Heat Tape/Rheostat question

[Veedee]

Blaahhhh. Had an accident a bit before new years, lost a tank (no lizards in it, thankfully), some heat tape that got... I don't really know... the wires, though, were sliced by broken glass. I thought I could rewire the tape but the tape isn't heating up anymore. And to make matters worse... the rheostat for the length got broken.

Now... I am wondering if I could head my little way down to Lowe's and either get a simple dimmer or a thermometer for a few bucks... or do I have to go out and blow another 20-80 USD on a rheostat/thermometer for the heat tape? Anyone ever try DIY store light dimmers and thermometers?

If I need to spend a lot, since I am not using a rack atm, I may just go out and grab a couple of heat pads. What do you guys think?

 

[T-ReXx]

I've used dimmer switches from Home depot on flexwatt before and as long as you watch the temps carefully, they work. The biggest problem is if your room temp fluctuated a lot they don't change temps to match it. If you have a lot of time to do multiple daily temp checks and adjust as needed they're ok.

 

[Veedee]

Thank you for the reply, Ted.

The room that I keep my geckos in is pretty well temperature regulated - very rarely fluctuates, and if and when it does, its typically in pretty small amounts (2 degrees or less). I'm assuming it would be fine for that?

 

[T-ReXx]

Oh yeah that should be fine. Leos can handle 2 degree fluctuations no problem, and the temp of the tape should hardly change with that range.

 

[sammer021486]

I have also used a light dimmer to make a rheostat and once it stabilized it was pretty good with very little to no fluctuations as long as the room's temps did not change drastically. But they can be a pain to fiddle with keeping the correct temps if the room's temp changes a lot.

 

[kcexotics]

You can go one step further and get your heat tape at Lowes too.They sell king frost heat cable for water pipes,you can get 15' for like $15.They do need to be modified.On the plug there is a little box,Just pop the little plastic cover off and put a drop of sodder on the contacts.(There made to keep pipes from freezing and only kick on at certain temps so you have to sodder the thermostat together so it is always on.)You can heat a rack of under $20....Maybe a little trailor park but i've been doing it for 10 years without any problems....MUST be wired to a dimmer,also be careful using under aquariums if the wire gets kinked it will no longer heat.I usually run a router through my racks and recess the cable so it doesnt get kinked.:main_thumbsup: