Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I never used a rhp before and was thinking of it. Was wondering if an appropriate sized rhp was used on a thermostat in a properly insulated enclosure with enough heat mass objects would the ambient air temp eventually raise in the enclosure and the thermostat cycle the heater on and off maintaining that air temp? Thanks for any input, I understand how they work sort of, just dont know if they would do this.

Yes.

RHP's will cycle on and poff just like any other appropriately sized heater hooked to a good thermostat. I have them in 16 individual cages (3 different types) and they work GREAT!!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count (05/26/2009):
36.51 BRB
29.42 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thank you, I am using it in a large tortoise shed and I dont want to create a basking area in the shed(they wont come out to bask), I just want to maintain an ambient temp. throughout the shed for them to keep their core temp up at nite and cold days. Do you think a rhp will work for this? (assuming its the right size and the ins. is correct.) My old shed I used an electric oil filled rad. suspended from the ceiling and it worked really well, it didnt cycle on and off too much because the shed was really well insulated, I am just exploring new options. Thanks

The concept is really simple (of course the actual numbers/math is hard) In your "system" (where system can be anything from a tub to a aircraft hanger) The heat added minus the heat lost is the heat that remains. Think of heat as a fluid, being poured from your heat source into a leaky container. The leakier the container, the faster you must pour to maintain a certain level (temp). The better sealed (insulated) the container, the slower you have to pour.

If the suspended oil filled heater worked, then replacing it with equivalent (or higher) heat output RHP(s) should work fine. Maybe even better since the RHP's are unidirectional ad installed properly will direct most of the heat downward warming the floor.

The guys over at Pro-products.com will be happy to help you with panel selection for your specific application. That's where I got mine and am very hapy with them.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count (05/26/2009):
36.51 BRB
29.42 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thanks for the simple explanation, it is much appreciated. Mike