Rich
i have been paying a lot more attention to these forums due to the fact that we at Flexwatt did not understand your hobby. We have now addressed that and there will be a lot of new reptile products being manufactured by us. We would have continued to manufacture the same products but it was this competition that made us pay attention. The reason I got a little upset at your other posts is because you lied and said we manufacture and utilize an Asian supply chain. You know this is not true but said it anyway. We are 100% USA and very proud of that. This is a heat product and uses electricity to heat up. Why are you and Robyn hiding the manufacturer of the product if it is up to par? Don't you think it is fair to let your customers know what they are buying? Especially if it can be very dangerous in its application if it is not made/used correctly. If there is nothing to hide then this should not be a problem. I am also curious as to what you mean by long term? Who makes it and how long have they been making it? I can't figure out why the manufacturer is being kept hidden.
Looking at the infrared camera it is clearly two different watt densities and not the same product being compared. The glowing product is a higher watt density.
I work for Flexwatt so I am obviously going to recommend our product but here are some facts:
We used copper bus bars in the 80s and switched to a more expensive tin plated copper with a printed silver. The reason for this was safety and to produce a longer lasting product. Copper oxidizes. we also had to step up our product in order to get a UL listing. THis is different than UR. All our UR products are produced to our UL listing standard.
We use the 7 tooth amp connectors because it makes a safe connection. These can be insulated with 3m 2228 tape for a lower profile than the plastic insulators if needed. We do NOT pre punch a hole and try to fit a rivet in that hole. If the rivet moves it can cause arching and sparking between the buss and the rivet that is no longer in direct contact. The gap is what can cause the spark. we will not take that risk.
We are an ISO company that manufactures to these standards. Nobody knows where the THG is manufactured. Hopefully that will be addressed. If not you can probably find out from UL if you can see the number below the UR symbol on the tape.
We have millions of feet installed in the field for reptile purposes, interior heat, deicing, thermal imaging US military targets etc. our ink mix has been proven stable for thirty years. Maybe the manufactur of the tHG product can provide some info on their product in the field. With all the equipment and software needed to produce a reputable heat tape there is no way you can only produce it for reptile heat so they are obviously making product for other applications.
Flexwatt is the ONLY UL listed radiant heat film in the world. We have UL listing for our FLR/RCH product and a componant listing for other applications. this means that UL audit our manufacturing facility along with NEMKO, ETL etc.
Flexwatt can manufacture a 16 mil laminate as opposed to our 9 mil tape you have now. THG is 10.5 mil. The reason we have kept it 9 mil is because we were told it is easier to weave it between racks. If a thicker product is what is needed that is no problem just let us know.
We have proprietary software that monitors the ink stability at 10,000 impressions per second. This makes sure that only top quality product leaves our facilities.
To back this up the Flexwatt heat tape now has a 5 year warranty. That is a manufacturer warranty so we back it and will not leave that to a distributor.
Everyone is free to buy what they prefer. I would just ask questions about who manufactures the product. This is electric heat. It is important to know who makes it. I also wish there were more US companies that made this product. It would mean a lot more awareness of the product. In the next few months we will have a lot more products for the reptile community including finished heaters with a built in safety feature. We will also soon start to manufacture the product with reptile pictures on the tape so you know you are getting a Flexwatt product. This was also decided becuase for years we only sold what was asked for and did not focus on the reptile industry. That has now changed with a dedicated rep that is a breeder. I apologize that it took so long. I will admit i did not understand anything about your hobby. If there are any other products that will help you just let us know. We will look into making it. I got some good feedback from emails sent to me from the last thread and as you can see above we are taking your suggestions and turning them into products. If there are any preferred heat pads you like but are made with a wire with hot spots we will even reach out to that manufacturer and offer them the film to put inside their mats. Just let us know. My email is e.gilmartin@calorique.com. If you don't hear back from me in 24 hours call the office at 508-291-4224. Some of the emails I received went into my junk box so I don't want you to think you are being ignored. our new rep can be reached at flexwattsales@gmail.com. He has just been hired and will have a Calorique email in a week but you can reach him at the above email for now.
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