Radiant heat panel for a 6 ft cage..

What size heat panel do I need for a 6ftx2ftx12 in tall cage for a retic? Thinking of getting rbi panels.
Bedroom gets down to 74 degrees

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You actually might be better off contacting Bob at Pro Products. He will consult with you which size rhp would work for your cage because he only reccomemds models that will work for your cage size and room ambient temps. From there you can either go with that or get a better idea what wattage/size to consider for a RBI rhp.

Or just contact RBI on what they'd recommend since they know their product.

Agree with calling Bob at Pro Products....he's provided great information for me and I have 4 of his panels in use right now and 2 more on order.

I've got my T25 (6'x2.5'X1.5') heated with a PH125 from pro products. Great investment. Bob knows his stuff, I'd ask him what would best suit your personal set up. Unrelated, I find the added 6" of height in my cage makes getting the snake in and out waaaaay easier. Just my 2 cents


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I've got my T25 (6'x2.5'X1.5') heated with a PH125 from pro products. Great investment. Bob knows his stuff, I'd ask him what would best suit your personal set up. Unrelated, I find the added 6" of height in my cage makes getting the snake in and out waaaaay easier. Just my 2 cents


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Ya. Increased to 16 inches Tall from 12 .

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I've got my T25 (6'x2.5'X1.5') heated with a PH125 from pro products. Great investment. Bob knows his stuff, I'd ask him what would best suit your personal set up. Unrelated, I find the added 6" of height in my cage makes getting the snake in and out waaaaay easier. Just my 2 cents


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On your probe placement do you place it in the middle or too the far left or right of heat panel?
I was told i needed to drill a hole in the back of cage for the probe half of the height of encloser and either pull it further down or have less of it in encloser enable to getting the desired temperature is that correct...

I'll send Bob a message at pro products as well

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Originally Posted by robert7107

On your probe placement do you place it in the middle or too the far left or right of heat panel?
I was told i needed to drill a hole in the back of cage for the probe half of the height of encloser and either pull it further down or have less of it in encloser enable to getting the desired temperature is that correct...

I'll send Bob a message at pro products as well

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I've got the probe on the cool side set to 80* and it keeps everything perfect. In my 4' cages I have them on the warm side though and set to 87* ish and the temp gradient is still good providing the room is between 72-75*


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I've got the probe on the cool side set to 80* and it keeps everything perfect. In my 4' cages I have them on the warm side though and set to 87* ish and the temp gradient is still good providing the room is between 72-75*


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Bobby at RBI replied back an suggests a 120 watt. I'll be placing a order next week or so.

My Room ambient temperature can drop to 72 mainly towards the early morning 2am- 6am three to four months out of the year but most part stays around 74-76..

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Originally Posted by robert7107

Bobby at RBI replied back an suggests a 120 watt. I'll be placing a order next week or so.

My Room ambient temperature can drop to 72 mainly towards the early morning 2am- 6am three to four months out of the year but most part stays around 74-76..

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You should talk to Bob at Pro Products. Their panels are better. RBI panels use an ABS plastic body. Pro Products one use an aluminum body.

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Originally Posted by robert7107

Bobby at RBI replied back an suggests a 120 watt. I'll be placing a order next week or so.

My Room ambient temperature can drop to 72 mainly towards the early morning 2am- 6am three to four months out of the year but most part stays around 74-76..

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Just my opinion but Pro Products is a superior RHP - Good luck either way.

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Originally Posted by BR8080

Just my opinion but Pro Products is a superior RHP - Good luck either way.

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I'll wait till i hear back from pro products before ordering..

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I have some experience with the RBI 120 watt radiant heat panels so I will weigh in. About a year ago I built a total of 6 48" longx20" deep x12" tall melamine enclosures with glass sliding doors. I spoke to the tech guy at reptile basics who said the 80w would probbably suffice but I went with the 120's due to the fact that my house stays 73-74 year round. I put all 6 on a 've 300 thermostat. I was also concerned that te total wattage of the 6 120's the may exceed the ve300 total watt ability. I was told that the way the panels work there would be no issue.
Fast forward to now what I have learned is this. The distance the heat panel is from the hot spot is primarily what determines its effectivenss more so than the length (wattage) of the panel. The larger panel just creates a longer hot spot. My next 6 enclosures will probably be the same height and depth but be closer to 72" long. I will probably order some 80's and swap them into my 48's and move the 120's to the 72's.
As far a the pvc outer shell. I do not see this as a concern. They seem sturdy as they are built.

Well i agree that the ABS body probably will be fine but when i used RHPs, i went Pro Products as the aluminum body is better and considering you will be using this thing for probably 10+ years, i would rather get the best now and not have to mess with it later. I have never heard of a failure issue with the Pro Products ones, i have heard a few issues with the RBI ones.

And the length of the RHP is determined by the cage length. Like i said before, you generally want 1/4- 1/3 of the cage with the RHP. So putting a 120 watt RHP in a 48" cage is way overkill as that will take up half the cage and not give a very good gradient. With my 4x2 cages, i was using PH3 65 watt RHPs from Pro Products which were 22x12 if i remember correctly. I just mounted it so it was 12" wide and 22" deep in the cage. But i dont use any RHPs anymore as i just use flexwatt for all my T8s, T10s and T25s.

I actually got a reply from pro products and I believe Bobby was his name he recommended the PH-12, 300 BTU/h, 88 watt, 12" x 24" x 1":cens0r:radiant panel.:cens0r::cens0r:
My biggest issue is that I don't see the products on their website RBI I can see the panels and read the description and to me that's just better business I'm going to go ahead and get the RBI 120 Watt panel the 80 wants is too small for 6 ft cage and winter temperatures in my room can occasionally drop down to 72/73 degrees for 8 hour period...

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i spoke to Bob just the other day regarding a 4 to 6 foot enclosure (still deciding on a build), i was guessing based on your post he'd reccomend the PH12, thats what I'm going to get as it will work well for 6' and i can dim it down for a 4'. He gave me a whole impressive spiel about how much better PP panels were than RBI (i own 2 RBIs), but i had already heard that all over the forums, so he wasn't convincing me as much as just explaining why. But here's the thing; the RBI 120, with economy shipping, comes to about $100, the PH12 with shipping comes to about $135. $35 difference between good enough and top-of-the-line; its your setup and i'm not going to wag my finger at you, but to me it felt penny-wise to skimp on heating quality for the price of a dinner at Applebee's.

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Originally Posted by dkatz4

i spoke to Bob just the other day regarding a 4 to 6 foot enclosure (still deciding on a build), i was guessing based on your post he'd reccomend the PH12, thats what I'm going to get as it will work well for 6' and i can dim it down for a 4'. He gave me a whole impressive spiel about how much better PP panels were than RBI (i own 2 RBIs), but i had already heard that all over the forums, so he wasn't convincing me as much as just explaining why. But here's the thing; the RBI 120, with economy shipping, comes to about $100, the PH12 with shipping comes to about $135. $35 difference between good enough and top-of-the-line; its your setup and i'm not going to wag my finger at you, but to me it felt penny-wise to skimp on heating quality for the price of a dinner at Applebee's.

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Well I'll call him then I don't how a 88 watt will be efficient enough to heat a 6-foot cage when temps at night can an have gotten down too 73 for 8 hrs or so. Rather have more then less an I plan too use a ve200 thermostat for the panel alone..

I make a effort too speak too the man an Express my concerns..

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I was surprised by the wattage too, buts its not how many watts, its what you do with them that counts, my room gets to high 60's over night in the winter, but i have complete confidence. And if you decide to go with PP, tell him Dave persuaded you, maybe I'll get a commission, LOL :D

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Originally Posted by dkatz4

I was surprised by the wattage too, buts its not how many watts, its what you do with them that counts, my room gets to high 60's over night in the winter, but i have complete confidence. And if you decide to go with PP, tell him Dave persuaded you, maybe I'll get a commission, LOL :D

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What size cage are you using and what type of snake?
And what is your cage made of ?
Your hot spots and ambient temperature?

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when i spoke to Bob we were talking about 3/4" melamine 18" tall and 4x2 to 6x2. Animal in question is a burm, looking for a gradient from about 80 on the coolest end to a basking spot of about 93 with most of the ambient staying in the low/mid 80's

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Originally Posted by robert7107

Well I'll call him then I don't how a 88 watt will be efficient enough to heat a 6-foot cage when temps at night can an have gotten down too 73 for 8 hrs or so. Rather have more then less an I plan too use a ve200 thermostat for the panel alone..

I make a effort too speak too the man an Express my concerns..

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I run all P12's and a 88 watt Pro Panels quality blows any RBI away. I understand you want a website with cool pics of what your buying but Bob at Pro Products doesn't need that. He is the Leader in the industry & works with Zoo's ect... The small panels we all buy are only 1/8th of his business. Trust what experienced people tell you on here. This is a great Forum of people that share the best of info to help each other with a common interest.
PS- my house is 66 all summer with the AC and during the winter its 60 at night and 70 during the day.
The only problem ive had is the panels heating the enclosures above to much so ive added insulation board between them.
Enclosures.
2 4x2x2
1 7x2x2

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Originally Posted by Mr Sully

I run all P12's and a 88 watt Pro Panels quality blows any RBI away. I understand you want a website with cool pics of what your buying but Bob at Pro Products doesn't need that. He is the Leader in the industry & works with Zoo's ect... The small panels we all buy are only 1/8th of his business. Trust what experienced people tell you on here. This is a great Forum of people that share the best of info to help each other with a common interest.
PS- my house is 66 all summer with the AC and during the winter its 60 at night and 70 during the day.
The only problem ive had is the panels heating the enclosures above to much so ive added insulation board between them.
Enclosures.
2 4x2x2
1 7x2x2

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Just got off the phone with Bob from pro products very nice guy actually had a very long conversation with him ..he recommends a pH 12 so I'm going to be ordering that at the end of the month.


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Originally Posted by robert7107

Just got off the phone with Bob from pro products very nice guy actually had a very long conversation with him ..he recommends a pH 12 so I'm going to be ordering that at the end of the month.


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If your room ever gets 65 or below at night during winter, you might want to use a heat mat on the cool side to keep the floor 78 to 80 if your concerned about the ambient. My cool side drops to 75.6 when the house is 60... However if any of my snakes need to adjust they use the Hot Side or Vise Versa. [emoji1360]


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Originally Posted by Mr Sully

If your room ever gets 65 or below at night during winter, you might want to use a heat mat on the cool side to keep the floor 78 to 80 if your concerned about the ambient. My cool side drops to 75.6 when the house is 60... However if any of my snakes need to adjust they use the Hot Side or Vise Versa. [emoji1360]


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No 72 the coldest.....
Bob said too place probe on cool side set it at the highest temperature I wanted the cool side to be that should give me a nice hot spot.

He said also to mount the panel 1ft from side edge of cage.. .

I talked too him for a at least 30 minutes very informative an friendly

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Yup.. sounds right for a enclosure over 4'.
I run Herpstats and love the combo of Pro Panels & Herpstat 2. It doesn't only work perfect, its a piece of mind running some of the best stuff out there.


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Originally Posted by Mr Sully

Yup.. sounds right for a enclosure over 4'.
I run Herpstats and love the combo of Pro Panels & Herpstat 2. It doesn't only work perfect, its a piece of mind running some of the best stuff out there.


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Bob said I'll have to adjust it as needed I plan to have cage 100% on spot before snake is put in.


By the way getting a male 50% dwarf fire retic from Bob Clark too put in it eventually...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr Sully

Yup.. sounds right for a enclosure over 4'.
I run Herpstats and love the combo of Pro Panels & Herpstat 2. It doesn't only work perfect, its a piece of mind running some of the best stuff out there.


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I have a vivarium ve 200 now for my balls python rack unit..
Everyone and their mother swears herpstat so I gotta join the club......

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Originally Posted by Mr Sully

Yup.. sounds right for a enclosure over 4'.
I run Herpstats and love the combo of Pro Panels & Herpstat 2. It doesn't only work perfect, its a piece of mind running some of the best stuff out there.


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Same here - I enjoy that peace of mind. It's a beautiful thing.