You can also attenuate on/off controllers if your tape is too high output for the application, or you already have racks with tubs sitting on bare tape by simply putting a 600w dimmer DOWNSTREAM of your on/off controller.
Simply adjust it to 100%, and watch your thermostats click on and off.
I use a kill-a-watt meter set to watts/VA, start at 100% at say 120 watts for a section of tape, then put a mark on the faceplate of the dimmer switch every 10 watts, and label them.
You just calibrated your dimmer for wattage.
Now unhook your kill-a-watt, then turn it down 10 watts, and time how often it clicks. Plug a low wattage trouble light into your strip and check your watch. Turn it down 10 watts at a time until you get your thermostats cycling once every 10 minutes to a half hour, depending on the temp.

Also, I check the 'draw' of my tape every 6 months. If I have any tape that draws more than the rest, I swap it out for my bottom tape, then keep an eye on it.

[ Hide Replies ]

• Is a proportional thermostat safer? - rudykirk, Sat Oct 4 16:06:00 2008
• Absolutely!!!! - rainbowsrus, Sun Oct 5 00:30:06 2008
• RE: Absolutely!!!! - Bighurt, Sun Oct 5 12:43:25 2008
• RE: Absolutely!!!! - caz223, Mon Oct 6 01:31:08 2008
• RE: Absolutely!!!! - BobS, Mon Oct 6 11:15:29 2008
• Solid state components fail too! - caz223, Mon Oct 6 11:40:56 2008
• RE: Solid state components fail too! - BobS, Mon Oct 6 12:06:07 2008
• RE: Absolutely!!!! - caz223, Mon Oct 6 12:57:50 2008
• UPS ?......... - BobS, Mon Oct 6 13:28:40 2008
• Uninterrupted Power Supply - Bighurt, Mon Oct 6 17:28:42 2008
• Thanks np - BobS, Mon Oct 6 20:56:45 2008
• ARS racks - caz223, Mon Oct 6 22:02:53 2008
• RE: Nice responses - markg, Mon Oct 6 13:45:46 2008
• More.... - rainbowsrus, Mon Oct 6 17:34:29 2008
• RE: More.... - caz223, Mon Oct 6 22:28:52 2008
• RE: Rule of thumb - markg, Mon Oct 6 13:58:01 2008
• RE: Rule of thumb - caz223, Mon Oct 6 22:36:26 2008
• RE: Rule of thumb - caz223, Mon Oct 6 22:58:32 2008
• kill-a-watt - caz223, Mon Oct 6 23:04:46 2008
• They call them dimmer switches.... - caz223, Mon Oct 6 23:20:44 2008
• RE: They call them dimmer switches.... - markg, Tue Oct 7 12:39:07 2008