Lamp dimmer for heat mat?

[endrien]

Would it work? I currently can't use just paper towel for a substrate as it is wayyy to hot, I have to use a combination of papertowel and cardboard on the hot spot and it is a pain in the ass. Would a standard lamp dimmer such as this work to drop the temperature a bit?
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/i.../Ne-67n/Ntk-All_EN/R-I3673484?Ntt=lamp+dimmer

 

[SDCowboy]

That should work. You should try slate. It looks so much better than paper towel and it's super easy to clean. Costs less than a roll of paper towels.

 

[Franklinj480]

That'd work just fine. You can also just keep layering the papertowel until there's enough insulation to drop the temperature.

 

[endrien]

That should work. You should try slate. It looks so much better than paper towel and it's super easy to clean. Costs less than a roll of paper towels.

I don't know how thick the slate you are using is but with mine I can't get it to heat enough(Well I have tiles but round the same thing).

 

[megaggie2002]

I don't know how thick the slate you are using is but with mine I can't get it to heat enough(Well I have tiles but round the same thing).

I think slate is less dense than regular tile. So if using tile you would have to set the dimmer a little higher to get the same temps as slate.

 

[UnDeRtOw00]

Would it work? I currently can't use just paper towel for a substrate as it is wayyy to hot, I have to use a combination of papertowel and cardboard on the hot spot and it is a pain in the ass. Would a standard lamp dimmer such as this work to drop the temperature a bit?
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/i.../Ne-67n/Ntk-All_EN/R-I3673484?Ntt=lamp+dimmer

I am using 2 of those dimmers for my uth's right now..they work great. I just put my probe thermometer on the hotside above the heatpad and use the dimmer hit the right temp:main_thumbsup: I am also using one of those on my rack with heattape(just temporary until i get a thermostat).

Only downfault they don't take into account the room temp so it still fluctuates unlike using a thermostat. I just adjust the dimmer switch if room gets too hot or cold.

 

[PaladinGirl]

I use a lamp dimmer for one of my UTH. I can't complain, but you do need to look at it and possibly adjust it a few times a day. They are very sensitive. I only adjust mine by a hair when it needs it.

 

[endrien]

Hmmm With the lamp dimmer the heat mat doesn't seem to reach it's top heat with the dimmer maxed out, though it does reach 32/33c which is where it needs to be. I still find it weird though.
Edit: It seems it takes a lot longer to get hotter with the dimmer on max, wonder why that is?