Heat Tape

Hi I was wondering what everyone thought about 11'' Flexwatt Heat Tape. Ive been researching it and I find different opinions of it. Some say its really dangerous and others use in for most of their cages..... Hopefully someone has had some experience with it! Thanks in advance!

 

I use it on several enclosures. Will never buy a traditional UTH again.

It HAS to be used with a thermostat though. There is no way around it. I would like for folks who say it is dangerous to explain exactly what they find dangerous about it.

 

Awesome, Thanks for replying. In the research that Ive done, it was stated that 11'' flexwatt heat tape causes fires and meltdowns. I read that and something close to that on two seperate occassions. Now when I use it do I put it under the cage(wooden) or inside of it. Its for a Blood Python. I ask this cause Ive seen it done both ways. Again, thanks for replying.

 

Personally I would not use Flexwatt with wood. It is not strong enough to heat through wood and you do not want it on the inside of a cage. If it got urinated on or a water bowl gets tipped it could short out and fry your snake.

You may want to look into radiant heat panels.

 

Alright sounds good. How would I use radiant heat panels? underneath? Thanks again!

 

Heat panels will go on the inside. Attatched to the ceiling. Will not burn your snake. The best overhead heat you can get for a snake.

 

What would I do for Belly Heat?

 

you can put heat tape in wooden enclosures, privided the wood is sealed, and ALL your connections on your heat tape are as well. just make sure the heat tape dosne't get too hot because when its in the enclosure it is possible for your snake to come into direct contact with it.

i am using 11" flexwatt in my newest enclosure that is 2 cages and a drawer above them converted out of an old pine dresser. i have the heat tape hooked up to a dimmer switch that is clearly marked, and monitored by a dual probe digital thermometer.

~Will.

 

Will, if flexwatt gets hot enough outside a wooden cage to heat the inside of the wooden cage, then the wood is probably on fire

And as Shrap said, you don't want to put the flexwatt INSIDE the cage.

I'm curious about that one too. I mean, a gun is dangerous if it's loaded and in the wrong person's hands. A car is dangerous if the wrong person is behind the wheel. Baseball bats, steak knives, you can say pretty much anything is dangerous if it's not used correctly.

 

i am against using flexwatt on the outside of wooden enclosures for that reason. the heat tape in my cages is set to a dimmer that is only 1/4 the way on.

if you know what your doing, i dont see a problem with using flexwatt INSIDE a woden enclosure. i have read 1 article about flexwatt malfunctioning and burning up and the link is below. the malfunction was caused by not using a t-stat or dimmer. i feel that if your using it correctly its a great and efficient way of heating your cages.

http://arbreptiles.com/cages/flexburn.shtml

~Will.

 

The problem is animals are unpredictable creatures, and if they have any physical access to it at all, it's a big risk.

Exactly, like I said, anything is dangerous if it's not used correctly. The problem is, the majority of people don't know how to use most of the things they buy correctly, which is why we have warning labels on hairdryers they say "do not submerge me in the bathtub", and "wear safety goggles" on pretty much every powertool these days (and some hand tools).

It's as though the human population has just thrown common sense right out of the window.

 

Wait a minute...

192°F? That burned melamine? The boiling point of water is 212°F. I would say it got MUCH hotter than that to burn melamine. Anyways, didn't use a thermostat (no, a dimmer and a thermostat aren't the same thing - a dimmer is a rheostat, which is still risky).

 

Hey Will,

Could you please explain to me the procedures to safely use flexwatt inside an enclosure. I would truly appreciate it.

 

i could do a write up of how I do it with pictures sometime this week if things are slow enough at the shop. i'll get started on it tomorrow morning and PM you a draft when its done.

~Will.

 

How about just a quick outline for now???

 

LOL.... just a bit condescending yea? I do realize what your saying however, Im just questioning the product itself. That is one of the purposes this site serves isnt it? The information I read about the 11'' flexwatt was posted by experienced herp keepers so that is what triggered my concern. Thanks to those of you who provided me with helpful information.

 

Not being condescending (at least not towards you - just the people who don't know what they're doing, think they do, then burn their house down - or at least had to put in some kind of insurance claim).

I've just seen too many people over the years not know how to wire electrics up properly, and literally have burned their house down; Or have left the heating devices (bulbs, heat tape, CHE's, etc) in an area where their animals have physical contact, and ended up with dead or severely burned animals.

Too many people out there just think they know it all and don't need to research or *gasp* read the manual

 

If flexwatt is installed corectly, it would be just as safe as a manufactured UTh, correct? Even a UTH should be used with a thermostat.

 

Yeah, exactly. There's really NO difference between Flexwatt Heat Tape and those Exo-Terra heat pads. It's basically the exact same stuff, except wht Exo-Terra pads are already wired up (correctly, heh).

Yes, you really should use a thermostat (or at least a dimmer/rheostat) with any heatpad. Anything that heats up and has direct contact with other objects (in this case, the enclosure), should be monitored.

 

sure. I start by using a soldering iron to scrape away a small portion of the plastic shielding on the heat tape to expose a 1/3" - 1/2" strip of the conductors at each end. then i tin the connections with a little solder, and strip and tin my cut up extension cable. then its just a mater of re-heating the sloder on the heat tape and placing the wire from the cut extension cord into the bead and making sure its a good solid connection.

after thats done on both sides, i cut out a small square of the insulation that is about 1/8" away from the "thin white strip" on the heat tape (kinda hard to describe this part with out a pic, but just bear with me) almost making a post for the connections (also makes it easier to wrap with tape). then i put a little silicone over the open connectors, wait an hour for it to cure, then wrap with electrical tape. I also use a dab of silicone on the opposite end of the tape (where the heat tape was cut) and also wrap that with a little tape.

to secure the heat tape to the cage, i use foil tape to around all sides, and to secure the wires to the cage bottom. from the cage, it then must be wired to either a thermostat (preferibly) or a dimmer switch / rheostat. if using a rheostat a good digital thermometer with probes must also be used to monitor temperatures. your reading for the hot side must come from the hottest point in the cage that your animal could access.

thats the basics, and like i said i will write up somethnig more detailed if anyone wants.

~Will.