Heat cord for hatchling rack advice

[apprenticegnome]

I am building a hatchling rack for black headed pythons. The rack will hold 10litre Sisteema tubs and will be 4 tubs wide / 2 rows high at this point. The cord will be running in grooved melamine board.

Is there a need to cover cord and if so what with?

Is it o.k. To run 1 cord to do both shelves?

how many passes would be recommended 2 or 3?

how far to space apart each pass?

I am looking at a 12m cord to do 3 passes and cover both shelves with some spare, what would be the recommended wattage?

Are the locally supplied ones on Ebay any good?

 

[saximus]

Aluminium tape is usually good to cover it with but any tape that will hold it in place and allow the tubs to slide freely over it should work.

It's fine to run a single cord if you can find one long enough.

Depending how cold your room gets, 2 runs is ok but 3 is better.

I've found 30-50mm is usually good spacing but experiment and see what works best for you.

Length is determined by wattage so 12m is going to be around 100W.

Don't know about Ebay but the Herp Shop or Aussie Reptile Supplies are both good

 

[apprenticegnome]

Thanks Saximus, took a bit of time to be able to reply to you as APS is nearly impossible to login with PC, had to get grandsons Ipad. I'll checkout sponsors for price on heat cord when I get a chance. You've definitely been a great help.