More HEAT!

[jeff kushner]

I moved Matilda in last week and she smiles a lot so I guess she's happy....but I can't get temps up to where we want them. You can see the 60W CHE inside her home.....not working....way undersized for this home.


So after a quick search here.....two 10.5" bell fixtures are coming(thanks Tom), along with a 100w and a 150w 120V bulbs. I may also add a USB "Computer fan" at the end the enclosure to circulate the hot air at the top and end the stratification.

Ideally, I'd like to remove the top altogether so she can be part of the fam, so to speak.

Right now I'm getting 85 at the ceiling on her home but only 72 on the floor.....we have to do a little better before she will eat again. This floor is the coldest floor of my home, hence the rug. I may investigate a table to get her up off the floor.

bit by bit....we'll get her squared up!

 

[jeff kushner]

I DO have a day off.....

This will take a little "getting used to", LOL.....my version of "taking one for the team".....

 

[SuzanneZ]

I moved Matilda in last week and she smiles a lot so I guess she's happy....but I can't get temps up to where we want them. You can see the 60W CHE inside her home.....not working....way undersized for this home.
View attachment 362818

So after a quick search here.....two 10.5" bell fixtures are coming(thanks Tom), along with a 100w and a 150w 120V bulbs. I may also add a USB "Computer fan" at the end the enclosure to circulate the hot air at the top and end the stratification.

Ideally, I'd like to remove the top altogether so she can be part of the fam, so to speak.

Right now I'm getting 85 at the ceiling on her home but only 72 on the floor.....we have to do a little better before she will eat again. This floor is the coldest floor of my home, hence the rug. I may investigate a table to get her up off the floor.

bit by bit....we'll get her squared up!

I have cold floors, too. When the two Russian children came in, I put a partial sheet of insulated foam board under one house. Made me feel better anyway. I'm still tweaking things.

 

[wellington]

I use my che in a ceramic socket with a large dome. It kinda helps to direct the heat down and out more then open socket like you have, which just lets the heat go up.

 

[Ink]

I DO have a day off.....

This will take a little "getting used to", LOL.....my version of "taking one for the team".....

View attachment 362820

Matilda will be smiling more.😁

 

[jeff kushner]

This is taking some time to sort.....this enclosure is a lot larger than her 30 gallon tank last Winter!

This is close though I think.....150W CHE, USB circ fan and a USB pump in the pool just to keep it moving.

 

[jeff kushner]

The temps were slowly rising and up from 68 to around 73/74F throughout and would have kept climbing but of course getting dry as a bone and even a usb powered fan's vibrations, magnified by the drum effect of the plastic created a substantial hum at the far end, where she sleeps! No wonder she's mad.

Also, I HATE the top on her home...hate it, took it off....she will deal with it till we get the next idea. Clear plexiglass.....that sounds like the next step in the evolution of this. She's pi**ed and didn't come out yesterday at all which is pretty rare for her. I'll see what Kerry and I can find this w/e.

 

[Ink]

The temps were slowly rising and up from 68 to around 73/74F throughout and would have kept climbing but of course getting dry as a bone and even a usb powered fan's vibrations, magnified by the drum effect of the plastic created a substantial hum at the far end, where she sleeps! No wonder she's mad.

Also, I HATE the top on her home...hate it, took it off....she will deal with it till we get the next idea. Clear plexiglass.....that sounds like the next step in the evolution of this. She's pi**ed and didn't come out yesterday at all which is pretty rare for her. I'll see what Kerry and I can find this w/e.

I bought plexiglass from Amazon. They have a lot of sizes.

 

[jeff kushner]

Thanks, on it! 24x48 arriving tomorrow. Mr Bezos and I are friends....he just moved to new digs we all got him down South... It's cool though, I pay for it from the money we made building a lot of his DC/VA/MD buildings a few years back. LOL

I'm thinking that I can cut a 9.5" circle in it and place her 10.5" diameter aluminum fixture directly on it. With the 300W CHE, I'm getting temps of 135-165 at the edge. The plexiglass can easily handle that as most of it is rated in the 270F range before deflection. I know the plastic bin itself sheds heat nearly as well as some metals....so I'm fighting that as well to keep her warm.

As always, if someone has a warning about that, don't be shy!

We'll get there.....it's a process....each year!
I'm almost afraid to admit it but a bookshelf laid on it's back, may have been easier! LOL

 

[jeff kushner]

I learned how to cut a sheet in half & cut a 9" circle in 1/4" plexiglass yesterday for Matilda's enclosure. 5 layers of this will stop a 44 mag bullet so it's really tough.....what can I cut it with?

Industrial Razor? Nope
Sledge-o-matic? Nope
Drill 100 holes & cut out? Nope
Reciprocating saw? Nope
Jigsaw? Nope
ROUTER on a wire, YUP!

The router I have is "weapons grade", it is very powerful and I admit that I am very inexperienced with it. I have only used it in jigs with templates to cut metal before. This was my first try at "free handing" a router. Holy geez, this has a mind of it's own! That's ain't gonna work.....hence the wire to a center screw to hold it in the arc. I cut the 4' sheet in half by spending 40 min searching for clamps to lock down a length of wood to butt the tool to. It STILL tried to walk away from the board!

You can see the jaggy part of the edge under the light, the rest of the circle is pretty good though..... I'm not THAT proud of my work...but Matilda is happy with the rising humidity....there are two Temp/Hum stats, she covered the other with leaves. I still have the greenery to install once the tomato plants germinate.

 

[jeff kushner]

Little Matilda "sneaking: a piece of turkey....she took it off the rock-of-food on the far side of the tomato patch, went through water like she was on night mission, then belly-crawled though the fitting on her way to the safety of the leaf pile!