One t-stat to control all flexwatts?

[zoiexpieds]

Can I use one digital thermostat to control all 6 of my flexwatt strips on 6 different shelves?

I've built my own particleboard, melamine coated shelving unit and am now installing flexwatt, I just want to know if I need to use multiple thermostats or if I can just use one.

Thanks!

[BrucenBruce]

From what I understand, as long as the total wattage of your flexwatt doesn't exceed the rating of your thermostat, you're good.

Temps will vary from one enclosure to another, with those higher in the room tending a little warmer. Keep thermometer/hygrometers in each one to monitor!

~Bruce

[frankykeno]

Yep sure you can. Plug each flexwatt strip into a power strip that is controlled by that tstat. I have noted that my Helix does say to use a power strip that does not have a surge protector on it since the Helix has it's own fuse system to handle power fluctuations.

Just make sure of two things....that all your flexwatt is the same stuff (3", 4" or 11") and that the total wattage (listed on the suppliers site - it is different for each type) does not exceed what the tstat can handle.

Our Helix is currently controlling two big racks and doing a fine job of it and I'm not even close to topping out yet on total wattage.

[Argentra]

Yup, like Joanna said. As long as you aren't exceeding the wattage that the t-stat can run, you can hook up as many of the SAME heat source as the power strip can hold. I have a Herpstat running 5 30gal sized UTH pads for my BP rack and tanks and still have PLENTY of wattage available.

Just a note: For optimum performance of any t-stat, from a ZooMed to a Helix, keep the wattage it runs at least 50 watts UNDER what it can take. Never push a thermostat to its limit.

[Gloryhound]

Also when I start getting more than 3 or 4 snakes in a rack I get nervous. So I normally will get a non-proportional T-stat and connect it to a different shelf or rack as a back up. Set it a couple degrees higher than the primary and if it goes off it shuts the whole thing down. If the piece of flex watt that the temp probe is on happens to go bad for some reason or if you feed them all into a power strip and it accidentally comes loose all the remaining pieces of flexwatt will shoot through the roof without some sort of back-up. And while the alarms on my herpstat pro is nice it will take a while for the temp to drop into alarm range with how well insulated the melamine racks I built are.

[Ginevive]

I know that this might be a no-brainer, but here goes anyway. Can I have, say, a 2-foot long piece of 11" flexwatt on the same thermostat as a 1-foot length of 11"? I doubt that you can do this, but I thought I'd ask anyway for me or anyone else who might wonder.

[SnakesvsRodents]

good questions, i would also like to know.. This will come in handy on a rack that i have for two 32q tubs per level if i ever decide to do one 41 qt per level in combination with the two 32 qt per level

[ssjsmits]

As long as you have similar setups, and the same wattage of Flex in all of them, then you should be fine. I control each of my RhinoRaxx's with one thermostat.

[frankykeno]

Yep as long as it's all 11" and not a mix of 3" and 11" and so forth. You just take the total length of the flex you are using x the watts/foot rating for that flex and you get the total wattage number.

From the Reptile Basics website:

11" flexwatt is 20 watts per foot

4" flexwatt is 8 watts per foot

3" flexwatt is 10 watts per foot (though Rich recommends just calculating as you would for the 4" to give yourself an additional safety margin)

So if you are using say 3 pieces of 11" flewatt - 1 is 1 foot long, the other 2 pieces are say 2 feet long. Your calculations are:

1 + 2 + 2 = 5 total feet of flexwatt x 20 watts per foot = 100 watts total

Here's a great link from the Reptile Basics website - Flexwatt FAQ

http://www.reptilebasics.com/Flexwatt-FAQ-sp-4.html