Ecoglow question, my mind is rattling to make one myself

[conny63malies]

So my ADHD went off when i saw those Brinsea Ecoglow brooder heaters. I found them to be rather expensive. Thinking back to my Herper days owning snakes i had a idea. Could i use a 1-2ft strip off 11in wide Flexwatt heat tape mounted to a wood board(covered in aluminum heat tape ) to make my own ecoglow. Heat tapes are used to keep reptile tanks at temps similar to what chicks need. I can control the temperature with the help of a dimmer and/or a Rheostat temperature controller.
Flex watt tape : 3 $ ft
dimmer cable: 7 $ (or just a normal 2$ cable when the rheo is used)
temp control: 25 $ (max)
tape: 5 $.
boards, wood.... and other assorted stuff comes from what i have at home free. So for 40-45$ i would be able to to build a 12x 24 ft brooder heater. At 1ft it would pull 20 Watt and at 2ft 40Watt of course. I could make it where to i can raise and lower the whole thing depending on what i brood. In addition i also could run a second brooder off the rheostat for the price of the flexwatt and cable.(Or even more if i were to use all the same size brooders, heat tape and wire them in parallel. )
If it works for reptiles i also should work for chicks, ducklings.... To add: THe tape is supposed to be used under 95F , so i guess keeping it at 93F will work. THe controller will turn the power on and off as needed to keep a constant temp and the aluminum tape will reflect the heat in the right direction. Fastening a tile to the underside of the board between the tape and the board would also help with retaining heat when the power goes off.
i might draw up something later just in case you cant follow my rambling brain. lol.

 

[Makomd]

Sounds good to me. I have an ecoglow 50 and it seems that it may do the trick.

 

[Michael Apple]

I used Flexwatt with a dimmer when I had tarantulas in terrariums. I don't think it would emit enough heat for chicks though. Infrared bulbs do a **** good job of keeping them warm. You might want to take a look at this brooder:
http://www.plamondon.com/brooder.shtml

 

[Makomd]

Not sure if this would help or hurt the conversation, but the Ecoglows do not put off much heat and are described as a contact brooder. The chicks basically have to touch it to keep warm. I brood outside summer or winter and the Ecoglow is worthless in a non-temperature controlled space in the winter. Almost lost several chicks to this, but my own fault as the directions clearly state only for use in a temperature controlled area of 69 degress or higher.

 

[Makomd]

I used Flexwatt with a dimmer when I had tarantulas in terrariums. I don't think it would emit enough heat for chicks though. Infrared bulbs do a **** good job of keeping them warm. You might want to take a look at this brooder:
http://www.plamondon.com/brooder.shtml

Neat article.

 

[Beratzlaff]

Not sure if this would help or hurt the conversation, but the Ecoglows do not put off much heat and are described as a contact brooder. The chicks basically have to touch it to keep warm. I brood outside summer or winter and the Ecoglow is worthless in a non-temperature controlled space in the winter. Almost lost several chicks to this, but my own fault as the directions clearly state only for use in a temperature controlled area of 69 degress or higher.

Thank you for saying this! No one seems brave enough to talk bad about them because they spent so much money! I want to brood outside and I almost bought one! Thanks for speaking up!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Why not use the mama heating pad set up? 12x15 for $13 at Walmart. Works in temperature or not temperature controlled environment.

 

[jeapa]

Why not use the mama heating pad set up? 12x15 for $13 at Walmart. Works in temperature or not temperature controlled environment.

That is what I am using right now and it is working nicely with my group of 9 chicks. They are outside in the coop and are doing great with temps getting down into the lower 50's at night.