Rack Temperature Quick Question

[mattchibi]

Got a pvc rack few days ago, just testing temps right now before I put any snakes in there. The temps are a bit weird though..

Its a 2 tub wide, 4 shelf rack (so 8 hatchling tubs in total). Right now the thermostat is set to 104.5 and I am achieving the following temps:

Top row:
Hot side 87-89
Cool side 75-77

Second highest row:
Hot side 90-93
Cool side 76-77

Third row:
Hot side 89-90
Cool side 76-77

Fourth row: no tubs as of yet, need to be replaced since they were broken during shipment.

Dont worry about the cool side being too cool. I plan to run a space heater at 80F a few times daily, and keep the door closed to keep the heat in. The ambient (cool) side temps should be up to 78-80 at all times.

What I am worried about is the hot side temps. How come the second row is so much hotter than the other two rows? And how come the top row is the coldest when in theory, heat rises?

Any input will help. The hot side temps are just the hottest temps I measured with my temp gun, the ambient around the warm side is around 83-86~ Just as a reference, my rack was built with the same plans as the RBI racks. Thanks

[kitedemon]

The hot side temps will change dramatically as the cool side temps change. The best guess I have is the room temp is about 75-77 or so? and the top is cooling faster than it is heating that would generate the middle to be the warmest and the top is loosing heat and the bottom isn't heating enough. I suspect that the best way to deal with the ambient temp is just to run the room heater on a T-stat and be done with it. It will go on and off on its own.

[AK907]

I'll second what kitedemon said. You will get a little variation between shelves.

[mattchibi]

Thanks for the feedback.

An analog oil-filled heater is on my list of things to get, as well as a cheap ranco from rbi to regulate it. Still.. gotta wait till Christmas time when my bonus comes in to buy those things. A digital space heater (not oil filled), closely monitored with no t-stat, should work fine for the time being, right? I set the space heater on 80 F for exactly 30 min timer and 30 min is all the room needs to reach 78-80 F and stay that temp for a few hours. I would repeat the 30 min heating period around 4 times a day to keep the temps up throughout the day.

[snakesRkewl]

What shelf is the thermostat prob on?

[mattchibi]

What shelf is the thermostat prob on?

The top one, as that is the only one with a hole at the back for the probe to fit through. I also thought it would be the hottest since its at the top. These problems may all fix themselves when I get a proper oil filled heater and ranco, hopefully.

[kitedemon]

try the middle one.

[mattchibi]

try the middle one.

There is no hole at the back of the second shelf. Should I solder a small hole to fit the t-stat probe in ? And when removing the t-stat probe from its current location, do I have to be really careful pulling off the aluminum foil tape? I dont want to break the flexwatt (never used this stuff before)