Heat tape failure

How common is it for heat tape in a rack system to fail? I have THG (I think. It came with the rack) heat tape in an AP rack. The first time I had a problem, I assumed it was my thermostat so I threw it out and used a new one. Now it failed again last night with the new TStat. The temp on the tape goes to 130 degrees and is not being controlled. Don't worry all heat tape is off right now.

So...question is: Do I replace the heat tape this time or try a new/better TStat. I currently use Hydrofarms on all of my enclosures and racks without issue until now. So far I'm not a fan of my rack system :(

Thanks!!

I have Flex-A-Watt what has been running for 6 or 7 years now.
I also have a rack that has THG running since Reptile Basics switched over....

If the tape is running then more than likely you are having thermostat probe issues/failure.

Try using the thermostat on another heat source and see if it regulates it.

It really is uncommon for heat tape to fail like that. Did you double check the clips at the connection sites on the tape? The other thing is where are you placing the thermostat probe? If the probe sensor is not picking up the heat coming off the tape it will just continue to heat up and become dangerous.

Repeat the above. This sounds more like a thermostat issue. There's no way for the heat tape to heat up to that temperature unless the thermostat is permitting electrical current to continue to run through it. From where are you getting the 130F reading? What temperature does the thermostat report?

Hydrofarm thermostat style which were going back by other names way back when are known to fail, and when they do it's ALWAYS wide open, I would not trust anything to those, Herpstat might be a little more pricey but the security feature and the longevity will give you the piece of mind you will never have with hydrofarm.

I have several Herpstat that are 10 years old now so when you look at it and compare longevity, reliability and price it's not that bad at all.

Thanks everyone! Yes, I do want to switch over to a Herpstat for sure. I just can't figure out why all of a sudden two different TStats failed on the same rack. My TStat is saying the temp is at 89 degrees but the tape itself is 130 and around 120 in the tubs :O. I will check the connections as well. This all started when I moved recently which is why I am suspecting something wrong with the tape. At least all the snakes were smart enough to move to the front!!

Is the thermostat probe adhered well to the heat tape? When you switched to a different thermostat, did you keep using the same probe? Maybe the probe is bad and not sending the correct signal back to the thermostat.

Do you know how the tape is wired up? Clips or soldered? Parallel or individual plugs?

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Originally Posted by xcjumper

I am suspecting something wrong with the tape.

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The tape only has one purpose, to supply heat.
Kind of like a light bulb, its either going to come on or it wont.
You are telling us that it gets hot so............ Its doing its job.
Should it actually fail then it would have a burn-out somewhere.
Try your thermostat with a different heat source.

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Originally Posted by xcjumper

Thanks everyone! Yes, I do want to switch over to a Herpstat for sure. I just can't figure out why all of a sudden two different TStats failed on the same rack. My TStat is saying the temp is at 89 degrees but the tape itself is 130 and around 120 in the tubs :O. I will check the connections as well. This all started when I moved recently which is why I am suspecting something wrong with the tape. At least all the snakes were smart enough to move to the front!!

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Heat tape of any kind can have hot spots and cold spots. I would try moving the thermostat probe, it sounds like it's in a cool spot on the tape.

I personally think its either a probe issue of it fell off the tape or its a T-stat issue. All heat tapes will have some variation in temp at spots. Its the nature of heat tapes but no heat tape is going to have a variation from 89F to 130F lol. More like a few degrees here and there. Have you physically felt the heat tape to see if it is that hot? I mean you will know the feel of 130F by hand lol. And like others said, try a different t-stat to see if it fixes it. While I agree Jump Start t-stats aren't high end, I have one that has been going for about 2 years now with no problems. Of course I also have 4 Herpstats which are my real workhorses.

I use Hydrofarms too! And I'm currently having the opposite issue with them, they aren't reaching the set temperature. Honestly I suspect it's just the cheap build of them, I've been reading some things about them failing after a few months of use and lots of other complaints. I'm planning on switching to a herpstat pretty soon, I would recommend that to you as well. More expensive than hydrofarm, but they last longer and you can plug in multiple heat pads (or in your case tape) to them and you can even choose different settings for each row.

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Originally Posted by Snizards

I use Hydrofarms too! And I'm currently having the opposite issue with them, they aren't reaching the set temperature. Honestly I suspect it's just the cheap build of them, I've been reading some things about them failing after a few months of use and lots of other complaints. I'm planning on switching to a herpstat pretty soon, I would recommend that to you as well. More expensive than hydrofarm, but they last longer and you can plug in multiple heat pads (or in your case tape) to them and you can even choose different settings for each row.

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You can o that already as long as you don't overload it ;)

I also have hyrofarms that have been running several years without problems.

It sounds like what happened the other night with my one rack. The herpstat woke me up in the middle of the night going off because the temp was too low. But when I used the temp gun it was around 120-130 where the hot spot was supposed to be. The probe had slipped off which made the heat crank up to try and reach the right temp. So I had dangerous temperatures even though the herpstat thought it was too cold and it only seemed to be getting hotter in there before I figured out the issue:O

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

You can o that already as long as you don't overload it ;)

I also have hyrofarms that have been running several years without problems.

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Well turns out the cold air was hitting the outside of the probe. My hydrofarms are working fine now after I stuffed the probe in between the heat pad and the tank lol.
And yeah, you're right... and now I'm mad that I never thought of that lol. I have 5, one for each tank, except my bearded dragon.