# Heat mat caught on fire



## pepper (Oct 18, 2009)

OMG l would say l'm so lucky .... l came home yesterday after being out for a few hours to hear strange loud noises coming from bearded dragon enclosure. l went to check and couldn't believe what l was seeing.... a smoke filled enclosure with flames inside...... 



l was so worried about the beardies as l wasn't sure how big the fire was..... so l went and got the salt and thank god when l opened the glass door the fire had just started so l throw the salt on it and it went straight out. the beardies were fine as it had just started ...... 

It was the heat mat that had caught on fire..... l'm really not happy as it was only 2-3 years old and l bought it myself...thing is l have just gotten back from holidays and that mat was on while l was away , l'm just so lucky that it happened literary as l walked in the door or l could have lost my beardies ,dog , house ect ...

l'm so worried now as l have other heat mats on as heat sources , l will be turning them off from now on when l leave the house......


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## mrclarke72 (Oct 18, 2009)

Lucky , Thats always freaked me out, the idea of my set ups catching on fire. Do you know what brand it was?


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## TA1PAN (Oct 18, 2009)

u r so lucky u got there in time otherwise it would have been a disaster.i think u should switch to heat bulbs with a thermostat.ive always thought that heat mats are a fire disaster waiting to happen.


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## pepper (Oct 18, 2009)

l think you are right spottedpython28 l will be doing that ...... it was a Exo Terra ... l think that the type with the heat tape which is what it was would all be the same.


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## Colin (Oct 18, 2009)

thats not the first time Ive heard that with that particular brand..


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## benson (Oct 18, 2009)

I think that brand is designed to stick on the bottom, under a glass tank.???


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## richoman_3 (Oct 18, 2009)

u were lucky


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## Sel (Oct 18, 2009)

Very Scary!
Your very lucky..


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## gozz (Oct 18, 2009)

Colin said:


> thats not the first time Ive heard that with that particular brand..


 i had 4 of them and they all burnt little spot on them


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## pepper (Oct 18, 2009)

You can put a heat mat anywhere you like they are all the same .except water of course ... under an enclosure or in one doesn't matter. 

There was no reason for it to catch fire the water dish hadn't fallen or anything like that.

l have noticed when l was looking at the herp suppliers that not a lot do sell that brand any more, but l really don't see the difference in any of the brands that are made with heat tape attached to a cord


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## pepper (Oct 18, 2009)

l think they would be all the same don't really see what the difference in them is. the are a heat tape attached to a cord.  l certainly wont be using them any more. l have noticed though that not many reptile suppliers do sell that brand of heat mat any more.,


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## TA1PAN (Oct 18, 2009)

yer i m still only new to all the reptile stuff but i remember my first day when i was buying all my stuff for my snake set up and a guy at the pet shop said to use a heat mat and explaned to me wat they do and how they work.the first thought that went threw my mind was fire hazard.


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## Serpentes (Oct 18, 2009)

Isn't that how the old Australian Reptile Park fire started, if I remember right? Thank goodness you can back home in time. Did you have a thermostat plugged into your heat pad?


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## TWENTY B (Oct 18, 2009)

my 1st question is
What is your heat mat doing inside the enclosure?


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## ammers (Oct 18, 2009)

did you have the heat mat inside the enclosure? if so what substrait are you using?


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## AUSGECKO (Oct 18, 2009)

I only have one word to say...... Thermostat.


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## Mr.James (Oct 18, 2009)

But is there a chance the fire started before the thermostat kicked in and then even if it cut the power off would it still burn or smoke? Stuff that!! 

You are very lucky! Good thing the beardies know to get down low and go go GO!


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## fraser1980 (Oct 18, 2009)

Had same problem bout ten years ago will 
never use them again what ever I can to
provent a problem I do


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## makykaem (Oct 18, 2009)

sorry to hear about your fire but can you tell me what the salt does ?


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## Allies_snakes (Oct 18, 2009)

Geck82 said:


> I only have one word to say...... Thermostat.


 
Hear, hear! Totoally agree with you there Geck82...

No thermostat..you are just asking for trouble..beats me as to why people dont use them with mats or any type of heating really.


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## elapid66 (Oct 18, 2009)

as been said never run a heat mat with out a thermostat ever


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## ammers (Oct 18, 2009)

we use heat matts on a few enclosures WITHOUT thermostats and without any fires,burns or smoke..... but in saying that we also keep the heatmat outside of the enclosures not on the inside where it can and will get wet or have paper sitting on it.


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## elapid66 (Oct 18, 2009)

heat mats can and do over heat a thermostat will not let this happen inside or outside enclosure dosn't matter


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## jamesbecker (Oct 18, 2009)

very lucky nothing worse happened!

iv used the exo terra ones.... they are just poo! iv had 2 burn out in a month, so now i use reptapet ones and havent had a problem


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## reptilefan95 (Oct 19, 2009)

Ive got an exo terra heat mat underneath my glass enclosure i dont run it on a thermo but its a low voltage and its only ever on during the night..... If the heat mat was inside the enclosure and you were using a paper substrate then there in lies the problem, you should never keep the heat mat inside the enclosure they get very hot very quickly and if a bearded dragon decides to dig underneath the sand or paper and lie on the heat mate he could have a very sore and burnt stomach


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## Jungletrans (Oct 19, 2009)

makykaem said:


> sorry to hear about your fire but can you tell me what the salt does ?



Puts out the fire , probably the first thing someone called Pepper would thimk of .


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## richoman_3 (Oct 19, 2009)

Jungletrans said:


> Puts out the fire , probably the first thing someone called Pepper would thimk of .


lol


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## Herc (Oct 19, 2009)

I'll add my 2 cents worth to this post, firstly Pepper, heat mats are designed for going outside the cage as that way the heat is distributed more evenly over the contact area, if they are installed inside under substrate this can not happen as effectively and especially when sand is involved often creates mini hot spots directly aobve and on areas of the mat often leading to a short and eventually a fire. As to the numerous coments of always using a thermostat with a heat mat, I agree to a point. However just having a thermostat attached does not guarentee anything. over the years I have had a number of thermostats burn out, short out and even explode. ( no they weren't overloaded, one didn't even have anything plugged into it) one of the stats had a mat plugged into it and the mat caught alight and the stat locked in the on position. luckily I was present when it happened and stopped it straight away. My point is, nothing is fool proof. take as many precautions as you can, but dont fall into the trap of being over trusting in any equipment. thats my opinion.


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## euphorion (Oct 19, 2009)

Glad to hear you got there in time and your bubs were all okay!

Has anyone had any similar experiences with heat cord?


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## Chris1 (Oct 19, 2009)

makykaem said:


> sorry to hear about your fire but can you tell me what the salt does ?



gee, glad someone else said it,..!! 

heat mats make me so nervous, i'm 2 weeks off getting rid of mine, the gecko enclosure will sit on top of the new jungle enclosures and get their heat from them.


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## Colin (Oct 19, 2009)

Chris1 said:


> heat mats make me so nervous, i'm 2 weeks off getting rid of mine, the gecko enclosure will sit on top of the new jungle enclosures and get their heat from them.



Ive used heat mats for years and they work fine and have never been a problem. I probabaly have 20+ of them (the larger ones) and I only have microclimate brand mats. I always use a thermostat with them as well.. 

I think the main problems with mats are probably (1) using inferior quality mats and / or (2) not using a thermostat with them. mine never go over about 32 degrees because of the thermostat.


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## AUSGECKO (Oct 19, 2009)

As elapid66 said, if you use a thermostat it will not let the heat mat reach anywhere near the temp required for it to ignite. But as Herc said they can fail, this doesn`t happen very often but it is still a possibility. The only other problem you will get with mats and stats is if you don`t put the sensor probe in the correct position which is directly on top of the mat.


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## Serpentor (Oct 19, 2009)

Don't see why anybody would bother with heat mats when you could just use a heat cord.

As for people who reckon a thermostat would have prevented it, who are you to say? it could have been an electrical fire started by a short circuit somewhere in the mat. In fact, I highly doubt that the heat alone generated by these mats could cause them to self ignite. I think it is just poor testing of insulation between element coils that does it.

I'd be willing to wager it would have started even with a thermostat on it.


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## wokka (Oct 19, 2009)

Serpentor said:


> Don't see why anybody would bother with heat mats when you could just use a heat cord.
> 
> As for people who reckon a thermostat would have prevented it, who are you to say? it could have been an electrical fire started by a short circuit somewhere in the mat. In fact, I highly doubt that the heat alone generated by these mats could cause them to self ignite. I think it is just poor testing of insulation between element coils that does it.
> 
> I'd be willing to wager it would have started even with a thermostat on it.



Heat cord is capable of shorting out as well!


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## Snakes1 (Oct 19, 2009)

This problem often occurs with heat mats thats why I stopped using them years ago, would rather stick to bulbs or reptile radiators


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## Octane (Oct 19, 2009)

I had one of the green PVC type heat mats (controlled by a thermostat) that started to make a buzzing sound. I was sure it was not right as the other ones I had weren't making any noise. I purchased a replacement then carefully cut one side of the PVC cover off to investigate. I could not notice anything obvious - then I stood back and turned it on and saw an area of the mat had a short and was arcing. 

Have since changed my set-up to heat cord. Seems to be working well but any heating element has the potential to develop a fault and should be closely monitored.

Cheers 
Octane


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## Chris1 (Oct 19, 2009)

Octane said:


> I had one of the green PVC type heat mats (controlled by a thermostat) that started to make a buzzing sound. I was sure it was not right as the other ones I had weren't making any noise. I purchased a replacement then carefully cut one side of the PVC cover off to investigate. I could not notice anything obvious - then I stood back and turned it on and saw an area of the mat had a short and was arcing.
> 
> Have since changed my set-up to heat cord. Seems to be working well but any heating element has the potential to develop a fault and should be closely monitored.
> 
> ...



dimmer thermostats buzz, mat stats or on off ones dont,..i was baffled a while ago and someone said change thermostats,...

so if the house has saftely switches would that prevent anything catching fire?

the half the power points in the house turned themselves off a while ago when the kettle was turned on without water,...i'm guessing a mat catching fire would have the same effect,....


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## ihaveherps (Oct 19, 2009)

Whoever is of the opinion that a thermostat will negate a fire from a heat mat is completely wrong! Though I do agree that puting a mat inside a tub is a bad idea. Heat mats are resistance based, damage by kinking the element, dont just think from bending/folding but also pressure, can and will effect the element. Such stresses on the element will increase the resistance at that particular point, and increased resistance does directly effect the temperature at the site, sometimes to the point of burning. I have had heatmats burn in house, all from stresses on the element, and all were controlled by thermostats. In both cases, the temps on the majority of the mat were normal, only the effected areas were at a detrimental point, one got hot enough to burn a hole through 8 odd of the 12 ply, completely melt the bottom of a tub, in the process killing my snake in a pool of moulten plastic, my herp room somewhat smoked out, and the thermo still giving the mat power. So unless you are fortunate enough to have your probe directly about the points of increased resistance, they arent going to help!

Now those who feel safer with heat cords.... got some more bad news for you.... rats seem to love the outer casing, and once they chew through, the resistance flys off the chart, and thus the heat produced..... now if your lucky like me, and the cord is pulled away from the thermo probe by the vermin, then you too can wake up in the morning to the fresh smells of melting carpet.... actually, the cord dragged by the rats onto my carpet melted through the carpet, the underlay, and into the hardwood floorboards...... cant be bothered to get pics of the burnmarks.... though cant wait to explain it to the landlords.

All that being said, my house is running standard circuit breakers.... I cannot speak with confidence that an earth leakage device may have helped.


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## Lovemydragons (Oct 20, 2009)

I have another question about a mat. I bought one of the green ones, can't remember the brand name (as they aren't sold in packaging). But anyway I found I wasn't getting any heat from it. I took it back to the shop. The guy there checked it and found the same, so he gave me another one. The guy at the shop checked this one before I left and it was getting heat through (was still warm when I left the shop). I took it home and tried to turn it on, but I couldn't get heat from it. I put my hand on it (adding pressure) and it started working a bit. Are these heat mats only work when weight is applied?? If not is my mat faulty?? I haven't used it properly as I can not get a constant heat from it. Also it makes a small buzzing sound when it does start heating. 

I've never used heat mats before so not sure what to do. I've moved house since buying it and can't find the receipt to take it back. Is it safe to use, or am I using it incorrectly??


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## elapid66 (Oct 21, 2009)

i think we are spilting hairs here people a thermo will stop a mat or cord from over heating that is fact but if the mat or cord has a fault and is dodgy that is a different thing at the end of the day i don't like them


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