Heating

How to keep a constant heat of 80F in a small room?

A space heater would make the most sense.
For what species do you need it so hot?

With a space heater and a thermostat?

I live in the UK to I just use a tube heater (used for closets etc) keeps my room at a steady 20 degrees in the winter.

psta6140 said:

How to keep a constant heat of 80F in a small room?

Click to expand...

Read TEMPERATURE.... Note as well that the laws of physics and the laws of biology are the same in the UK as they are anyplace else in the world.

Any artificial heat source should be controlled by some sort of thermostat, even the pads you put on the sides of a cage. You'll probably never really need the thermostat, except the day that you disconnect it your room temperature will rise to +40 C and the cage temperature will skyrocket to much higher. And, you'll come home to the smell of well roasted tarantula. For the few clams it'll take to install a thermostat, it's cheap insurance.

Seeing as how so many enthusiasts want to use artificial heat for their tarantulas, I'm amazed that some bright entrepreneur hasn't developed a simple, cheap, inline thermostat that rests inconspicuously inside a cage (It does no good to leave the thermostat outside the cage. You don't care about room temperature; you care about the cage's internal temperature!) and will accept any common, household plug-in.

Or, you could subvert a common, cheap, aquarium heater with a little ingenuity by replacing the heating element with a jumper wire and using it in series with your cage heater.

Do I have you thinking now?

Enjoy your little, 8-legged marvel!

Pikaia said:

.......Seeing as how so many enthusiasts want to use artificial heat for their tarantulas, I'm amazed that some bright entrepreneur hasn't developed a simple, cheap, inline thermostat that rests inconspicuously inside a cage.....

Click to expand...

Someone has Stan. They're $8.57 at Home Depot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WZEzIdUMYt4

Introvertebrate said:

Someone has Stan. They're $8.57 at Home Depot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WZEzIdUMYt4

Click to expand...

That model wouldnt go so low as 95F, and the guy that built it says 100F-180F
I built one for my slings (in winter) and to breed supers, for about $20 (thats like.... $3.87 American:sarcasm, and used a thermostat and two 40W red bulbs. Easy to do, and if you can follow along the vid provided is a great example of the required electrical work.

but I believe Stan had something completely different in mind

I failed to notice that the temperature range won't suit us. Which thermostat are you using?

I'm with Hobo on why do you need it so hot? Room temp should be fine for whatever T you have.

SamuraiSid said:

... but I believe Stan had something completely different in mind

Click to expand...

The fellow in the video has the correct idea, but as pointed out, the temperature range is too high.

In my idea, I'm using a better quality, old fashioned, glass tubed aquarium heater. Here's another one. (Note that I am NOT recommending any particular brand or source, but merely showing you what I mean.) I prefer the type that are originally made to hang from the edge of the aquarium (as opposed to a submersible model) because they're easier to open, modify, and reassemble. Usually cheaper too. Note that in my usage they are NOT hung from the cage's top, but merely laid on the substrate somewhere out of the way. The wattage is irrelevant because you're going to be removing the heating element anyway.

You need to disassemble the heater and replace the heating element with a wire jumper. (Be very careful not to break the glass tube! They come from the factory with a built-in inclination to roll off the table and smash on the floor!) I used a very short length of 16 gauge copper wire that I stripped out of some excess house wiring cable, bent it into a small "U" shape, and plugged it into the same sockets that I removed the heating element from. (You may have to use a wire of different size.) Why did I do this? Because I only need the thermostat part of the heater, not its heating capacity. In fact, IF YOU DON'T REMOVE THE HEATING ELEMENT IT WILL GET TOO HOT AND BURN THE TARANTULA OR START A FIRE IN THE SUBSTRATE AND BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN! Need I say more? And, if you don't replace the heating element with a jumper wire, no current will flow, and the thing won't work at all.

Reassemble the modified aquarium heater.

Now, cut the aquarium heater-turned-thermostat's cord as shown in that video, EXCEPT IN NORTH AMERICA, be sure to cut the wire with the longitudinal ridges, not the smooth one. (This is a fine point, but I think it will keep your construct sort of "in code.") And, make the cut farther away from the aquarium heater-turned-thermostat than shown in the video so that the cut portion will be some small distance outside of the tarantula's cage when the aquarium heater-turned-thermostat is placed inside where you want it. (You should reread that last sentence to make sure you understand it. Basically, the heater-turned-thermostat is supposed to lie on the substrate in the tarantula's cage so it can sense the cage's temperature, and the outlet (see next) is supposed to be outside the cage for ease of access. Added bonus: Only one cord must be strung outside the cage somehow.

Cut the head (outlet end, not the plug end!) off of a standard extension (lamp) cord of the type shown in that video. You want to leave a short "pigtail" (perhaps 4" to 6" or 10 cm to 15 cm) of wire attached to the outlet head. Then, connect the outlet head to the cut heater-turned-thermostat cord. In North America, the wire from the outlet-head that has the longitudinal striations/ridges on it should be connected to the cut end of the heater-turned-thermostat wire closer to the plug. (As opposed to the cut end closer to the heater-turned-thermostat. This again, is a fine point, but I think it will keep your construct sort of "in code.")

So now you have a heater-turned-thermostat with an outlet head WIRED IN SERIES so that the electricity travels through the heater-turned-thermostat, then through whatever appliance (e.g., a cage heater) before returning to the mains. And, if the cage gets too warm (or warm enough) the thermostat will cut the power to the heater and prevent your tarantula from cooking. (And yes, I know the previous sentence is silly because it's alternating current, but do you really want me to get THAT technical? For what purpose?)

NON-NORTH AMERICAN READERS: Most of the rest of the planet uses 220V, 50 cycle power (not 120V, 60 cycle) electric current, and the wiring is a little different as a result. If you try this, I would take these instructions and all the hardware to someone who is familiar with wiring 220 power and either let them do it or at least explain and show you how you should do it in detail.

LAST POINTS: This entire discussion is based on 2-wire appliances and electric cords. If you happen to buy an aquarium heater with a three conductor cord (required in California at least, I think.) the wiring will be slightly different. I'm no electrician, so I'm not going to address that issue. Go talk to an electrician about it.

And, I'm intentionally not telling you how to make the electrical connections. If you don't already have the training or experience to know how to do that, you definitely need to go to a professional electrician for help.

Lastly, electrocuting yourself BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING or burning the house down BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING is considered very bad form. At the very least it'll get you the dubious distinction on an honorable mention, if not the gold medal, on the Darwin Awards website!

And, we'll forever miss your smiling face here!

'Nuf said?

I see what you mean Stan. That should work.