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Sheet Metal Enclosures?

Drewby07

Drewby07

curiocreatures.com
So I'm stilll working on plans for a homemade multi-unit enclosure...and I happen to work at a HVAC company with a full sheet metal shop. I was thinking of having some cages made...probably 36" x 18" x 18" and mounting them on a wooden rack with doors in the front....to make sort of a display rack type thing. I'll probably paint the metal or seal it in some way....

Any thoughts?
 
The type of metal you plan on using, is it heat resistant or something along those lines? I would be a bit concerned with heating it.

Last year I had some painted metal cages I bought locally for Bearded Dragons...But BD's need kept at high temperatures AND they were made specifically for BDs.
 
This is 26g galvanized steel.....same as what the ductwork in houses is made of. It can withstand temps WAY hotter than my corn cage will get....but it DOES have the advantage of transferring heat very well....so I can put the flexwatt under the cage and it will heat the enclosure just fine. I really wanted to avoid having the flexwatt in the cage...

Since this is galvanized....would you guys recommend coating it? I was probably going to paint it, but now I'm wondering if that's necessary....
 
I'm not too experienced with snakes, but I've had a lot of experience with galvanized steel. It dries out my skin and eyes in just a few minutes of working with it, can't imagine what it would do to a snake. Would defiantly coat it with something.
 
i think that it would be harder to achieve a temp gradient using an uth with sheet metal. wouldent it heat the whole botom sheet to the same temp? im no expert on heat transfer though :). i think its a cool idea, as long as there are no health risks.

josh
 
He makes a point, the steel will spread the heat out throughout the viv much more easily than glass will. Glass is made of silicon, a semi-conductor, meaning it resists heat transfer much better and keeps the heat at 1 end.
 
It's an interesting idea, I don't think I have ever seen a viv made of sheet metal. With the dimensions you suggest, if you put the heat tape on one end, I think you will be fine with the temp gradient. The metal will conduct it but not 100% The far end will be cooler.

The zinc used to galvanize will be a problem if you don't seal it well. Too much zinc will make your nuts float.

I'd be interested to hear how it comes out, it might be the new rage.
 
I'm pretty sure that the metal doesn't carry enough mass to transfer the heat from the heat tape all the way across the 3' viv. I've soldered the stuff and had my hand a foot away and not gotten burned.

I'm working on some plans...which I will post here....hopefully I can get one of these units made this week!
 
The heat transfer that would be done by the metal isn't a function of its mass; it's a basic property of metals resulting from their mobile electrons in their metallic bond. Drewby07, would you be able to try a mock-up of the enclosure you plan to build with walls, floor, and heat source, mounted on whatever base you have in mine? Maybe it could just be clipped together or even duct-taped. This would give you a chance to check the temperature gradient.
 
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