Have a problem and need help!!!!!

[BPelizabeth]

Hi guys.....I am hoping someone on here can help me.

Ok I bought a CB 70 rack from Reptile basics and I bought a temp gun from them as well. First of all....I have changed the batteries on the gun...so that is not the problem.

I also have a herpstat (the little one with 3 grounded plugs and 1 probe).

I set up the rack and taped the probe down on the heat tape under the middle bin. I set the thermostat at 93 ....I haven't put the snakes in yet as I am trying to get it perfect. The problem is when I run the gun over it there are places in the hot side of the bin that reads 96 and 98 degrees. Just in a couple of the bin squares though....but it is like this in each bin. Again it is only in a couple of small areas...but still. I have been adjusting the temp for about a week now and just lowered it to 92.5

Also I have set up the bins with paper towels and also put in a bowl of water to see what the humidity is going to be. Right now it is only running about 36%.

I am just at a loss here as I am trying to make sure it is running perfect prior to putting the snakes in.

Sorry for the long post....just need some help.

[BPelizabeth]

cmon guys....anyone have any suggestions??

[rabernet]

I'm going to move this to the caging forum, in hopes that you'll get more hits there.

I'm not really sure what's going on - but I do know that if you reach out to Rich either by phone or e-mail, he probably has had this same question/problem before and would know exactly what to tell you and/or suggest!

[dsirkle]

Heat rises. If your hot bins are above the probe, raise your probe to a higher level, maybe even at the top.

[Skiploder]

Hi guys.....I am hoping someone on here can help me.

Ok I bought a CB 70 rack from Reptile basics and I bought a temp gun from them as well. First of all....I have changed the batteries on the gun...so that is not the problem.

I also have a herpstat (the little one with 3 grounded plugs and 1 probe).

I set up the rack and taped the probe down on the heat tape under the middle bin. I set the thermostat at 93 ....I haven't put the snakes in yet as I am trying to get it perfect. The problem is when I run the gun over it there are places in the hot side of the bin that reads 96 and 98 degrees. Just in a couple of the bin squares though....but it is like this in each bin. Again it is only in a couple of small areas...but still. I have been adjusting the temp for about a week now and just lowered it to 92.5

Also I have set up the bins with paper towels and also put in a bowl of water to see what the humidity is going to be. Right now it is only running about 36%.

I am just at a loss here as I am trying to make sure it is running perfect prior to putting the snakes in.

Sorry for the long post....just need some help.

Elizabeth - are you shooting the temp on top of the paper towel or lifting it to get a reading?

[BPelizabeth]

I am lifting the paper towel to get the temp. Taking the temp directly on the inside of the bin itself. Now the 96 temp is only in a couple of small spots but I don't understand why.


Disirkle...that does make sense....I will move the probe and see what happens as well.

I am so bummed...it has almost been 2 weeks and I still haven't been able to put my snakes in as I cannot get it to balance out.

[chromeitout]

I know from using a temp gun for powdercoating that a shiny surface can sometimes give weird readings. Try laying a piece of notebook or copy paper over the hot spot and leave it for a little while and check for hot spots then. I know that the guns are not accurate at all trying to shoot through glass or checking the temp of a glossy flat surface at 300-400degrees. May be nothing, but worth testing IMO.

[Skiploder]

I am lifting the paper towel to get the temp. Taking the temp directly on the inside of the bin itself. Now the 96 temp is only in a couple of small spots but I don't understand why.


Disirkle...that does make sense....I will move the probe and see what happens as well.

I am so bummed...it has almost been 2 weeks and I still haven't been able to put my snakes in as I cannot get it to balance out.

Elizabeth - try taking the shot on top of the towel and tell us what temp it's reading.

[BPelizabeth]

Ok....I turned the herpstat down to 91.5 earlier this afternoon. The highest read without the towels was 90 in one small area. With the towels the hottest was now 88 in one small area. I guess my problem is.....if it is set at a certain temp then why is it even hotter than that in other areas. Small areas...but still.

Do you think the herpstat is defective?

Sorry as you know...I am a little paraniod so I just want to make sure it is right prior to putting the snakes in. Thank you for your help.

[Skiploder]

Ok....I turned the herpstat down to 91.5 earlier this afternoon. The highest read without the towels was 90 in one small area. With the towels the hottest was now 88 in one small area. I guess my problem is.....if it is set at a certain temp then why is it even hotter than that in other areas. Small areas...but still.

Do you think the herpstat is defective?

Sorry as you know...I am a little paraniod so I just want to make sure it is right prior to putting the snakes in. Thank you for your help.

The towels are insulating the bottom of the tub to the tune of at least 2 degrees. Remove the towels for a few hours and then re-take the heat readings.

In my 41 qt racks, I set the thermostat at 96 degrees. On top of 1" of aspen, the temps is about 90 degrees. If I push the aspen away and take a shot on the bottom of the tub, that temp reads 96 to 98 degrees.

If I leave the aspen pushed back along the length of the heated area, the temp settles at about 92 degrees as the insulation is removed and the heat dissipates at a higher rate.

Elizabeth - the towels are insulating the tub. When you remove them you are getting an elevated reading because they are slowing the dissipation of heat.

The temperature you are shooting for is the one on TOP of the towels. Tune your thermostat to that temp and expect a few degrees of variation along the length of the flexwatt.

The Herpstat isn't defective. Flexwatt does not heat evenly over it's whole length. The temperature will naturally vary over the length of the heat tape itself. Also, the floor of the tubs are never perfectly flat and minute differences will translate into slight temperature variations.