Ok so I just got home and the rack is holding a temp of about 75 degrees with a hot spot of 82 degrees. I'm wondering if I double up with another piece of heat tape will that do it?
Im sorry if I missed this, but do you have a temp gun at all? What is the exact reading on the heat tape, not the air above it? Even in a 70 deg room the heat tape itself should be able to heat up to a 90 degree hot spot, but a 3 or 4" piece wont do much for the ambients. Taking hot spot temps with a digital probe thermometer can be misleading, imo those are best for ambient temps.
This issue is why I avoid racks with small heat tape. 11" tape works much better for larger sized tubs.
Good call. When people have dedicated snake rooms with high ambient temps it seems that smaller heat tape works much better. For everyone else larger tape usually seems like the way to go from what I see.