3 replies to this topic

[Mdrogun]

So I bought a heating cable almost identical to this one :

https://www.amazon.c...d heating cable

 

but it was 15 watts and it was shorter. The heated portion of the cable kept getting smaller and smaller and now only the last couple of inches of the cable get warm at all. I am now looking for a new one and was wondering if anyone recommended anything?

Edited by Mdrogun, July 29 2016 - 10:02 PM.

[AntsMAN]

I have the exact one and I have no complaints.

[drtrmiller]

I own a couple ZooMed heating cables of varying lengths.  They are really great when you can catch them on sale, like I did.

 

Human body temperature is around 99 F, and the heating cable surface temperature gets about 30-40 F warmer than ambient, and perform optimally when the ambient is greater than 75 F.  I have observed that the heating cables don't feel warm at all in a cold room, but are quite warm at around 78 F ambient.  The silicone sheathing is a good insulator, so the thermal conductivity will never feel as hot as a metal surface, even at the same temperature.  Only a heat sensor can quantifiably tell you if it is working, or not.  If the product is defective, I would contact the manufacturer, who would likely send you a replacement.

 

It is important to note that not the entire cable is the heated length.  There is a marking, shown below, to indicate where the heated portion starts—the rest of the cable is just an extension of the overall length.

 

Edited by drtrmiller, August 29 2016 - 11:07 AM.

[sgheaton]

What is your recommendation for application? It's a long cable. Do you snake it back and forth on the backside of a nest? Drape a single cord portion across the nest?  What do you do with the extra cord then? Is that what your cord portion above was about? Take a rock and wrap that thing up?

Question bomb!