Ranco - How many watts is an oil filled heater?

[mattchibi]

Hey guys

Sorry for another question thread, I'll keep it short.

I'm looking to buy an oil filled heater + cheap thermostat to heat my snake room. Looking at the Delonghi TRD0715t heater and the Ranco ETC 111000 Pre-wired, so I can plug in and play

My question is: The Delonghi has a max output of 1500 Watts. The Ranco says it is capable of "suitable for switching 120Volts at up to 16Amps for heating". In science, Watts = Volts X Amperes. So does that mean that the Ranco is capable of handling 120 x 16 = 1920 Watts?

Just want to make sure before I click "Buy". Thanks!

[Jessica Loesch]

It says on reptile basics website it is ideal for high voltage, from 750-1500.

With 1500 as its maximum.

[mattchibi]

Thanks, figured it all out now.

[Vypyrz]

Here is one of my posts from another thread on the topic of Rancos pre-wired with a power strip or "Room Heater" option...

For running an oil-filled heater, the "Room Heater" option is your best bet. Last year, when I decided to switch to a room heater, I called Rich at RBI and asked about the difference in the wiring and if I could use one that I already had that was wired with the power strip. He explained to me that, while the thermostat itself, was capable of handling a 1500 watt load and that the weak link was the power strip, which does not have a high enough wattage rating to handle the draw from the heater. The "Room Heater" option is basically a heavy duty extension cord wired in place of the power strip. So, instead of buying another Ranco, I just went to Home Depot and got a heavy duty extension cord and some little, flat metal clips that crimp onto the wires, and pretty much just un-wired the power strip and re-wired in the extension cord. You can order it already pre-wired, or, do it yourself. Here is the link to a good tutorial, if you choose that option:

http://www.rcreptiles.com/blog/index...1000_thermosta

As far as the heaters go, you are right, there are quite a few brands and models to choose from. I didn't think that I would need all of the fancy digital stuff so I just got a basic one from Lowes. It is a Pelonis brand and cost somewhere around $35 or so. One important thing to keep in mind with regards to the heaters is that they usually have three power settings which draw different wattages. If I remember correctly, my settings/watts are somewhere like Low/325 watts, Medium/750 watts, and High/1500 watts. So as not to possibly overload the Ranco, I always just keep mine on the Medium power setting. Also, these heaters have built-in thermostats. Mine doesn't show actual temps on the scale, so I really don't know what the max temp on the built-in thermostat is, but I just set it between 3/4 and Max to keep the heater from turning itself off before the Ranco, then I set the Ranco to 80F.
You may have to get a little creative when it comes to where and how you place/mount the Ranco probe. I wasn't real sure about at exactly what height I should have the probe. All of my enclosures are between 18"- 36" off the floor, so I just kind of went with a happy medium of about 28" off the floor for the probe. Now if you have some of those tall racks or cage stacks, you may have to experiment a little to find what works best for you, and I'm sure some of the other members who have larger rooms and set-ups will chime in on what is working for them.
I also initially wondered if one heater would be enough. My snake room is a spare bedroom that measures approximately 15' X 15', and with the heater in the center of the room, it has no trouble keeping the room warm, as long as I keep the door closed.
When I first hooked everything up I had wires going everywhere and it looked a mess...



I found an old piece of melamine shelf in the garage, added a few hooks and fasteners from this assorted picture hanging hardware kit that I had...



And made a nice mounting board to keep everything uncluttered and out of the way...



I also wasn't sure how hot the bottom would get, and since it was only a couple of inches off the carpet, as a safety precaution, I have it sitting on another piece of melamine...



Hopefully this will help, or at least give you some ideas...

[mattchibi]

Hey Vypyrz,

Can you tell me if I purchased the right one? I live in Canada and RBI doesn't ship to Canada. I resorted to going on "ETC Supply" to get my ranco. Here is the url for the link where I bought it.

http://www.etcsupply.com/ranco-etc11...ller-p-87.html

In the pictures, the extension cord is a 3 -pronged outlet, which means its grounded. The actual wires are 16 gauge, taking up to 13 Amps and 1500 Watts. Should I have gotten the 14 gauge wires that take up to 15 amps and 1800 watts?

I figured the one I bought would be fine, because my oil-filled heater that I bought is the Delonghi MG15ew - which has a low (700 watts), medium (800 watts), and high (1500 watts) settings, so I figured if I only set it at medium it would be okay to use with the ranco. Even on startup, the "jump" of the heater wouldn't over-power the ranco.. or am I wrong?

Thanks for anyone who replies

[Vypyrz]

Hey Vypyrz,

Can you tell me if I purchased the right one? I live in Canada and RBI doesn't ship to Canada. I resorted to going on "ETC Supply" to get my ranco. Here is the url for the link where I bought it.

http://www.etcsupply.com/ranco-etc11...ller-p-87.html

In the pictures, the extension cord is a 3 -pronged outlet, which means its grounded. The actual wires are 16 gauge, taking up to 13 Amps and 1500 Watts. Should I have gotten the 14 gauge wires that take up to 15 amps and 1800 watts?

I figured the one I bought would be fine, because my oil-filled heater that I bought is the Delonghi MG15ew - which has a low (700 watts), medium (800 watts), and high (1500 watts) settings, so I figured if I only set it at medium it would be okay to use with the ranco. Even on startup, the "jump" of the heater wouldn't over-power the ranco.. or am I wrong?

Thanks for anyone who replies

It looks like you figured everything right and what you got will work. I also keep mine on Medium, just so I don't push the wattage limits on the Ranco...