Problem with my new heat tape..

[Kitsune]

Okay.. so.. I recently purchased about 13 feet of 3 inch heat tape from The Bean Farm..

Charles and I "daisy chained" it and set it up on our rack..
We have it hooked up for a rheostat.

Now.. the problem is.. Only the top and bottom rows are heating and I can't figure out why. I've tried everything. lol.

Is it possible that those 2 strips are bad? Or does anyone have any other suggestions? Is there something I'm missing? Argh! lol.

Thanks~

 

[LeapinLizards]

If you daisy chained it, and the top and bottom rows are the only ones eating, then obviously there is electricity running through the entire rack...BUT not making a complete connection to the middle rows of heat tape.

How did you guys connect them, Krista?

 

[Kitsune]

We connected them pretty much just like this:
http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/flexwire.shtml

Edit: Not the soldering part. lol.

 

[brothaT]

If two strips aren't working all the way down then it almost certainly is a wiring problem. Other than that I don't know what to say, just make sure you're electrical connections are sound and correctly implemented. Do you have a pic?

 

[LeapinLizards]

Do you have an Ohm Meter? If so, you can test the connection to be sure electricity is going through it.

If not, I would try to re-do those connections. It's very odd for two whole strips of heat tape to just not work like that...at least it didn't happen in the 50+ feet I got.

 

[Kitsune]

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture. My camera died on me recently. lol.
We don't have an Ohm meter either. ; ;

We're going to redo the connections and see what happens.
I thought it was odd that 2 complete strips weren't working.. But.. it would be just my luck! lol!

Thanks again you two. =)

 

[OhioGecko]

I had a solder point come loose when I was assembling my rack. Double check and make sure none of your connections came loose.

If your ends are secure you could test them with an electrical tester by testing the opposite end of the heat tape from the connectors.

Can you take some pics of your daisy chan connections and post them here?

 

[OhioGecko]

LOL, I was looking up info while I was posting. The previous posts covered what I asked. Definately redo the ends and see how they come out. Good Luck!

 

[Kitsune]

!!

Apparently it was our connections! We redid the connections for those two rows and all is well. =D

Thanks again! <3

 

[LeapinLizards]

Oh good I'm glad!! Sometimes the clips just don't get "smooshed" enough to break through the plastic seal on the tape to make a good connection. At least it was a quick, easy fix!!