What are you talking about if it puts off heat you can feel then it's too hot. If you touch anything that is warm you should be able to feel it and that doesn't mean it's too hot. So I'm going on the limb to say you meant other then what your post is implying.
What I am saying is that, a heat pad should not get warm enough that it feels hot to you. Reptiles need heat lower than your body temperature, therefore, if a heat pad feels like it's hardly working, it's actually doing its job correctly.