FunkyRes
New member
For anyone who uses Flexwatt - you are probably aware that the tape itself is not suppose to exceed a temperature of 95F.
The two methods generally used to regulate the current to achieve the proper temp are either a dimmer switch or a proportional thermostat.
The advantage of a proportional thermostat (IE Helix or Herpstat) is that when working properly, it reduces current the closer it gets to target. The disadvantage of a proportional thermostat is that they contain solid state control circuits, which can fail for any number of reasons, from manufacture flaw, old age, power spike, combination of above. When they fail, they can fail in a way that allows full current, and a number of people have had dead animals and/or fires as a result.
The advantage of a quality incandescent dimmer switch is that there are no solid state circuits to fail, when such a rheostat fails, the failure is almost always open - no current gets through. The dis-advantage is that they do not adjust the current they send based upon temp, how far you've turned the dial specifies how much current goes through, so you must monitor temp frequently, especially if the ambient air temperature of the herp room is not constant.
I have been looking for some type of audible alarm to make flexwatt installs safer, kind of like a freezer alarm that goes off when you did not properly close the freezer door.
I did not find a single device solution, but I did find something that should work -
Use an on/off thermostat in combination with a power outage alarm. The bulb of the on/off thermostat should be mounted on the heat tape. The on/off thermostat should be set to a few degrees warmer than your target flexwatt temperature. Plugged into the on/off thermostat should be something like a "Reliance Controls PowerOUT! Power Failure Alarm".
If your proportional thermostat fails, or if your dimmer switch is set too high, once the heat tape hits the temperature specified on the on/off thermostat - the on/off thermostat will cut power to its power output, which will trigger the audible alarm.
You still should monitor the temp of your heat tape and herp enclosures, but as long as someone is around to hear it, an audible alarm is a great way to notify you that there is a problem, potentially preventing disaster.
Anyway - just thought I'd share it. I'm still looking for a better "one piece" solution to give an alarm when temps get too high, but this at least does the job. What would be great is an audible alarm that also sends a text message to a cell phone in the event you are not home ... or even shuts off power automatically requiring a manual power back on (safer for those weekends when you are off hiking in the mountains).
The two methods generally used to regulate the current to achieve the proper temp are either a dimmer switch or a proportional thermostat.
The advantage of a proportional thermostat (IE Helix or Herpstat) is that when working properly, it reduces current the closer it gets to target. The disadvantage of a proportional thermostat is that they contain solid state control circuits, which can fail for any number of reasons, from manufacture flaw, old age, power spike, combination of above. When they fail, they can fail in a way that allows full current, and a number of people have had dead animals and/or fires as a result.
The advantage of a quality incandescent dimmer switch is that there are no solid state circuits to fail, when such a rheostat fails, the failure is almost always open - no current gets through. The dis-advantage is that they do not adjust the current they send based upon temp, how far you've turned the dial specifies how much current goes through, so you must monitor temp frequently, especially if the ambient air temperature of the herp room is not constant.
I have been looking for some type of audible alarm to make flexwatt installs safer, kind of like a freezer alarm that goes off when you did not properly close the freezer door.
I did not find a single device solution, but I did find something that should work -
Use an on/off thermostat in combination with a power outage alarm. The bulb of the on/off thermostat should be mounted on the heat tape. The on/off thermostat should be set to a few degrees warmer than your target flexwatt temperature. Plugged into the on/off thermostat should be something like a "Reliance Controls PowerOUT! Power Failure Alarm".
If your proportional thermostat fails, or if your dimmer switch is set too high, once the heat tape hits the temperature specified on the on/off thermostat - the on/off thermostat will cut power to its power output, which will trigger the audible alarm.
You still should monitor the temp of your heat tape and herp enclosures, but as long as someone is around to hear it, an audible alarm is a great way to notify you that there is a problem, potentially preventing disaster.
Anyway - just thought I'd share it. I'm still looking for a better "one piece" solution to give an alarm when temps get too high, but this at least does the job. What would be great is an audible alarm that also sends a text message to a cell phone in the event you are not home ... or even shuts off power automatically requiring a manual power back on (safer for those weekends when you are off hiking in the mountains).