantage of foil tape is that the adhesive is designed with heat in mind and does't make a mess.

I have a sample of THG and just as a side note and to prevent further issues when I disenfected it it wicked disenfectant into the power bus. The non laminated cover (over the bus) allows liquid entry. I would suggest sealing the open ends very carefully I would use blue silicone myself but some suggest liquid eletrical tape. The second thing I found it has a up and down side, the top is the side you can read Made in Korea the other side where it is reversed should be down. My little sample had a rough time shipping and there is a small portion delaminating. It is likely safer to keep the smaller section down to protect it from rubbing of tubs sliding over the surface.

I have been getting the "tingle" question for 15+ years. While putting the aluminum across exposed ends is a bad idea the tingle is generally from an induced charge, not contact. AC current through a conductor has a neat property of being able to induce a current in another conductor when separated by an insulator. This is how transformers work. It is something that is actually kind of tricky to do on purpose but every now and then you get a perfect storm of tape length and spacing and it happens. Any brand, any time, any place.
The simple way to avoid it is to use the foil tape along only the clear edge of the heat tape (again, any brand). Do that and you should be good to go, no more tingle. If you use heat tape on a metal shelf this can also happen so ideally you either ground the shelf - which is about a necessity for safety on a metal shelf anyhow - or you can use a non conductive platform on the shelf like thin plastic.

We recently started selling this product-

http://www.reptilebasics.com/heat-ta...le-layer-tape/

It is heat resistant and does an excellent job without the possibility of induced electric current. Not ideal in all situations but make a very nice alternative and it has almost zero thickness. Might want to try it out some time!

LOL full circle. For years people have been trying to remove the sticky from heat products.

This is why I never understood why people are always recommending foil tape. Why on earth would you use something that conducts electricity to attach an electrical device to something? That never made any sense to me. I tape up all the edges with electrical tape and if necessary attach it to the shelves with duct tape.

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Originally Posted by MarkS

This is why I never understood why people are always recommending foil tape. Why on earth would you use something that conducts electricity to attach an electrical device to something? That never made any sense to me. I tape up all the edges with electrical tape and if necessary attach it to the shelves with duct tape.

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I would not recommend duct tape at all.

With any kind of heat, it tends to gum up pretty bad. If you have any friction from the sliding of tubs, it also tends to roll at the edges.

I have always used the aluminum tape because once it is stuck down, it tends to stay. Doesn't bubble or loosen back up, doesn't catch at the endges, and it is friction resistant.

Reptile Basics is now offering a thin double stick tape for heat tape installation, and it is working very well for their setups over time. It has a heat rating way over the operating range of heat tape, so shouldn't gum up or release when installed. Check it out here: http://www.reptilebasics.com/heat-ta...le-layer-tape/

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Originally Posted by MarkS

This is why I never understood why people are always recommending foil tape. Why on earth would you use something that conducts electricity to attach an electrical device to something? That never made any sense to me. I tape up all the edges with electrical tape and if necessary attach it to the shelves with duct tape.

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Foil tape is made for temp swings from cool to hot, that's why it is used in insulation and duct work.
Duct tape is just a plain mess to work with and after my first rack.................. will never be used again on my heat source ;) It didn't handle tub rub and when it started to roll off it left a huge glue mess behind.

I tried foil tape at first, but it didn't take long for me to switch. I also wondered why everyone recommended securing heat tape with a conductive material. I took off all of the foil tape (not fun trying to get it all off the rack AND the heat tape) and I replaced it with blue painters' tape. It's held up great over time and has been easy to remove when needed.

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Originally Posted by Robyn@SYR

I would not recommend duct tape at all.

With any kind of heat, it tends to gum up pretty bad. If you have any friction from the sliding of tubs, it also tends to roll at the edges.

I have always used the aluminum tape because once it is stuck down, it tends to stay. Doesn't bubble or loosen back up, doesn't catch at the endges, and it is friction resistant.

Reptile Basics is now offering a thin double stick tape for heat tape installation, and it is working very well for their setups over time. It has a heat rating way over the operating range of heat tape, so shouldn't gum up or release when installed. Check it out here: http://www.reptilebasics.com/heat-ta...le-layer-tape/

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It can be a mess to get off but I hadn't noticed that it was any worse then other tapes I've used. I do use a high temperature duct tape so maybe that makes a difference? I think I will give that sticky heat tape a try though.

I am sure a high temp version makes a huge difference over the off-the-shelf stuff.

Blue painters tape, that is intriguing. I wonder if it dries up and cracks over time?

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Originally Posted by Robyn@SYR

I am sure a high temp version makes a huge difference over the off-the-shelf stuff.

Blue painters tape, that is intriguing. I wonder if it dries up and cracks over time?

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I had some on a homemade rack I used for about 4 years that I sold to a buddy of mine a couple months ago. All of the painters tape was still in good condition when I removed the heat tape. I was running individual 12" sections of 11" flexwatt on each shelf. I used the painters tape to go around the entire perimeter of the tape. On my newer racks, I have 6 foot sections of 4" tape weaving between the shelves. I run a strip down the entire length of each side. Those racks have been running for close to a year and I have no issues with the tape.