UTH vs. Heat Tape: Why ever use the former?

Hi guys/girls,

In the research I have been doing, I do not see any advantages to using a UTH as opposed to heat tape. I'd like to see if I'm missing something. Lots of people use them, and so surely they must have merit. Below I've outlined what I have seen regarding the two methods. I'd appreciate your input and either confirmation or disproval of below claims! Flexwatt tape and ZooMed products were used mainly for comparison.


Cost for a single (Ball Python) enclosure:

UTH
1 undertank heater: $15-20

Tape
1 foot of ~3 in or 11 in tape: $3-5
Wiring supplies needed: $6-10
Total Cost: $9-15


Reusability/Repositionability:

UTH
-Possibly difficult to remove and reapply, unless made to do so initially using stickied method in "Husbandry"

Heat Tape
-Attach with Foil Tape and remove as you jolly well please


Power Output:

UTH: 4-30 Watts

Heat Tape: 6-20 Watts/ft



Feedback System:

UTH: Use a Thermostat

Heat Tape: Use a Thermostat




The potential pros I see of UTH over tape

-Easy and simple, buy at pet store
-Depending on brand of tape, UTH connections potentially more secure than copper clips



The potential pros I see of tape over UTH

-Cheaper
-More readily reusable/repositioned
-Any size surface area readily covered
-Thinner


Floating Questions - So is heat tape really better or:

-Is it possible that UTHs are better-insulated on the bottom (non-contacting side), resulting in more energy-efficient heating of a reptile enclosure?

-Follow-up: perhaps it is worth investigating a fireproof method of insulating heat tape so that minimal heat is lost to atmosphere... has this been done?

- Could a UTH have a longer lifespan/greater resilience to abuse? Everything I've read says that UTHs should last "years" or that, when treated properly, no one has had one crap out yet, and that tape should last pretty much forever.

- I have read one account of Flexwatt overheating, burning a hole through a tub and injuring a snake; it was one of many taped tubs in the rack; a thermostat was used on one of the taped tubs in the rack controlling the entire system and the burning one was not the one statted. Apparently there can be manufacturing errors at Flexwatt where the resistance of the wire is not within the normal tolerances and this occurs. This is the only heavily negative thing I have read regarding either.

Any input is aprpeciated :D Thanks!

I intend to use tape when I buy a rack, so as of now I only have experience with UTHs, that said... A few observations I've had

-I use ultratherm UTHs... and have used others. I prefer the ultratherms to use on tubs because they will not heat up enough to melt a tub, which seems safer to me (even using with thermostats).

- The ultratherms don't have a "sticky" side, so you attach with metal tape, just like heat tape.

- For some, wiring heat tape at home isn't feasible and if done improperly, can lead to overheating / fires. This is one of the main reasons I haven't tried it yet.

- It might be impractical to purchase tape and connectors / wire the tape for a small single tub / tank like a 10gl. For that use, a UTH seems more practical.

Convenience

You seem to be greatly underestimating the importance of this (and greatly over-thinking the other things).

1. For pet owners, it's more convenient to pick up what's available at the pet store down the street and peel/stick it on right away.
2. For breeders, it's more convenient to run a single strip of heat tape per rack and are willing to take the extra step to wire it properly.

:gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by artgecko

I intend to use tape when I buy a rack, so as of now I only have experience with UTHs, that said... A few observations I've had

-I use ultratherm UTHs... and have used others. I prefer the ultratherms to use on tubs because they will not heat up enough to melt a tub, which seems safer to me (even using with thermostats).

- The ultratherms don't have a "sticky" side, so you attach with metal tape, just like heat tape.

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That's interesting - I was actually looking for something that said "our UTHs don't get hot enough to ______" That is definitely helpful and could affect my decision, thanks :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eric Alan

Convenience

You seem to be greatly underestimating the importance of this (and greatly over-thinking the other things).

1. For pet owners, it's more convenient to pick up what's available at the pet store down the street and peel/stick it on right away.
2. For breeders, it's more convenient to run a single strip of heat tape per rack and are willing to take the extra step to wire it properly.

:gj:

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Hehe that makes sense. :)

I've just been trying to figure out what to do for myself. I will eventually be a pet owner, with one snake. However, to me it does not make any sense to pay more for something that does the exact same job as something lower-priced, more modular, expandable, repositionable, more easily replaced and all that.

EDIT: D'oh. I forgot to factor shipping into heat tape costs. That'll affect things; unless it is available locally or places do free shipping... but in researching I didn't want to tell them all my info just to get an estimate.

For something that is not permanent and get moved a lot and then is being put away I prefer a UTH (Ultraterm UTH which are very sturdy), those are used with the few spare stand alone tubs used in QT.

For anything else all my racks are using heat tape.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wanted to add that the ultratherms look basically like heavy duty laminated heat tape.. So very thin and easy to put a thermostat plug between them and the bottom of the tubs. Also, they come in "strips" that will heat + tubs with just one plug. I'm currently using an ultratherm strip to heat two 32qt tubs side-by-side. It works pretty well, but the temp varies slightly on either side of the UTH (about 3 degrees).

They tend to heat up more evenly than other UTH and appear to not continue to heat once power is shut off, which had not been my experience with other UTHs. I am currently using mine with a hydrofarm (a non-proportional thermostat) and it is working well.

I agree with Deborah that they seem to be very durable. You just have to watch out about bending them. Other wise, I can wipe them off with a damp cloth, Peel off the foil tape, and store, reuse, etc.

Thanks very much for the responses everyone; I am now potentially leaning toward an ultratherm depending on shipping costs for everything; we'll see. I thought they were a lot more expensive than they are :P


Now need to figure out a t-stat. The hydrofarms scare me with their apparent fluctuations... so looks like I'll be spending at least $100 :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Heeltoeclutch

Thanks very much for the responses everyone; I am now potentially leaning toward an ultratherm depending on shipping costs for everything; we'll see. I thought they were a lot more expensive than they are :P

Now need to figure out a t-stat. The hydrofarms scare me with their apparent fluctuations... so looks like I'll be spending at least $100 :P

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Maybe not for just one enclosure... http://www.reptilebasics.com/ve-hobbystat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Maybe not for just one enclosure... http://www.reptilebasics.com/ve-hobbystat

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I saw that and looked it up... It has on/off operation as well though and in a thread on here people recommended to just go with a hydrofarm for on/off as it has been proven to keep snakes alive and this is a new product. It just seems like a better choice for a creature's health to go proportional unless the on/off system of a t-stat is very good...

I used two on/off Ranco t-stats for years when I kept multiple ball pythons in boas in a rack system. They worked perfectly and I never had an issue with them. I kept 10 tubs running just fine. That said, you're always going to get what you pay for - the proportional thermostats are always going to be better at keeping your snake at a steady, constant temp. But for a single tub? On/off isn't a bad deal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ladywhipple02

I used two on/off Ranco t-stats for years when I kept multiple ball pythons in boas in a rack system. They worked perfectly and I never had an issue with them. I kept 10 tubs running just fine. That said, you're always going to get what you pay for - the proportional thermostats are always going to be better at keeping your snake at a steady, constant temp. But for a single tub? On/off isn't a bad deal.

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Hmmm. The thread I was looking at was this one, in which kitedemon discusses extensive testing of the hyrdofarms and their vast (seemingly dangerous to me) temp fluctuations. From this I gathered that on/off was fairly risky by nature and it seemed like a better choice to go proportional, and the recommendations I saw for hydrofarm over the Hobbystat made me think Hydrofarm was sorta the peak of what could be achieved in this realm for the relative price.

I'll dump some research into the Rancos. They look like industrial equipment :rofl:That is certainly a cheaper option.

I bought them pre-wired. It was years ago now, so I can't even remember where from. I do remember I had a Johnson's Control wired thermostat too, but sold it to another hobbyist. It worked fine for the time I had it. I've never used a Hydrofarm, so I can't speak to it.

I can tell you I paid around $70-80 a piece for my Rancos pre-wired, which seems to be more than the going price for a Hydrofarm. Again, I'm a very firm believer in you get what you pay for :)

I am using a pre-wired ranco to run the oil filled space heater in my snake room. I've had no problems and it is very accurate. The second the temp drops 1 degree below where it's set, it turns on.

With any thermostat, it is integral to use a temp gun / thermometer to check the actual temp in the cage on the hotspot. I have noticed a slight variance with the hydrofarms of about 3 degrees, but some of this has to du with the thickness of the tub.

It is also integral, IMO, when using an on/off thermostat to use a heat source that doesn't continue to heat up after power is shut off. This was my problem with cheaper UTH like zoomed.. The hydrofarm would shut the power off at 91f (when set at 90) but the UTH would continue to heat up until it hit 95f...then start to cool off. That's when I decided to switch to the ultratherms.

I DO run most of my tubs / tanks on a herpstat 4 which is proportional and it is awesome... but, it was around $400. It is worth it, but I think that for just a 1-2 tub setup, a hydrofarm typically will do ok. BTW, I know this is slightly off topic, but the bean farm sells herpstats on amazon as an independent seller... I got all of my friends / family to give me amazon gift cards for my birthday and pooled the money to take a big chunk out of the price of the herpstat.

I have several Ranco on/off t-stats that were purchased pre-wired and used. I've used/tested all and the temperature swing is about half a degree +/- the point where it's set, which shouldn't be a concern for providing belly heat to adult snakes in a rack. I do use a proportional t-stat on my incubator as I don't want temperature swings in it.

Thanks art and lady,

All this talk of on/off being viable is making me wonder if the VE Hobbystat could be worth a try. I have not been able to find a single review of anyone using it for reptiles (or anything for that matter). I'm half-surprised there isn't a whole forum or website dedicated to testing/reviewing pet supplies (a tomshardware.com, if you will). :P Something that the lives of animals depends on... I'm sure people could find it helpful. Especially for stuff like saltwater/reef tanks and reptiles which require very much non-human conditions unlike mammals.

I am seeing a few mentions of Rancos having a short lifespan, or developing error messages. There is no simple decision. Except to get a snake. :snake: