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new UTH problems

amydc

amydc

New member
Okay, I'm new to this whole thing and trying to get my set-up ready for a snake. I bought a UTH and applied it as directed (cleaned the glass on the underside of tank, removed paper from adhesive side, placed the UTH on the glass and rubbed it firmly until it adhered, placed little rubber bumpers under tank corners). We plugged it in and went to bed. The next morning the temperature had only gone up a few degrees on the end we applied it under. It had fallen off during the night. It still seemed very sticky so we re-applied. We have now done this twice and if the thing sticks, it only does so until we plug in the pad. Is this a faulty UTH? It didn't have far to fall so I was surprised it didn't heat the tank better even though it had fallen. It can't be more than a half inch below the bottom of the tank when it falls, so wouldn't it have heated better than that overnight?
 
The plastic covered UTH's don't really radiate much heat, they transfer mostly by contact. And yea the glue is often less than stellar, especially as they warm up.

Get yourself some duct tape or the metal foil tape and run it along the edges of the UTH, that will hold it on a lot better. Pay particular attention to the area where the cord connects in, that seems to be the spot where it starts peeling away from the tank with mine (then it's own weight drags the rest of it off).

Couple of other warnings.
1) Be sure and use a rheostat (light dimmer type) or thermostat with the UTH. Unregulated, they can easily get so hot as to crack the glass. I know that for certain as I did it once.

2) You might want to see about raising the tank up a bit more, those little rubber stubs that come with the UTH don't really give you enough space under the tank to allow for good heat dispersal.
 
Thank you! That saves me a trip to exchange it for another that would do the same thing. Also, I had no idea it could crack the glass. Best place to get a dimmer?
 
If your handy with wiring (or not, its an easy job) you can purchase a light dimmer switch at Lowes or Home Depot and wire it yourself.......I did see a DIY page somewhere on this site or another reptile site with easy to follow instructions and pics.....
 
For the above suggestion, about building it yourself. You really don't have to be great at electrical stuff. I have a basic knowledge and was able to build two dimmers.
 
Also, you're local hardware store usually has some. I bought a couple of the corded lamp dimmers...it's basically an exension cord with a rheostat attached that goes from 0% to 100% power at Home Depot.

I used them for awhile, but eventually switched over to an actual reactive thermostat (the Herpstat model). Problem with the rheostat is that the temps in my house tend to flux by several degrees (due to all my computers dumping heat when busy), which means the tank kept fluxing as well while on the rheostats.
 
Thanks to all of you. I'm sure you see pretty much the same questions over and over but it's so nice to get advice from folks with practical experience. Hoping to get my corn this week or next. Then I'm sure I'll have more questions (even though I've read everything I can get my hands on)!
 
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