My rack temps are driving me NUTS...please help!

[snake lab]

That still doesnt make sence to me. If the heat tape gets hotter then it would show in the tub as well. Therefore when the tub temp goes past 90 the heat will shut off. The heat will never get hot enough to burn an animal. I have never had a catastrophic failure with heat tape in that situation. I could understand that scenario if you were using a rheostat but not a thermostat. Even if the probe was in the front of the tub and you had a failure the stat would shut off once the front reached 90. If it got to 90 in the front at worst you would have 100 in the back and thats still not hot enough to burn an animal. Now if your thermostat fails thats a different story but i still have never heard of a snake burning in any of these scenarios.

[kitedemon]

Because not every one uses back heat. With belly heat the probe either needs to be in the tub or on the tape its self. There is not many other options, if you suspend the probe from the top the bottom will exceed safe limits. No two set ups are the same. I thought about back heat but in my conditions with the short test I ran I could not get the temps past 83 with the flex watt plugged into the wall. I use interior mounted probes for static enclosures but a tubs in a rack there is simply too much opportunity for disaster. Probes must be firmly fixed where ever they are and in a moving tub has too much chance for failure. There are many ways to set up a rack the one that keeps correct temps 80º cool and 90º warm is correct. Back belly or overhead it makes no difference as long as the temps are right.

[Simplex]

That still doesnt make sence to me. If the heat tape gets hotter then it would show in the tub as well. Therefore when the tub temp goes past 90 the heat will shut off. The heat will never get hot enough to burn an animal. I have never had a catastrophic failure with heat tape in that situation. I could understand that scenario if you were using a rheostat but not a thermostat. Even if the probe was in the front of the tub and you had a failure the stat would shut off once the front reached 90. If it got to 90 in the front at worst you would have 100 in the back and thats still not hot enough to burn an animal. Now if your thermostat fails thats a different story but i still have never heard of a snake burning in any of these scenarios.

Famous last words!

I used to put them in the tub... But then switched back to on the tape. For a few reasons
1. Do u put the probe on the substrate or under it?
2. What if the snake moves it from ur location and it fails.
3. Mine r water spillers so what if the probe shorts out.
4. How do u attach it securly.. Tape naw not good... Glue.. PIA..
5. What about tub cleaning. Now i have a probe attached to the tub.
6. What if i need to have that tub open?? Will be cooling and the herpstat will be trying to compensate and. Heating up the other tubs.


Basically ive determined through trial and error that my tubs sap ~ 16 degrees.. My flexwatt is at 106ish and my tubs are 91 ish.
Its just substantially easier imo to have it on the tape.. (mines cut into the shelf below the tape) but frankly its whatever works.

My best friend in the bp world has his in a dead tub.. And it works for him and hes a much larger scale then me...

[snake lab]

Maybe i should clarify. I thought i explained it but maybe not. I use a dummy tub. One tub in every rack is used for the sensor. My melamine racks have back heat. My freedom breeders and vision racks do not. I have the probe suspended midway over the hot side. I have done it this way for years and never had a problem. I dont use substrate. I either use paper or pre cut liners in all the tubs. Now i understand for those that need every spot for an animal this could be difficult. If thats the case and you have a melamine rack you can use a router and route a channel in the roof of the top slot place the probe in and fill it with silicone so it stays in place and the channel is protected from moisture. For me i want to know that my thermostats are picking up the temps that the animals are feeling without worry of flucuation. Flexwatt can have deadspots in it. Ive seen it happen. What happens if your probe is on a section that has a dead spot occure? Your tubs will be out of whack. I am very anal about heating in my racks to the point every single rack has johnson controls thermostats with helix backups. I know that seems like overkill to some or too much money in electronics for one rack but im not trying to loose any animal regardless of value.

[kitedemon]

Simplex,
snakelab's method is this... It likely will work if that is the method you have chosen. The failure is the that not every one has or should have the same set up. I don't I use belly heat as it is more efficient and keeps my power bill down.


His is a single solution among the other possibilities that I have pointed out in other posts. The problem is that other methods and practices he chooses not to recognize. Just like his suggestion that someone looking for their first snake should buy a rack. and contradicting himself (herself) by agreeing that the racks really want higher ambient temps which in the original post the op was trying to avoid. I have no time for people whom cannot or will not believe that there could be other solutions to a given problem.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-the-cold-side

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[kitedemon]

I am very anal about heating in my racks to the point every single rack has johnson controls thermostats with helix backups. I know that seems like overkill to some or too much money in electronics for one rack but im not trying to loose any animal regardless of value.

You do realize a proportional unit cannot work as a back up right?

[snake lab]

Im not backing it up as a failsafe. Im using it as a secondary in case one fails. Sorry i should have been clearer.

[snake lab]

Just read my reply and realized i need to be even clearer. I use johnson controls prewired with strip and night drop. I back that up with the helix but the helix isnt hooked up to heat. Its meerly there to give me a secondary temp sensor. Hope that clears it up

[kitedemon]

snake lab interesting logic there I'd be curious about the steps that lead to that decision. Here is not really the place to do so. It is enough of a hyjack already.