Posted by:
jasons-jungle
at Thu Apr 1 12:06:17 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by jasons-jungle ]
Understand your concern. My heat tape usually runs around 101 degrees to produce 92 degrees inside the tub (the back edge of the tub may read 97 or so, but where the snake will actually be laying needs to be 92).
I'm not entirely an expert, but I would say that 95 degrees inside of your tubs for balls may be a bit warm, typically people run them from 88-91. Anyway, that's a side note, just something you may want to consider.
Back to your original question, there are several things you can do to improve the efficiency of your rack, although 8 degrees of separation is probably about as good as you can expect (as you noted due to the 1/2" gap from the 'lip' that touches the heat tape to the tub itself). For starters, I always recommend inside walls versus outside walls. Secondly, you can either improve the material (generally thicker is better) on the back of your rack. I recently went from 1/8" plastic to 1/4" plastic for my backs and saw about a 2 degree temperature increase. If replacing the back isn't feasible, then I'd recommend using some insulation (I prefer 1/2" or 3/4" silver-backed insulation that you can buy at most hardware stores). Cut it to the size you need and either sandwich it between the wall and the back of the rack or tape it to the back of the rack. This will let less heat out of the back therefore pushing more heat towards the tubs.
Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know.
Take care,
Jason @ Jason's Jungle
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RE: Flexwatt temperatures in rack systems - jasons-jungle, Thu Apr 1 12:06:17 2004