Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm putting 2 X 3 panel felxwatt thingies on a sheet of plywood. I'm cutting grooves for the wiring and covering them with 1/4" plexiglass. The glass will be sealed to the wood floor with silicone. It will be controled by a line voltage thermostat. Has anyone had problems with the panels getting to hot to be covered this way or set onto plywood?

That is what thermostats are for - to protect against overheating. I would put a dimmer in-line with the heater and run that to your thermostat (assuming an ON/OFF thermostat here.) If using a proportional controller, no dimmer is used.

BTW, I would cover it with 1/8 or 1/4 thick expanded PVC instead of acrylic. Acrylic may warp considerably when experiencing a high temp differential, not to mention getting majorly scratched up.

You can get expanded PVC through sign shops or plastic dealers.
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Mark

Exactly what is expanded PVC? What is it used for, how big of a piece does it come in, etc? The only thing I know of PVC is pipe. What common store would carry it?

Thanx

DZ

Expanded PVC is the material that boaphile and several other plastic cage manufacturers use. It is two very thin PVC sheets with a foamed PVC layer inbetween.

It is this foamed layer that causes expanded PVC to conduct heat so well. It is perfect for cage floors when used in conjunction with UTH's or heat tape. Well perfect for anything other than a lizard or turtle with sharp claws.

Because it is so easy to clean I would cut a large rectangle out of the floor of your cage slightly larger than the tape you will be using. Then cover the entire floor with the PVCX.

You could pick up a small piece at a local sign shop. For a full sheet try plastic shops.

OK, what about this. I discussed this with you before about the floor covering, I'm using vinyl flooring remnants. Would this be ok to lay right over the heat panels as well?

DZ

I'm not sure about that. I have it in the floor of my Bearded Dragon cage and it seems very thick and dense to conduct heat.

I suppose you could experiment with it.

Regardless, I agree with MarkG that acrylic is not a good choice.

Thanx, ya'll are a huge help. I remember my grandmother had subfloor heating in her den. It was covered with vinyl and was really warm.