Almost had a MAJOR disaster...

[mechnut450]

So as I understand it your probe sits under one of your tubs on top of the flexwatt?

If so, this is the solution I came up with as I used to have my rack set up that way.

I made a notch in the shelving for the probe and then taped the probe to the underneath of the flexwatt using aluminum tape, then taped the heat pad back down on the shelf so it lays completely flat.

ok I got a question for you chadowens


What kind of tap will sticvk to the plywood and hold I tried duct tap and it like it just floats on the wood and won't stick . I hate ot have to buy more glue andspread under the flxwatt on my rack to hold the flex down. ( spically with the shelves already screwed down)
I anm taking a empty tub and placingthe probe under it and the other probe inside to set my temps later today.

[ChadOwens]

I use a melamine rack and foil tape sticks to it very well. Here are some pics of my probe set up:





Here you can see the heat tape lays perfectly flat so the shelf can be used without fear of moving the probe.

[L.West]

Please clarify one thing for me - as I've read thru this post it appears to me that the problem came from the probe being moved from its intended location - the problem wasn't that the actual Helix therm failed - is this correct.

I run both my set ups on a separate Helix and hate the thought of now having to go buy two more Helix's to feel safe.

If I understand correctly - as long as my probe are secure then I should be fine - is this correct.

Thanks everyone.

[Kaorte]

Please clarify one thing for me - as I've read thru this post it appears to me that the problem came from the probe being moved from its intended location - the problem wasn't that the actual Helix therm failed - is this correct.

I run both my set ups on a separate Helix and hate the thought of now having to go buy two more Helix's to feel safe.

If I understand correctly - as long as my probe are secure then I should be fine - is this correct.

Thanks everyone.

Yeah the thermostat did not fail, the probe just got moved off the flexwatt which is what caused the temperature spike.

[Lolo76]

Very cool, Chad - thanks!

And no, the thermostat didn't fail... as Kaorte said, the probe simply got knocked out of place. Btw, I finally made it to Lowe's and got the aluminum tape - only took care of the probe so far, but I'll change the rest of the tape (from electrical to aluminum) when I clean cages later. Also picked up a little hand-held soldering iron for like $12, and a new dimmer for my gecko tank. Love that place!

[ctrlfreq]

If I understand correctly - as long as my probe are secure then I should be fine - is this correct.

In this instance, that is correct, however probes and thermostats do fail, and sometimes their failures can result in catastrophe - but it's like investing, you decide what is an acceptable level of risk.

If your probe is fixed in place well, and your collection is valued in the few thousand dollar range, the second thermostat probably isn't worth the investment to avoid an occurrence with somewhere in the small fraction of a percent probability. If however your investment dwarfs your 401k and stocks, you might feel the redundancy is relatively cheap to ensure your animals aren't put at risk of fatally overheating.