Ball Python rack temp help?

Hey i just registered to this site now as i am having some problems with my racks temps. I built my rack out of melamine board and am using 11" heat tape all wired together controlled by a Herpstat 1. I have the temperature probe on the middle shelf set at 85F and on the top shelf the hot side temp is 95! and the bottom is 78, I am just wondering if anyone knows why this is happening and if there is a way to help the temps even out? because as of now the top two tubs are not usable because of the high temps, any advice is appreciated! :)

is this back heat and how is the probe, to the heat tape

Sorry, It is belly heat and the probe is taped down with 2 pieces of electrical tape.

how many levels and what is the floor under the rack, as is it carpet or tile

is it one piece of heat tape?

6 shelf rack, and the rack is in my 75F bedroom on hard wood flooring and the very bottom shelf is about half a foot above the floor, so it is not sitting directly on the floor.

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and yes there is a 11" x 12" piece on each shelf for the hot spot

your wire that's plugged into the wall, is it connected to the heat tape at the of the rack or bottom.

The wiring is done staring from the bottom to the top and the thermostat sits on top of the rack

how did you wire each section of heat tape to the next section, parallel or series

so the plug wire that goes to the wall is connected to the bottom heat tape first and then how is it wired

The wiring is done in parallel like this: http://www.herpcenter.com/reptile-ar...eldimmerlg.gif except my wires start at the bottom and go up.

do you have a volt meter? if you do check voltage across each section of heat tape

no the plug is at the top of the rack plugged into the thermostat and then the thermostat plugs into the wall

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unfortunately i do not, i do have a temp gun however.

did you solder your wires on

no i just put them in the heat tape clips and crimped it then wrapped the exposed wire with electrical tape

is there any way you can take the plug wire and connect it to the bottom heat tape instead of the top one?

it is possible i would just have to re wire the top and the bottom shelves but do you think it would help the temp swings?

yes, if one of your connection is bad, it's not letting the same power reach your lower levels. plus heat rises and it would close the difference in your temps. the hard wood floor will also cool your bottom racks more than what you would think. I would get something in there to help insulate it some. and I would get someone to solder all the connections. there shouldn't be that big of a difference with new heat tape

okay i will try and re wire tomorrow and i will solder instead of crimping but i dont think there could be a bad connection because all the wires are making lots of contact with the metal clips so there should be no power restrictions

and i will get some insulation to stuff under the bottom rack so there is no open space, thanks so much for your help, ill post when i get it finished to let you know if it worked!

how about the metal clip going to the heat tape. this is the older heat tape type not the new THG heat tape?

insulation, I would use sheets of Styrofoam, don't use the fiberglass type you don't want that stuff in your snakes lungs

it is heat tape from flexwatt and i made sure all the clips had a good connection

Quote:

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Originally Posted by don15681

yes, if one of your connection is bad, it's not letting the same power reach your lower levels. plus heat rises and it would close the difference in your temps. the hard wood floor will also cool your bottom racks more than what you would think. I would get something in there to help insulate it some. and I would get someone to solder all the connections. there shouldn't be that big of a difference with new heat tape

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How do you solder the wires to the heat tape without damaging the plastic parts? Is there a video showing how to do this?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cory9oh4

How do you solder the wires to the heat tape without damaging the plastic parts? Is there a video showing how to do this?

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don't know if there's a video on the old style heat tape but reptile basic website was info on the new THG heat tape. the other stuff you have to either cut the plastic or melt it away with a soldering iron.