• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Need opinion on rack heating

Under tub heat or back heat

  • Back heat

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .

DavidButton

New member
Joined
Nov 23, 2004
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
60
Location
San Antonio, Tx
Ok, here is the deal. I am building a rack that will be 3ft. 6in. tall. It will be 18inches wide and 24inches deep and house 5 tubs. I will be useing 28qt. sterilite tubs. I will be useing heat tape to heat the rack. Now comes the opinion part. Should I use a 12inch peice of 4inch heat tape at the back of each shelf for underneath heat or just one piece of 11inch heat tape that runs down the back the entire heigth of the rack for back heat?
Bothe ways cost the same and use approx the same wattage so that isn't an issue. I just want some other opinions on this. Oh yea, the rack will be constructed useing 3/4in. plywood and it will all be coted with polyurathane.
So what is your opinion?
 
Mine use underneath tape. I've never personally used the back heat type, but they don't seem to me like they would work as well. For one thing I don't think the tupperware/sterlite tubs will butt up against the tape that way, so it doesn't seem like very good heat transfer.
 
If you do decide to do the belly heat, make sure you use a router on each shelf to create a cavity big enough for the heat tape to lay in. That way your tubs will slide in and out without ever touching the heat tape, they will slide right over it.
 
I would also go for the the belly heat. I have used back heat and it is effective but woudl only use it for coulbrids as the temps can be lower. I woudl go with 3" tape and either router it in or use 2.5" foil tape over the tape...
 
Back
Top