Heat tape without a thermostat?

I just finished building my new rack for my bp's and unfortunately the thermostat I've ordered hasn't gotten here yet. I ordered 2 feet of 12" heat tape which I cut into three 7.5" strips, will it be ok to set them up without a thermostat until it gets here (should be on Tuesday) since the strips are smaller?

https://scontent-a-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/...63343351_n.jpg

No never run heat tape without a t stat.

Absolutely not, not sure of the exact temperature it can reach but I have 6" heat tape on my rack and my thermostat failed last month. Temps on the hot spot were between 145-155 degrees. You will cook your ball pythons, and risk burning down your house. Heat Tape MUST be regulated.

The size of strips doesn't matter when it comes to the amount of heat it will put out. It still will get over dangerous temperatures. You NEED a thermostat.

This is NOT a good option, but better than the sick option.
Heat tape runs at a given temp without a thermostat. Take two sticks and put them under each tub to raise the tubs several inches off of the heat tape.
Make sure to get their warm end around 90-92 and the rest should be ok until your thermostat comes in.
No heat is worse than the alternative.

In the future, never get a pet unless you are fully prepared ahead of time.
Fish don't come home unless your fish tank is set up and running.
Rodents don't come home unless you have a cage for them.
Snakes don't come home unless you have their set ups fully functioning before they are shipped.

ok thanks guys I just remembered watching a video about heat tape and it said it only goes up to about 110 watts so that didn't seem bad to me I didn't know it could get so hot!! thanks for the heads up

And no worries both my balls that are on the top shelves have heating. It's just that I have another one coming in (who is gonna go on the bottom) on Wednesday and I don't know if the thermostat is going to be here by then it was supposed to be here already so I can have it set up for him. I really don't want to get stuck without it.. Worst comes to worst I will have to get an extra heating mat but I'd rather not spend another 50$ for something I won't use again..

And if the tape gets so hot wouldn't the wood catch on fire though :confusd:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joleen

ok thanks guys I just remembered watching a video about heat tape and it said it only goes up to about 110 watts so that didn't seem bad to me I didn't know it could get so hot!! thanks for the heads up

And no worries both my balls that are on the top shelves have heating. It's just that I have another one coming in (who is gonna go on the bottom) on Wednesday and I don't know if the thermostat is going to be here by then it was supposed to be here already so I can have it set up for him. I really don't want to get stuck without it.. Worst comes to worst I will have to get an extra heating mat but I'd rather not spend another 50$ for something I won't use again..

And if the tape gets so hot wouldn't the wood catch on fire though :confusd:

---

Not sure if I misread this or not but I wouldn't run a heat mat without a thermostat either!

~CRR

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joleen

And if the tape gets so hot wouldn't the wood catch on fire though :confusd:

---

Over time you might scorch it but it wouldn't burn immediately. I put wood hides in the oven at 200*F (just under the temp where water boils) for 30 minutes to sterilize them.

And don't run your heat tape without a t-stat.

Can you cut the THG heat tape in the middle? Which heat tape are you using?

The Flexwatt, which is actually 11" not 12" cannot be cut into 7.5" panels. It has to be cut in certain areas, which are about 12" wide.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rickys_Reptiles

Can you cut the THG heat tape in the middle? Which heat tape are you using?

The Flexwatt, which is actually 11" not 12" cannot be cut into 7.5" panels. It has to be cut in certain areas, which are about 12" wide.

---

It can be cut anywhere in between the strips that run across it, it doesn't have to be 12 inches long.
I have cut flexwatt into shorter strips many times over the years and as long as the strips on each shelf are the same size they work just fine.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

It can be cut anywhere in between the strips that run across it, it doesn't have to be 12 inches long.
I have cut flexwatt into shorter strips many times over the years and as long as the strips on each shelf are the same size they work just fine.

---

The 11" size doesn't have straight lines though, it runs in a zig zag pattern. I suppose you could cut it across....in a zig zag!?

This thread shows what I'm going on about.. http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-just-anywhere.

Anyways, to the OP - never use any heating source without a thermostat. Plain and simple.

with 110 watts, if you put thermal isolation around it, you can reach INCREDIBLE temperatures.

only if the heat can get away, lets say you put a passive cooler on it (like in your computer, on the CPU and other things that get hot), and air can circulate, the temperature will stabilize.

the better it is isolated, the higher the temperature will get. it does not depend on the watts at all.

thats why a 5 watt laser can burn and cut stuff like plastic or wood, its just 5 watts, but it is concentrated on a tiny spot, so the energy cannot get dispersed quickly enough. when the energy cannot go away, temperature will go up.

unfortunately plastic and wood are both good thermal isolators, meaning temps can run out of control even with a low amount of watts. burned snakes or even a burned rack/home are real concerns unless you know the physics so well that you can come up with an appropriate heat sink for the excess heat. like a big thick plate of copper that will then actually stabilize at a certain temperature.


so, no, dont run them without a thermostat. heat the whole room, borrow/get a radiator if necessary, but unless you have studied physics or engineering and are solid in your thermodynamics, dont run heat tape without a thermostat.

you need either a properly designed heat sink of known properties capable of passively cooling away the excess heat, and controlled test runs with it, or a thermostat, or bad things are bound to happen.

If you just need something until your thermostat comes in, get a dimmer switch from Home Depot or Lowe's. I would NEVER run heat tape without a tstat. That can get well over 110 degrees. At 20% power it can easily push 98.

For whomever asked I do run my heat mats without a thermostat I've been doing so for over a year, there is no reason they would over heat since they turn off and back on when they reach a certain temperature. They don't even produce enough heat to be able to be the only heat source I usually have to add another heat source in this case since its freezing cold we are running the heat in the house so they are fine with just the mat.

And I have 12" flexwatt not 11" and its not the zig zag kind, it can be cut as long as its between the clear lines.

And I still don't think running it by itself is a good idea no matter what you put over it like I said I didn't realize it gets that hot and I've read that the amount of heat it produces is certain watts a foot I guess I understood wrong :)

Anyways the new baby will not be here till Thursday so that gives me enough time to figure out a solution.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joleen

For whomever asked I do run my heat mats without a thermostat I've been doing so for over a year, there is no reason they would over heat since they turn off and back on when they reach a certain temperature. They don't even produce enough heat to be able to be the only heat source I usually have to add another heat source in this case since its freezing cold we are running the heat in the house so they are fine with just the mat.

And I have 12" flexwatt not 11" and its not the zig zag kind, it can be cut as long as its between the clear lines.

And I still don't think running it by itself is a good idea no matter what you put over it like I said I didn't realize it gets that hot and I've read that the amount of heat it produces is certain watts a foot I guess I understood wrong :)

Anyways the new baby will not be here till Thursday so that gives me enough time to figure out a solution.

---

Saying that heat mats turn on and off when they reach a certain temp would imply that they have a built in thermostat. Certainly normal commercial ones do not. My ZooMed heat mat can get up to 125F when run on full.

I don't know if they do or don't but the two that I have certainly do they will reach a certain heat which like I said isn't even enough to stand alone and then turn off and back on after a few minutes.. honestly quite annoying.
I did have a small ZooMed heat mat that I gave away that would always stay on.. these don't.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joleen

ok thanks guys I just remembered watching a video about heat tait said it only goes up to about 110 watts

---

Heat mats are 8 watts (for 10-20 gallon tank)... And about how hot those get! And a 50-60 gal heat mat is like 24 watts.

I have read (on the box lol) that Flukers mats stay a constant 100 degrees but I've never used one so I don't know if true or how it works....

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4