flex watt heat

[Salab10]

So I was thinking about going the flex watt route and was wondering what peoples thoughts on it were vs uth and in general?
Where did everyone get theirs and do you cover the entire bottom of the tubs with it or do you only do 1/3-1/2 like uth's?
Thanks everyone

[Skittles1101]

For 3 in flexwatt it goes across the entire bottom only on the back side and for the 1 foot I cover 1/3 of the bottom. It's doesn't make a difference, I like it because it lasts longer than regular UTHs. Either way you need a good thermostat to regulate it.

[L.West]

I use primarily the flexwatt built into my racks.

How long does flexwatt lasts??

[Salab10]

Also, in terms of the tub system, if I'm using a UTH on a tub however the temperature is only 74 (basically ambient room temp) should I switch to flex watt? Will it raise the tub temperature to around 90? (also it would be attached to a thermostat as well as monitored by acu-rite temp reader with probe).

[AK907]

First, you do not want the ambient temps to be 90. Just the surface temp in part of the tub where your snake can lay, creating a basking spot. Functionally flex watt is the exact same thing as pre-manufactured UTH, however flex watt is cheaper and you must wire it yourself. Its great if you have a lot of tubs to heat and don't want to spend $20+ on each UTH. Both will require a thermostat. Both will slightly raise your ambient temps, depending on how much ventilation your tubs have, but not really a significant amount.

[Skittles1101]

How are you reading temps...I find it hard to believe that any UTH is only allowing the hot spot to be 74 degrees? My small zoo med UTH was exceeding 130 degrees on the glass floor...even cracked the tank?

[Salab10]

Maybe my uth is broken because WITHOUT the substrate covering it, the part where it lays under the tub is BARELY warm (the thermostat is nearly on "high")

My tub temp should be around 80, maybe a couple of degrees warmer once in a while, and my bp should have a spot (uth) where the temp is around 90, right?

[Salab10]

also when my substrate (aspen) is covering the uth spot its not warm at all just feels like room temperature and its only about 2 inches thick

[Skittles1101]

well 2 inches thick substrate is still too much, I only use about 1/2 inch of aspen. How are you reading the temps?

[Salab10]

oh really? ok that'll probably help a s ton. and dont get mad. but i'm still trying to obtain my acu-rite with the probe and once i have that THEN hopefully i'll be set i'll get back to ya'll on those temps