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Oh no...Flexwatt melted my bin!

Cryptickley

Cryptickley

New member
I own an Animal Plastics rack, and the flexwatt inside melted through the rim of the bin. I noticed that the side of the rack where it kind of vents out had smoke damage. (picture below)
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And so I started to get scared, and I turned off my herpstat (I have a spyder robotics Herpstat ND and it's set to 95 degrees in the daytime and 90 at night.)

When I lifted out the bin that was smoking I saw this:

P1010006.jpg


P1010007.jpg


and this was what happened to the tub:

P1010002.jpg


It was completely melted. It scared the crap out of me, because I don't have a smoke detector and if this would have happened while I was at work i'm afraid it could be worse or something.

I'm not really sure what I should do now though, if it's my flexwatt that is overheating or something and I need to get a new one... (My herpstat seems like it's normal and everything is reading right, but that reminds me I should check on the probe)

The rest of the tape seemed okay though. Heres a picture of the bin just above the one that got burned. I think you can see a little smoke damage coming up into it but it looks fine.

P1010008.jpg


Or maybe I set the temp too high and should adjust it?

The rack I have is the 6 tub Sterlite adult rack, and the tubs I use are the 1960's from target.

I really don't know what to do. I've never been in this situation and I need some advice.

...I am definitely getting a new smoke detector.
 
Im glad all your snakes are ok! Wow! I wonder why the herpstat didnt pick up the temp increase? Perhaps your probe was over an ok strip of flexwatt? Makes me happy I have the heat cable versions of their rack...
 
Where is the probe positioned at? In the third picture it looks like you have either two strips over lapping or the strip folded on itself. If that is the case that is why it over heated the temp between those could get quite high.
 

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Yeah, the probe was in the bin below otherwise the temp alarm would go off I think. For now i'm going to put them in something else, and try running it without bins and keep an eye on it. If it runs fine and was just the flexwatt melting it, I'll probably cut the rims off the bins where they could touch the flexwatt.
 
Thanks Khaman, that makes a lot of sense. It was my first time weaving flexwatt through, I thought I did it right, but I could be wrong.

dsknorr, What did you have to do when it happened to you?
 
You really should replace all that flexwatt. Especially if its all wired together. Otherwise you are just asking for a fire. If its the flexwatt that came with the AP rack, I would be emailing Ali. They have great customer service and might be willing to make it right.
 
I thought the flexwatt needed to be placed under the bin and not inside the bin. The setting was too high for corns. Corns need a hot side of 85 during the day and a drop to 75 at night. Get a smoke detector already, don't be stupid with your life!
 
Cryptickley said:
Thanks Khaman, that makes a lot of sense. It was my first time weaving flexwatt through, I thought I did it right, but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

I have a few AP racks that I assembled and I just weaved the flexwatt like the drawing. There should be slight grooves in the plastic that you can run it though, just start at the bottom and weave it though, any excess once you get to the top just run it up the side like you would to get to the next level.

My suggestion is replace the whole strip it is not safe to use that one again.
 

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That is strange. I'm pretty sure the Flexxwatt should have a gentle bend, not be folded upon itself. I would also e-mail Ali.

I have the heat cable version. The cable will get to 130-140 unregulated. I don't know how hot FW can get, but even if it's 150- that isn't hot enough to melt plastic.

I have frequently set the Herpstat to 90-92F because I have the probe _on_ the cable, at one of the bends, and the bin rests directly on the probe at the back corner.

Well, AP can for sure send you a replacement FW strip. It should cost less than $100.

And get a smoke detector and a fire extinguisher. That way at least if it happens when you're home you can get out alive, and maybe even prevent a fire. My smoke detector runs on batteries and is _so_ touchy that steam will set it off, or any wisp of smoke. It's a PITA, but I know it works. Ideally, you should have a battery detector and a hard-wired detector. Don't fire departments come install them for free on the days that Daylight Savings Time goes off and on??
 
Never fold flexwatt! Never use rolled up flexwatt! Never run flexwatt on top of another strip of flexwatt!
 
I didn't fold it, but I ran it down the side of the cage because when I weaved it I had a lot of extra FW and I didn't know where else to run it. That's why it touches the weaved part, and overlaps that one piece.. ..Thanks everyone for the advice and info, it really means a lot. I am so glad this forum exists <3<3<3 I emailed the address on Animal Plastic's website, and i'm hoping to get a response soon.
 
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