Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm new to the whole flexwatt scene so I have some concerns. Basically, I ran two strips of flexwatt in parallel through a dimmer switch ( I know I need to get a real thermostat and I plan on it. The dimmer is only temporary. ) I have a thermometer probe directly on the flexwatt and its reading at 101 degrees when the dimmer switch is completely open. The thing is, the inside of my tubs barely feel warm at all. Is it normal for flexwatt to only hit 101 degrees when plugged into an open current? I was pretty sure my soldering joints were nice and clean so I'm concerned as to why I'm not getting more heat. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.

101 degrees is in the realm of normal for Flexwatt run wide open. Alot depends on the ambient air temp and the material of whatever the Flexwatt is resting on. I mean, if you laid Flexwatt on 1/4 inch thick aluminum I doubt it would ever reach 101 deg.

If the tubs have shavings or paper pulp bedding, you may feel little warmth on top of the substrate, since the warmer air is trapped under the substrate. It can be very warm under. Again, depends on the ambient air and material of the shelves. Particle board will suck away alot of heat in a cool room. Plastic shelves will not suck away as much.

Anyway, sounds like your connections are good.

Thanks for that. I was worrying about the flexwatt all night so its a relief to hear that the temps I'm getting are normal.

So, if my ambient room temp is kept between eighty and eighty three degrees, you think the tubs are warm enough? They're just you're standard under the bed plastic and I'm currently using paper towels as bedding.

I should mention also that I have the heat tape sitting on a wire shelf so I suppose heat could potentially escape underneath? I guess that's the result of bad planning, should I put something under it? What would you recommend in that case?

IMO wire shelves are fantastic! Yes, the wire does conduct away some of the heat (it is metal after all..) but not enough to cause an issue usually unless the room is really cool. The nice thing about wire shelves is that it is much harder to overheat compared to a solid shelf with Flexwatt sandwiched between shelf and cage. You did well by using wire shelves, so no worries.

Not sure what herps you are keeping. If the room is already 80 deg, then I would not think you need really warm flexwatt temps, certainly not over 100 deg F. What kind of herps?