11" flex watt

[recycling goddess]

okay... so i think we are going to go with 11" flex watt... but something rich said to me is stuck in my head and i'm concerned.

he said that with 11" if anything goes wrong... we would have cooked snakes! well... you never know... something could go wrong!

so... since we are having a hard time keeping our ambient temps up... is it really a good idea to go with the 11" or should we maybe go with two strips of 3"? can they both be run off the same t-stat (helix grounded) or would we need two of them?

i'm confused (like that's a surprise) and i'm just not sure what to do. we have a LOT invested in our snakes and would hate to come home to fried snake!

so... people who use flex-watt... who have racks... do you think it's a good idea to use the 11"?

[recycling goddess]

actually which one do you all recommend... the helix or the herpstat?

[jason221]

I would say to just go with the 11" Flexwatt. As long as it's on a reliable thermostat (like a Helix, lol), it shouldn't "cook" your snakes. I use 11" with no problems. Also, wouldn't 3" cook your snakes as well if something went wrong? It's still a lot of heat. It's just my opinion, but I don't see how 11" is worse than 3". Aside from a larger area of heat, it's the same as 3", isn't it?

EDIT: On thermostats, well, Helix and Herpstat are both very good. I only speak from speculation, of course, as I use a Johnsons Controls thermostat. Although, I've heard great things about both.

[recycling goddess]

well... it would be hard to get away from an 11" flexwatt in a 40qt tub... but with 3" there's a lot more room to get away from the heat!

yes??? no???

[joepythons]

okay... so i think we are going to go with 11" flex watt... but something rich said to me is stuck in my head and i'm concerned.

he said that with 11" if anything goes wrong... we would have cooked snakes! well... you never know... something could go wrong!

so... since we are having a hard time keeping our ambient temps up... is it really a good idea to go with the 11" or should we maybe go with two strips of 3"? can they both be run off the same t-stat (helix grounded) or would we need two of them?

i'm confused (like that's a surprise) and i'm just not sure what to do. we have a LOT invested in our snakes and would hate to come home to fried snake!

so... people who use flex-watt... who have racks... do you think it's a good idea to use the 11"?

Aleesha, both my 41qt and the hatchling rack have the 11" flexwatt on them for the heat sources.I would think one size of flexwatt would be less lethal IF it failed.In my 41qt rack it has one peice of 11" flexwatt on each shelf towards the back of the tubs.If the stat or something did fail my snakes have the remaining 2/3 thirds of the tub to get away from that temp if it gets to high.I just remembered i was supposed to post some pics of the 41qt rack showing the flex watt setup.I will post those pics for sure this weekend if you want to see them also.

[recycling goddess]

thanks joe, i'd like to see the pics.

actually which one do you all recommend... the helix or the herpstat?

[JLC]

Aleesha....I think the 11" should be fine. I'm using that in Kisasa's tub as well. While I believe we all need to take precautions and be ready to spend the money to purchase steady, reliable equipment....we shouldn't work ourselves into a tizzy fretting about every little thing that could possibly go wrong. I mean....the house could burn down, too? But we still live in 'em.

[tmlowe5704]

I will second the realiable thermostat post. If you have a helix or a herpstat or even a JC or ranco, you will be fine.

[recycling goddess]

well i figured if enough people agreed with the 11" then i'd feel better about it as rich initially seemed very perplexed and confused as to why i would want it.

so... now i feel better

any preference anyone on t-stats? the helix or herpstat?

i'm about to place my order... and want to get the best for my buck... and since i know NOTHING... i'm in need of all of your expertise!

(except joe cause his breath stinks tonight and so how can someone with bad breath know anything???)

[JLC]

I've heard great things about both Helix and Herpstats. When I get to the point of replacing my JC with one of those, I'll probably choose a Helix...just because my BP mentors use them as well. But if someone gave me a Herpstat, I'd be a happy camper, too.