Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

I just completed my first rack for my BPs, and hooked it up to a Helix system. I thought it wise to cover the flexwatt with foil tape to avoid excessive wear, however; I am not satisfied with my temps as a result of doing this. On the cool side, I am getting 79 - 81 which is not bad. I would like to get 90 - 92 for my hot spot. Unfortunately, the temps are ranging from 86 - 89 in my five unit rack. Should I remove the tape covering the flexwatt and simply tape the edges? It makes sense that the tape will trap some of the heat, therefore; the removal of the tape should raise the heat to the desired degree on the Helix unit. Also, will the constant friction of the sweater boxes rubbing against the tape cause the flexwatt to wear presenting a hazard? I would like to hear from others with homemade racks. Do you cover the entire surface area of the flexwatt with tape or just enough to keep it secured to the rack?

An adult female will be arriving this weekend, so it would be nice to have the temps in the appropriate range. I do have an alternative if the temps are inadequate when she gets here.

TIA,
Todd

foil tape is metal,it not only protects the flexwatt from wear but it spreads the heat out.your temps sound good to me.you can tweak the probe location to possibly get higher temps,sometimes a 1/2" movement greatly changes temps.the farther the probe is from the heat tape the hotter the tape becomes before it levels at the set temp.once you find the perfect location you will want the probe to be attached in a way that it can't be moved.

Thanks a million!

That is so logical. I can not believe I did not think to do that, lol! Anyways, I did exactly what you suggested and the hot spots did augment a few degrees. One more question - Is it common for one or several units of tape to completely loose power while the Helix is adjusting? My second shelf to the bottom had zero power going to it last night, but this morning it was fine. Also, on my other 5 unit rack that I plan to stack on this one the same thing happened. I had no power on two different shelves, but disconnected them for now thinking something was wrong. Should I hook it back up and give it a few days?

Thanks again. I enjoyed building this rack, but getting the heating right is a B****!

Todd

i had levels go off and on in the first rack i made,i didn't have the clips squeezed tight enough.seems like you you should not bear down because the flexwatt is so thin,but the opposite is true.if you look closely the clip is a friction fit that requires great force to squeeze it as flat as you can.this is what i would check first.