Homemade RHP

[Snakeboyaz]

Hi guys. I've never used a rhp before. Pretty much always used Ceramics for heat though I do like the idea of rhp's. my basic understanding of them is that they produce a mild heat of 180-200 degrees but over a large area to provide sufficient heat. My crazy idea while making pancakes was why can I not take an elcectric griddle, hard wire the plug to it and hook it to a thermostat with power output control or a rheostat, limit the input to keep it around 180ish degrees maximum surface temp. If it's limited to a certain temp and run off a proportional thermostat would this not be similar to a rhp? Has anyone tried such a thing? For the 35-40$ it would be to by a griddle and make a rheostat it would sure be a lot cheaper if it actually worked.

[WhompingWillow]

...I would not take that risk. Pretty sure there's a whole science behind RHPs/radiant heat in general that I would not want to try to replicate myself. Not to mention all of the safety standards and failsafes utilized. Just as one example, yes the RHP is warm, but certainly not 180-200 degrees at the surface like you mentioned.

[MarkL1561]

Hi guys. I've never used a rhp before. Pretty much always used Ceramics for heat though I do like the idea of rhp's. my basic understanding of them is that they produce a mild heat of 180-200 degrees but over a large area to provide sufficient heat. My crazy idea while making pancakes was why can I not take an elcectric griddle, hard wire the plug to it and hook it to a thermostat with power output control or a rheostat, limit the input to keep it around 180ish degrees maximum surface temp. If it's limited to a certain temp and run off a proportional thermostat would this not be similar to a rhp? Has anyone tried such a thing? For the 35-40$ it would be to by a griddle and make a rheostat it would sure be a lot cheaper if it actually worked.

Yeah...... don’t do that. Please just get a proper rhp so you don’t kill your snake or burn your house down. There are other was to heat such as uth too which tend to be more affordable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Snakeboyaz]

Well rhp's do operate at 175-200 straight from reptile basics website. Irregardless I have no intention of actually trying this, I've used ceramics for years and have no reason to switch. I just love repurposing things and always coming up with diy things. From everything I've found there is no real science behind rhp's, the concept has been in use in many ways for many purposes for decades and doesn't seem to be anything beyond dissipating high heat over a large surface area to lower surface temps. I guess I was posting more of a hypothetical question as to wether or not it would work like a commercial rhp, not so much as a should I do it. To rephrase my original post, is there something about Rhp's and how they work that makes them really different from what I purposed?

[WhompingWillow]

Well rhp's do operate at 175-200 straight from reptile basics website. Irregardless I have no intention of actually trying this, I've used ceramics for years and have no reason to switch. I just love repurposing things and always coming up with diy things. From everything I've found there is no real science behind rhp's, the concept has been in use in many ways for many purposes for decades and doesn't seem to be anything beyond dissipating high heat over a large surface area to lower surface temps. I guess I was posting more of a hypothetical question as to wether or not it would work like a commercial rhp, not so much as a should I do it. To rephrase my original post, is there something about Rhp's and how they work that makes them really different from what I purposed?

CHE's and RHP's utilize infrared heat. A griddle would not. A griddle may warm the air a few inches surrounding it, but I doubt it would be enough to penetrate the ground 8-12 inches away.

This link is about cooking, but it has a lot of good explanations on various heating elements. https://amazingribs.com/more-techniq...ooking-and-how

[CALM Pythons]

It would work nothing like a RHP. My Pro Panels are 24” above the floor of my enclosures and between 4 feet and 8 feet away from the farthest points. My ambient temp is always less than the items inside the enclosure including my Snakes. The way these panels work are by heating items in the enclosure and in return your items give off heat and get you your ambient temp. The further away the item is the cooler it is giving you a cool side and hot side closest... a example is the air temp on my hot side is 81/82, my snake while he is on the hot side is 91/92 along with the hide, top of water bowl, floor etc....
when I first started using RHP’s I started to panic at night when I would see the ambient temp drop inside my enclosures when my home goes down to 65. It took a lesson from Bob at Pro Products to help me understand. He said “go use the laser on your snake in the middle of the night when you see the ambient temp drop and I’ll bet you your money back the snake is still within the correct temps... well I’ve paid for 5 RHP’s so far hahahaha.
80 degree air and my snakes are still 90 on the hot side. They are 80 on the cool side even though I’ve allowed the air temp to drop to 70 just to test it.
The griddle would get hot and give off heat, but only within a few inches of it and that is not how a RHP works.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Snakeboyaz]

Thanks for the link, I'll have to read through it more later. I've looked up rhp's several times but never really found much info on how they work or are different then other heat sources. Guess I should been google it pertaining to cooking not reptiles haha. If rhp and ceramics produce the same type of heat, what benifits are there that warrant the massive cost difference? I see the safety factor but that can be dealt with easily enough on ceramics, I like the low profile but at 10x the price.

[JRLongton]

If rhp and ceramics produce the same type of heat, what benifits are there that warrant the massive cost difference?

1st, is reliability. An RHP will work basically forever while a ceramic blows out every so often. I can go on vacation for a week and not worry that my heating system has failed.

2nd efficiency. An RHP is more efficient than a ceramic and costs less to run.

3rd The cost benefit is in favor of RHPs. I heat my T8s with an RHP that cost about $100 which I'll never need to spend again, how many times will you replace a CHE before the cost of replacements exceeds $100?

[JRLongton]

On the issue of a homemade RHP, there is a guy with a YouTube channel (Animals at Home), that posts here sometimes. He had an instructional on building an RHP by sandwiching typical heat cable between two pieces of peg board. Here's a link: https://www.animalsathome.ca/reptile...t-heat-panels/

I've never tried it, and never would. I buy all my RHPs from Pro Products, now and forever. Yeah, Bob is pricey, but the quality and reliability is priceless.

[SquirmyPug]

Thanks for the link, I'll have to read through it more later. I've looked up rhp's several times but never really found much info on how they work or are different then other heat sources. Guess I should been google it pertaining to cooking not reptiles haha. If rhp and ceramics produce the same type of heat, what benifits are there that warrant the massive cost difference? I see the safety factor but that can be dealt with easily enough on ceramics, I like the low profile but at 10x the price.

RHPs aren't that expensive. I don't know where you buy stuff that you get them 10x higher price