Question about thermostats?

Can you plug a thermostat directly into the power bar that has heat tape hooked up to it? Just wondering how that works and if its safe

it is my assumption that you have the heattape plugged into the powerbar, the probe plugged into the thermostat. then plug the powerbar INTO the thermostat. the thermostat cuts power to the powerbar when it reaches temperature and applies power when it is below. this is what regulates the temperature. if you had the thermostat plugged into the same powerbar as the flexwatt nothing will regulate the flexwatt and you will get extremely high temps

the other option is wiring the flexwatt yourself and plugging that into the thermostat however you should be a qualified/skilled electrician to do that lol

thermostat just cuts power to the powerbar. there is no safety concern there. you may decrease the life of the powerbar if it is a very cheap one. make sure your flexwatt is secured and if you cut it yourself that you cut it properly(check for videos, you have to cut between the black bars, as cutting thru the black bar is the same as having a non insulated wire exposed)

Yeah no I actually just have my flexwatts hooked up too they're own dimmers but I know I'll need to hook up a thermostat soon as the collection is growing

Plain and simple.....plug the t-stat into the wall and the heat tape into t-stat and the probe on the heat tape.

Yeah but what about if I have 2 or more connections?

Most t-stats can run from 1000 to 1500 watts of power. You can run your whole rack on 1 stat. Check the rating on the stat and see how many watts per foot the tape is.

But I mean if for example I have two separate flexwatt connections that have individual cords

How would I go about setting up a thermostat too multiple connections I mean

You could try a bit of home DIY wiring to hook the strips of heat tape up to each other (lots of youtube vids that can show you how) OR get a thermostat with multiple receivers :D

Thanks :)

As long as the flexwatt strips are the same:
1. Plug thermostat into wall
2. plug in splitter or power strip or anything that allows you to plug in more devices from a single source. Theres tons of different styles.

examples
http://www.amazon.com/Cables-Unlimit.../dp/B000234UFG
http://www.amazon.com/Right-Angle-Wa.../dp/B001K42BJ8
http://www.amazon.com/Master-Electri...ds=power+strip
http://www.amazon.com/Axis-45505-Out...ds=power+strip

it's probably easier to just go into a home improvement store if you don't have one, they should have something you can use.

3. plug in heat tape to that

If you have multiple plugs for your heat tape, you need to make sure that the length and size of heat tape is the same for both connections.Basically, you need to have the same wattage for each connection to the thermostat otherwise you won't have the same temperature on both strips of tape.

If they are the same lengths (thus the same wattages), you plug the thermostat into the wall, then the power bar with your heat tape plugs into the thermostat.