Heat Tape Problems

KDesautels08 · Nov 29, 2015

Hey guys,

Recently I have been having some issues with my heat tape. I just applied new heat tape to two of a my racks and a rack I have just bought (used) is having the same issue. The heat tape is heating up and is on a thermostat set to 88 degrees, however the highest temp these racks will get is the high 70's/low 80s... The probes on these thermostats are currently directly on the heat tape..

Any ideas on what the issue might be? I am using brand new heat tape, with relatively new thermostats..

J&M UNE · Nov 29, 2015

What tstat and heat tape...my t stats are set at about 5-7 degrees higher than what the actual tub temps are... Also is it one piece of tape ran through the whole rack or pieces wired together... Also what are you using to get these temps

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KDesautels08 · Nov 29, 2015

J&M UNE said:
What tstat and heat tape...my t stats are set at about 5-7 degrees higher than what the actual tub temps are... Also is it one piece of tape ran through the whole rack or pieces wired together... Also what are you using to get these temps

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I use 11" flexwatt heat tape. As for the thermostat, I bought one off Amazon, thats designed for heat mats, and has worked well for me up until now (called [h=1]Jump Start MTPRTC, Digital ETL-certified Heat Mat Thermostat)[/h]As for how I am getting the temperatures.. The thermostat that I have has an digital thermometer that shows what the temp is near the probe.. I also use an external zoomed thermometer (both are displaying the approximately the same temp. give or take a few degrees).. The heat tape I am using is one solid piece, not two pieces wired together..

J&M UNE · Nov 29, 2015

Well with the little research I did on that tstat I couldn't find its max wattage or if it is on/of or proportional.. I would get a ir temp gun. They are much more accurate for getting temps were ever you want... How much wattage of flexwatt are you running on the tstat....I highly recommend buying a herpstat thermostat they are extremely reliable and the best on the market and well worth the investment to protect your collection.... I know two people who have had cheap tstats fail and cook everything in the rack...one lost 2000$ the other lost 5000$ in animals. Both were hydrofarms. you get what you pay for. And I'm assuming your running back heat with 11" tape?

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KDesautels08 · Nov 30, 2015

J&M UNE said:
Well with the little research I did on that tstat I couldn't find its max wattage or if it is on/of or proportional.. I would get a ir temp gun. They are much more accurate for getting temps were ever you want... How much wattage of flexwatt are you running on the tstat....I highly recommend buying a herpstat thermostat they are extremely reliable and the best on the market and well worth the investment to protect your collection.... I know two people who have had cheap tstats fail and cook everything in the rack...one lost 2000$ the other lost 5000$ in animals. Both were hydrofarms. you get what you pay for. And I'm assuming your running back heat with 11" tape?

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I have never had any issues with these hydrofarm tstats before, and I have been using them since I started. I have a couple other tstats coming in that I will try and hope for better results.. I looked into the herpstat tstats and think I would like to start using those as well.. Another thought I had, is it possible that the tape is not getting enough power? The tape > Plugged into my Tstat > Plugged into a power strip (also containing the tstats for the rest of my racks) > then the wall?

Thank you for your time and research.

J&M UNE · Nov 30, 2015

That's how mine are ran I would fig out the wattage of the tstat and the wattage of the amount of tape you are running if you are overloading the tstat you will get that problem..add in the feet of extension cord and power strip to.

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Heat Tape Problems

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