# Worried about viv wood temps



## Azrael84 (Jun 11, 2011)

Hi,

I'm just testing out the heating in my new viv and trying to work out where to place the stat probes etc to get my hot end to have a basking spot of around 50C (for a uro). 

I'm using a 250W ceramic heater on a pulse stat and a 75w day sun bulb on a dimmer stat. I've got the probles all the way in the middle of the viv at the moment with the stats set at their max 32C in an attempt to get the hot spot to high temps required (it seems to only be getting to 45 C still however)

I'm just wondering if it's OK for the wood directly above the ceramic to be so hot, it's roasting to touch and showing around 60C+ with temp gun. Is this OK? do I need to look into getting a reflector to maybe reflect it's heat downwards instead of heating the viv roof? or is this normal?

any tips on placement of stats and things in general to get my hot spot hotter...


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## NewtyBoy (Jun 4, 2011)

I just used to use a spot light bulb hooked up to a dimmer stat and put a flat basking rock under it to get the heat up. I had a UV tube along the back for UV and had a heat mat on a mat stat in the cold end with the temp set at 28C so the light wasnt having to heat up the whole enclosure. It seems a bit redundant to have underground heating in the hot end via a heatmat set at 32 when you are trying to get the basiking temp up to 50. I doubt it will ever turn on expect at night, when the lizard will be sleeping in the cooler end anyway.

Ive never used Ceramic with pulse stat, but does not seem like a natural basking setup to me.


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## Azrael84 (Jun 11, 2011)

Well the ceramic heater came with the viv, and I planned to use it mostly to heat the viv during the night.

At the moment I'm just experimenting with hitting a temp of 50C on the hot end, so I thought using the combo of light and ceramic might be the easiest way to achieve such a high temp. It's just unfortunate that the stats max out at 32C so I have to put there probs further into the cool end so that the hot end can reach temps in the high 40's. I might try the light alone to see if it is capable of reaching these temps without the ceramic in the daytime...


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## NewtyBoy (Jun 4, 2011)

Heating Uro's is one of the bigger problems with them, you want it roasting in the hot end with out raising the overall temp to bioling point, lol!

I found that using a dimmer stat with a high wattage bulb worked well for me and using a heat mat to add a gentle background heat everywhere else also worked well. Dont forget, you only need the basking area to be so hot, so make sure you probe the surface of the rock rather that the surrounding ground as the rock will retain more heat under the light.


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## Azrael84 (Jun 11, 2011)

Thanks.

My main worry now is that my 250W a fire risk. It's such a high wattage bulb, and the wood near it on the top of the viv is scorching, showing high 60C's with the tempgun. I have the heat res cable and ceramic holder, but the wood is getting mega hot...I'm just worried it's going to dry out and go up in flames one day whilst I'm out...


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## NewtyBoy (Jun 4, 2011)

Well, you may need a heat resistant bulb holder and reflector to aim the heat downwards?


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## Azrael84 (Jun 11, 2011)

My holder is also ceramic and rated upto 1000W, also heat res wire so it should be suitable, but perhaps a reflector might be an idea. I just read somewhere else never to mount a ceramic inside an enclosure, but i've def seen ppl do this.

just looking to see what others do, and if I'm overly worrying or there is a genuine fire risk...


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## NewtyBoy (Jun 4, 2011)

Well I just checked and wood needs to be 450 degrees before it will ignite so as long as your light fixings don't melt (which you have sorted) you should be fine


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## nick gilchrist (Oct 16, 2008)

Ceramic heaters get very very hot..which is great in instances where you want to direct heat..however the ceramic holder normally used also gets hot and even with a reflector the top gets seriously hot. so best thing to do is to get a large white ceramic tile about 9" square..then using a tile drill make 1 hole in each corner to screw it to the top of the unit. and then reattach the ceramic heater , drilling whatever extra holes into the tile you need to allow this. the result will be dispacement of concentrated heat over a larger area so your wood no longer gets hot and the white tile also acts as a reflector for the rising heat deflecting it back down, which should give you the temp boost you need, : victory:


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## Azrael84 (Jun 11, 2011)

I found MDF ignites at around 218 (C) so not that high really, the outside wood on the viv was getting to nearly 70C after a short time, so need to check what the inside wood temp was, and also how hot it gets after long times on....

What reflector would be suitable for a holder like this one: *Vivaruim CERAMIC heat bulb lamp light ES27 LAMP HOLDER | eBay UK

*


> Ceramic heaters get very very hot..which is great in instances where you want to direct heat..however the ceramic holder normally used also gets hot and even with a reflector the top gets seriously hot. so best thing to do is to get a large white ceramic tile about 9" square..then using a tile drill make 1 hole in each corner to screw it to the top of the unit. and then reattach the ceramic heater , drilling whatever extra holes into the tile you need to allow this. the result will be dispacement of concentrated heat over a larger area so your wood no longer gets hot and the white tile also acts as a reflector for the rising heat deflecting it back down, which should give you the temp boost you need, : victory:


Thanks, that sounds like a very good idea, pitty I don't own a tile drill at the moment though :s. 

I might just have to look at getting a hanging fixture and a reflector and maybe a 150W Ceramic....hmmmm...


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## nick gilchrist (Oct 16, 2008)

Azrael84 said:


> Thanks, that sounds like a very good idea, pitty I don't own a tile drill at the moment though :s.
> .


 
Its just a normal drill with a drill bit suitable for tiles (masonry) .place masking tape all around the edge of the tile. mark where you are going to drill and away you go..

assuming you have/can borrow a drill.

Costs... WHIITE SINGLE 9" TILE £1
DRILL BIT £5
MASKING TAPE £1 

As far as reducing the output of the ceramic bulb. it might be better instead to place the sensor probe directly under the bulb in the area you wish to maintain at 50c . Set the stat to 2-3 degrees above that and then you should pretty much solve the problem. The stat will control the temp of the bulb to the correct levels. I would use a reflector as well but use the tile above as its fixing point.: victory:


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## Azrael84 (Jun 11, 2011)

nick gilchrist said:


> Its just a normal drill with a drill bit suitable for tiles (masonry) .place masking tape all around the edge of the tile. mark where you are going to drill and away you go..
> 
> assuming you have/can borrow a drill.
> 
> ...


I do have a very cheap B&Q screwdriver type drill that was a tenner, maybe that would be OK with the drill bit added?



nick gilchrist said:


> As far as reducing the output of the ceramic bulb. it might be better instead to place the sensor probe directly under the bulb in the area you wish to maintain at 50c . Set the stat to 2-3 degrees above that and then you should pretty much solve the problem. The stat will control the temp of the bulb to the correct levels. I would use a reflector as well but use the tile above as its fixing point.: victory:


But the problem is the habistat pulse stat maxes out at around 32C.

Could you recommend a reflector that would fit into a fixture of the kind: *Vivaruim CERAMIC heat bulb lamp light ES27 LAMP HOLDER | eBay UK

*thanks for all the help..


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