Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need to hook up some heat tape for the racks I just built, looking to buy 3". But there is 6 watt or 10 watt. Need advice on which way to go. Is a 11 watt safe, its cheaper at $1.89 per foot and the 6 watt is $2.25 per foot. Any advice would be appreciated. Caging forum doesn't get as much traffic, thought I would post in here.

Thanks,
Kyle

If you are looking to buy the 3", this would dictate the wattage I believe. The 11" has so much wattage per foot, as does the 3". Of course the 11" has more wattage per foot because there is more sqaure inches of the heating element.. Unless something has change in the last year or so this is how it works.

I would go with the 11" with more available wattage unless you are constrained by space. If you are running it through a controller (which you should be), it will just run less and should be more effiecient in the end. I like to know I have the horse power there to keep temps if need be on a really cold day. Howevr, I live in the North East and it gets pretty cold here.

It all depends on how you're going to run the heat tape. If you plan on using belly heat, than 4" 8 watt heat tape is suitable for any size enclosure. If you're running back heat, you'll want to cover as much space as possible as back heat just isn't as "concentrated" a heat source as belly heat, in that case, go with the 11" 20 watt.
I don't recommend the 3" for anything as it uses more wattage per foot than the 4" and covers less space.
3" heat tape is completely useless in my opinion.
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www.strictlyballs.ca

I am using it for belly heat and theres enough room for 4" heat tape. I thought about using it, but wasn't sure.

Kyle

Definitely go with the 4" heat tape, unless you feel more comfortable with an inch less coverage and more electricity used for nothing. Good luck.
Belly heat rules!
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www.strictlyballs.ca

I use Miles of 3" tape. Works well for me. And all the other people I know that know what they are doing...
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http://www.jasballpythons.com./

While the person who brought up the difference between back and belly heat was exactely correct in some respects. It is a fact that back is a more dispersed and indirect heat, while the belly heat is more direct and therefore a more immedaiate heat in a confined area. Nonetheless, the 3" stuff will have to run much...much more often to maintain temps in a tub than the 11" stuff. The 11" stuff will runn less, because it gives off more heat and therefore will be more efficient in the end. To say the 11" stuff will burn your rack up is simply irresponsible and most likely comes from someone that is selling racks wired up with the less expensive to install 3" stuff. The 3" stuff is cheaper up front so people who sell racks use it more often. You are being a penny wise and a pound foolish if you do this. Buy the higher wattage and more effiecient Flexxwatt, do not be foolish. It is that plain and simple. Use a controller always and you will NOT burn anything. This is totally irresponsible to say you will burn your rack up.

Though I do agree with most of your points, 11" tape though running less to maintain temps, sort of defeats the purpose of why it woudl be used. If you're using belly heat, you should allow for 25%-33% of the floor to be covered by heat. While most animals in a rack, as the original poster was, uses a 23X16X6 rubbermaid or equivalent for housing their balls. Using 11" tape will cover more than 75% if you account for residual heat. Not smart. 4" will give you about 7-8" of heat, or about 1/3 of the floor space.
Ideal.
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www.strictlyballs.ca

I took two garage racks, cut the pvc poles and used peg board to seal the other side of each shelf. I am using CB-70's and 1.5 inch of styrofoam for insulation (12" long). I was thinking about putting the heat directly down the middle of the rack (where the styrofoam is, 10" of floor space). Ideally I should put the heat at one end of the rack, but considering the groove its not possible. Unless I have the heat tape above the peg board and would have overhead heat. Any thoughts? The first pic is showing the start of the rack.

Kyle

second pic

Third pic, finished.

Can you tell me where you got the "garage racks" I would like to try that myself.

Thanks, Dave

When I put a 11 watt, that was a typo. I meant to put "10 watt is more expensive", I wasn't sure on what 3" heat tape to use (6 or 10).

Kyle

3 inch heat tape comes in 6 watt and 10 watt power.

in every install we do using the 6 watt Flex Watt, you always have to dial down the power, so there is no need for the 10 watt stuff.

we have used the 3 inch heat tape on many types racks, multiple types of caging, for many sizes of snakes, and we have sold thousands of feet of it. it works fantastically.

to say that there is no use for it boggles my mind.

at the same time, i have seen the 11 inch Flex Watt melt and burn many a cage...
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

"at the same time, i have seen the 11 inch Flex Watt melt and burn many a cage..."

Any size heat tape will burn a cage out if there isn't a thermostat attached.
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www.strictlyballs.ca

It is totally irresponsible to say you will burn your rack up with 11" Flexxwatt. This is NOT true. Use a controller and it will maintain temps at 90 degress or whatever and this will not cause a fire.

I lose alot of respect for people who sell racks, and they use 3" Flexxwatt because it is cheap up front. THis is bad enough, they should not mislead people on the other side though...

Agreed. Tsk tsk ProExotics.......
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www.strictlyballs.ca

tsk tsk?

do you guys actually have any idea what you are talking about? do you give any thought as to context?

we have sold LOTS of flex watt. years ago we sold the 11 inch stuff. i saw MANY customers come back with melted cages and saw any number of pictures of BURNT CARPET, BURNT table tops, etc.

the fault does not lie just with the heat tape. a LOT is user error. folks don't understand proper setup or spacing, folks don't understand how to set up a thermostat probe, the cat yanks the probe out, the thermo fails, the rheostat fails, there are MANY reasons that lead to heat control failure.

when you fail with the 11 inch heat tape, bad things happen. it gets BLAZING hot. enough to burn and melt.

i didn't see it in my dreams, i didn't imagine it, i know it from direct experience, and i have made the professional choice to only sell the 3 inch heat tape, because it can meet 99% of the needs, and it doesn't have near the overheating downside.

for a couple of forum geniuses to COMPLETELY miss the point and start "tsk tsking", that is amazing. take your scolding somewhere else.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles