Heating rack system with flexwatt and thermostat

I have some ?s about how much flexwatt to order, and wireing it best. I was wondering if its best to run and whind it through the shelves, or have seperate connections, I was thinking whinding it through would be best so i only have to deal with one connection. I also was wondering how much feet of flexwatt i should order if each shelf on my rack is 24in. long, and about 6 inches tall, (for a 32 qt sterilite on a shelf or two 15 qts on a shelf). The sides of my rack are 48 inches tall, so i figured id get about 7 shelves on it.

thanks

my suggestion would be to build your rack to fit your tubs. then measure the space that you have in each shelf, and contact reptile basics, or somewhere else that you are going to buy your flexwatt at, and tell them the dims of your rack. becuase they can wire it all up for you and everything, or assist you in wiring it up.

i already have my melamine cut and everything

i cut each shelf 24in. X 16in.
the sides are 16 in. wide and 48 in. tall

the 32 qts are like 23 1/8 long so i went 24 to give it some space, and the width is like 15 1/8 so i went 16

ok so you have a max floor width of 16" correct?

so i would say about 14 inches of flexwatt per shelf? maybe even less.

anyone else?

ya, my tubs will slide in width ways so i can also have two 15qts on a shelf also

should i have all diferent connections?
or one and whind it through each shelf?

and also, would it be better to buy and Alife thermostat?, or pay 45 bucks more for a ranco or johnsons thermostat?, for only having 7 shelves on my rack?

I would say that if you are setting up the 32 Qt tubs to go in width wise then you are going to want to have heat on one end with 11 inch flex watt for that shelf.

For a rack 48 inches high using 32 qt tubs you will be able to go 6 tubs high.

I have not seen your plans for the rack but you said you want to also use 1 shelf for 2 15 qt tubs, if this is so you are going to want to use 3 inch flex watt running all the way across the back of the rack for your belly heat on that shelf. Now this is the way I would set it up but I am sure you can go with back heat, so there are several options to go with. You just have to go with what works for you. There are alot of DIY Racks out there so do your homework and see what works for you.


Richard

If it was me I would sspend the extra money and byt the Johnson controls unit, thats me but I would stay away from the alife unit.

Chuck

thank you halfdawg, the 15 qt tubs would be used for a baby ball until it reached bigger size and it would be put in a 32 qt, would it be bad to run the 3inch flexwatt length wayz on each shelf (24 inch)?

and also i would like to know the difference between ranco and johnsons thermostats, and the difference between those two and an Alife unit
thanks

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by atp151415

thank you halfdawg, the 15 qt tubs would be used for a baby ball until it reached bigger size and it would be put in a 32 qt, would it be bad to run the 3inch flexwatt length wayz on each shelf (24 inch)?

---

Won't be bad as its commonly done in racks of your set up.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by atp151415

and also i would like to know the difference between ranco and johnsons thermostats, and the difference between those two and an Alife unit
thanks

---

Never heard of Alife but my personal opinion is this...

The success of your snakes relies heavily on temperatures so why try to cut corners when it comes to such an important part of husbandry? There isn't much difference between Rancos and Johnsons; they both control temperatures by turning off the heat element and then turning them back on in order to achieve the desired probe temperatures. I think you'll get around a 4 degree swing using a ranco or johnson.

Going a little more up the ranks and you get to Helix and Herpstat thermostats which are digitally proportional. These devices constantly adjust the flow of energy to the heat source so that the probe temperatures are always at on constant temperature.

I've used many different techniques to try and control temperatures and in the end I would have saved a lot of money if I just would have bought a quality instrument from the get go.

Good luck!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

ok so you have a max floor width of 16" correct?

so i would say about 14 inches of flexwatt per shelf? maybe even less.

anyone else?

---

No biggie, but I know most places sell heat tape by the foot, and they rate the heat tape by the foot, so you may want to figure out how to use one foot increments. That way you know the wattage that each segment of heat tape is taking. That way you don't max out your thermostat....Just a thought, goodluck!! :)

so which is better?, the ranco or a johnsons

and the alife is an on/off thermostat that beanfarm.com sales

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by atp151415

so which is better?, the ranco or a johnsons

and the alife is an on/off thermostat that beanfarm.com sales

---

I can't tell you what one is better, but my first thermostat I bought was a Johnsons. It was priced right and easy to use. I have bought 4 more Johnsons since my first one, so yes, I would reccomend the Johnsons.
-1ozh

so why would someone sell the alife thermostat if it wouldnt work like you guys are staying

im sure it works, how well it works or to the degree that it works is questionable. cheap things work cheaply. people like the johnson, they like the helix because its reliable, easy to use, and widely popular.

$.02

alright

dont you think that the alife would be at least better than a dimmer though right

Yes the alife would be better than a rehostat dimmer. If you search the site there are a number of threads on types of thermostats. Johnson and Ranco are virtually identical and have had many good reviews by the members here. they have good reliability and success. if you get further with the hobby it is strongly recommended that you look into proportional thermostat vs. on/off.

Johnson or Ranco will run at least 1500 watts, which would be plenty for your rack. check the alifes capabilities compared to your wattage needs with the flexwatt. I may have missed that earlier in the thread.

good luck

i checked and i dont have to much watts for the alife, i only have 10 feet of flexwatt