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  1. #11
    BPnet Senior Member jmcrook's Avatar
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    Re: Vivarium Electronics / Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panel warning

    Quote Originally Posted by WrongPython View Post
    Any sort of heating element has some sort of safety issue associated with it. That's just how electronics and heat roll.

    RHPs? Make sure they've properly outgassed, don't let too much heat reflect back at the unit, maybe get them serviced every few years to replace fuses and the like. Heat bulbs? Don't spray them with water when they're hot, don't let your herps touch them, watch for electrical shorts. CHEs? Definitely don't let anything touch them. Heat tape? Don't get me started.

    My point is that any heating element can fail, like the others have said. Avoid obvious junk and untested technology, follow the manufacturer's instructions for use, remember your safety regulators and relays, maintain and check your equipment, and you should be good.

    For what it's worth, the only consistent, widespread scuttlebutt I've heard in the VE versus ProProducts RHP debate is that the VE panels seem to be a bit stinkier when offgassing. Since offgassing smells seemed to be tied to the type of plastic used in the unit's shell, which does appear to be different between the two companies... yeah, I could potentially see that. People who have used both brands can chime in on this front. I'm curious.
    Both definitely stink when off gassing. Can't recall offhand which was the worse offender at my place to be honest though. Pro Heat claims no off gassing but they definitely stink for a bit when brand new and fired up.

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  3. #12
    BPnet Veteran WhompingWillow's Avatar
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    Re: Vivarium Electronics / Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panel warning

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Misha View Post
    I'm going to take this post with a grain of salt as I've seen these "warning" posts before for VE/RB panels and they always end with the person going to pro panels. For some reason, the OPs only post once or a few times and disappear...

    With that being said, I've had my Reptile Basics panels for literally years and never had any issues. Maybe VE or RB can chime in on this.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    While I can't speak for the OP's experience, and while I haven't been nearly as active on this site as I once was (due to kids, home projects, etc.) I can speak to my experience with the older style Vivarium Electronics heat panels - I recently replied to a post about it but will mention it here and include photos.

    Of the heat panels we were running, 2 were the older style VE kind with the plug that could be removed from the panel itself, 2 are newer VE ones where the wire cannot come out of the panel, and 1 is from ProProducts. I liked the ease of ordering VE panels, which is why we initially went with them.

    A few weeks ago while checking on snakes and turning on lights, I noticed that our BCL had partially unplugged the wire from the panel and it was literally smoking. Part of the plug had melted. I hate to think of what could have happened to my animals and house if I hadn't gone down to that snake room when I did. All RHPs were/are controlled by Herpstats.

    Needless to say, we stopped using those panels immediately and have replaced them with ones from ProProducts. We still have the 2 newer style VE panels but will also be replacing those as they look like they have warped.

    Buy whichever products you prefer and feel comfortable with, but there are safety issues with VE RHPs.

    Last edited by WhompingWillow; 01-24-2022 at 08:05 PM. Reason: Trying to make pictures work
    BALL PYTHONS: 1.0 Pied/Clark, 1.0 Pastel Vanilla Super Stripe/Sunny, 0.1 Dragon Fly/Buffy, 0.1 Pastel Vanilla Yellow Belly/Cher, 0.1 BEL (Mojave Lesser)/Arya, 0.0.1 Normal/Norm, 0.1 Cinnamon Enchi/Peaches, 1.0 Cinnamon Calico/Yoshi, 0.1 Pewter Het Dreamsicle/Ariel
    BOAS: 0.1 Dumeril's/Memphis, 0.1 BCL/Artemis, 1.0 BCO/Grimm, 0.1 Suriname BCC/Rhubarb
    CORN SNAKES: 0.0.1/Mushu
    MORELIA: 0.1 Bredli/Zelda, 0.1 Granite IJ/Bridget, 0.1 Caramel Diamond Jungle/Pixie

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  5. #13
    BPnet Veteran WhompingWillow's Avatar
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    Re: Vivarium Electronics / Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panel warning

    Sorry, it's been a while since I've tried to upload photos. Hopefully this works.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
    BALL PYTHONS: 1.0 Pied/Clark, 1.0 Pastel Vanilla Super Stripe/Sunny, 0.1 Dragon Fly/Buffy, 0.1 Pastel Vanilla Yellow Belly/Cher, 0.1 BEL (Mojave Lesser)/Arya, 0.0.1 Normal/Norm, 0.1 Cinnamon Enchi/Peaches, 1.0 Cinnamon Calico/Yoshi, 0.1 Pewter Het Dreamsicle/Ariel
    BOAS: 0.1 Dumeril's/Memphis, 0.1 BCL/Artemis, 1.0 BCO/Grimm, 0.1 Suriname BCC/Rhubarb
    CORN SNAKES: 0.0.1/Mushu
    MORELIA: 0.1 Bredli/Zelda, 0.1 Granite IJ/Bridget, 0.1 Caramel Diamond Jungle/Pixie

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  7. #14
    BPnet Veteran Luvyna's Avatar
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    Re: Vivarium Electronics / Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panel warning

    Quote Originally Posted by WhompingWillow View Post
    Sorry, it's been a while since I've tried to upload photos. Hopefully this works.

    Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
    Thank you for posting this - it was my post you replied to about the VE panels on another thread and after seeing these photos I now realize that I have the exact same old VE model that you had. The fact that yours melted and was smoking is very worrying and I will be looking into changing mine.

  8. #15
    BPnet Veteran Malum Argenteum's Avatar
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    Yes, sounds like undersized panel relative to ambient temps (which are lowest this time of the year for many of us, leading to this sort of situation after some time with acceptable performance). As already mentioned, knowing the thermostat model, settings and probe placement will help evaluate things, as better thermostats won't let this happen (alarms after too long running without reaching set point).

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  10. #16
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    Re: Vivarium Electronics / Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panel warning

    I never even realized the correlation with that. When I was looking at purchasing a heat panel for one of my enclosures, it was most likely posts like this that persuaded me to go to pro products. Huh, i'll definitely keep an eye out on that. That seems very shady indeed.
    Thanks for pointing that out

  11. #17
    BPnet Veteran Malum Argenteum's Avatar
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    So I found the same review apparently from the OP on Reddit, where the replies were less skeptical of the claims, and the reviewer responded to questions. Just to clarify, I think skepticism of random forum posts is quite reasonable.

    Likely some of the reason for creating a new account here just to post this is less concern for hobbyists than some sort of catharsis. I've had a customer service interaction with the company in question that makes it reasonable to suspect that the reviewer's position is based on that experience rather than simply a premature product failure.

    FWIW, I own both brands of panels and slightly prefer the ProProduct panels and would purchase one again if I needed another panel. My VE panels have not had any failures or real faults, though.

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  13. #18
    BPnet Senior Member jmcrook's Avatar
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    Re: Vivarium Electronics / Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panel warning

    Quote Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum View Post
    FWIW, I own both brands of panels and slightly prefer the ProProduct panels and would purchase one again if I needed another panel. My VE panels have not had any failures or real faults, though.
    Same. I give a slight edge to Pro Products for a more compact panel, slightly more durable, better cord/plug design, and uses less electricity.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  15. #19
    BPnet Veteran Malum Argenteum's Avatar
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    Re: Vivarium Electronics / Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panel warning

    Quote Originally Posted by jmcrook View Post
    uses less electricity.
    I assume you mean that the heat radiates downward more effectively than the VE, which has a warmer top surface than the PP panel. Because both convert electricity to heat with the same efficiency.

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    Re: Vivarium Electronics / Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panel warning

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Misha View Post
    I'm going to take this post with a grain of salt as I've seen these "warning" posts before for VE/RB panels and they always end with the person going to pro panels. For some reason, the OPs only post once or a few times and disappear...

    With that being said, I've had my Reptile Basics panels for literally years and never had any issues. Maybe VE or RB can chime in on this.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    I am going to take this comment with a grain of salt as I bought a reptile basics 120m watt panel and it only lasted 40 days before it died. Now I have to fork over more money to have it shipped for repair. People go to pro panels because they are far superior quality then the junk reptile basics sells.

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