Question about thermostats?

[Syfaio]

Can you plug a thermostat directly into the power bar that has heat tape hooked up to it? Just wondering how that works and if its safe

[bimmer28]

it is my assumption that you have the heattape plugged into the powerbar, the probe plugged into the thermostat. then plug the powerbar INTO the thermostat. the thermostat cuts power to the powerbar when it reaches temperature and applies power when it is below. this is what regulates the temperature. if you had the thermostat plugged into the same powerbar as the flexwatt nothing will regulate the flexwatt and you will get extremely high temps

the other option is wiring the flexwatt yourself and plugging that into the thermostat however you should be a qualified/skilled electrician to do that lol

thermostat just cuts power to the powerbar. there is no safety concern there. you may decrease the life of the powerbar if it is a very cheap one. make sure your flexwatt is secured and if you cut it yourself that you cut it properly(check for videos, you have to cut between the black bars, as cutting thru the black bar is the same as having a non insulated wire exposed)

[Syfaio]

Yeah no I actually just have my flexwatts hooked up too they're own dimmers but I know I'll need to hook up a thermostat soon as the collection is growing

[blk02ssmonte]

Plain and simple.....plug the t-stat into the wall and the heat tape into t-stat and the probe on the heat tape.

[Syfaio]

Yeah but what about if I have 2 or more connections?

[blk02ssmonte]

Most t-stats can run from 1000 to 1500 watts of power. You can run your whole rack on 1 stat. Check the rating on the stat and see how many watts per foot the tape is.

[Syfaio]

But I mean if for example I have two separate flexwatt connections that have individual cords

[Syfaio]

How would I go about setting up a thermostat too multiple connections I mean

[Lizardlicks]

You could try a bit of home DIY wiring to hook the strips of heat tape up to each other (lots of youtube vids that can show you how) OR get a thermostat with multiple receivers

[Syfaio]

Thanks