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I have a 1' piece of 11" flexwatt I'm going to use to heat a 20 gallon tank and I have some questions. First of all, how long does flexwatt take to heat up? I've had it plugged in for over 30 minutes and its only at about 92 degrees. Also, what's the best way to install it on the tank? Should I just tape it on with electrical tape? Does anybody have any suggestions for raising the bottom of the tank up for airflow and to run the cord under the tank?
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MY COLLECTION:
1.0 Columbian BCI
0.0.1 Crested Gecko
1.2 Ball Pythons

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 nice Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
0.1 pastel Columbian BCI
A Blood or Short-Tail Python
A Dumerils Boa
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rankins Dragons
1.3 Crested Geckos
Breeding groups of various Leopard Gecko morphs (including Tremper Giant, Patternless Albino, Blazing Blizzard, and Bell Albino).

Flexwatt will reach its max temp within 5 minutes of being plugged in. It will take longer for the cage bottom to heat as there is more thermoal mass present. As long as you are using a thermostat you do not need to provide ventliation...
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www.MGReptiles.com
Professional Reptile Heating Supplies

The temps were the flexwatt itself, not the bottom of the tank. I'm using a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer with a probe that is laying on the flexwatt. It feels warm to the touch, but it's not even close to being uncomfortably warm. The first time I plugged it in it took about 20 minutes to reach 86 degrees and it stayed there for about 20 minutes till I unplugged it. A little while later I plugged it in again, and this time it reached 86 in 5-10 minutes. After about 10 more minutes it reached 90, then after about another 30 minutes it reached 96, where it stayed for about an hour till I unplugged it again. I tried it again a little while ago, and it reached 95 in a little less than 10 minutes and it's stayed at 95 for the past 30 minutes. Is there some kind of break in period for flexwatt? I thought its supposed to get at least 110 degrees. Is mine defective or something? I have 2 more pieces, but they're from the same roll, so they probably have the same problem.
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MY COLLECTION:
1.0 '04 Columbian BCI
0.1 '05 Sumatran Blood Python
0.0.1 Crested Gecko

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 nice Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
0.1 pastel Columbian BCI
1.1 Sumatran Short-Tail Pythons
1.1 Dumerils Boa
2.4 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Rankins Dragons
1.3 Crested Geckos
Breeding groups of various Leopard Gecko morphs (including Tremper Giant, Patternless Albino, Blazing Blizzard, and Bell Albino).

My first guess would be the thermometer is wrong.. Since you said it feels warm to the touch then I woudl say it is around 100 or so.. If you have acess to an IR temp gun that will tell you for sure.. And yes it is supposed to reach well above 110..
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www.MGReptiles.com
Professional Reptile Heating Supplies

I'm pretty sure its not the thermometer, because I tried a mercury thermometer as well and it says the same thing as the digital one. Now the flexwatt won't go above 92. It feels warm at first, but if you leave your hand on it after a second or two you can't feel it anymore. I guess I'll wire another piece tonight and try it. I got it at a show, and the person I got it from rolled the pieces up to put them in a bag, could this have messed them up or something?
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MY COLLECTION:
1.0 '04 Columbian BCI
0.1 '05 Sumatran Blood Python
0.0.1 Crested Gecko

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 nice Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
0.1 pastel Columbian BCI
1.1 Sumatran Short-Tail Pythons
1.1 Dumerils Boa
2.4 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Rankins Dragons
1.3 Crested Geckos
Breeding groups of various Leopard Gecko morphs (including Tremper Giant, Patternless Albino, Blazing Blizzard, and Bell Albino).

No the bagging shouldent have done anythingto the element.. We ship it rolled up with no ill effect.. Sounds like you just have a bump peice of flexwatt, strange.... Keep me updated if ya dont mind.. You can email me at matt@mgreptiles.com Thanks,
-Matt
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www.MGReptiles.com
Professional Reptile Heating Supplies

There was a tight plastic band on the cord that was holding on a warning label, and when I wired the flexwatt I just didn't bother with cutting it off. I figured I might as well try it, and after I did it got to 110 in about 30 minutes. I have one more question, can I use electrical tape or something to attach it to the bottom of the tank or do I need to use foil tape? If I do need to use foil tape, can I get it at Lowes or something?
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MY COLLECTION:
1.0 '04 Columbian BCI
0.1 '05 Sumatran Blood Python
0.0.1 Crested Gecko

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 nice Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
0.1 pastel Columbian BCI
1.1 Sumatran Short-Tail Pythons
1.1 Dumerils Boa
2.4 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Rankins Dragons
1.3 Crested Geckos
Breeding groups of various Leopard Gecko morphs (including Tremper Giant, Patternless Albino, Blazing Blizzard, and Bell Albino).

Actually eletricity is not restricted by pressure like that of the banding your talking about.. I am not sure what happened but I doubt it was that ... Strainger things have heppened though. You shoudl be able to pick up foil tape at any place that deals in HVAC products..
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www.MGReptiles.com
Professional Reptile Heating Supplies

Never mind, I tried it again today and now it won't go above 92 again. I even tried plugging it into different outlets, and it didn't do anything. I wired another piece and plugged it in for about 15 minutes and it got to 105, so hopefully it will work better than the other one, although 105 is still pretty low, right?. I'm going to plug it in for a couple hours and see how hot it gets. I'll post how well it works later tonight.
-----
MY COLLECTION:
1.0 '04 Columbian BCI
0.1 '05 Sumatran Blood Python
0.0.1 Crested Gecko

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 nice Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
0.1 pastel Columbian BCI
1.1 Sumatran Short-Tail Pythons
1.1 Dumerils Boa
2.4 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Rankins Dragons
1.3 Crested Geckos
Breeding groups of various Leopard Gecko morphs (including Tremper Giant, Patternless Albino, Blazing Blizzard, and Bell Albino).

The only way that you can tell if your heat tape is working properly is with an amp probe meter. 11 inch flexwatt is 20watts per foot. So one foot will have an amp reading which is dependent on the voltage. At 110 volts it would be .18-.19amps, 115 volts .17-.18amps, and at 120 volts .16-.17amps. Using a thermometer will be inconclusive because of heat loss. The temps can read different depending on the room temp, is it heating something or just in the open. There are many variables. Hope this helps.
Wil

Hey man want a job..lol
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www.MGReptiles.com
Professional Reptile Heating Supplies