freaked out by electrical!

[daniellebluetoo]

HI guys, i"m hoping some one can help me out here.
I've been researching racks, here , there , EVERYWHERE......

I think i'm going to build my own, BUT, I am really freaked out by the electrical part, having visions of fire and burnt geckos and the darn thing combusting when I'm away a the grocery store and so on and so on....

So I guess my question IS...
WHat is the safest heating product, the DYI heat tape scares the hell out of me, is there some thing else thats all put together that does the same thing? SOrt of like the UTH's but shaped like the flex tape?

Thanks for reading!
D

 

[acpart]

Zoo-med makes a repti heat cable in different lengths. I think the longest is 50 or 100 feet. It can be taped down in any configuration. I use it for my tanks. I bought a used rack that has some kind of heat cable attached as back heat. I believe that if you wanted to use the heat cable as bottom heat you'd need to route a channel on the shelves so the cable would be flush with the surface of the shelf. I considered switching over to heat tape but the safety aspect bothered me too. I'm sure there's someone on here who uses heat cable for racks that could give you more specific advise. It does tend to be pretty pricey and I usually get it on Ebay (there's a lot of 6 packs of heat tape on Ebay right now). LLL Reptile has a good price for it but their shipping is high --I got it right from the store a few years ago when I stopped in CA on my way back from Australia).

Aliza

 

[GeckoConnection]

....

I personally use the heat cable, and one strand takes care of my rack. The rack is 4' tall x 2' wide x 18" deep. I think the strand I use is the 29' length. The first few feet does not heat up though, so keep that in mind. Also, depending on whether your racks will be in a temp controlled room or not will determine if you can use just one strand under the tubs or if you have to double the strands.

Flexwatt is also great and extremely easy to wire up. If you are afraid of wiring it, you could get the connectors and the covers, then use some electrical tape over the ends for added safety. I have previously used the flexwatt that I wired up and never had any issues.

 

[ARgeckos]

I had the same fear too. I built my own rack and use Ultratherm heat pads. Its the same thing as flexwatt, the only difference is that its already wired and also has protective clear cover. They come in all differenct sizes. I bought mine at beanfarm. Make sure you use a thermostat controller or dimmer for temperature control.