Reptile Basics Radiant Heat Panels

I've had my 80w RHP set up for a little over a week now and it's working great. We're into the last few nights in the 30's here and I've allowed my room temp to drop to 60 at night. I throw a thin blanket over the top and front of the cage at night and it holds temps fine. I have the UTH on a rheostat set for warmer daytime temps, and the RHP on a Herpstat for ambients.

Hello, Clay. Just wanted to thank you for your well-researched piece on the rhp's. I'm fairly new at this and you thought of issues I wouldn't have until after I had blown my $ on this item. I can hold off for the summer but come fall I will be purchasing one of these puppies - with confidence!

I have a question on these or any radiant heat panel but these sound great. I have a melamine rack that I was trying to find a alternative heat source for and thought about mounting one of these on the outside in the back? My main questions would be how hot is the surface temperature and would it get hot enough to heat a small rack out side the tubs? I know this may all be in theory but if any one has tried something like this it would be great to hear results thanks? I fairly new and don't really like what I have now and am not sure about heat tape.

I guess I should explain my thinking process on this a little my rack is open front and back (basically) I think I could mount one of these from top to bottom on the back of the rack to project heat through the rack it would be 3-4 inches from the tubs them selves and 16-18 from the front of the tubs. Do you think it would heat well through the plastic I would still use my belly heat and with my helix?

What you are describing is a fire waiting to happen. Panels are not like pads. Imagine pointing a heat bulb or ceramic heat emittor at your tubs. Nothing good could come from it. Flexwatt is your best bet. Not sure what your concerns are with using it but it will be far less hazardous than what you are considering.

Bart

Please, do not purchase a heat panel for this application. It is not how it was designed to be used and the most likely outcome is blowing the fuse in it or harming your animals.
Are you having trouble heating this rack??
Rich
Reptile Basics Inc

More or less just trying to figure out the options these things sound great right now I have belly heat and a very good heat panel type of thing on the floor in the room pointed at the rack! It all works well I'm just not sure I like this set up and didn't realize they got so hot if it won't burn the animal in the enclosure with it I wouldn't think it would cause that kind of heat but I've been wrong before!!! The radiant type heater I have now is just a wall mount electric radiant heater from Lowe's I think and it does very well positioned about 2 ft from my rack and I keep my thermostat on with the belly heat so it only runs very infrequently! It keeps the outside of the tubs surface at about 100 degrees but the heat dissipates very well and even the inside of the tub reading 100 is 94.5 on the other side of that tub wall, and the floor 2 inches from the same tub wall is 88 half way back the rack is 85 it really makes for a great heater it's just not what it's intended for and only heat the bottom 5 tubs well the top 1 is empty at the moment. I was really planning on mounting one of these to the wall in the room behind the rack about 4-5 inches from touching anything! But thanks for the input that was what I was asking and I'm not just going to plug something in and go on vacation for the weekend!!