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Dimming switch for heating pad?

cohazard

cohazard

corn snake noob!
I've read some guides and FAQ's that recommend using a dimmer switch to control the heat output of a UTH.

Are they talking about the kind for your wall? As in having to turn the room light on manually, and install a dimmer switch to control the UTH, perhaps a power strip to control more than one UTH?

Why do I smell fire hazard?
 
cohazard said:
I've read some guides and FAQ's that recommend using a dimmer switch to control the heat output of a UTH.

Are they talking about the kind for your wall? As in having to turn the room light on manually, and install a dimmer switch to control the UTH, perhaps a power strip to control more than one UTH?

Why do I smell fire hazard?
Click to expand...

If you know how to do it, it is very safe. But only someone who knows how to do electrical wiring should try it.

They sell a device called a rheostat. It is a pre-made dimmer switch made for regulating heater pads.
 
I've wired up about 6 or 7 of these. I haven't had a problem over the past 2 or 3 years. I DO take them apart periodically to check the connections and tape. I dated an electrician for a while and he looked at them, and that was his recommendation with these as well as the flexwatt tapes I've also wired.

good luck!

-Tonya
 
This is the lamp dimmer I use for my corn. The only thing is, if you use a dimmer you have to keep an eye on your thermometer, because a dimmer isn't a thermostat. It will keep the UTH at a certain wattage, but as your room temperature fluctuates, you'll have to change the temps on the dimmer.
 
Good point. I may just have to go with the automatic type. I'll start pricing them out, but this dimme would be a great project :)
 
Yep! When I use dimmers I use the one that requires no wiring like Suzy put up. I do wire my flex watt with solder, but that's very easy.. The lamp dimmers also come in another type where you just snip the UTH's wire push the two ends into either end of the lamp dimmer and press down on the 'buttons' that hold the ends in place. It's even a few dollars cheaper and very easy to 'wire'... I have nothing against the other dimmers, I just go with the simplicity of those lamp ones. Also though they kind of allow you to mark your sweet spot temperature wise with a marker and then you can easily fix it if it gets bumped up or down. Assuming you live somewhere like me that the ambient temperature never really changes much...
 
We have used ceiling fan controllers for decades without a problem. We used to use the round controls with just "lo-med-hi" markings. But we found some at Home Depot that have sliding knobs with infinite control, and those are great!

I check temps at least once per month, especially during seasonal changes. Most people do let their houses get cooler in winter than summer, so it is a good idea to check occasionally.
 
I just got a few of those at Lowe's today, Kathy! They were $9 each which I thought was a steal, and about as cheap as the diy article I've seen. What if you plug an extention cord into them so you could then have two outlets for two mat operation? I'm going to experiement with one of them sans snakes and see how it works.
 
I actually had nothing to do with setting them up - hubby did all that, lol! He said he just wired the dimmer switch into a 6 way power strip. Then anything that plugs into the strip will go through the dimmer. That also means you can turn them all on or off with one switch, or plug the whole thing into a timer if you want.

Just check the wattage limits on the back of the dimmer package. I think it was about 500 watts on the one we bought. So we made sure we used enough of the dimmers to avoid going over 500 watts on any one switch.
 
Awesome, I will be getting some heat pads this weekend, one for the 40g, one for the 10g, since the weather has already started cooling, and will soon enough get 'cold' as defined by CA weather anyways.
 
kathylove said:
I actually had nothing to do with setting them up - hubby did all that, lol! He said he just wired the dimmer switch into a 6 way power strip. Then anything that plugs into the strip will go through the dimmer. That also means you can turn them all on or off with one switch, or plug the whole thing into a timer if you want.

Just check the wattage limits on the back of the dimmer package. I think it was about 500 watts on the one we bought. So we made sure we used enough of the dimmers to avoid going over 500 watts on any one switch.
Click to expand...
That sounds awesome, but waaaay over my head. Can I borrow him? ;)
 
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