Radiant heat panels in a tub?

[Luvyna]

Has this been done before, and if so, how was it installed? Any tutorials or advice are appreciated! Right now I'm thinking the radiant heat panel would most likely be secured to the lid of the tub.

I'm looking for a way to warm the ambient temps in my tub and after looking at alternatives like heating the whole room and CHEs I think I prefer RHPs because they require less energy and are less likely to burn the snake. Please let me know your thoughts or if you have any other tips for heating ambient temps in a tub.

[bcr229]

I would not advise it as the top of them get hot enough to melt the plastic lid, so you would have to make a lid from some other material.

I would use two wide strips of heat tape, one set at 90-92*F, the other at 80-82*F. Put a hide over each. They won't affect the ambient temp much, but they will keep the snake plenty warm under the hides.

[KevinK]

If you're running tubs I think the only logical way to raise ambient temps is to, in fact, heat your entire room with something like a radiant oil heater. I wouldn't see the point of mounting a $60-$120 heat panel to a $10 plastic tub. They are intended for solid top cages/enclosures.

[Luvyna]

Thank you both for the input, I hadn't considered the price or that RHPs could also get too hot (guess I've been reading the wrong info, whoops!).

Is heat tape sticky on one side? If so I'm not sure if I'd want to risk putting it in the tub.

I'm currently using an oil heater to warm the whole room which is keeping the tub's ambient temps in the range of 74-80F and will continue to do that as long as I need to. The only down side to this is that the tub is in my bedroom and I prefer room temperatures closer to 68-70F which is too cold for a BP.

I guess I'll go back to looking at ceramic heat emitters then, I'm just worried they'll wreck the humidity in the tub if I have to cut a hole and cover it with a mesh to mount it. Hopefully I'll be able to find a solution that allows both me and my BP to be comfortable.

[Dianne]

Radiant heat panels need a minimum 6-8 inches of clearance between the bottom of the panel and the top of anything in the enclosure. I don’t see that this would be effective in the typical tub setup.

Heat tape goes outside of the tub and the probe for the thermostat(s) goes between the heat tape and the bottom of the tub. Thermostats are mandatory for any under tank heating elements to prevent burns. Also, nothing sticky should ever go in your tub with the snake. Glue from tape or adhesive can loosen with heat and become attached to your snake, which in turn can cause serious injury when trying to remove it.