DIY Heat Mat

find ko lang sa net, share ko lang. gagawa ako neto

Recycle your rope lighting into an inexpensive heat mat
Since the holidays are upon us, lights of all sizes, colors and shapes stock the shelves of the seasonal departments of most stores. What a bright idea (pun intended) it would be to construct a DIY heat mat using lights?
The heat 'mat' I've built here easily accommodates two of the 1020-standard 11" x 21" seed trays or flats. Rope lights come in a variety of lengths and colors, so you can customize them to fit your specific needs. You'll need the incandescent type of lights, not LEDs. The really cool part? I managed to built this one for about $16. In fact, you may already have the needed materials on hand.

Photo A
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Photo B
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Photo C
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Photo D
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Photo E
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Photo F
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Photo G
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

In building the mat, the rope light weaves around long thin strips of wood, and both are attached to a 'plank' of plywood. The gaps between the wood strips serve to help with airflow. The rope light will only emit a certain amount of heat – not enough to burn the wood. Since it's thinner than the wood strips, the rope light doesn't come in contact with the seed trays. Since the rope light is insulated for outdoor use, it's protected from water.

What you'll need:

1. Plywood 'plank' (I used a 1-inch thick x 12-inch wide x 4-foot long piece)
2. Two 1" x 2" x 8-foot wood furring strips
3. Wood screws - two packs each of #6 x 1-1/2" and #8 x 3/4" sizes
4. Plastic cable clamps - two packs of 1/2" size
5. Hand saw or jigsaw
6. Tape measure and/or square
7. Pencil
8. Sandpaper
9. Rope light - incandescent type (not LED). I used an 18-foot length.

Skill Level:

Easy to intermediate, depending on your wood-working/cutting skills.

Construction:

1. To correctly wrap the 18-foot rope light as I wanted, I ended up having to cut the 4-foot plank of plywood to approximately 44 -1/2" long, but you can certainly leave the excess on if you don't want to cut it.
2. Cut the two 1" x 2" x 8' furring strips to get four 40" long pieces. Sand any rough edges or surfaces (Photo A).

3. Using the 1-1/2" wood screws, attach the 4 furring strips to the plywood plank (Photo B).

4. Unwind and straighten the rope light (Photo C).
5. Place the closed end of the rope light at the bottom right corner of the plywood plank (if you have the long side facing you). Wrap the rope light around the 5 spaces between the furring strips (the two outside edges are two of them) (Photo D). This is only for rough placement - we'll tighten it down in the next step.
6. Using the plastic cable clamps and the 3/4" wood screws, attach the rope light to the plywood plank (Photo E). I ended up using five clamps along each run of the board, and put an extra one at the ends of the cable to secure it better (Photo F).
7. Light 'em up baby! I mean,... um... plug it in (Photo G).
Your lighted heater is ready for seed-starting duty (Photo H).
So, if you're crafty and are out shopping, why not grab some lights to warm your seeds?

How well does it work?
The heat mat takes approximately 30-45 minutes to fully heat up, and using my hand, felt as warm as the commercial heat mat. Upon taking measurements with both regular and soil thermometers, the numbers were impressive.
Commercial heat mat
Surface temperature
(thermometer placed on top of soil): 73-75 degrees F
Soil temperature: 80-82
Bottom temperature (gap between heat mat and seed trays): 100-102
DIY light heat mat
Surface temperature: 72-74
Soil temperature: 78-80
Bottom temperature: 105-110
Note: To control heating times, use a thermostat or timer.

source : [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

good job..
ang mhal pa naman ng mga heat mat..
at least ito pde na pailaw heat mat na din 2-in-1^^

astig to bro, kapag nakagawa kna pupunta ako sainyo para magaya ko hahahahaha

Very nice info. sir !! Malaking tulong to para sa mga hobbyist na walang masyadong budget para sa mga commercial heatpads.

Nice one...pakita mo rin sir yung gawa mo para magaya din namin

a very helpful post sir..



ttry ko yan pag may budget ulit.. since nka build na ako ng parang incubator.. hehe naka box sya at nilagyan ko ng ilaw..

sakto nga to eh, lumalamig na. kailangan ng pampainit ng mga alaga
pag kabili ko ng target kong scorp. gagawa ako nito.

Need i improve yung design kasi sa ilalim lang pwedeng ilagay yang ganyang heat pad para hindi ma stress sa ilaw yung t's and scorps at kung mahilig mag hukay yung pets natin siguradong masisilaw din sila kahit nasa ilalim yung pad.

stig!

ung led ba umiinit? mas tipid ata sa koryente ung ganu

Mas less ang heat ng LED's compared sa incandescent bulbs so hindi siya advisable gamitin for heat pads.

TipplerMG wrote:

Need i improve yung design kasi sa ilalim lang pwedeng ilagay yang ganyang heat pad para hindi ma stress sa ilaw yung t's and scorps at kung mahilig mag hukay yung pets natin siguradong masisilaw din sila kahit nasa ilalim yung pad.

yun nga din po naisip ko yung liwanag, pede kayang takpan ng manipis na tela para d sya nakakasilaw sa mga pets natin? or ano kaya ang pede ipang takip na manipis lang, para makapag provide pa din ng heat? tag lamig na kc hahaha

May point si sir TipplerMG , If you put it under the tank for a burrowing species (especially Ts such as Haplopelma , Ephebopus and Pelinobius) they will get cooked! Because they are trying to get away from the heat when they burrow and when it gets hotter they will dig down lower, but it will just get hotter until they fry. Kaya sa tingin ko ideal lang yan para sa mga Reptiles , non-burrowing invertebrates etc.

Gagamboy wrote:

May point si sir TipplerMG , If you put it under the tank for a burrowing species (especially Ts such as Haplopelma , Ephebopus and Pelinobius) they will get cooked! Because they are trying to get away from the heat when they burrow and when it gets hotter they will dig down lower, but it will just get hotter until they fry. Kaya sa tingin ko ideal lang yan para sa mga Reptiles , non-burrowing invertebrates etc.

kaya nga eh, gusto ko sana ng heat source para sa mga scorp ko. kaso nag burrow yung iba sakanila :S

delzsify wrote:

Gagamboy wrote:

May point si sir TipplerMG , If you put it under the tank for a burrowing species (especially Ts such as Haplopelma , Ephebopus and Pelinobius) they will get cooked! Because they are trying to get away from the heat when they burrow and when it gets hotter they will dig down lower, but it will just get hotter until they fry. Kaya sa tingin ko ideal lang yan para sa mga Reptiles , non-burrowing invertebrates etc.

kaya nga eh, gusto ko sana ng heat source para sa mga scorp ko. kaso nag burrow yung iba sakanila :S

@gagamboy, that the reason why I choose to post this in the scorp section.

mga sir pwde kayo mag sapin muna ng illustration board, madami nabibili sa National Book store, ung white side ung itapat nyo sa ilaw, ung black sa mga inverts nyo.

once the customize nyo na tong improvise heat mat, pwede namn na hndi lang sa ilalim ilagay. pwede sa side or sa top ng enclo you. just use your imagination and be creative, make sure na nasukat nyo muna ung temp before adding this to your setup. hndi porket nag produce na ng heat eh isasalang nyo na. hndi ko na po kasalanan pag naluto sa over heat ung mga pets nyo ^^

note : much better kung may mahahanap kayo na red lights para hndi masyado nakikita ng mga scorps.

icemanx2 wrote:

delzsify wrote:

Gagamboy wrote:

May point si sir TipplerMG , If you put it under the tank for a burrowing species (especially Ts such as Haplopelma , Ephebopus and Pelinobius) they will get cooked! Because they are trying to get away from the heat when they burrow and when it gets hotter they will dig down lower, but it will just get hotter until they fry. Kaya sa tingin ko ideal lang yan para sa mga Reptiles , non-burrowing invertebrates etc.

kaya nga eh, gusto ko sana ng heat source para sa mga scorp ko. kaso nag burrow yung iba sakanila :S

@gagamboy, that the reason why I choose to post this in the scorp section.

mga sir pwde kayo mag sapin muna ng illustration board, madami nabibili sa National Book store, ung white side ung itapat nyo sa ilaw, ung black sa mga inverts nyo.

once the customize nyo na tong improvise heat mat, pwede namn na hndi lang sa ilalim ilagay. pwede sa side or sa top ng enclo you. just use your imagination and be creative, make sure na nasukat nyo muna ung temp before adding this to your setup. hndi porket nag produce na ng heat eh isasalang nyo na. hndi ko na po kasalanan pag naluto sa over heat ung mga pets nyo ^^

note : much better kung may mahahanap kayo na red lights para hndi masyado nakikita ng mga scorps.

bro kapag nakagawa kana bisita ako ulit sa bahay nyo titignan ko, ang lamig na kc kailangan na tlga ng pampainit.
napaka informative ng post m bro. pang sulit

Nice info. sir icemanx2 , galing mo talaga mag advise .. Pag nag adult yung mga burrower Ts/Scorps ko gagawa ako neto.

pede din ba dito yung mga egg ng lateralis?

TipplerMG wrote:

Mas less ang heat ng LED's compared sa incandescent bulbs so hindi siya advisable gamitin for heat pads.

Sabagay mukhang tipid din naman ata sa koryente yang ganyan hehehehe

hehe sir kimpott baka pwede ilagay ung egg ng lats..

ang sa akin kasi eh malaking box at may ilaw sya...tnatakpan ko ng kumot para hnd sila masilaw sa liwanag.. but of course bnibigyan ko sila ng konting air..

Salamat Sir. Kendall. )

no problem hehe just trying some stuffs sana nga mapisa..

TipplerMG wrote:

Need i improve yung design kasi sa ilalim lang pwedeng ilagay yang ganyang heat pad para hindi ma stress sa ilaw yung t's and scorps at kung mahilig mag hukay yung pets natin siguradong masisilaw din sila kahit nasa ilalim yung pad.

+1

To TS: tnx for sharing sir .....magandang idea yan .....in my case sa Ts ko...buong invertrum may added light ako to maintain 29-32 °C - lowest temp 27 and highest temp 34 ....

To all: temperature is a vital aspect in keeping and breeding exotics ....kaya nga iilan lang ang ngexcel sa breeding ng Ts due to it

Note: give ur mom or wife a headsup kasi lakaki ang bill nyo ng kuryente if gusto nyo talaga mameet yung desired temp ....it wuld sometimes mean letting a 100 watts bulb run for hours

hindi po kaya in long run pwedeng masunog yung kahoy? hehe.. nice innovation.

felmor wrote:

hindi po kaya in long run pwedeng masunog yung kahoy? hehe.. nice innovation.

cguro sir felmor hnd nmn... bsta check po ng mabuti ung light kung may prob at very attentive n lng ksi mhirap na pag magkaroon ng sunog.. damay pti bahay.. check n lng lagi kung may prob na ung ilaw..