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Heat retainment of wood vs acrylic plastic

R

replover

New member
Hi, how good are the ability to retain heat of acrylic plastic sheets vs. wood boards?

I am thinking of making the sides of my snake rack clear, so that I can see them from the side as well. The top, bottom and individual shelves would still be wood.
I was a little worried about the flexwatt melting the acrylic, but hey, if it does, it will melt the tubs.
How far generally do you have the tubs away from the flexwatt, for those who do back mounting?

Do I really need a "back" for the rack? Or can I just place it against the walls?
I plan to run flexwatt on the back, by tacking to the sides of the shelf perhaps with blu tack or foil tape. I hope that for a 3 foot length of flexwatt, it won't sag when only tacked and stretched tight horizontally on each shelf on the back.
 
I don't think I would because the weight of the shelves along with the heat will probably result in warped sides... If you can take the weight off of the acrylic, you will probably not have any problem with using it for viewing windows but might as well just leave the space open instead of putting anything there at all... I tested some acrylic a while back by placing it on top of a lamp shade with a 40 watt soft white bulb... the thin acrylic ended up warping slightly...
 
to add, I think some thick acrylic would probably work well for doors and windows, just not a piece that is going to be put under constant stress...
 
sfaoldguy said:
to add, I think some thick acrylic would probably work well for doors and windows, just not a piece that is going to be put under constant stress...
Click to expand...

What if I support the weight with a wooden frame?

How about as far as its ability to retain heat, and also whether the flexwatt would melt it (I just have a thing where I think flexwatt melts everything!)
 
replover said:
What if I support the weight with a wooden frame?

How about as far as its ability to retain heat, and also whether the flexwatt would melt it (I just have a thing where I think flexwatt melts everything!)
Click to expand...

From my test, it should handle the heat fine and using the wooden frame would work great...
 
Great thanks! Now all I need is to decide the tub sizes and I can start building. How long do you think a 10 X 16 inch floor space can house a hatchling before he outgrows it? Under normal average feeding schedule.
 
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