How to correctly wire and set up heat cable?

[chamoflage]

Hi guys,
Retrofitting a bookshelf to hold a series of tubs for my new collection of indigenous snakes.
In the past I have had individual enclosures and not very many herps, so heating pads have always been the best and easiest option to use.

For the sake of consistency now I need to build a rack. The construction is easy, but I cannot find any tutorials on how to correctly place and wire heating cable.

I found posts on here that suggest keeping the cable 4cm or more apart (the further apart the longer it takes to heat?) but in terms of wiring it to a plug point... do i simply construct a closed loop with the two ends both wired to a plug? obviously my thermostat will be wired in there too.
Also, I am going to put the cable between two sheets of glass or ceramic tile to insure against contact fire (wood and heat aren't great friends).is this advisable or is there another method that is more trusted and proven?

Any information would be welcome.
Barry

[Jamster]

Yes you do just make a loop with the heating wire. Cutting grooves in the wood and placing the wire in the grooves is a good option.

[Bushviper]

Make sure you dont use the yellow or orange heating cable as that gets very very hot. I think the blue is the lowest wattage per metre and works the best. The blue can be placed directly onto/into wood grooves without a problem.

Just connect it via a thermostat directly into a plug.

[chamoflage]

Legends!

[cascade]

Glass is not such a good idea, a drop of water on the glass and it will crack.
Glass also seem to crack allot faster with heat.

[Bushviper]

Glass is not such a good idea, a drop of water on the glass and it will crack.
Glass also seem to crack allot faster with heat.

I am lost. I have about 50 cages with glass in. I have never had one crack from water and many of the cages get misted. We are talking 30 degrees maximum. The windows in my house with direct sun on them are at 34 today.

[cascade]

chamoflage wrote
I am going to put the cable between two sheets of glass or ceramic tile to insure against contact fire (wood and heat aren't great friends).

Sorry I guess I should of been more specific in what I was saying.

I'm talking more about heating matt/cable under your glass.
As soon as the glass heats up and you drop water onto the glass it cracks.

As the glass becomes a heat conductor.
Heat under the glass gets hotter than a window.

[Bushviper]

Oops missed that bit. Sorry cascade. Yeah glass would be a very bad idea. Even without water it will probably crack.

Ceramic tiles would be better.

[Jamster]

Friend of mine had a bullfrog that he moved into a 2 foot fish tank with a heating pad underneath it. The glass cracked and all the water leaked out. When he got home his bully was biltonged.. glass and heat dont go well together.