Thanks guys, I ended up ripping it all out and using a pre wired setup. I think I'm using too much power as I'm currently living in a converted garage behind a house, I've had the vacuum turn on and off depending on whether the fridge is on or off
At this point I am more concern about your safety than anything else. The first thing I would want to know is whether it is only one of the grey thermal throw-out switches that is tripping out the power, or whether the RCD switch is throwing out. These are designed to do different things. The thermal throw-out is a fuse which cuts off electricity when the circuit is drawing more power than it is designed to carry and begins to overheat. The RCD switch is designed to detect if any current is leaking from the circuit(s) and so prevent possible electrocution. If the RCD switch is throwing out, my advice would be to get an electrician to check out why. BTW, there should be two RCD switches, one for the lighting circuits and the other for the power circuits. It’s the power circuit one you are interested in. RCD switches are designed to test them to ensure they are functioning correctly. The instructions for testing will be in the power box – just push the button and it should cause the RCD to click off immediately. If it is slow or fails to click off, you need an electrician.
If it just the thermal throw-out switch cutting the power, then it is likely that the power drawn to run the fridge and the vacuum at the same time exceeds the load that the power circuit is designed is designed to carry. It is unlikely that the power drawn by a couple of enclosures would have significant impact on that. It sounds like there may only be one power circuit to the garage. It also sounds like it is not up to scratch as I can run the fridge and my vacuum from the same power point without a problem. Both the fridge and vacuum will have an electrical appliance plate with their power usage (wattage) on them. You can check with you state electrical regulator whether a power circuit should be able to cope with the combined wattages. You may have legal grounds to have the existing circuit upgraded or at least added to. BTW, Do you have a separate power meter for the converted garage?
Similar to this...I had a CHE..in my Bredlis house that I built...on a timer...on and off everyday for the last 2 years ....revently had a couple of very warm days so I switched it all off...When I switched it on again it shorted and blew the ceramic lampholder apart...the insulation had degraded from the heat....it could verylikely have caught fire...at no time did the fusebox of my house trip....old school wire fuses....I had it all upgraded to a new fuse box with RCDs...the CHE was ReptiZoo....i got off the internet....now replaced with a ReptiOne.....that said theses things should be replaced annually....even just for peace of mind.
It is good the old-style power box with metal fuses was upgraded. People would sometimes replace a fuse with a higher wattage fuse wire than it was designed for. This would stop the fuse blowing regularly but did not fix the problem of too much power being drawn, causing the circuit to overheat. This was a dangerous practice that was the cause of numerous house fires. The thermal throw-out switches that replace the old fuses do the same thing, but are safer as they are quicker, not easily tampered with and reset by a flick of the switch.
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Some helpful information for Diamond python care…
A basking lamp is not essential for Diamonds. In nature they will heat themselves up under or on top of warmed substrate, such as rocks or roofing, as well as bask in sunlight on tree branches. So a contact heat source, such as a heat tile (see
https://aussiepythons.com/forum/threads/new-fella-with-an-age-old-question.227053/post-2537722), is equally suitable. This can be placed on an elevated shelf if desired. UV light is not required for them to live long and reproductive lives, although some people swear it improves their animals. If you are set a radiant heat source from above, then use a blue party globe, as suggested. Alternatively, something like a Philips 60W ES R80 Clear Floodlight Reflector Globe, available at Bunnings for $4.50, would likely be adequate. Diamonds only require heating for about 4 hours a day in the late morning into early afternoon.
A couple of additional notes…
1. Any protective cage around a heating element must be able to pass the ‘touch test’. If you cannot comfortably hold your hand on any section of the protective cage for half a minute, then it gets too hot and is likely to burn your snake should it coil around the protective cage. It therefore needs to be enlarged to the point where it
can pass the touch test.
2. Your snakes should be exposed to a normal day/night light cycle. If kept in a room without windows or natural daylight, this can be provided by room lights. Alternatively use an LED strip or fluorescent bulb in the enclosure, controlled by a simple electrical timer. Simply adjust the timer to run from sunrise to sunset at the start of each month.
