I expected some questions to be sure. I am also very familiar with the self appointed know it all on the net. Went through this with the heat panels and a self proclaimed master of everything a few years ago. I came here immediately with this to start a dialog on the topic that makes some sense, not hysterical, made up internet "facts". I have often opened up dialog on this here in the past for the sole purpose of getting people to pay attention to what they are doing!
Our goal on the unregulated temp was to keep it under 120 and closer to 110-115. There are a huge number of variables that can make a difference in that, biggest ones being room temp and the surface the tape is sitting on. We used an MDF bench top with a 70-72 surface temp. After letting it warm up for 30 minutes we were at 115 +/- 3. In an open air state like that it can run indefinitely at that temp. That is why back heat setup will almost never go bad. When covered by an insulator (tub with bedding) that temp can rise dramatically if unregulated. This will be the same no matter what element you are using. This is where you get into trouble if you are not paying attention.
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