Hydrofarm Thermostat Help!!

[nimblykimbly]

It feels kind of warm, I just left it for like 2 hours and came back my hot spot said 86!!! I took the tub off and gun the middle of the flex watt and it said 110!! its like no heat is transferring up to the tub, do you think because i have it on the thin plastic shelf and my room temps are lower it is affecting it?? Could i get a foam insulation board and put my flex watt on it then put my tub on that?? Thanks for all your help i'm trying to get this figured out as i was planning on getting her towards the end of the week!!!!

Also where do you have your hydrofarm probe under the tub or beside the tub on the flexwatt?

That could be, but it shouldn't lose that much heat, even if the plastic is thin. But I've never used a plastic shelf... However, I think that if you continue to have problems and we've ruled everything else out, you should get a piece of melamine or some similar type of thicker material/board cut to the size of your shelf and put your heat tape and tub on that instead of the shelf. Maybe that can create more insulation for your heat tape. If your room is pretty chilly, it could have a harder time keeping your temp up. Also, perhaps your heat tape is getting hot enough and switching the thermostat off before the inside of your actual tub gets to temp, but again you shouldn't have to set it so high just to get your tub hot enough. Is your temp gun accurate, by chance? If the tub hot spot feels warm to the touch, that sounds like higher than 86 degrees, also.

You're welcome - I hope we get this sorted out!

P.S. My probe is on the shelf right in front of the heat tape, within 1/8", between the back of the tub and the heat tape....