Brand new Rack from monster-cages.com

I recently bought this great new rack from Matt Martin at www.monster-cages.com It's kind of a new way to make them. It's made out of 1/4" corrugated plastic.

Three sheets are glued together to make a strong 3/4" thick shelf (kind of like plywood)That is very lightweight but sturdy. This way the heat tape can also be sandwiched between the shelves instead of laying in a routed channel (this way the heat tape is completely contained)

Here are some pics of what it looks like.

Here is the back of the rack, you can see where the multiple plys are glued together.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2.../backrack1.jpg

Here is another picture of the back with the heat tape pulled partially out, you can see how it slides into a slot in between plys
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2.../backrack2.jpg

Here is a pic of the front. Each rack is made to order. He has several examples on his website but I ordered mine for Iris CB-70 boxes with 12 levels high.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...frontrack1.jpg

Here is a closeup of the front. You can see where the individual shelves are bullnosed to make it nice and rounded with none of the corregations exposed. Makes for easy cleaning
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...rontdetail.jpg


Mark

love it!

Awesome rack Mark! That thing has to be lite as Heck... I have worked with that stuff on some commercial buildings. Great Idea! I'm checking into those right now.. Thanks for posting them!

Jas, not only is it super light, but with all those air pockets it's very well insulated too.

Mark

I'm building my next rack out of that, For sure! Thanks again Bro!

50LB's? Gotta love it!!

Nice but pricey. $800 for a 10 high CB70 rack with tubs. Why wouldn't you spend a couple hundred more and get a ARS or FB rack that will last forever?

Who says these won't last just as long as one of those?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkS

Who says these won't last just as long as one of those?

---

Comparison of the material guarantees that it can't last as long. Steel racks will last forever, plastic won't.

So you're saying that the pastic racks won't last? Hmmm, I guess all those environmentalists were wrong. I thought plastic was supposed to last thousands of years.... Well.... It's not forever, but I guess thats long enough for me.

they look great marks. i bet if you take care of them they will be a good investment. and they look sharp too. i love how you can pull the flexwat out too. makes it easy to service or replace if it needs it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkS

So you're saying that the pastic racks won't last? Hmmm, I guess all those environmentalists were wrong. I thought plastic was supposed to last thousands of years.... Well.... It's not forever, but I guess thats long enough for me.

---

I am not saying its going to disintegrate. That would be ridiculous. What it will do is warp, sag and eventually lose its shape. Especially in a 1/4 " material.

Additionally, its worth nothing the poor reputation that Matt at Monster Cages has. Take it for what its worth.

That should have said "worth noting" not "worth nothing".

Quote:

---

Additionally, its worth nothing the poor reputation that Matt at Monster Cages has. Take it for what its worth.

---

Ahhh, You're apparent distrust of this product suddenly becomes crystal clear.... It really has nothing to do with the product, you simply don't like Matt based on what you've read/heard about him... Believe me Jamie, don't believe everything you hear, especially don't believe everything you've read on a certain other website. There are plenty of people in this hobby with axes to grind. I've met Matt IN PERSON and SPOKEN to him many times.. He's never been anything less then polite, friendly and helpful. He's an intelligent, skilled person who takes great pride in the products that he produces.

I have this rack here in my home. I can see it up close. The care and craftmanship that went into this piece is quite apparent from what I can see.

Mark

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkS

Ahhh, You're apparent distrust of this product suddenly becomes crystal clear.... It really has nothing to do with the product, you simply don't like Matt based on what you've read/heard about him... Believe me Jamie, don't believe everything you hear, especially don't believe everything you've read on a certain other website. There are plenty of people in this hobby with axes to grind. I've met Matt IN PERSON and SPOKEN to him many times.. He's never been anything less then polite, friendly and helpful. He's an intelligent, skilled person who takes great pride in the products that he produces.

I have this rack here in my home. I can see it up close. The care and craftmanship that went into this piece is quite apparent from what I can see.

Mark

---

No Mark, you are wrong. My initial response was why spend so much on a rack that will sag and bend over time when you can get a steel breeder quality rack for slightly more money. I don't know Matt and couldn't care less about his reputation since I am not in the market for that type of rack. If I was there are plenty of companies that have stellar reputations to pick from. However, if you are going to post a thread on his racks, people have the right to know that there are multiple bad threads about him. Again, I said take it for what its worth.

They will last! I have worked with this same material. It is awesome stuff!

Quote:

---

What it will do is warp, sag and eventually lose its shape. Especially in a 1/4 " material.

---

Jamie, I seriously doubt that it will warp and sag. Yes it's 1/4" material, but it's THREE SHEETS BONDED TOGETHER It's just like plywood is made. This gives it a lot more strength and rigidity then even solid plastic of the same dimension. Listen to Jas, he's a professional builder and has worked with this material before. Personally I have no qualms about how long this stuff will last. I'm sure it will last longer then I will need it for. And polypro is a very good quality food grade plastic, it won't off gas toxic chemicals.

I'm sure metal racks will also last a good long time. But, they are heavier and I personally haven't seen many that don't have at least a little rust on them where the powdercoat has flaked away.

Mark

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkS

Jamie, I seriously doubt that it will warp and sag. Yes it's 1/4" material, but it's THREE SHEETS BONDED TOGETHER It's just like plywood is made. This gives it a lot more strength and rigidity then even solid plastic of the same dimension. Listen to Jas, he's a professional builder and has worked with this material before. Personally I have no qualms about how long this stuff will last. I'm sure it will last longer then I will need it for. And polypro is a very good quality food grade plastic, it won't off gas toxic chemicals.

I'm sure metal racks will also last a good long time. But, they are heavier and I personally haven't seen many that don't have at least a little rust on them where the powdercoat has flaked away.

Mark

---

Good stuff man! I hope they work out well for you. They look like excellent craftsmanship. :rockon:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JASBALLS

They will last! I have worked with this same material. It is awesome stuff!

---

I'm saying the material will last! I know nothing of the maker of the racks..

Okay... that photo looks weird. It appears they super glued the pieces together? Maybe it's just the photo, but it certainly doesn't look like it was flashed, and if that's the case, you're not going to have a very good day if the surface temps get too high.

Coroplast is REALLY tricky to bond properly, and "gluing two pieces together" is NOT the proper method. I'm a little curious as to whether it was flashed, and if super glue or flashing cement was used as the adhesive.

Quote:

---

Okay... that photo looks weird. It appears they super glued the pieces together? Maybe it's just the photo, but it certainly doesn't look like it was flashed, and if that's the case, you're not going to have a very good day if the surface temps get too high.

Coroplast is REALLY tricky to bond properly, and "gluing two pieces together" is NOT the proper method. I'm a little curious as to whether it was flashed, and if super glue or flashing cement was used as the adhesive.

---

I'm not sure what you mean by 'flashed' what does that refer too and what kind of problems do you think I'm going to run into?

What's coroplast? Is that a name brand for corrugated polypropaline plastic? I'm not sure what kind of cement he's used to bond the sheets together, I wrote him an E-mail asking what he uses and I'll report back what I find.

Mark

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkS

I'm not sure what you mean by 'flashed' what does that refer too and what kind of problems do you think I'm going to run into?

What's coroplast? Is that a name brand for corrugated polypropaline plastic? I'm not sure what kind of cement he's used to bond the sheets together, I wrote him an E-mail asking what he uses and I'll report back what I find.

Mark

---

Flashed

Means Glued together, With the proper cement.. No one can tell from pics though..

The racks are put together using the Urethene based adhesive that the manufacturer calls for. The adhesive is used in the construction industry also and drys rock hard. The plastic will hold up for a long time, you can check with Mark Caplan, Garrick DeMeyer (www.crestedgecko.com), Bruce Dellis at Twin City reptiles, some of the guys that have some of them for awhile now. The racks are lightweight and durable, the plastic won't come apart like some of the other materials that are used.

Any other questions on these racks and when you need or want a closed rack these are cheaper than some of the steel racks also.

Thanks
Matthew Martin
www.monster-cages.com

that's cool... i like how your flexwatt is in between the layers... great idea! thanks for the link and the post Matthew.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JASBALLS

Means Glued together, With the proper cement.. No one can tell from pics though..

---

Actually, that's half of it. Flashing requires heat treating the surface prior to bonding. In essence, this creates a higher surface energy which makes bonding easier.

Coroplast (and probably the other brands as well) usually use a Corona treatment on the surface. Unfortunately, in my experience, the Corona tends to wear down over time reducing the surface energy. When this happens in combination with higher pressure or high heat it can soften the bonding cement, which will cause separation.

Regardless, Mathew pretty much summed it up. Since urethane adhesive was used I sincerely doubt it's going to separate. Unfortunately, we didn't have the option of using urethane with the project I used Coroplast for, which is why flashing was necessary. I must be brain dead because it didn't occur to me that in this instance it would work fine :D.