Reptile & Amphibian Forums

anyone have any experience with the Big Apples radiated heat panels? Are these like the pro products heat panels? Do they provide alot of heat how are they compared to heat tapes

I see a few thermostats out since Helix and big apple, of all these thermostats which are better to use. I will be heating a wood enclosure with pair of boas

I have not used the big appled heat panel... but I have used the Helix Panel (also the ones that Jeff sells). IMHO the ONLY pannel worth looking at ... is the PRO PRODUCT Radiant Heat Pannel. You cannot beat their warranty on the product, it WORKS absolutly PERFECT... but its a little expensive. If you want.. shoot me an email.. and ill send you a copy of an email Bob Pounds (creators of the panel) state about their product as compared to the others

>>anyone have any experience with the Big Apples radiated heat panels? Are these like the pro products heat panels? Do they provide alot of heat how are they compared to heat tapes
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Genaroleon A. Guerrero

I'm also researching different heat panels to use, and I recently read about the Pro Panels having a 30% possibility of failure, from someone who switched over to the Helix panels, and seems to like them alot. So, I don't know which is best. ----David

I dont know who told you helix panels were better... but it was probably someone who had something to gain by you purchasing a helix panel (like him getting the sale). Helix panels ( or the same ones Jeff from theboaphile sells ) are worthelss panels. Everyone I have spoken too say they do not supply proper and evenly distributed heat across the cage... also the fact that they are plastic.. they crack. I have 20 TRU Pro Product Radiant heat pannels and will swear by them... I have absolutly NOTHING to gain by telling you this.. I do not get any "kickbacks" =) .... if you want.. shoot me an email.. ill send you some info about the Pro Panel.. which tells you exactly why they are better....

>>I'm also researching different heat panels to use, and I recently read about the Pro Panels having a 30% possibility of failure, from someone who switched over to the Helix panels, and seems to like them alot. So, I don't know which is best. ----David
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Genaroleon A. Guerrero

I read your post regarding Pro Exotic's statements and our Pro Heat radiant panels. Please understand that what Robyn is stating is not correct and due to another issue we have with them (PE), they are trying their best to "hurt" our company reputation.
The facts of the matter are:
PE did buy panels from us in 1998. During the period they bought them, we did have a problem with a defective component from one of our suppliers that caused the copper buss to get warm enough to melt the surface coating directly over the buss, which caused these panels to fail. Even though this happened, the panels, due to their construction, can't support combustion and therefore couldn't cause any other problem or catch on fire, period. The damage Robyn shows is the worst that could happen. For the panel he posted to be in the condition shown, it had to have been used for an extended period after the problem first occurred. It would take many days or more of continued use/overheating to produce the damage shown. Our panels are ASTM rated E84 < 25, which is the same rating fiberglass insulation and other similar products are rated. Our panels can't cause any damage or catch on fire and are actually "self extinguishing". They are made of non combustible materials. He also states that over 30% of the panels burnt out in this fashion which is also untrue. Many of the panels he returned to us were still in working condition, but as evidenced by the extreme darkening of the surface, were obviously being used in a manner warned not to do in our instruction/warranty information. Despite this, we replaced these panels as well and didn't even bring up the issue of misuse. He implies our panels are made in a garage; well our "garage" is a 15,000sq. ft. facility.
Since we made our heating element in large runs, we really couldn't tell what pieces were defective (not every piece was), so this problem haunted us for a couple of years. However, any panel that did fail was replaced and for what it is worth, even some of the replacement panels failed because of the same problem for the reason explained above. I can state that our customers who had contacted us with bad panels are still using the product and are happy with the performance, safety and our company service. If our panels were such fire hazards, these people obviously wouldn't continue to use them.

We also completely changed the design of these panels to meet the harsher requirements of our zoo and other professional sales, so the panels he is showing aren't even being made anymore. It is interesting that he ordered the product back in 1998, but waited many years to "warn" the public.

I invite anyone to investigate this story and find anyone who can back up Robyn's claim of our Pro Heat radiant panels ever having caused any damage, caught on fire or caught anything on fire. With the exception of the damage to the panel surface in the picture, even Robyn had no other problems. Our product is UL listed and ASTM rated. If our product was such a risk, then one would think with 10's of thousands of units being used worldwide, why isn't anyone else complaining about them. In fact, we have one of the best reputations for a heat source of all of the products being sold.

We invite anyone to contact us if they have any questions.

Bob @ Pro Products
Pro Products

I have a Big Apple panel in my Brazilian Rainbows enclosure. I have been reall happy with it. So thats just my 2 cents.

The Big Apple heat panels are VERY good, and much less expensive than all the others. There is a thread about them at the general discussion section at moreliapythons.com with more info.

Big Apple's "desert ray radiant panels" are nothing more than an undertank heating element that they tell you to attach to the top of the cage.
The differences are many, including the emissivity of the heater, amount of energy emitted, parasitic heat losses and so forth.

Anyone who has used a "true" radiant panel will quickly see the significant differences.

This industry is full of people and companies making false or misleading claims or representations. When I called BA about this product and their statements, they told me it was just creative advertising. These devices will emit some heat, but to state that they are an effective radiant heat panel that will properly supply the required heat is truly stretching the truth.

Bob @ Pro Products
Pro Products