New stanfield heat mat

[yagyujubei]

Just got a 24x36 stanfield heat mat delivered this AM. It's much nicer than I anticipated. I am planning on making my own controller with an outlet and a 20 amp dimmer switch. Does anyone see a problem with this? Also, once in operation, is there an ideal surface temperature that I should be looking for? Any other useful info I need? Thanks...

 

[Tony the tank]

That's what I intend to do..I was actually thinking of building one in a 2 gang metal electrical box(dimmer switch on one side, outlet on another and small pig) with a pigtail so I can plug the dimmer setup into and outet and plug the heat mat into the box..That way I can move it if the need arises..and easy to repair if the dimmer switch fails

You can probably do the whole thing for under 20 bucks..

 

[yagyujubei]

Exactly what I had in mind.

That's what I intend to do..I was actually thinking of building one in a 2 gang metal electrical box(dimmer switch on one side, outlet on another and small pig) with a pigtail so I can plug the dimmer setup into and outet and plug the heat mat into the box..That way I can move it if the need arises..and easy to repair if the dimmer switch fails

You can probably do the whole thing for under 20 bucks..

 

[Yvonne G]

The temp of the pad actually changes with the weather. On a really cold night, I have to dial the controller up a notch. Don't forget, its the controller that senses the temperature, not the pad. So mount the controller as close as is safe. You have to play with it to figure out where you want the temp to be.

 

[chairman]

My suggestion, if you're going to go this route... use a single gang box for your dimmer. Buy a decent surge protector that has some variety of fuse or reset button. Cut the cord off halfway and use one end as the pig tail and the rest of the surge protector as the outlets. I've seen rancos wired up similarly. This'll add some additional protection/safety features without increasing costs too greatly.

 

[yagyujubei]

A great idea, I will do this.

My suggestion, if you're going to go this route... use a single gang box for your dimmer. Buy a decent surge protector that has some variety of fuse or reset button. Cut the cord off halfway and use one end as the pig tail and the rest of the surge protector as the outlets. I've seen rancos wired up similarly. This'll add some additional protection/safety features without increasing costs too greatly.