Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm curious to hear what some of you like out there as far as dimmers go.. I have some that I'm using but I'm not convinced I've found the best ones yet.. I'm looking for something I can use with flexwatt..

I have one small control unit that I actually purchased years ago to use with a soldering iron that works great, but it only has one plug in and I can't find anymore of this particular kind..

any suggestions would be really appreciated..

Patrick

Patrick,
You can make your own dimmer for flexwatt by buying a dimmer switch, receptacle box, and cord at a hardware store. Total cost is about $5 and they work as good as any dimmer you will find.
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Jaremy Douglas

thanks.. that's what I've been using, but I was just wondering if anyone knew about some kind of dimmer set up that you could just plug things into... maybe I'm already on the right track.

thanks again.

Patoquack,
. Go to the hardware store and look at the dimmers and electrical boxes and electrical outlets to see what is available. You can make just about any dimmer system that you need. Dimmers are available to handle all sorts of different electrical loads. Read the specs on them and pick one that is big enough to safely power as many heating elements as you need. I put my dimmers inside the plastic electrical boxes just like JDouglas suggests. I use an extension cord to wite them up. I cut the extension cord in half and hook the dimmer up to each end of the extension cord. If you have a snake room that stays at the same temperature ALL the time you can use a dimmer as your sole tool for controlling cage temperature. If the room temperature varies you will need a thermostat but thermostats can fail and cause electrical fires. A dimmer AND thermostat together used together can protect your snakes, and home if the thermostat should fail.
Jeff

>>thanks.. that's what I've been using, but I was just wondering if anyone knew about some kind of dimmer set up that you could just plug things into... maybe I'm already on the right track.
>>
>>
>>thanks again.

...

bulbs will be less stable @ over 60watts, especially if it's a heat lamp. My old electricity teacher said he almost caused a fire playing with dimmer switch and high wattage bulbs, I'd imagine it would be worse it the humidity factor is high. cheers

thanks for the advice..
I'm always a little nerveous about those kinds of things.

some of the dimmers I've purchased at the hardware store indicate how many watts they can be used with and most of these indicate more than 60 watts.. is the 60 watt rule still applicable regarless of the specs for the particular dimmer?

right now I don't have any one dimmer controlling anything more than 5 ft of the 11 inch flexwatt.. does that sound like too much? most of my dimmers are only controlling the heat (warm spots) for 1 to 3 cages.

thanks,
Patrick