SageMonster
New Member
- Messages
- 8
Hello all! -Wave- I'm new here but I've been reading for a while. Happy to be here, too! I'm very excited to learn from the gecko pros. Anywho, I've been putting a lot of thought into efficient, sturdy structures for both gecko shelves/racks and egg incubators.
Please feel free to poke holes and make suggestions! I want to build it and I want to build it right. I want it to last a very long time. I plan on building it much bigger than what I'm starting with, just so there's plenty of room for expansion.
Shelving is pretty simple. I want a gradient of heat, but would rather not do -under- the tubs. Preferably I would want the flexwatt in the back. (I've used flexwatt before with my tarantulas, so I know a bit about it, but I've never done anything like -this- before.) I've heard of heating cable. If you have any experience with the stuff, please enlighten me.
One thing I do know, is that heat rises, and the structure should be made of something that has little issue trapping heat. This leads me to efficiency. I'm relatively stingy with my money, rightfully so, we all work for our dollars, and if I can save on my electric bill, I'm going to do it. So I was considering using insulation.
Before anyone gets scared, no my animals will not be exposed to anything harmful. I meant within two layers of plywood and 'topped off' with another strip. Let me explain what I mean:
For the top (as well as back, and side walls):
- 1/2" plywood sheet - *layer of insulation* - 1/2" plywood sheet -
Then of course top it off and seal it with an appropriately sized plywood strip.
Then the concern of how the heat would affect the wood. Well I would probably treat the wood before building with an outdoor-friendly wood stain. It would give me peace of mind, but would it be necessary? My ideal high temp would be 85-90 F.
I imagine with the insulation and a stable in-home temperature, with a good probe and thermometer it wouldn't take much energy at all to achieve my desired temps. What do you folks think? Has anybody ever tinkered with insulation before?
Same goes for thoughts on a hatchery/incubator. Some sort of closed 'box' with the same idea of insulation inside of the walls and such. But how would I maintain a stable temperature all throughout and not have a gradient? (I would be building 2, one for male temps and one for female temps.)
Flexwatt I don't think would work for this, unless I had it top/bottom/sides/back but even then I don't know how it would work with little air circulation. Has anyone experimented with flexwatt to heat an entire enclosure, and not just the bottom? As stated I really don't want a gradient. What else do you think I could use?
I know it's quite a lot, but I seriously just want to discuss some ideas. I'm a firm believer that you can build anything yourself. It's more fun when you get to design your own setups.
Thanks so much, guys!
Please feel free to poke holes and make suggestions! I want to build it and I want to build it right. I want it to last a very long time. I plan on building it much bigger than what I'm starting with, just so there's plenty of room for expansion.
Shelving is pretty simple. I want a gradient of heat, but would rather not do -under- the tubs. Preferably I would want the flexwatt in the back. (I've used flexwatt before with my tarantulas, so I know a bit about it, but I've never done anything like -this- before.) I've heard of heating cable. If you have any experience with the stuff, please enlighten me.
One thing I do know, is that heat rises, and the structure should be made of something that has little issue trapping heat. This leads me to efficiency. I'm relatively stingy with my money, rightfully so, we all work for our dollars, and if I can save on my electric bill, I'm going to do it. So I was considering using insulation.
Before anyone gets scared, no my animals will not be exposed to anything harmful. I meant within two layers of plywood and 'topped off' with another strip. Let me explain what I mean:
For the top (as well as back, and side walls):
- 1/2" plywood sheet - *layer of insulation* - 1/2" plywood sheet -
Then of course top it off and seal it with an appropriately sized plywood strip.
Then the concern of how the heat would affect the wood. Well I would probably treat the wood before building with an outdoor-friendly wood stain. It would give me peace of mind, but would it be necessary? My ideal high temp would be 85-90 F.
I imagine with the insulation and a stable in-home temperature, with a good probe and thermometer it wouldn't take much energy at all to achieve my desired temps. What do you folks think? Has anybody ever tinkered with insulation before?
Same goes for thoughts on a hatchery/incubator. Some sort of closed 'box' with the same idea of insulation inside of the walls and such. But how would I maintain a stable temperature all throughout and not have a gradient? (I would be building 2, one for male temps and one for female temps.)
Flexwatt I don't think would work for this, unless I had it top/bottom/sides/back but even then I don't know how it would work with little air circulation. Has anyone experimented with flexwatt to heat an entire enclosure, and not just the bottom? As stated I really don't want a gradient. What else do you think I could use?
I know it's quite a lot, but I seriously just want to discuss some ideas.
I'm a firm believer that you can build anything yourself. It's more fun when you get to design your own setups.Thanks so much, guys!
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