UTH with dimmer switch?

[RobertsKitty]

I've used dimmer switches on UTH's for decades with no problems. I've had more Thermostats go bad on me than rheostats. I hate heat lamps for heat for ball pythons because they dry out the air so much so I definately recommend a UTH. I prefer using thermostats myself but as long as you check the temps regularily dimmer switches are a prefectly acceptable alternative.


Personally, I prefer the Ultratherm heat pads for use in a single cage application (IE: not a rack) the heat pad should cover around 1/4 to 1/3 of the bottom of the cage so that you have a gradient from warmer to cooler. Here is an example of the type of heat pad I prefer. http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultrath...ater-uth-6-x11

That was the kind I've been considering. From what I understand they don't heat well through the AP cages but I read they can be placed inside the tank so I'm considering that. I figure since the girl is so little she can stay in her tank for a bit longer. I can put Loki on one side if the divider, get the heat pad stable then move him back to his side then do the same for my girl then move her into the T8. Do they have any physical stores that sell them? I would prefer not to wait on shipping.

[RobertsKitty]

I found a local seller that has flexwatt for pretty cheap so I might try that. I've read a lot of different posts on the forum that all say a dimmer is fine if your house doesn't fluctuate much. Our thermostat is set to 74 and the coolest it's gotten is 69. If I set the dimmer for 95 while the house is it's hottest then even with the fluctuation it will only go down to 90ish so I think that will be ideal. I have to go get a new feeder for my baby Saturday so I'll probably pick up the flexwatt then.

[MarkS]

Personally I never put anything with electrical connections inside a cage if I can help it. Too much chance for it to get wet and short out.

[bcr229]

Personally I never put anything with electrical connections inside a cage if I can help it. Too much chance for it to get wet and short out.

FlexWatt / heat tape should never go into the enclosure as it's not safe if wet. There are sealed heat pads that are designed to go into enclosures with a thick floor that wouldn't transmit heat from a UTH, but they are outside the OP's budget - and they still need to be on a t-stat.

[RobertsKitty]

Two Flexwatt questions: First is one strip of flexwatt 11 wide and 24 long big enough to heat a divided T8 and second how long does it take Flexwatt to get up to full temp. I know my friend had a cheap UTH that took 13 hours to get fully 'warmed up'.

[RobertsKitty]

Also, is does anyone have any info on if hydrofarm is any good? I've heard they caused fires but I don't know if this is true.

[MarkS]

I've never heard of a fire started by a hydrofarm thermostat. ANY electrical device can catch on fire, but I've never heard where hydrofarm is any better or worse then any other device.

[Pythonfriend]

Two Flexwatt questions: First is one strip of flexwatt 11 wide and 24 long big enough to heat a divided T8 and second how long does it take Flexwatt to get up to full temp. I know my friend had a cheap UTH that took 13 hours to get fully 'warmed up'.

i dont know the answer to question one, what i hear is that the UTH should cover something like a third of the underside of the tub, but then, some people boldly contradict that rule by installing it to the back or the sides of the tub or even at the top, so i dont know.

to answer the second question: this is not a question of quality, but a question of setup/wattage.

lets assume the UTH is decently powerful. when operated with a dimmer, you cut that power down, throttle it to a level that when running 24/7, it will maintain a desired temperature of some specific value above the ambient room temperature. so, yes, it will take very long to get to that ideal temperature when plugged in. if it would get to the target temperature in 5 minutes, your snake would be roasted after an hour.

when operated with a thermostat, a simple thermostat will run the UTH full steam at 100% until the target temperature is reached, and then switch off, and switch it on again when the temperature drops too far. a better, proportional thermostat will run the UTH at 100%, and throttle down to 80%, then 50%, as the temperature approaches the target, instead of on-off-on-off the thermostat will try to figure out the right value. in both cases, the target temperature should be reached rather quickly.

some UTHs are designed for a low wattage, ive seen UTHs rated as low as 5 watt, 8 watt, 15 watt, 20 watt. these might be enough if your room temperature is fairly constant and you want a hot spot that is just a bit above the ambient temperature. the beauty is that this low maximum energy output makes them incredibly safe. if your thermostat or dimmer has a catastrophic failure and the UTH runs at 100%, but the UTH only delivers 10 watt, it cannot reach dangerous temperatures because the wattage is too low for that. typical UTHs have a much higher maximum energy output, so that they can also be used in a chilly room in Alaska or whatever, but that means that they must be regulated and will burn your snake quite quickly if they run at full power.

(it happened here one time.... someone posted that in his pet store they run unregulated UTHs without dimmer without thermostat 24/7 and that it works just fine.... imagine the avalanche of posts this triggered . after he got tarred and feathered for risking crispy reptiles, it turned out they used these UTHs with a very low wattage and figured out which wattage needs to be used in which place to get the desired result.)

so, when your friends UTH takes 13 hours to reach the target temperature, maybe thats not bad quality, maybe that is what he purchased and it is behaving just like it should, and he just purchased one with a low wattage = low maximum energy output. ready-made flexwatt (meaning cut and connected) is available for all wattages, and the flexwatt that you can cut yourself will have a wattage like "8 watt per foot" or "20 watt per foot". the 11 inch version appears to be rated at 20 watt per foot.

since you said that your room is quite warm and at a very constant temperature, i dont think you will need lots of watts.

[Mind_boy]

I'm so sorry if this seems super dumb, this is my first Foum response. Do I need a dimmer, because I put a Zoo Med heat mat on my 20L tank, and both thermometers are reading just around the 90 degree mark, no dimmer... I did in fact buy a dimmer, but I am now thinking of using it for a CHE to keep the temps on the cool side up a tad.

[RobertsKitty]

No problem! No question is dumb and asking makes sure you have the best information for your snake. The zoomed mats are set up to turn off at a certain point but I would definitely suggest checking often. While rare there are reports of them misfiring and turning the temp way high (like 130s). Unless you get a super pricey thermostat with a probe there isn't a way to 100% negate that risk. That being said monitor it for a few days and if it stays in acceptable ranges you should be fine to use your dimmer elsewhere.

Also keep in mind outside affects (is the heater on in your room making the tank hotter, or on the opposite side do you have the a/c making the snake room an ice box.) Those kind of things play a role when you don't use a thermostat. That being said I've had my 4 for years with no trouble so consider the risks vs what you can afford.

If you have any questions starting a new thread will let more people noticing