Heat tape and thermostats

Hey there!

right now, for heating i'm using a heat cord. i was wondering how'd heat tape works, and how do u adhere it to the enclosure? plus, how do heating elements work with thermostats? im in the process of getting a thermostat for my heat cords but am not sure how it works..ie as far as i can see..the heat cords just plug right into the power socket. im a real electronic idiot, so i'd appreciate help on this. also, with heat tape, how do u connect a thermostat to it?
plus, fire hazards, any important things i should do, or certain arrangements i should avoid?? wouldn't want to be responsible for burning down my house. i intend to place the tank right on the heat cords, with an insulating element between the cords and the table.

Don

Heat tape is really easy to assemble. http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/flexwire.shtml is a good link. I just put my heat tape underneath my sterlite containers and tape my thermostats probe directly onto the flexxwatt. -Chris.

Don, Some people place heat tape under tile, rocks, sand...etc I like to tape it under the tank (keeps all the cords out of the tank) You can hard wire it to a regular house dimmer switch that you would put in a switch box, or you can get an in-line dimmer that you just plug into and it will control the tape, rock or whatever just by plugging into it. Of course you will have to put a plug on the heat tape to plug into. But it's really easy, they make special conectors that "crimp" the wire onto the heat tape or I like to solder it on then cover it with tape. Most hardware stores will sell the in-line dimmers for about $10 .
I have attached a pic of the in-line dimmer switch and maybe someone will put up a link on how to wire heat tape?

I made this diagram (geezz I should work for disney!)

Hi,
If you order from Bean Farm they send wiring instructions along with your order. I used it to heat the back of a rack I built, and adhered the heat tape to the peg board on the back of the rack with aluminum foil tape. It was very easy to wire it as per the instructions, and hooking it up to the dimmer was also easy. i am far from mechanically inclined, and I found it easy to do.

Good Luck
Tony

give a non-techie hope the links and pics were great, thanks riverjop and Chris. my next step will be figuring how to heat a rack system.

One last question, what would be the diff in using a dimmer and a thermostat?

Thanks again,
Don

im rather new to keep leopard geckos but i can tell you the tech side of the 2 times
1. a dimmer is a variable resistor, restricting voltage to the item plugged into it in differant amounts depending on what position the slide is at. this will take some monitoring and adjustment on your part to get the temps where you want them.

2. a thermostat is basicly an on off swicth (it most likely uses 2 metal tabs and as the temp decreases one tab will flex and make contact with the second and trun the power on) this is more of a "set it and forget it" solution (although it is a good idea to monitor temps for a bit to make sure it is calibrated properly)

so while the dimmer is most likely cheaper it will involve more work on your part (not really a big deal if your only have 1 tank)

hope this helps some