I am changing my cages from glass tanks to fine gtps style. My gtp already has a cage like that but am getting them for my dumerils, ball, hognose, and
rainbow. I contacted Pro Products which I use w/ my gtp but my quote was extremely expensive. I looked at the Helix ones and they are so much cheaper. Is
there a reason they are so much cheaper. Are they just pieces of crap? Any advice would be appreciated.
                        
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Helix or Pro Product Panels
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 RyanMcLaughlin |
Helix or Pro Product Panels |
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Posts: 104 (07/03/08 10:34:30)
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1.1 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 GTP 1.0 Moon Crab 1.1 Western Hognose |
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Brandon Osborne |
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Posts: 719 (07/03/08 11:46:10)
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Jeff Godbold |
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Posts: 459 (07/03/08 12:53:37)
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Brandon,
Are those from Bean Farm? |
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RyanMcLaughlin |
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Posts: 105 (07/03/08 14:44:55)
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What kind of heat mats are those? Are they as good as an actual heat panel?
1.1 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 GTP 1.0 Moon Crab 1.1 Western Hognose |
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Maelstrom |
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Posts: 130 (07/03/08 16:06:19)
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Larry Stroud |
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Posts: 41 (07/03/08 16:23:38)
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I do basicly the same thing as Brandon;
I wire together 36" of flexwatt on a piece of reflective foam board 
I just take it a step further and build a housing around it 
A 30 watt RHP. |
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Auston Horst |
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Posts: 185 (07/03/08 16:27:45)
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Brandon, you can't just post pictures like that and leave us hanging, its not christian, lol. So did you post a pic of a UTH or the Apple herp radiant heat
panels? I would guess its a UTH and you built your own?
So I noticed that you called it a heat panel... so that's that. But why do you cover it with insulation and not leave it as is?
-Killer Morelia Keeper-
Last Edited By: Auston Horst
07/03/08 16:30:40.
Edited 1 times.
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Jeff Godbold |
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Posts: 461 (07/03/08 16:40:32)
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Um...well, I just got a Desert Rays heat panel in the mail today because I wanted to find a cheaper route then Pro-products. Well, when I opened it up, I found
out that I had just ordered a laminated piece of flex-watt. Needless to say I was not happy at all, with the price I paid and the mis-representation of the
product. Several features I wasn't impressed with.
Lesson: "You get what you pay for" holds true (in most cases). Pro-products (which I currently use) makes a fantastic product IMO, and I know there are some nay-sayers out there just like there are members of this forum that use Desert Rays "panels" and are happy with them. More power to em', I'm just stating that I was not happy with it. Result: Buy what works for you, but your budget isn't necessarily the best motive at times. I'll be shipping it back on Monday and choking up an extra 30.00 for a Pro-products heat panel. 10 yr warranty vs. 30 days gives me a warm and fuzzy. |
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RyanMcLaughlin |
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Posts: 106 (07/03/08 18:25:42)
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Well for my dumerils boa I am getting a cage that is 8'x2'x2'. Pro Products suggested a 180 watt for this and helix makes on that is 162. The ones
you listed dont even come close to that. Would it still work or would it be too cold?
1.1 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 GTP 1.0 Moon Crab 1.1 Western Hognose |
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Brandon Osborne |
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Posts: 720 (07/03/08 18:41:50)
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If this is for a Dumeril, you want this. You mount this to the inside or outside floor of the cage. They can pee on it. You can pee on it. They are awesome
heat mats. I had several for years and still have one in use that is 20 years old and still works as good as they day it was new. A great product.
Auston, I bought a couple of the Ultratherms to play around with. I placed the Reflectix on the back side of the heat "panel" to radiate the heat
to one direction. I will tell you, in my experience, it works exactly the same as the "other more expensive" heat panels. The Ultratherms are not
UTH. You can use them inside the cages as long as they are not positioned in a way to sit in water. Look at Larry's version of the heat panel. That was
my next step, I just haven't had the time to get around to it.
Last Edited By: Brandon Osborne
07/03/08 19:25:08.
Edited 1 times.
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CritterKeeper |
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Posts: 704 (07/03/08 20:12:10)
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anyone need some of the ultratherm pads Brandon listed above..... I have several, and two helix dbs 1000's....plus about 10 Cambro tubs need to
move...gimme a holla..peace critter!
mr.ball2@verizon.net
REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS
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Casey Clarke.chondroforum |
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Posts: 1 (07/03/08 20:29:22) |
To stay on topic with your original question regarding Helix or Pro Products panels, go with the Pro Products. I'm in the process of unloading all of my
Helix panels for Pro Products. I've currently got three for sale on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120278293159&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=002 The problem with the Helix plain and simple is the crazy design of them. They've got this ridiculous lip on them that every reptile I've had discovers and will try to use as a perch. The problem with this is that if you mount the panel flush in a corner, or up against the side on the ceiling, this lip creates a channel where your animal will crawl into, making it next to impossible to remove without dismantling the panel. I actually lost an adult ball python several years ago in this manner after it crawled into this channel. The poor guy had gotten wedged in a way when trying to back out where half his body dropped down and was hanging. From the way I found him, I'm guessing this in turn compressed his lung to the point of suffocation. Don't get me wrong, Helix makes a fine panel, its just the design of them that doesn't make any sense. I'll never buy another Helix panel until they change their design and remove that lip. Pro Panels are pricey but they're tried and true and have a much more sensible design. Just my 2 cents. |
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RyanMcLaughlin |
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Posts: 107 (07/03/08 20:48:11)
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For the smaller ones I may but for the big one it has to be a helix cuz the 180 watt is 240 i believe and the 162 is 100. I am on a budget and as long as the
helix arent toxic or can burn the animal. I can build something for the lip cuz im building the tanks myself so I can work something out.
1.1 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 GTP 1.0 Moon Crab 1.1 Western Hognose |
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Auston Horst |
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Posts: 186 (07/03/08 21:03:17)
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Well not to digress from the point of the conversation but wouldn't belly heat work fine for your boa? I see heat panels as being essential only to the
aboreal species.
-Killer Morelia Keeper-
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Casey Clarke.chondroforum |
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Posts: 2 (07/03/08 21:11:48) |
Have to agree with Auston. If you want the most economical/efficient route, stick to belly heat for your boa. I personally can't knock Helix quality as
I've got a couple going on 9+ years old and still working like the day I got them (minus the outgassing of course).
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Brandon Osborne |
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Posts: 724 (07/03/08 21:57:17)
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See above post with the Kane heat mat. lol.
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chondronewbie08 |
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Posts: 7 (07/03/08 23:11:51) |
Hey Larry could you elaborate on how you did yours, that looks really awesome man
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TheSerpenteer |
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Posts: 144 (07/04/08 05:03:07)
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Agreeing with all the other posters, your boa will benefit FAR more from belly heat. Also, the lip or ledge on the Helix is awful. I bought several something
like 10 years ago when they first came out. I used them for awhile and just plain got tired of every single animal wedging themselves into that lip. And
you'll be hard pressed to get them out without removing the panel. I can't believe that they are still using that design after all this time. Without
question, you'll have to add something to the panel to address this, and it will have to be something substantial. I tried several simple things and they
just don't work, I don't see anything short of permanently attaching something to the panel working.
Brian Suter
great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people |
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Larry Stroud |
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Posts: 42 (07/28/08 13:35:52)
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Sorry I missed your question chondronewbie.
It is quite simple, I just wired together three feet of 3" flexwatt just like you see in the picture, then taped them down to a piece of reflective foam insulation. I made the frame from scrap PVC. Flexwatt is used all the time against pvc caging, even by the cage manufacturers, so I never gave any thought to the effects of the heat with the PVC gassing until I started reading about it on this site. I wonder if there is any hard research on this. It would be very easy to make the frame from aluminium, I am going to work on that. |
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Sony Raju |
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Posts: 1413 (07/29/08 03:08:47)
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i still say pro products equipment cannot be beaten. i have heat panels from them that are at about 10 years old, and work perfect even still.
Sony Raju
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Kim Burge |
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Posts: 287 (07/29/08 13:14:26)
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I have both Helix and PP panels and while the Helix has worked great for many years I prefer the PP. I also don't like the lip on the Helix, although, I
haven't had any issues with it with any of my snakes. I could see the possibility of something happening. I like the indicator light that PP panel has to
verify that the panel is on when it should be. PP would be my first choice. I've tried those Big Apple heat panels before and with the cooler winter
temps in my house I couldn't even keep a small cage warm enough. I use them to substitute heat in second hand cages that came with smaller PP heat panels
but I don't use them for much else.
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