quick question on a 41q rack

[szynk.reptiles]

im in process of getting materials to build the 9 shelf 41q rack. my question is can i run back heating vs. belly heating to cut down the amount of heat tape id need? i was thinking of enclosing the back and half way around the back with a eucaboard style board and was thinking about either one strip of 11watt down the back? would that be enough or should i run the belly heat instead? im trying to do it on a budget and the belly heat is a lot of heat tape....

[Rat160]

I personally prefer belly heat but I have a rack that I built which I ran two strips of 12" tape down the back. I also enclosed the back using a peg board so it had ventilation but helped keep in the heat. Either way just make sure your getting your hot spot temp.

[Amon Ra Reptiles]

You can use back heat but you will fight the temps a lot more than with belly heat. Also, belly shouldn't be that much more flexwatt. For a 41 just put one foot of 11" flexwatt under the rear of each tub that's plenty for the temps you will need. So for 9 shelves you only need 9 feet. Hope this helps.

[meeistom]

Yes you can back heat 41 qt tubs. Not the most efficient way to heat the tubs though. On long tubs it's best to belly heat them.

[szynk.reptiles]

ok, cause i see the how to's here and they all snake the flexx watt down so its like one long piece hitting all the shelves... so i was figuring like 20ft or so.... my rack isnt done yet im waiting for lowes to get more melamine boards in... just trying to figure out how i wanna do the heat tape to make it most cost efficient for me... thanks guys..

so if i did just one strip per shelf figure 9 ft then all the cords could i take and splice three shelves to one cord so it only has three outlet cords cause my helix only has slots for three outlets to go to it ?

[szynk.reptiles]

if i did 9 sections 1ft each for each shelf can i run them all in line from one to the next through all 9 shelves and have it have one cord being plugged into the thermostat ? cause if 11in flex watt is 20watts per foot so 9 ft of it would be like 180watts is that too much for one line ?????

[PitOnTheProwl]

if i did 9 sections 1ft each for each shelf can i run them all in line from one to the next through all 9 shelves and have it have one cord being plugged into the thermostat ? cause if 11in flex watt is 20watts per foot so 9 ft of it would be like 180watts is that too much for one line ?????

yes, you can wire from shelf to shelf and end with one cord coming out.
180wts on one cord is fine as long as you dont use a light weight cord

[szynk.reptiles]

ok i guess cost wise its not really all that much more expensive to run just one strip from top to bottom... the bean farm site says u can run up to 25 ft of the 11in in one line do u guys all agree is that gonna be safe id be looking at roughly 18 from top to bottom of rack....