Issues with Arcadia 80Watt Deep Heat Projectors. Temperature won't go up.

[KILLER112397]

Hey guys, so I have 2 identical PVC enclosures setup with two forms of heating. One one side of the enclosure is a 80W Deep Heat Projectors(DHP) from Arcadia housed in a Arcadia socket and Arcadia heat cage for basking/warm side. On the other side is a Radiant Heat Panel(RHP) for the cool side set to 75°F for a consistent heat on the cool side. Both enclosures and their heating is hooked up to a Herpstat 4 Thermostat which is working quite well.



Only issue is, I cannot get the DHPs to heat up to the desired temperature I want, which is 92-95°F in order to create a proper basking spot. The radiant heat panel works fine and I don't believe the issue is with my thermostat. I raised my thermostat temperature to 105°F and still I'm not having any success raising the temperature of the DHPs to the desired temperature range I want. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Malum Argenteum]

First, make sure the Herpstat is set to run 100% power to the DHP (i.e. make sure 'Maxpwr' is set at 100%, and that there isn't some long ramping period that you're riding out). Make sure also that the thermostat doesn't think it has reached target temp (i.e. make sure that the power output remains at 100%). Also, if the Herpstat doesn't reach target temp in some reasonable amount of time, it (if set to do so) cuts power to the heat element in case there's some hardware fault.

I don't use DHPs, but: if you have a heat element that is being powered but still not attaining the target temp, then that heat element is underpowered for the conditions.

If you describe the enclosure size and construction, distance to basking spot, and room temp, someone might be able to confirm that's an undersized DHP and recommend what size DHP you need. Alternately, just get a really powerful one and let the thermostat do its job.

[bcr229]

What's the distance between the DHP and the basking spot, and what kind of material (plexiglass, tempered glass, screen/mesh) is between the DHP and the location of the basking spot?