# Can you use two mats on one thermostat



## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi I'm going to buy an habistat mat stat for use on an 80L tub for my Roaches. I was wondering if I could I use a mat on each tub and plug them both into the same stat? 

I've never used a stat before so am guessing the heat mats plug, plugs into the stat? Could I put a two way adaptor on there and have both plugged into it?

I know the temps wont be the same in each tub but one's for breeding and the other for tub will be for my feeders. Is this a good idea or am I being stupid.


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## Sid.lola (Jan 10, 2008)

I wouldn't because if the mat goes wrong in the viv without the sensor then your stat won't control it. But it's MUCH safer than having no stat at all!


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

Didn't take into account that the mats might go faulty. Can they get so hot that they pose a fire risk? They'd be placed on a glass table with plastic boxes sat ontop of them.


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## Sid.lola (Jan 10, 2008)

Gentoo said:


> Didn't take into account that the mats might go faulty. Can they get so hot that they pose a fire risk? They'd be placed on a glass table with plastic boxes sat ontop of them.


Yes they can, there have been cases where they've melted and caught fire. But before that point they can pose a risk to your animals anyway.


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

It's only for Roaches. I'll defiently not do it though. Didn't realise they could get so hot. 

Thanks for the advice.


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## Sid.lola (Jan 10, 2008)

Gentoo said:


> It's only for Roaches. I'll defiently not do it though. Didn't realise they could get so hot.
> 
> Thanks for the advice.


only? :gasp: lol I'm sure you still wouldn't want to come home to a dead colony and smell of them cooking...


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## mrcarlxx (May 1, 2009)

ofcourse you can!

lmao, could you imagine how many stats one would need for a rack or even two racks lol


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

i have multiple mats on one stat too. 
i think you`ll find most people have


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## Bikewatch2000 (Dec 8, 2008)

Simplest way is to use a larger mat and place one rub on each half, thus only needing one stat.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

a big fat 48" heatstrip :2thumb: sorted


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

mrcarlxx said:


> ofcourse you can!
> 
> lmao, could you imagine how many stats one would need for a rack or even two racks lol


I'd never seen a mat stat and heat mat so wasn't sure if you just plug the mats into a plug socket on the mat stat or if you had wire conectors, that's why I asked.


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## Sid.lola (Jan 10, 2008)

mrcarlxx said:


> ofcourse you can!
> 
> lmao, could you imagine how many stats one would need for a rack or even two racks lol





pigglywiggly said:


> i have multiple mats on one stat too.
> i think you`ll find most people have


And what if my above example happens? how would you avoid that? Where do you put the sensor?



Bikewatch2000 said:


> Simplest way is to use a larger mat and place one rub on each half, thus only needing one stat.





pigglywiggly said:


> a big fat 48" heatstrip :2thumb: sorted


I have done both of these



Gentoo said:


> I'd never seen a mat stat and heat mat so wasn't sure if you just plug the mats into a plug socket on the mat stat or if you had wire conectors, that's why I asked.


The stat plugs into the mains, mat plugs into the stat and the sensor goes in the viv / on the mat.


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

pigglywiggly said:


> a big fat 48" heatstrip :2thumb: sorted


I thought strips would be to small, width wize. Just checked and they have a 47x6 would that be okay?


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## mrcarlxx (May 1, 2009)

Sid.lola said:


> And what if my above example happens? how would you avoid that? Where do you put the sensor?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
there is a hell of a lot of 'what ifs' on this site......

maybe we should use two stats per mat, because 'what if' the mat catches on fire and burns the wire and the sensor fails and then the other stat can cut in and turn the lot off :lol2:

there is a couple of people on here where fires have killed their whole collection of animals, while using heat tape and stats, at the end of the day its luck of the draw....maybe we should never leave our houses just incase the 'what ifs' turn into 'has dones'?

the 'what ifs' are a real danger, but you have more chance of winning big on the euro lottery :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Gentoo (Jul 6, 2010)

Bikewatch2000 said:


> Simplest way is to use a larger mat and place one rub on each half, thus only needing one stat.


It would only be temperary. I wouldn't end up using the bigger mat when I moved house so thought I'd just buy two small ones.


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## Sid.lola (Jan 10, 2008)

mrcarlxx said:


> there is a hell of a lot of 'what ifs' on this site......
> 
> maybe we should use two stats per mat, because 'what if' the mat catches on fire and burns the wire and the sensor fails and then the other stat can cut in and turn the lot off :lol2:
> 
> ...


I disagree. I don't use heat mats much but overheating doesn't seem to be as rare as all that. The OP would be less likely to have this problem as it seems his mats would be well ventilated but I don't think it's a small enough 'what if' to ignore. 

If the sensor was destroyed the whole thing would short anyway right?

My questions were genuine by the way. I don't pretend to know it all.


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## mrcarlxx (May 1, 2009)

Sid.lola said:


> I disagree. I don't use heat mats much but overheating doesn't seem to be as rare as all that. The OP would be less likely to have this problem as it seems his mats would be well ventilated but I don't think it's a small enough 'what if' to ignore.
> 
> If the sensor was destroyed the whole thing would short anyway right?
> 
> My questions were genuine by the way. I don't pretend to know it all.


sorry, i didnt mean to come across as a no it all either : victory:

but i have only ever come across a handfull of fires. even though the mats do go much hotter than any rep or other animal would need its still not really hot enough to catch something on fire...

i didnt mean to sound like a d!ck then, its just sometimes people on this website go well over the top with their 'what ifs'

hehe, hope i didnt p!ss you off to much :blush:


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Some mats, such as the Lucky Reptile Thermo Mat Pro, have a built in sensor which prevents them overheating, I've just switched all my mats to these as they are obviously far safer, whether you use a stat or not.


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## 12843 (Nov 16, 2007)

If the mats are the same size, place the tubs next to each other and place the probe between the tubs, then calibrate.

Should be fine.


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## Sid.lola (Jan 10, 2008)

mrcarlxx said:


> sorry, i didnt mean to come across as a no it all either : victory:
> 
> but i have only ever come across a handfull of fires. even though the mats do go much hotter than any rep or other animal would need its still not really hot enough to catch something on fire...
> 
> ...


No problem. I know how easy it is to miscommunicate on here.


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## Reptsrockmyworld (Oct 16, 2010)

yh you can i have both my snake and my geckos and it works really well :2thumb:


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## killerbee (Aug 12, 2010)

hi mate i wanted to build a rack can i put 5 the same size heat matts into a mulitiple plug socket then in to a 300w habistst i tryed before and got massive diffrent readings from each matt but all were same size and all 12watt. 

what way have you done ive seen people use a junction box!

can you help?


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## Kaouthia (Sep 30, 2010)

Gentoo said:


> I thought strips would be to small, width wize. Just checked and they have a 47x6 would that be okay?


I'll be putting two sets of 4x 47"x6" heat strips on 2 thermostats for a 5L RUB rack I'm about to build for hatchlings.



killerbee said:


> hi mate i wanted to build a rack can i put 5 the same size heat matts into a mulitiple plug socket then in to a 300w habistst i tryed before and got massive diffrent readings from each matt but all were same size and all 12watt.


I would only hook up identical heatmats to a single thermostat. I wouldn't use mats/strips of different sizes, as smaller ones may end up being on too long/getting too hot, and larger oens may end up not being on long enough/being too cool. 



killerbee said:


> what way have you done ive seen people use a junction box!


Like this? I'm using 2 Microclimate Ministat 100 thermostats each with 5x 11"x11" (12 watt 0.5amp) habistat mats on each.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/habitat/594993-10x-33l-rub-rack-build.html


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## Mr Grey (Aug 14, 2010)

Ive got a 80 litre rub with a 7x11 prorep mat with no stat. Temps are perfect. Been running it for about 6 weeks now and just had my first lot of baby roaches.


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## Reptsrockmyworld (Oct 16, 2010)

Hi,
i really wouldn't put 5 on my mate did it and one of his reptiles died because the thermostat burnt out because he had so many heat mats plugged in and lost what would of been a great set of hatchlings cuz his incubator (home made) was also plugged in. It was really sad.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

a thermostat won't burn out with 5 on unless it was a 100watt mini stat and big heat mats / strips.

the thermostat has no idea how many items are plugged into it; it just knows what wattage it's trying to power.


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## Kaouthia (Sep 30, 2010)

Reptsrockmyworld said:


> Hi,
> i really wouldn't put 5 on my mate did it and one of his reptiles died because the thermostat burnt out because he had so many heat mats plugged in and lost what would of been a great set of hatchlings cuz his incubator (home made) was also plugged in. It was really sad.


Ministat 100 is rated to 100 Watts and a 3 amp plug.

11x11 Habistat heatmats are 12 Watts and 0.5 amps each.

5 of them is 60 watts and 2.5 amps, far below the Ministat's limit.

It's safe as long as you don't try to exceed the capacity of the thermostat.


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## Devon_Paul (Jul 28, 2008)

Just to my humble opinion here - I have bred roaches for the last three years and have never used a stat on any of the heat mats. They love it REALLY hot and so you will not need to control the temps. As a bit of advice, to save money, I used to put some tubs on top of my vivs over the top of where the heat bulbs hung inside and it usually gave off enough heat for the roaches to thrive.


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