I recently purchased an RBI 40 watt RHP and a VE100 to heat an enclosure I built into a built-in bookcase in my home. The dimensions of the inside are 52" W x 13" H x 11" D... The front of the case is enclosed in sliding plexiglas of .008" thickness, and the rest of the shelf is built out of 1/2" plywood and wood trim. The ambient air temp of the room is around 74F year round as we have central heating and air. The RHP 40 is mounted to the top of the enclosure of course.

I am concerned the RHP panel I ordered isn't large enough or isn't functioning properly. I have the VE100 set on 90F with the probe over top of the desired hot spot and the temperature isn't getting over 83F. The VE heating indicator light is lit, the RHP is on and warm but just not getting up to temp to turn off. I'm not sure if the RHP has its own internal thermostat so it doesn't produce dangerous levels of heat (in which case, 40watts isn't enough
Most likely) or if it's just not working properly. I've had the system running for about 24 hours and I'm just not getting the desired heat I want for my ball python. I have a few cheapie ZooMed thermometers in there and they confirm what the temp probe is reading; 82-83F

Also any ideas for a quick solution would be helpful. I could go get a ceramic tile and throw a belly heat UTH on it but that's just asking for a cooked snake.


Any help is greatly appreciated... Attached is a link to a pic of the enclosure. The RHP is on the right, temp probe is hanging down underneath it.

https://imgur.com/a/d2OrR