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Hey everyone I just built myself a 4' x 2' x 2' melamine and closure for one of my females that has outgrown the rack. I am using THG Heat tape (I routed the melamine so that it will be flush) under porcelain tile. I use a HerpStat 2 and I have one output going to my rack and the other was supposed to be for this cage. The issue I am having is that the hot side is 20° F different than the cool side. The tile does not help in evenly dispersing the heat at all! Even on one piece of tile, I can feel EXACTLY where the heat tape is. This is sooooo frustrating!!!! I would just add more heat tape to the cool side and hook it up to a thermostat set at a lower temperature, but I do not have another thermostat right now and can't really afford one. Is there anyway to make this work?
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Re: 20 degree difference in enclosure with Heat Tape & Porcelain tile
I think it's because the melamine underneath is so insulating. I use Flexwatt, have for decades...but mine is allowed to "breathe" as they recommend. It's hard to redesign your set-up for you here &
without even seeing it, but that's what jumps out to me...hope you can figure out a work-around. Any way you can vent it? Below or off to the side, drill a few holes maybe? Sounds like you're "asking
for" it to over-heat as it is, which is a safety issue eventually if not right this minute. (it can melt-down & short) -
Re: 20 degree difference in enclosure with Heat Tape & Porcelain tile
What is the temperature of the room? Heat tape alone really only works if the room stays above 75 degrees fahrenheit at all times. Heat tape is only to have a warm place in the cage for the animal to lay on. If the room gets too cold you need a heat source for the air in the cage. I like radiant heat panels.Comment
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Re: 20 degree difference in enclosure with Heat Tape & Porcelain tile
Heat tape technically "works" no matter what...I believe you meant to say it may not be effective (ie. enough to raise the temperature in the cage) if the room is too cold, & I'd agree with that...but in any event,Originally posted by acephantom903 View Post
it does take TIME for the heat to disperse. Part of the difference may also be a lack of air-flow in the cages typically used by boa keepers, where the air flow is restricted so as to keep the humidity higher. I have
no such issues in my cages, but I'm using glass tanks & keeping mostly colubrids, with lots of air circulation thru the screen tops...it's a big difference. OP will need to experiment & be creative to solve this, though
I know many others here use UTH also & I don't remember any of them with a similar issue. To state the obvious, heat rises...& heads towards the nearest exit. For effective ventilation, it helps to have 2 vents (of
whatever size), one that allows warmer rising air to escape, & one that pulls in cooler room air.Comment
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Re: 20 degree difference in enclosure with Heat Tape & Porcelain tile
One other thought, after re-reading the original post: is there an air gap between your heat tape & the ceramic tile on top of it? It might help [to disperse the heat] if there was...?Comment
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