Flexwatt and Herpstat

I'm working on getting a setup ready for my 2 new corns (coming next week). Trying to get some safety issues worked out. I'm looking at getting some 11" flexwatt panels and controlling them with a herpstat nd on a couple of 10 gallon all-glass tanks.

First thing, I'm wondering if, in the event that a flexwatt panel starts heating uncontrollably (I saw one post with a panel that was melted), would a GFI outlet cut power if something like that were to happen?

Second thing, would a single herpstat nd be able to successfully control the 2 corn tanks, a couple of dubia roach tubs, and a rat rack? Where would be the ideal placement for the temperature sensor?

Third thing, would it be possible to wire up a set of herpstat sensors to a relay or something that would merge all of the signals into a single signal (the highest reported temperature) that would be reported back to the thermostat?

I don't think I can answer any of the other questions, but just as a point...

I believe the post you are referring to about the flexwatt that you saw melted, it was due to running it WITHOUT a rheostat or thermostat. Using either to control the heat tape should eliminate the risk of over heating and melting.

Originally Posted by RowingMunkeyCU

First thing, I'm wondering if, in the event that a flexwatt panel starts heating uncontrollably (I saw one post with a panel that was melted), would a GFI outlet cut power if something like that were to happen?

As Robert stated, when this has happened it was always due to the flexwatt being operated uncontrolled.
Had those heaters been on a GFI it would have made no difference because there wasn't a ground fault involved, the heater was just uncontrolled and allowed to super heat, usually compounded by the insulation of the substrate.

Originally Posted by RowingMunkeyCU

Second thing, would a single herpstat nd be able to successfully control the 2 corn tanks, a couple of dubia roach tubs, and a rat rack? Where would be the ideal placement for the temperature sensor?

No. You cannot control completely different enclosures with different temperature needs on a single thermostat. The units being controlled need to be identical, and the animals in the cages must require the same temperature range in order for the temperatures to be accurately regulated from a single thermostat probe.
The Herpstat Pro does have four outputs and could control all that, but not the Herpstat ND.
It would be able to control both cornsnake cages, since they were identical, but you couldn't accurately predict what the other heaters would do.