Disabeling Auto-Shutoff on Human Heat Pads

[Austin Smith]

So I went to Wal-Mart the other day to check the prices on their heat pads. for about $11.00 I got a pad thats about 10'' x 12''. The only problem was that it had an auto shut-off feature. I had a plan however...Long story short I cut the temp control terminal off the power cord (Inside is the mechanism for the auto-shutoff as well as tempature cotrol i.e. Low/medium/high), stripped the two wires, twisted them together, and electrical taped them up. I have been running the pad with a light dimmer and have obtained consistent temps for over 48 hours.

I'm not sure how safe this will be in the long run, but I have some flexwatt on the way. In anycase, I thought I would share my idea.

-Austin

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I'm not sure how safe this will be in the long run, but I have some flexwatt on the way. In anycase, I thought I would share my idea.
-Austin

Not safe which is why I am posting as I don't want new owners to think that human heating pad are a longterm solution for their animal.

While it might be use without problem temporarely I would not recommend their used in the long run as human heat pads are not designed to run 24/7, 365 days a year and by using them this way would represent a fire hazard.

UTH that are designed for reptiles are designed to run daily and will not cost much more.

Here are some very good UTH for those who are thinking about using your method http://www.reptilebasics.com/Heating-p-1-c-248.html.

And of course it is important to remind people who read this as well that any heat source must be controlled by a reliable thermostat.

[Austin Smith]

Ofcouse...Only a short term solution. Wal-Mart was fresh out of flex-watt ; ). Obviously a heating pad designed for reptiles is desireable. Although, I would be interested to know if there is any empirical data that supports the theory that human heat pads are unsafe for reptiles.

-Austin

[Kaorte]

I would not use a human heating pad. Human heating pads are meant to heat HUMANS, whose body temperatures are 98.6*F naturally. So that means that they get much hotter then that.

Even when controlled by a dimmer, there is still a risk of temp spikes.

I would just go out and shell out $15 for a reptile UTH until the flexwatt gets here.

Cats really like human heating pads though!