# Safe way to heat a cabinet?



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

I am looking for a safe way to heat my ff cabinet. It is a large wood cabinet.

Thanks for any ideas...


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Never done it myself but a container of water with a submersible heater sounds good. Should put of steady heat and also keep the cabinet humid enough to prevent drying it out.


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## Mustang (May 2, 2007)

Havent used them yet but I got 3 of the 36" they fit great on 36" rack
I was going to use them more for tads but they might work for what you want. I figured a thermostat used for retiles would keep them at the right temp
Plus they are cheap

http://www.skycraftsurplus.com/index.as ... =GO&Page=1


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## Marty71 (Nov 9, 2006)

Don't know how these worked out for Mike and Eric but it seemed like a pretty cool and inexpensive way to do it...


http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... eating+mat


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## Matt Mirabello (Aug 29, 2004)

I use a medical one, I got it at Kmart in the pharmacy area. It has a low out put which is nice. I have it regulated by a thermostat, mine is an expensive ranco (but the newer ones meant for reptiles work just as well for only $20). I also insulated the sides of my cabinet with pink foam and added a ventilation fan that turns on when the temp gets too high.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

I just built myself a cabinet out of foam insulation, about 3' across by 2' high by 1' deep. I just use a 100 watt bulb to heat it up. I have a rheostat with a temperature probe to cycle it on & off as needed. It's been working great. Once the cabinet is initially heated up the bulb rarely comes on.


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## pl259 (Feb 27, 2006)

Yea, what Gary said!

Insulate it for sure and make sure to use a heating method controlled with a thermostat. For ultra safe operation add a second temp monitor, one with a high and low alarm. 



> Don't know how these worked out for Mike and Eric but it seemed like a pretty cool and inexpensive way to do it...


I use the 4ft ones on the bottom of my racks during colder months, with human in the loop/variac control. Just enough to counter the cold floor and raise the tank temps from mid 50Fs to high 60Fs, low 70Fs. I've been happy with them. I also have a couple 3ft ones for a heated cabinet that I haven't finished yet. It's control is a little more involved. I'm using surplus industrial controls, ect. The smaller mat is 200W and they both put out a very uniform heat.


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

Personally, I liked the idea about using a tank, 5-10gal reservoir with a 100W heater in it set at 85F-90F.

Would add the needed humidity and there is not worry about light bulbs burning out, mats cooking ff's or drying out cx's.

Insulate the cabinet.

Give it a try, what do you have to loose ;-) I'm sure you've got a tank and aquarium heater lying around already anyways.

S


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

I have a 3ft rack I have been thinking about building into a insulated setup, but have been cautious to do it. Not looking to burn the house down or anything. My current setup works well but I think some higher temps would be beneficial.


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## rozdaboff (Feb 27, 2005)

I used a 3' rack as a skeleton. I then used the pink foam from HD/Lowes to build a shell. I duct-taped the seams (but I am planning on going back and using Great stuff to block the seams for a better seal). I then used a Reptile Heat Cable and ran it through some of the metal shelves. I connected the heat cable to a Thermostat with probe (not this exact model - but same concept). I like the heat cable as opposed to a bulb - because you can get more even heat distribution. 

My basement gets cold in the winter (40s) and I can keep the cabinet in the 70s - although in the depths of winter - the cable is running nearly all the time.


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## Hakkamike (Aug 19, 2007)

I wonder how well a electric Potpourri Pot would work? They are not that large, I think ours holds a cup and a half of liquid. The temp of the water i put it in 4 hours ago does get up to around 140??? Just a idea... Hey it will even keep those flies smelling good too  

http://www.target.com/Aroma-Electric-So ... ots&page=1


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Those pads rock. Kyle, check your PMs.


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

kyle1745 said:


> I have a 3ft rack I have been thinking about building into a insulated setup, but have been cautious to do it. Not looking to burn the house down or anything. My current setup works well but I think some higher temps would be beneficial.


So insulate the sides/back ect like Oz is suggesting (although I'd use the Blue foam boards for Boys  ). You can cut 2 pieces to act as french doors in the front. 

They sell (HD) a clear plastic insulation tape inthe isle with the door/window insulation kits for winter. It is VERY THICK packaging tape, and that would work great instead of duct tape.

put a 10 gal tank on the lowest shelf, fill it with water and a heater set at 90-100F. and let the heated water warm the air inside the cabinet. 

Will likely get nice a humid too...

Try it, and let me know, so I dont have to experiment 

Shawn


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Thanks for all of the ideas, and its simply something I want to do but so far have not had the time. Mine normally do ok in the winter just not as well as the rest of the year.

I am cautious to add anything else heated to the frog room as at times the temps can get a little higher than I like.


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## mossy oak (Sep 6, 2005)

i use a cooler with a heat pad and a wafer thermostat from lowes to control the temp, very accurate. I installed a small crossflow fan to move the heated air around and added small vent holes to get a little air exchange. The cultures are elevated using eggcrate. garage temp is in the 40's cooler temp always 80.


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## fourtanks (Nov 30, 2007)

I'm trying to decide between using a heating pad on a thermostat or a container of heated water. I am worried that the heated water may create too much humidity in a wooden cabinet. Does anyone have experience using the heated water method in a wooden cabinet?


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

I would stick with the pad, but thats just me.


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## Dangerously (Dec 19, 2007)

I just used the base of an old lava lamp (52 oz., one of the larger ones) with a 60-watt blacklight (they throw off a lot of heat) in it and connected it to a Big Apple "Herp Power Proportional Thermostat" I wasn't using. Keeps the temps rock solid. If the light burns out the flies should be able to take a few hours at 65 degrees (the FF cabinet is in a room that gets some traffic, so it won't go unnoticed very long).

Anyway, there are a lot of ways to do it. Just find one you're comfortable with and set it up.


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## fourtanks (Nov 30, 2007)

What's the best temp to keep the ffs?


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## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

I'd be a bit careful about using a submersible heater in a container of water. If you let the water evaporate and the container go dry, you could make yourself a nice little fire hazard. I once saw a dry aquarium heater shatter the glass tube to expose red hot heating elements to whatever it was next to.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

I just took a reptile heating cable, wrapped it around the metal bars, and called it a day. It works well with an electronic temp controller.

I also use foam insulation.


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