Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've recently tried to hook all my aquariums for leos with Cobra heat mats. They are nice, produce an almost 100% surface temp of 100 degrees and don't stick to the glass with that horrible sticky residue. They are safe inside the cage as much as out, though work better under tiles when inside the cage.

Now for the problem. It seems that the surge protector doesn't allow for a strong enough wattage to pass to the cobra heat mats and they only produce about 1/3rd of the heat they should. Has anyone had any experience like this? I've tested the mats on a regular outlet, so know they all work fine. I've had to resort to lamps solely for warmth for now.

Would anyone recommend any other method for using these mats that doesn't require me putting every aquarium in seperate rooms just to use the heat mats?

I think the problem lies with the surge protector, especially if it has an extremely long cord. The strength of the heat mat gets reduced the longer it has to travel to reach its power source. This a question you should take to the Cages & Habitat Design forum for a better answer.
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chickabowwow

Also, just a guess:

When the power going into the surge protector unit gets divided by X devices, the amperage per device decreases due to the demand of each device. Have you tried to run the surge protector with only the heat pads plugged into it? This seems odd because every component of my computer system lamp alarm clock is running off of my surge protector and I have no issues. Maybe it's the particular brand surge protector that you have.
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Leopard geckos
1.0 High yellow
?.? Tremper Albino (baby)